Buddy's Scrap Management and Giveaway

Buddy understands how easily one can feel overwhelmed by scraps. And he understands that a lot of quilters try to organize them or use them up or engage in other "molly-coddling" activities.

Buddy's management system lets the scrap know who is boss. Grab the scrap(s) with your front paws and then kick, kick, KICK with your back paws. After effective management, the scraps will know who is boss and you can stroll through your sewing room feeling all of the respect that you have earned. (This does not apply to sisters.)

And now that you feel all of that respect, I am certain that you want more scraps. If you want more respect, please leave a comment letting me know what type of respect you would like...that is, do you want a certain color of scrap, novelty prints, modern or traditional. Three winners will be picked randomly on New Year's Eve.  Unfortunately, this fabric giveaway excludes those outside of the U.S. and no-reply commenters. 

Molly also notes that you may receive unmanaged scraps and she accepts no liability from anyone taking advice from Buddy.

Catsplaining

Here is your first lesson in the series "Buddy Presents Patchwork" . 

First, the easiest way to sew patchwork is strip piecing where one sews the butt end of one strip to the head end of another strip. This is how a jellyroll quilt is made.

Alternatively, you can sew a Y-seam, where two sides of a patch are sewn into the interior of a V shape. It is called a Y-seam because one should always ask WHY are you doing this? Are you showing off? Or are you just trying to annoy your sister?

Meanwhile, if you stop by tomorrow, we are going to have another fabric giveaway to countdown the end of this year. It might be nice to collect comments on a post tomorrow and then pick a winner on New Year's Eve. 

Conversation Overheard

Thunder:  Hey Lightning...I think I saw her move.

Lightning: Yes, she did move. But then so did you. You're going to be a blur in this photo. And quit calling me Lightning.

Thunder: Thunder likes to chase Lightning and bite her.

Molly Kitten: And you know that's not how it works out in real life?

Buddy: Sigh.

Molly Kitten: How do you think she's going to feel when she finds how that the new Apple "upgrade" includes a new file format that is incompatible with her 2019 Adobe photo editing software?

Buddy: I may have to go hide under the bed.

Molly Kitten: I think I'll sit on the desk while she tries to convert the photo AND then edit it because the steam coming out of her ears will be quite warming.

Buddy: I bet you'll also knock stuff off the desk while she's doing it. 

Molly Kitten: This is the way.

: 

Spools and Packages

Here is my micro proof of some sewing. I know a lot of you sew a lot more while facing many more daunting challenges than I do. 

Today, Molly took over the sewing machine chair. Next to it, I have a small iron that is perfect for pressing the microspools. And to avoid supervision at the sewing machine that included a hot iron, I thought it was safer to move to the floor to remove the iron from potential gravity experiments.

Unfortunately, the floor opens up the activity to just about any land-based mammal...even ones who think that brown-striped pants go with anything.

 Molly wants me to mention that I took the fabric give-away packages to the post office this morning.  I am sending flat rate envelopes this time because they are more lenient with packing than the small boxes. 

Of course, there are often nuisances to deal with. Yesterday when I tried to print the postage/labels I discovered someone is trying to take De Joy out of Christmas and the USPS website wasn't working. The last time I tried to print labels, the website was super slow and timed out...like right after taking payment.

And now Molly wants me to admit that the only reason I went into a discussion of printing labels was so I could make my stupid pun. Admitted. She also wants me to acknowledge how much help she provides picking out the fabric. For example, when I bend over, she likes to jump on my back so I can feel the full weight of the decision I'm making. She also likes to make sure that I pay attention to what I'm doing when I cut hunks off of flat folds. That said, she won't admit that she tucked her paw in as a bit of stupid physical humor.

December Fabric Giveaway Winners

This is how I started the year and I'm ending the year looking for something to post so I can announce the giveaway winners. Looking back at the beginning of year, I am struck by how much more energy and enthusiasm I had at the start to what I have now at the end of the year. What could possibly cause such a phenomenal drain of energy? 

I had the exact same thought...the "Put A Bird On It" challenge. Especially the sock drawer.

Meanwhile, let's get to the fun stuff...the three winners are...

7.   PamelaNovember 28, 2020 at 6:24 PM II would love some grays! I have lots of bright scraps I've been saving for a scrap quilt and the grays would make them pop. A few Molly hairs would blend right in too. They will contrast well with the orange hair in my scrap basket. Thanks for your generosity!

11.  Lisa MarieNovember 29, 2020 at 4:19 AM Wow, what a gorgeous stack of grey fabrics! Should I be the lucky winner I would enjoy grey scraps and/or bright colored scraps. Your generosity with these giveaways is so wonderful. Thank you.

23.  NancyNovember 29, 2020 at 6:32 PM No greys for me, thank you, but I'm still collecting fabrics with roses, pink fabric, and browns. Thanks for offering. You're so very generous!

I will be in touch by email to get the particulars of what you are interested in (such as scrap size) and where you would like me to send the package.

 

Buddy and the Design Floor

Here's Buddy working on the layout for the zipper quilt. He seems to prefer having the seams face up. He is also mixing in a pile of microspool blocks. Molly warned him not to get too hung up on symmetry because it always leads to a static, boring look that is hard on the eyes. 

And speaking of gray, there is still a day left to sign up for the fabric giveaway if you go visit the previous post.  While I emphasize gray, the giveaway is open to any colors and themes just like the previous giveaways.

Gray Saturday: December Giveaway

 If you are participating in Bonnie Hunter's mystery challenge, you might be missing the free table right about now because you want to pick up some extra gray fabric.

And you know there is someone out there who has more gray fabric than they know what to do with.

Of course, this giveaway, like the others, is not limited to gray fabric. Maybe you need some neutrals or cat fabric or a particular color for the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge or some fabric that is so obnoxious that it wakes you up in the middle of the night purring and demanding you pay attention to her...oh wait, that was a cat named Molly. So maybe you want some fabric picked out by a naughty kitten who should spend more time picking out fabric for a give away than chewing on sewing thread off of the cone or waking me up at 3AM just because.

So yes, its that time of month when I ask you to leave a comment telling me what fabric you would like, and I will send you a small USPS box of fabric. Unfortunately, this excludes those who live outside of the U.S. due to the high costs of shipping. It also excludes no-reply comments if there is no way for me to contact you.

Molly will pick three names at random from the comments left on this post at 11:58pm December 1 (west coast time). I'll notify the winners and we will work out the specifics of what you are interested in and the size of the scraps and where I will send them. 

I am certainly having fun with this giveaway and I appreciate everyone who is joining in!

Thanksgiving

Here's Buddy enjoying his Thanksgiving evening. I caught this photo about two seconds before I started yelling at him to get off his duff and get in the kitchen and wash the dishes. Okay, I'm joking. Buddy is so spoiled he hasn't washed a dish in his life. 

Buddy is telling me that I don't appreciate his job as eye candy, but all I see are too many red postage stamp blocks clumped in the lower section of the quilt.

Finally!

 

Here are all of the postage stamp blocks ready to be rearranged on the design wall. It's amazing how useful a photo/computer can be to show you where things may be out of balance and have large pits of dark despair. 

The postage stamps finish at one inch so the blocks finish at 8 inches. This eight block by eleven block configuration takes up the entire design wall. So my biggest challenge this week was getting the area in front of the design cleared out enough to use it and take the full photograph.

Part of that process was putting away the Bernina 930 and its sewing table. It has been giving me skipped stitches and other oddities. It will eventually go off for a service visit. This poor dear has had to put up with me for over 40 years so I think it might enjoy some time isolated in a dark closet.

And here are the slackers lounging in their heated beds. Here Buddy is in the large bed and Molly is in the small bed. This morning Buddy was running around the house yelling that it was time to "pony up" which we think simply means that "the pony is up."

