Cat Quilt

I'm so happy to have worked on my "Let Sleeping Cats Lie" quilt today.  I started this quilt way back before we took our winter RV trip.  I've been working on it for about a year, but I haven't worked on it since around October.  Since we've been home I've been trying to get caught up on all the projects that piled up while we were traveling.  I'm finally to a place where I can get back to the projects I was working on when we left.  It's a little like picking up a book that I laid down long ago and starting where the bookmark is. 

This is the fifth of nine blocks, so I can happily say I'm now more than half way on this one.

And here are all the blocks I have so far.

It takes about a whole day to finish each block.  I'm using a blanket stitch around the cats' heads, ears, and noses, and I'm using the "triple stitch" on my machine to embroider the faces on.  It works great.

Also, I wanted to tell you about a tip I read on Amy's Creative Side for picking out stitches.  It's a quick and easy way to do it without stretching or making holes in your fabric.  Check it out!  You can take out a whole seam in just a few seconds.  Of course, I never have any reason to use this tip (ahem), but just in case . . . it's always a good thing to know.  Also helpful are these Sew Easy Tweezers from Elisa's Backporch Design.

I use these all the time.  They're great for pulling out little stitches left behind when you rip things out.  I use them to position tiny applique pieces, to thread my machine, and to pull off little bits of paper when I'm doing paper-piecing.  In short, anything I need to pinch between my thumb and index finger is easier to manipulate with these.  I just love them.  I imagine there are other brands, but I like the angled head on these as well as the hefty feel when I hold them in my hand.

So that's it from me for today.  It rained all day, and it's supposed to rain all day again tomorrow.  Oh well.  More sewing, I guess.  George hates sewing.