Ocean Wave Layers

There is a local quilt auction to support low income residents of a nursing home. I thought I had until August 30 to turn in the finished quilt, but found out today that it's due August 10. Oops. So the ocean waves quilt top is now laid over the basting/cutting table so I can pin baste it. Next. I have to teach the kittens how to open and close safety pins.

Back to Legos

I'm back to making blocks for the legos quilt. The final block is shown on the right. In the past, I have made a single ribbon from bits of 1.25 inch strips. Then I cut that long strip into shorter 7.5 inch strips. I then sew those together to make blocks. That way I can take some time and put things together in pleasant combinations.

Maybe too pleasant. So for this go round, I made long single ribbons and sewed them into three combined ribbons. Then I combined those to get my nine strip width. Which is at least 12 feet long. My next step is to cut the blocks from this megastrip.

Foster kittens, round two

Here's one of the new foster kittens. It's five weeks old. He also came with his brother. And to make things very complicated, added to this litter is a nine week old kitten. One might think that the older kitten could show the young ones the ropes, but its the older one that is struggling. The little ones know how to use the litter pan, but not the older one. The little tykes are still working on their mobility, and are just getting an inkling about play...which is what cat tails are for...if you didn't know.

This is the five week old brother. The other kitten is also all black, which makes it hard to get a good photo of them. In other foster kitten news, Petunia was adopted last Saturday. I stopped by the shelter and met the couple who had fallen in love with her and were going to adopt her. Great timing! So now all you have to do is keep your fingers crossed for Taylor (who was the most well adjusted of that litter.)

Red Fish

Here are the red fish to celebrate July's month of red at the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge. At the same time I would like to share some good news and some bad news.

The good news: one of the foster kittens (Nelson) has already been adopted! So cross your fingers for Petunia and Taylor.

The bad news: I was making some carrot cake for the new standing bunnies (you can find the tutorial here.) And in the excitement, one of the bunnies fell into the mixing bowl and well, you can see the tragic results.

Standing bunny tutorial

Time for the standing bunny tutorial. This bunny is much easier to make then the hopping bunny...and it finishes at 5 inches by 11 inches. There are four fabrics: a background, a light fabric (pink), a dark fabric (magenta) and a very dark fabric (black) for the eye.

I first cut two 2.5 inch squares of background fabric plus a couple of 1.5 inch strips. Then I cut two 3.5 inch squares and one 1.5 inch square of the dark fabric. Next, cut a 1.5 inch strip of light fabric plus two 2.5 inch squares. Oh, and don't forget a 1 inch square of very dark fabric for the eye.

I cut about a 4 inch rectangle of the light pink fabric off of the 1.5 inch strip. I shave this down to a one inch width. I then surround the bunny pupil on two sides using the 1 inch strip of light pink to make a 1.5 inch square bunny eye.

Fill out the bunny's face by surrounding the bunny's eye with sections of the 1.5 inch strip of pink. This is like making a log cabin. I show the order I made mine, but it doesn't really matter. You end up with a 3.5 inch square of bunny head.

Now cut off two 1.5 inch squares from the 1.5 inch strip of background fabric. Use this is make flip triangles in the upper and lower left hand corners. (Flip triangles are squares sewn on the diagonal, ironed over to make a triangle with the excess bottom two layers cut away. Think snowball block.) And already we have a bunny head.

Using the same technique of flip triangles, we will make two lozenges: one for an ear and one for the arm. Take the 3.5 inch squares of magenta. For one, sew 2.5 inch squares of background fabric on two opposing corners and then iron over the flaps to make flip triangles. Now for the other magenta square, make a similar lozenge with light pink fabric.

Now we can assemble bunny parts. First attach the bunny ear to the head as shown. Second, add a strip of light pink to the back of the bunny's head. Third, sew a strip of light pink in front of the bunny's arm (front leg in bunny speak). 

Now its time to shape the bunny's body. First, sew  a strip of pink to the bottom. (And, of course, trim as you go along.)  Next, sew three 1.5 inch squares of background fabric to the upper left corner and the lower right and lower left corners. Iron the flaps over to make flip triangles.

Now from the light pink, cut a 1.5 by 3.5 inch strip and a 1.5 inch square.  And from the background fabric cut a 1.5 by 2.5 inch rectangle, a 1.5 by 7.5 inch rectangle and a 1.5 inch square. Then assemble. First, sew the bunny head to the bunny body.

Sew the bunny ear tip to the top of the long background strip and sew the bunny tail to the bottom. And sew the bunny's feet to the small strip of background fabric. Attach the long back strip to the back of the bunny's body.

Finally attach the feet to the body.

Now you have a finished pink bunny. If you would like, you can add a strip of the background fabric to the front of the bunny for sashing. Also, for a bit of bunny flourish, you can add a 1.5 inch flip triangle of the background fabric to the upper right hand corner to give the bunny ear a flip.

Standing bunny 1.0

Now that the real kittens are gone, a new standing bunny arrived. I hoped that he was going to help me scrub away all of the kitten poo and goo, but apparently this bunny had other concerns. Cathy over at Sane, Crazy and Crumby Quilting wanted a standing bunny for a quilt she is making. This one is based on a one inch grid (1.5 inches unfinished) and is 6 by 11 inches finished (without border sashing).

 

The bunny is using Photoshop to try on some different styles such as pointy feet and a flipped ear.

