8/20/17

Apples and a Kitty

Yesterday was spent getting our guestroom ready, doing some laundry, and doing some cooking. Today I'll be doing a little more cooking in preparation for a visit from a friend. There are a lot of blueberries lounging in our freezer right now, and so I'm going to try a new recipe for a blueberry tart that uses cornmeal and fresh corn for its topping. Sounds kind of interesting, and we have the most delicious fresh corn from our farmers right now. If it turns out to be good, I'll tell you more about it in my next post.

As for sewing, I got a start on the next section for And on that Farm. This section is called "She had some Chicks." McKenna Ryan patterns are pretty scary to contemplate. Every time I attempt one, I swear I'll never do another...until the next cute one comes along...and then I'm back to swearing. Check out this placement template:


It's never a good thing when the pieces are so small that the numbers must be placed in the margins with arrows indicating where they go.

The scariest part is cutting the piece(s) for the background. There can be no mistakes here since this is a kit, and the fabric is limited.


Phew...so far, so good.

These are best worked by reading one item in the instructions, and then doing just that one item. If I read ahead, I start getting confused. So, this one started with the apples.


Some of them are oddly shaped because they will be placed behind other pieces.

Next, I was ready to work on the cat. Not this one.


This one. Oy. Look at those eyes.


The applique was stacked six deep. and the centers were smaller than the head of a pin.


When it was all finished, I fused it to the apples and laid it on the background.


Only then, I looked at the picture from the pattern, and realized I'd done a couple of the pieces on the head of the cat in the wrong fabric.


Fortunately, I had more, and so I was able to pull those pieces up without any problem, and replace them with the correct color.


Okay...that looks better.

Next up, I'll be making the little chicks. They have lots of little pieces too. There probably won't be any more accomplished on this for at least a couple of days, however. I'm getting an early start this morning because my friend should be here before noon. I want to get a little more cooking done and there are some things to do outside as well.

We're heading out before dawn tomorrow, hoping to avoid traffic snarls on our drive south to get to the midpoint of the path of totality. We'll probably park near some farmer's field and then wait for the big moment. With that in mind, I'm signing off for a day or two. Look for me in the shadow of the moon.

13 comments:

Lady Jane said...

This is soooooooooo adorable. Cant wait to see it done as it will be incredible. These patterns are cute and I understand why you do them when they come out like they do. hugs, LJ

DeeDee said...

That is so cute! I'm a sucker for anything with cats on it, and that's just adorable.

Enjoy the eclipse. We are also braving the traffic tomorrow. We've drove from central NC to East TN yesterday. Tomorrow we will head to my aunt and uncle's house which is in the totality area. We are giving ourselves several hours to get there, even though with no traffic it usually takes about an hour from where we are now. I'll see you in the shadow of the moon.

VickiT said...

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to get through traffic. The other day, Thrs. I believe, the national news was saying there were already traffic jams starting. I was shocked that far away from Monday that was the case. Fear mongering possibly? LOL Although, I have a feeling tomorrow will be a nightmare of traffic snarls. I wish you great luck and safety in getting to the spot you are hoping to watch from tomorrow.

My husband is working and I will be at home. Sadly, in Northern IL, they're forecasting cloud cover starting closer to the noon hour so we may see nothing. Of course, without any glasses, I'll not see anything at all, other than some darkness outside. I'll be watching it on TV since we aren't supposed to see more than a 75% cover here anyway, even IF we don't have clouds.

You are much more brave with that pattern than I ever will be. I'd be looking for that pattern to stitch up on my embroidery machine if she's got those digitized. I can tell it's going to be an awesome block. Of course it would be; it has a cat on it. :)

Brown Family said...

Good luck with the traffic and finding a place to park! We have been hearing horror storied all week about traffic and crowds in the eclipse path!

I still have not gotten up the nerve to start Whiskers in the wind! That is a cute cat on this one!

piecefulwendy said...

Oh boy, some of those pieces are tiny, tiny, tiny! Cute pattern though! I hope you are able to get to your destination, and I hope the wildfires out there aren't causing viewing issues. Hope you enjoy your time with your friend!

Dana Gaffney said...

Good luck with the eclipse, traffic and smoke in Oregon has been all over our news. The new pattern is gorgeous.

Ioleen said...

Good luck with the traffic, hope you find a great spot to watch the eclipse. That kitten is so cute. This is going to be beautiful.

Auntiepatch said...

That is so cute! Kitten & chicks; what could be better? I don't know how you piece all those little bitty pieces! It would make me crazy!

Lyndsey said...

What a cute pattern, I love it. Maybe I'll add it to my bucket list for when I retire. i hope you gpt a good view of the eclipse and that the traffic wasn't too horrendous.

Suze said...

Hi Barbara, I just found you by looking at another blog and following a link. I think we might like some of the same things. I like quilting even though I haven't touched it in over 4 years since my husband died. I just lost interest in lots of things. I love cats and have no pets. I would love to have a therapy dog for my fibromyalgia and my son and his four year old daughter live with me and she is not good at boundaries, so that would not be fair to her or an animal. I was fascinated by your bee story. My granddaughter starts Pre-K-4 tomorrow and I was looking at some possible grants. There is one associated with bees. The school spends a year learning about bees before it gets the bees. Even though the school could do the project on their own, it is recommended that they work with a bee keeper. I thought my son, her dad, might be interested in doing something like that and it did not interest him at all. Since I have the disability and never know if I'm going to have any energy, I cannot commit to a project of that magnitude. I enjoyed your post and will be following you on Bloglovin'.

WoolenSails said...

That is such a cute block and well worth the extra effort.

Debbie

gpc said...

Yikes. You are a glutton for punishment. But it will be adorable when you've finished doing your magic. :)

Julierose said...

I've never tried a McKenna Ryan project--they all are so beautiful--but they look quite daunting...hugs, Julierose