Another day, more litter

 Here are Buddy's favorite kittens. Buddy wants to change his name to Thunderbolt, but every day Molly stamps denied on his request and I draw a sarcastic frowny face on it. Buddy also chose the bat fabric because it reminds him of the day Molly caught a bat and Buddy ate it for breakfast. 

And here is the entire litter...seven kittens too many.

More Micro

 Here is another litter of kittens. If you think these kittens are weird, you should see the mother!

And while we're at it, here are some microspools. Buddy thinks its nice of me to give the new kittens some toys. Molly thinks its disgusting that I'm using kitten ears to make spools.

Symbolic Kittens

Despite a thorough application of alcohol in the sewing room, the kitten pandemic continues. Today there are four new cases. I have noticed that the kittens have led some to make comments that may be figurative, not literal or vice versa. In particular, I don't know how kittens can hide easter eggs or quilts become squirrels. Molly says explaining anything to me is above her pay grade.

Meanwhile, Molly is somewhat concerned about some of the toys promoted on her favorite shopping channel: Kitten.Academy. 

Item 1 is Buddy's favorite toy and he brings it to bed, to his food dish and to his playroom (aka sewing room). This toy's name is Buddy's Buddy. 

Item 2 is Buddy's favorite toy and he gives it several good bites and kicks everyday. It's name is Molly.

Item 3 is not a toy. This is an insulting menace. Buddy and Molly consider it such a nuisance that I toss it between Molly and Buddy when they square off to scuffle. They are not afraid of the flopping fish...well, except for the potential damage to their reputation if seen anywhere near it. So yeah, I guess it's my favorite cat toy.

This is Molly's favorite toy. She likes to "condition" the thread. She also enjoys hearing me gasp/grumble/spew when I forget to check the spool and end up with thread piles, breakage and mangled patchwork.

Mutation!

 I know this is not news to anyone, but yes, even kittens can suffer from horrible mutations that make them look like a different species. 

Flatten the Kittens!

 I think I may have a kitten problem. It appears that the number of kittens are doubling each day. 

Molly is less worried about having too many kittens around...

and is more worried that the kittens may have brothers that ask to crash on the couch and then never leave.

Egads...

I am slightly worried that things are getting out of control. And then there are all these kittens. Those of you with eagle eyes may think there is one cat that is different. If you say the green cat, I agree with you. If you say the one with cactus images, you will have to take it up with Molly. She says this is a Catcuss and I can assure you that Molly knows all about cat cussing. Most of it is directed at Buddy.

 There is good news and sad news. If you watch Kitten Academy, you are assured to be spared sad news. However, Molly insists that anyone who comes to this blog must like sad quilting and neglected kittens. The surgery on the little pink kitten was successful, but it succumbed to whatever terrible background sprinkles flew around its head.

And as in life, there are now more kittens. These kittens, however, do not have respiratory infections from sprinkles. Molly likes the new background because it looks like cat litter.

Last but not least, here is Molly's review of this post.

Lost

 ?. Did anyone lose a kitten? I think this is on the young side...it measures 3.5 inches square unfinished (3 inches finished). It hasn't opened its eyes yet. Also it appears to have a respiratory infection because there are particles surrounding its head. And as I am writing this, I notice that the poor kitten has the tail attached too far up the back and needs immediate surgery...the surgical nurse is reaching for the seam ripper.

The End of Postage

 

Here are the last postage stamp blocks for the Pandemic Postage Stamp quilt. Luckily, there are only six of them because my county is also seeing more instances of COVID and is going back to limiting group gatherings to six people. I mean blocks. And these are not six feet apart...so I have some serious redesigning to consider.

Final Zippers and Postage

 Here are the last of the zipper blocks. The next step will be to lay them out. Except right now, the postage stamp blocks are taking up the design wall. I could use the design floor if I wanted the zipper blocks covered in Buddy cooties.

And speaking of postal, I did make it to the post office today so "free table" packages are on their way. While I was at the post office, I bought several rolls of postage stamps and now I can finish the postage stamp block quilt top as well. I sew bits onto strips of the Zen Chic spotted fabric and then slice them apart.  

