11/8/12

Tails of Two Cats

Today I did the kind of sewing that makes you want to lie down and take a nap.  Yawn.  And just to show you how bored I was with it, I got very interested in the length of Smitty's tail.


He has the longest tail of any cat I've ever seen, and I was certain it was longer than Gracie's.  So I conducted a rigorous scientific experiment and measured their tails using this highly calibrated tool...my measuring tape.


This is Gracie's tail.  It is eleven inches long.  Then I measured Smitty's tail.  Are you ready?


Thirteen inches!!!  So his tail is approximately 15% longer than hers.  (I have a calculator that does percentages.  I'm real smart about stuff like that.)  

Okay, so back to sewing.  Did I mention my sewing was boring today?  It's the kind of sewing that leaves you wondering what you've been doing for hours on end.


I sewed the borders on these sewing machine blocks.  Usually, I do them as I finish them, but since I was locked out of my sewing room for a full month, I fell behind.  Now I'm caught up, and glad of it.  

Incidentally, I started to make the next sewing machine block.  I have loved that this BOM is from embroidery transfers, so all I have to do is trim the block to the correct size and then iron the transfer onto the fabric.  Nifty.  Only this next block didn't work.  I ironed it until the cows came home...and since I don't have any cows, you can imagine what a very long time it was.  There was not an inkling of an indication that anything from that "transfer" was going to make its way onto the fabric.  

I wrote to the shop that is sending me the blocks, and she said she's going to "look around" and send me another one.  That response didn't exactly inspire confidence that said block was going to arrive any time soon, but I'll wait for a little while.  It's fairly detailed, and so I hate the idea of having to do it the old-fashioned way...which is the way I'm ordinarily accustomed to doing it.  But you know how it is when you get spoiled by something.  It's hard to think you'll actually have to do it the hard way.

So, then I cut the fabrics for my next NewFO, which is about the second thing I ever put on my to-do list.  Here are the fabrics I'm using:


The flamingo fabric is the first fabric I purchased when I started building my stash.  I'm making a flamingo quilt, which I'll show you very soon, but I want to make a couple of applique blocks first.  That will give you a better idea what it's going to look like.

So...boring, huh?  Aren't you glad I entertained you with my tales of tails?



16 comments:

Rachel said...

LOL, I am not going to say thing about size and if it matters...I will simply say they both have adorable tails :-) Annoying about the block, but hopefully it will show up soon!

WoolenSails said...

I never measured them, funny though. I have been punching, what was I thinking, using 3 strands of floss, duh. Gave up on the back ground and doing 6 strand with a short height to give it a 3D look, so we shall see.

Debbie

Denise :) said...

Thirteen inches is pretty darn long ... he'd better be quick to keep it from being shut in doors or caught under a rocker! The flamingo print reminds me of Kelly's (from I Have a Notion) neighbor's yard. They make me smile -- can't wait to see your project! :)

Kirsty said...

Whew! Thank goodness you had Smity and Gracie around to relieve the boredom. See, they are so useful! Hope Gracie is feeling better. My Flash had a run-in with a stronger, fiercer cat (not hard to find) and came off second best. After a vet trip and antibiotics a week ago he has his up days and his taking-it-quietly days. Today is the latter. Just. Too. Exhausted. To. Get. Off. The. Bed. LOL. I'm sure he'll be fine though. At least if he's on the bed he's not out courting danger again. By the way, I love your sewing machine blocks. I think its going to be a cool quilt. Have a good weekend. x K

barbara woods said...

love boring

Sheila said...

The things we do when we are bored :) Hope Gracie is feeling better.

Teresa in Music City said...

Glad you are getting caught up with your "chores" LOL!!! Can't wait to see the flamingo quilt. Like Denise, I thought of Kelly's flamingos :*D As for Smitty's tail, a cat with that much purrsonality needs an extra long tail for swishing majestically!

JLVerde said...

I can just picture the "what the heck are you doing, woman?" looks your cats gave you during the Great Tail Measuring Experiment.

That flamingo fabric is so fabulous.

Dana Gaffney said...

Tale of tails? you are bored. Maybe you need to make something fun and fast like a Christmas decoration.

Patricia said...

I think you need to compare the tail length to the body length and get a ratio. Don't want you to be bored, so I give you a math problem... Hee, Hee.
I live the flamigos, reminds me of Vegas.

B-Bon said...

OK, after reading this I had to go measure my own cats' tails (11 & 12) and when the one with 12 was little, I thought she had the longest tail I'd ever seen, but she has since grown into it. I think Smitty will be a nice BIG adult kitty ;) once he grows into that tail!

Nita said...

I love how you love your cats. ;)

Do you do that beautiful embroidery by hand?

LethargicLass said...

So I checked on Opie and her tail is 10.5 LOL... she thought I was a bit nuts but I told her to blame you :)

Rina Mason said...

Ok, so now that you have set off a chain reaction of cat tail measuring I have to let you know that Cricket's tail is 12". She was not happy about having her tail measured and went into her Miss Pissyfur mode growling the entire time.

She's a teenager so when she doesn't get her way she growls to express her displeasure at being forced to endure whatever indignity is happening to her at the time thus the nickname Miss Pissyfur.

Kate said...

I wonder if haveing a longer tail gives a cat any type of advantage?

Love the fabric for your new quilt. Looks like it's going to be a fun one.

quiltzyx said...

Well we knew that Smitty was extra special already, now we have proof!

I think you did pretty good for being bored. :D