Lollipop

I found the next steps in the Stonefield quilt and the blocks all required lots of appliqué of small pieces. Turns out I had already finished making the easiest blocks for the month. So I looked at this Lollipop block...it looked like a circle with two strips of rick rack sewn across it. Then I realized that it wasn't rick rack, but fabric that had been cut like rick rack. Then I remembered that I live at a time when there are gazillions of print fabrics many of which can pass for a lollipop. 

Then I interviewed Molly for my new podcast Diatribe. She has become quite a chatterbox. Here she is hanging out in the empty shelves over the refrigerator. 

And everyday I convert some 4X4 postage blocks into 4X8...and I don't forget to twirl the seams.

Molly's Rebuttal

 I was saddened by the ridiculous and false claim in yesterday's post where staff claimed to doom scroll as though she spends any time in civic minded pursuits. Unfortunately, I can attest that she, like many others, are trapped in the underbelly of the darker parts of the web: cats.

A scientific random sample of screen shots from my staff's web browsing demonstrates the frailty of the human condition. What is even slightly interesting about a mother and father raising their kittens? 

I do salute the organization Tiny Kittens for the work they do, especially with free range cats who have had no previous experience supervising human activities.

If you are currently not employed by a cat or kitten, you may go to YouTube to watch this family's livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAtMeQyhMW4.

Unbroken

 Here is Molly providing an historical reenactment of me on break from the blog. The only detail I would quibble with is the omission of doom scrolling on a device. 

And even I am stunned at how little progress I can show...this has two more circles appliquéd. For a while I was sewing one wedge a day.

And here are three blocks appliquéd for the Stonefield quilt by Susan Smith. These were the last blocks needed to finish one of the monthly booklets. The next step is to figure out what my next step is.

Meanwhile, I found these blocks in a box...minus about six blocks. So I made some more and now this is ready to be put together.

Clark County Quilt Show

The Clark County Quilter's show was two weeks ago, and this was my favorite. It was made by Lynn Czaban. I looked up her previous work and found that Lynn is quite well known for her realistic quilts and you can see her interviewed about the quilt that won AQS in 2015 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko7Q4upaESc. So yeah, this is Lynn just trying improv out. Sigh.

And while we are discussing expertise, here is Buddy eating from his new dinner bowl. I call it his candy dish. On occasion, he gets a tablespoon of Molly's regular food which he would otherwise inhale.

Really Slow Stitching

This quilt was originally inspired by the Jen Kingwell Pick a Petal Quilt but I went a bit off course. One of her blocks was a glorified nine patch and I made about a quilt and a half of uneven nine patches. I was next going to appliqué the wedges but didn't like how much that would have hidden the background. So I played around with paper cutouts of curves and came up with the quarter circle arcs. The appliqué is a bit slow going because I am slow going. 

I am still making blocks for the Stonefield quilt by Susan Smith. I really like the block on top but think it may be too bright for the quilt. But I will wait and see when I put all the blocks together. This was an incredibly easy block to make...given I changed the block from having mitered corners to partial seams. 

And here are some cross blocks for the Stonefield quilt.

This morning as I was heading out on a morning walk, I noticed a nosy neighbor right on the property line daring me to say something. I didn't.

Flash Forward

 Here's the latest Stonefield block...and this is the last block for the month...whatever month. This would have a lot more meaning if I was still following the books in order. 

Meanwhile, most of my time has been spent working on this quilt. It may look very similar to the last post...however...at the point that most quilters move ahead and sew the quilt blocks together, I usually come to the realization that I want it to be bigger. In this case, I decided to add a row and a column. I then had to move the blocks around etc. and so I am back to where I was at the last post, except with a bigger quilt. 

Two More Blocks

 I think this is the most complex block in the Stonefield quilt (so far). The original has the sunflower embedded within an outer circle, but that seemed to make it more complex but not add anything. The construction called for taking the pink triangle, sew it to the diamond and then an outer wedge to complete the circle. Repeat 12 times. To make it accurate, I figured I would need to use paper piecing.

I will leave sewing small pieces to nutty quilters. I appliquéd two circles...the light pink and a dark pink circle and then appliquéd 12 green diamonds on to the pink circle. Finally, I asked the 12 cats to stop fighting and line themselves neatly on each diamond.

 And here is the last of the three hexagon flower blocks.

And here is Molly eating her breakfast at her desk as part of Buddy's diet. When Molly is hungry, she sits at the desk and waits for me to feed her. She has requested a bell to call for service, but I pretend I don't understand cat...which is true. I sit nearby distracting Buddy so he won't push her out of the way and steal her food.

Here is Buddy sitting at Molly's dining desk hoping that the world is fair and I will feed him like Molly if he does what she does. Instead he receives a hearty laugh and a disrespectful comment that he is wearing his "more than fair" share around his midsection. (The grainy, dark photo was taken from across the room). I did compliment him for being audaciously adorable.

Adjustments

 I have spent some time moving the blocks around...and needless to say as I was pulling this image up I caught some more problem areas...repeat blocks too close and areas that are too dark. I will have to go check and see if they bother me in real life.

Meanwhile, Buddy continues on working on new slimming poses. After he debuted this pose, I told him about Tripod Tommy and I suspect this will be the last time Buddy sports this pose.

Two More Blocks

 Two more blocks for the Stonefield quilt by Susan Smith. I like blocks where I spend more time picking out fabrics than sewing. The next two blocks for the month are fussier so the cats can expect to hear a few more naughty words (although Molly knows them all already).

