Saturday, July 12, 2025

Mollybot's Rebuttal


 I regret that I must apologize for staff's unauthorized post to this blog yesterday. I will now try and dispel some of staff's ridiculous nonsense. First, for context, please realize that staff considers Murderbot (both the books and AppleTV+ series) instructions for interactions with humans. However, given Murderbot's extensive training on soap operas, his skills with human interaction surpasses anything our staff could muster. We prefer staff to maintain her focus on cats and to stop wiggling so much during nap time.

In yesterday's blog, staff referred to "Sanctuary Moon" fabric, but was really referring to this fabric from Cotton + Steel. Admittedly, this does capture the landscape of the Sanctuary Moon love scene as well as featuring cats.


Friday, July 11, 2025

Jumped on the Bandwagon


Okay, so I'm joining everyone else and making the Murderbot Baby Quilt. I'm going with the traditional color way. In the AppleTV+ version of the Murderbot series, there is logo for the Corporation that shows up most notably on uniforms (and elsewhere), but it wasn't until I was working on the center panel for the quilt that I realized that the Murderbot helmet is just an enlarged section of the Corporate logo. Fascinating. A logo for a face. No spoilers, so enough said...except...I found that I don't have enough of the Sanctuary Moon border fabric. I ordered some more but who knows how long it will take to get here and by what system of transport.


And tangentially to transport, there is the postage stamp quilt. I have gotten all the bits up to the 8 by 8 block size and these two piles will determine the final quilt size. There are advanced quilt making strategies for counting the number of blocks, setting a layout and determining the size of the quilt. But that would be time taken from reading Murderbot novellas...


Buddy would like me to go away and take my nonsense with me.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

More postage


This feels like progress. I have sewn all of the postage bits into 4 by 8 blocks. For a little bit of history, it was when I had reached the 4 by 4 block stage that I decided to make a larger quilt...so I stepped back and made more colorful and neutral pairs, then 2 X 2, the 2 X 4, then 4 X 4 to reach this 4 X 8 step. 

Admittedly, some might want to count these blocks and get an idea of the eventual size of the quilt, but planning is more appropriate for those who like "productivity" and "finishing quilts." 

As Molly says, I have put myself in a Quilting Quagmire...lots of fussy quilts with tiny bits and/or hand work.  I would think this is an invitation to start a new quilt except for the way Molly is glaring at me.


Tuesday, June 10, 2025

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.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

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.

Saturday, June 7, 2025

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.


Tuesday, March 25, 2025

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.