Final Results In! The Winners!

 The winners are:

19. Jerilea HendrickNovember 2, 2020 at 2:29 AM

I'd love any fabric with cats or fish, or even catfish. My rainbow scrap challenge quilt each month included a fish fabric every month, except in September and October (red and yellow). Thanks for offering this opportunity.

24. Bjwalsh101November 2, 2020 at 9:19 AM

I am looking for Pigs, reds and purples! thanks for you generosity.

27. Holly in IndianaNovember 2, 2020 at 11:45 AM

Harper the orange and white owner of my husband has asked for 30s and her own beautiful orange and white as the picture was mistakenly sent from email show her beauty.

I will be contacting each of the winners by email tomorrow, but right now I am taking part in an election night ritual of watching Hamilton, The Musical. 

However, I do think I should highlight the household butts that require sleeping and sitting accommodations. This is Molly (formerly Hurricane) when she was just 4.5 months old. We had just returned from a trip to the shelter vet because Molly was still a foster kitten. She did not approve of the trip and was using a language she thought I might understand.

I will let Mt. Hood serve as a stand-in as a graphic for my sitting requirements.

Molly said this was the best photo she could find for Buddy's hind end.

And here is some more hindsight. 

No Fooling Spooling with Giveaway

 Clearing off the sewing table uncovered the microspool project. I have a couple of boxes of cut and stacked spools, so I made up a handful. These may come in handy if any children stop by for a trick.

The treats are reserved for the "free table" giveaway where you can leave a comment to this post telling me what type of pile of scraps you might like to win. Two or three random winners are picked from the comment section (excluding international (not reached by USPS) and no-reply bloggers with no email address provided). I then pull a selection out of my stash based on what you are looking for: novelties, neutrals, chartreuse, cats and/or birds or even fabric to fill out a color for the new Bonnie Hunter mystery.

And by the way, this giveaway is a lot of fun for me. It has me interacting with my stash in a very different way and I am often surprised by what I find.

Meanwhile musical chairs/bedding continues in the sewing room. Gayle of Mangofeet thought we were following the usual rules of one chair per butt...but in the sewing room its really more of a competitive sport. Here is Molly in her new heated bed--a smaller version--that I bought for her after Buddy took over her large heated bed. 

Here is Buddy taking over Molly's smaller bed because...well, just because.

Protest Post

 

I have spent most of this month cleaning up my sewing room...which to the casual observer primarily looks like someone curled up in a ball on the floor. Intermittently, I also made more postage stamp blocks.  I have six more to make before I start sewing the blocks together.

Molly thinks I'm selfish and should share her beauty poses with the world. She also wants to show off her new chair that she learned about from her favorite shopping channel: kitten.academy. Every Saturday they open mail and packages from viewers. Since this can take a while, the moderator got a floor chair (a lounger type thing without legs) to use during those filming sessions. I thought that was a great idea because I desperately needed a place to sit in the sewing room. Every chair I use gets taken over by Molly.  A case in point...

However, in this household, everything is eventually taken over by Big Head, I mean Buddy.

While Molly still likes the shopping channel, she doesn't approve of the new kittens at Kitten Academy which are obviously just computer generated images of kittens. These new "kittens" just have one adorable pose after another without the mischief that the WeeBops displayed. Bring Back the WeeBops!

These kittens are so obviously computer-generated that they aren't even kept in their room with the door closed. The other cats in the household (the faculty) and the kittens can intermingle, except they don't because the kittens aren't really there...just CGI. 

Meanwhile, time is playing its own tricks and somehow the very long month of October has raced to the end. I am going to have another fabric giveaway for November...where I will open up the giveaway starting tomorrow on Halloween (Saturday) and then announcing the winners on "Election Night"(Tuesday). Any requests for orange fabric will be ignored.

Here in Oregon, "election day" is a historical footnote and filling out the ballot is done at home with the help of cats to ensure a perfect score.