Who?

 Here is a new block for the Stonefield quilt. The instructions call for a 2.75 inch circle, but the owl informed me it needed more space...and I am not one to argue with an owl that wears his alter ego on his chest.

And I made more glorified nine patch blocks so the underlay is finished. I am going to make some of the curved appliqué overlays so I can get a better sense of what this quilt will look like. All of the larger squares are going to lose a lot of real estate and I don't quite see it yet. Right now I am planning to use white(ish) curves, but realize that the quilt may have other plans.

Uneven Nine Patch

Sometime back when, I decided I needed more bits for the postage stamp quilt so I started the revised Pick-a-Petal quilt. One of the blocks in that quilt is an uneven nine patch with overlaid curves. Since then I have seen it referred to as a glorified nine patch, but I'm certain it has an old timey name too. Here are the uneven nine patch blocks that I have made so far. I need to make another handful so I can fill out the bottom row. 

Buddy laid out in front of the quilt as I was taking the picture so you could have something adorable to look at. (Notice how he extends his paw for the infamous slimming trick.)

Four More

 Here are three more blocks for the Stonefield quilt by Susan Smith. All of the stars are supposed to have the four appliqué circles, but sometimes you have to just say no. And I realize that there are quilts that have thousands of these circles for berries on a vine. And yes, I had Karen Buckley circles to work with. And who am I to complain about a piece being small. But no. If and when I put all the blocks together in the quilt, I will stop and evaluate whether it needs eight more tiny circles.

And just to make the point muddier, I spent way too long making a block with small hexagons and fussy cut alarm clocks with a brown background.

And I would also like to address comments about Molly's fabric choice for an earlier block featuring little Buddy figures in hexagons. First, please remember that Molly was abandoned by her mother and dumped in a foster home in rural Virginia when she was only three months old. Now, Molly is the "Most Beautiful and Intelligent Cat in the World" according to the best, groundbreaking AI on the planet. Plus, Molly is not wrong. Recently, Buddy's vet reclassified him as Felis Porcus. And oddly enough, the key strategy for his weight loss is to monitor everything Molly eats because of Buddy's eat Molly's food first strategy. 

No Leave

Today was a "no leave" day, where Molly stays on me or right next to me for most of the day. Basically she won't leave me alone and sewing is a bit of a challenge. It's best to just go with the flow. Molly suggested I make a block for Stonefield that reflects Buddy. She picked out the fabric because its blue and Buddy is a boy. 

Revised Policies

 Here is the new star block for the Stonefield quilt by Susan Smith. And although some comments suggested continuing the theme with the lumpy, placid cat, this blog's senior editor instituted a new policy that all cat imagery from here on out must reflect every cat's inner kitten: pissed off and vengeful.

I suggested to the senior editor that maybe being angry and vengeful just reflected her own personal history and not some universal truth, but she threatened to put me on leave (again!) so I did as I was told.

Patchwork

 It was a nice change of pace to have a patchwork block and refresh my memory on making the hourglass block. But that cat keeps showing up just like...well...a real cat. But maybe this can be a lesson for Buddy and Molly, showing them what happens to cats who get between me and my cutting mat.

Just Friends

 In case the "sentient" tulip from yesterday needs a friend...and also keeping up with the sweet yet slightly creepy vibe for this quilt.

Detour

 I began cutting more bits for the postage stamp quilt and remembered that at the beginning of last year I had begun to make The Quilt Show "Pick-a-Petal" quilt by Jen Kingwell. Well, sort of. Turns out I just liked one of the blocks in particular and thought I would like a whole quilt of that block. I cut a pile of strips that decorated the sewing table for a year. But I realized that if I started sewing this quilt up, it would shed lots of postage stamp bits along the way. 

And so now I have a box of bits that I either cut from small scraps in my scrap bins and from remnants of the first round of sewing on the Pick-a-Petal. Now I just need neutral strips to sew the bits to.

None of this is easy to do given that Molly has delegated supervision to a useless (but cute) intern.

I also finished the third hex petal flower block for the Stonefield quilt...

Plus this weird flower block (the first of two).

Not Enough Postage

 I have finally built enough of the postage stamp quilt to realize that I do have enough blocks for a 60 inch by 60 inch quilt. When working with a quilt with lots of seams, it is always best to work on the smaller side because it gets so heavy and unwieldy. However, when confronted with a 60 by 60 quilt on the wall, I realize that there is no point to making a small quilt with lots of pieces. If you're happy, you must be doing something wrong (I think that's a variation of a Ted Lasso quote).

So yes, for a third time I am going to pause the building process and go back to cutting bits and making baby blocks. Will this make me unhappy in the future? Of course. Will it make me happy right now? Certainly! I think I have a new year's resolution in the making.

Starting a New Year

 I'm starting off the New Year by carrying on with the last. So yes, more Stonefield blocks (by Susan Smith) while I continue to slow walk the postage quilt.

I finished this one last year.

I didn't think I would start off the year as an unpaid staff turned whistleblower sparked by a comment suggesting Molly and Buddy deserve a raise.  CEOs typically earn a raise based on the profits of their business. As you can see from the photo above, a raise is unlikely to come from the profits of an enterprise with such an incomprehensible business model. So my bit of advice for the new year is not to believe publicity photos, and be very wary of signing contracts that involve kittens.