He decided against pointy feet but decided to keep the stylish flare and the enhanced hearing of a flipped ear. 

Bunnies revisited

When we gathered our blocks together for a midyear review for the Rainbow Scrappy challenge, I noticed that I had very few rabbits running to the right. So I added these new bunnies to the mix.

I also heard from Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting that she is going to be making bunnies. I have revised the pattern a bit from the tutorial...because as I make the block I begin to see short cuts. 

So I now make the rabbits without any half-square triangles. The outlined sections in the blue bunny shows the changes. 

For the top rectangle (outlined), I take a 2 by 2.75 inch rectangle of light blue and sew a 1.25 inch square of background to make a flip triangle at the top and a 2 inch square of background to make a flip triangle at the bottom. 

For the bottom rectangle (outlined), I take a 2 by 4.25 inch rectangle of light blue and sew a 2 inch square background to make a flip triangle at the bottom. 

Meanwhile, the foster kittens went back to the shelter for their surgery and adoption. But before they left, Taylor was able to spend some time in the sewing room beating up the bunny puppet.

Red rabbits

Here are the red rabbits for the month of July. Are they red because that's the color of the month over at the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge? No, these are red because I found out that it's Mr. Rabbit who is eating my tomatoes right off the vine just as they ripen to perfection.

And here is Nelson trying desperately to retain his kitten charm. Yesterday he found out that he will be having surgery on Monday, and then will enter the adoption competition at the local shelter. He thought he only had to beat out his sisters, but has since found out that its a countywide competition... hence the pathetic clinging to artifacts of his lost youth.

Kitten Scrap Vortex

The scrap vortex quilt continues to grow. It's an interesting process. Little sections get built into bigger sections. And although I have quite a few big sections, its time to go back to the scrap pile to make little parts to feed to the big parts. Happily, no litter pan is involved.

Other household participants are growing, but in this case a litter box is involved. The kittens are now at an age that they no longer want to play with baby kitten toys. They can also jump up on chairs...but not up on counters or desks...yet.

 This is Taylor. She is the most independent and well adjusted.

Petunia has made up for the time she had to spend back at the shelter resolving her health issue...and can now keep up with her brother and sister. She has also developed an adorable trill.

And here is a picture from 2013 when I was able to witness the bear technique for pulling the peach tree limbs down to the ground for casual dining.

Wildlife inside and out

 

Here are a collection of patterns I made this year that were not part of the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge.  While my sewing room has been full of wild life this year, my yard has been busy as well.

The other day a deer that has been visiting my yard showed up with her "litter" of three fawns. The mother is under the peach tree that was recently visited by a black bear. The bear pulled down a branch (marked by a purple arrow) to eat the peaches and in the process pretty much wiped out the nearby cucumber plant. I have also propped up the peach tree branch that had taken to laying on the ground after its harrowing experience.

In the foreground, another purple arrow points to the resident bunny. The fawn in the foreground was curious about the rabbit and went to investigate. The rabbit would only let the fawn get within about three feet, and it was a lot of fun watching the rabbit lead the fawn around the yard.

 

RSC Midyear Roundup

I forgot all about the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge block midyear roundup for Wednesday. So here I am playing roundup catchup a day late. Here are the owls.

I have a lot more bunnies to make. Although I would like to point out that today I found out that the rabbit in the yard is eating my tomatoes. Just the big ripe ones...not the out of reach cherry tomatoes. And here I was blaming raccoons.

 Here are the fish.

And here are the birds. I'm definitely behind on this project. I need to make a bluebird for the light blue month and a cardinal for this month.

Kitten Quilt

The kittens have been hanging in strips off of the design wall for quite some time now. And they were taking up space I needed for the expanding Scrap Vortex. So I finally knuckled down and got the quilt top sewn together--although not completely ironed.

Of course, to make a more realistic looking quilt, I should have wadded the quilt top into a ball before taking the picture. As you can see, the kittens are still practicing their martial arts. But they are having a very hard time hiding the evil that lurks within.

Kitten University classes continue with introduction to couch scratching, intro to laundry basket and intermediate box jumps. In addition, the kittens manage to find time for self-study in turning off the computer at the surge protector, walking across the keyboard and probably bank fraud.

And yes, while I would love to teach them the Fundamentals of Tommy, that was a self-study course I had nothing to do with.

Scrap vortex continued

Yup. After the maniacal kittens have worn themselves out playing chase, crash and annihilate, I sneak into the sewing room and mindlessly sew scraps.

Sections grow and merge.

I thought I would make nine roughly equal sections and combine those, but instead the upper left hand corner is expanding outward. I have very little control over this process.

Scrap Vortex continues

Here's my progress on the scrap vortex. The section in the left upper corner is roughly 20 inches by 30 inches. I think I am aiming to make nine of those sections, so I have quite a ways to go. It's fun to put together but I am not planning anything. Hopefully it will all work out.

I work on the Scrap Vortex when I'm not in the middle of the Kitten Vortex.

Taylor is on the other side of the end table.

And for those of you who asked whether Petunia was eating enough, this photograph should put your worries to rest. She has also caught up to the others in mischief making.

Red Owl

Who knows what color is hot this month at the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge?

The owls are throwing a Fourth of July party where they plan to serve barbequed kittens.

And luckily for the owls, the black and white kitten has returned. She got very sick and wouldn't eat. Now she has a lot of studying to do to catch up in her coursework at Kitten University.