Layers

 Memories of running out of time when quilting Sheepish (the sheep quilt), gave me an incentive to get En Provence layered and quilted. Hopefully, given I finished in one day and had no help, there will be no wandering safety pins. The fish seem happy to be a backing but they may think that they are going to France instead of being punctured a thousand times with a needle and thread.

And here is poor Buddy suffering deeply while his sister cleans his face.

Microspools and FOMO

 I managed to make some more microspools during August. Half of the blocks for this quilt will be light and the other half dark...and as one might expect I have many fewer light microspools. And because this is a charm quilt with each fabric being different, I can't just make a bunch more out of one of the light fabrics. We must abide by the arbitrary rules we make up for ourselves!

Also, I would like to announce that Molly and I now call Buddy "FOMO." While Molly is my surveillance system, FOMO fears missing out and he keeps track of everything that Molly and I do so he doesn't miss a playtime, spa time, food morsel or cuddle. And he flops down between Molly and me to make sure nothing gets past him figuratively and literally. Molly makes sure he gets more hisses and bites.

August Wrap-up

 This is the first time I have created a summary of a month of blog posts...but this was an intense month with three posts per day, every day, all written in the brand new invisibility font. So let's review...

The Sheep quilt was partially quilted when it went to the state fair...each sheep still needs some quilting in their face, and the border needs quilting. I quilted it on a Juki (TL2010Q) and I am on a steep learning curve. I like the machine a lot because it has automatic needle down. Unfortunately, the needle down for my Bernina is in the foot pedal which cuts the thread on a Juki. There was a lot of swearing until I bought a rubber stopper that stops this "feature." And I broke five needles before I realized that three safety pins were embedded inside the quilt.

Molly refuses to tell me how they got there and that makes me question her value as my surveillance system. In any case, I was able to work two of the pins out the back of the quilt through the seam in the backing, but one pin is now closed but enclosed within the face of one of the red sheep. 

Next up for quilting is En Provence by Bonnie Hunter. Clark County Quiltfest is going to have a display of Bonnie Hunter inspired quilts, so I see this as an opportunity to finally get this quilted. The Sheep will also be at that show in October. 

And we can't end August without some orange bow-ties...made more mysterious with spooky lighting and a sagging design wall. (The design wall is not the only thing sagging in this household). P.S. August is Molly and Buddy's birthday month and they turned 7 years old. Each.

Pin Basting

 I confess that my method for pin basting is inefficient and extremely slow. I have heard of several methods that can considerably speed up the process, such as "I don't have a cat," "My cat is outside," and "I value my self autonomy."

Felting

I assume pin basting a sheep quilt is called felting...except its all cotton. And yes, I am using a cotton batting. I asked the sheep if they would like a wool batt and they were horrified at the thought...these sheep are raised for mutton. I was horrified by using a wool batt because Molly adores wool and the last time I layered a wool batt, Molly almost destroyed it (and me) in the process.

Here are the purple bow-tie blocks I made sometime last week. They come in three sizes. The smallest is 2 inches finished.

And here is Buddy trying to "photo edit" Molly's face in real life. 

Border Fence

 Here is the last border for the sheep fence. As you can see, I'm using sheep leg parts for the border fence. And I will use the black hooves for the binding. 

And I have had this fabric tucked away for quite a while waiting to be the backing fabric.

Here's Buddy in his heated bed...except now it is unplugged and using solar power. 

And I thought I would show off my photo editing prowess again...although it really does take a lot of time. This time I had to use anti-cranky and anti-grumpy filters on top of the "piss-off" adjustment.

And here is the photo after editing...quite a big difference.  I did consider using an anti-glare filter, but thought I might just end up with a puddle of fur.

Complaint Department

First, let me advise you that this complaint department will be making complaints, not taking them. First up, where are the months running off to before I am done with them?  Last year, after the last state fair, I decided I should enter the sheep for 2022...and somehow it's almost a month away or some such nonsense. And I still need at least 3 months just to make the momentous decision: should this have a wool batt?

I am working on the sheep's enclosure and added two sets of 2.5 inch strips around the perimeter. Next I will put up an electric fence to keep them from wandering too far.

And I liked it better in the olden days when surveillance systems were hidden instead of conspicuous, annoying and full of opinions.

And I have heard a lot of complaints about employers, but I have never heard of any that put their feet right where you're trying to work.

And I'd like to blog more regularly, but it takes so much time to edit pictures. Do you realize how long its going to take me to edit the grumpiness and stink eye out of this photo...

to make it look like this. Holy smokes...its already the fifth of July...

To end on a happier note...here is the artichoke plant. It had its own complaints during our brief hot spell, but that's over and now it's time for the artichoke to put on some purple wigs and party. A feast for the eyes...as it should be.

Here's the view from above.

And speaking of views...if you would like to cool off while watching a combination of jaw-dropping beauty and over-the-top adorable, please check out a recent video from Foresty Forest....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeqXmGiOGes.