1/27/13

Sew Helpful on Sunday

Well, let me just tell you that I had the full contingent of cats helping me today.  Smitty was Johnny on the spot when I went into the sewing room this afternoon.


And Gracie was right behind him.  Smitty and Gracie have been spending more time together.  She seems to have made her peace with him.  He is jumping on her less.  Or maybe he's jumping on her less because she's not as irked by it, and therefore, it isn't as much fun.  In any case, I think there's hope for these two to live in harmony. 


Today I did the top-stitching for the Acoustic Montage quilt.  I'm thinking of giving this a different name from the pattern name...something like Harmony, or String Theory.  Any ideas?  

I decided to do a straight stitch close to the edge.  That's how I'm going to quilt it, and I was afraid a zigzag stitch would look funny.


Well, Smitty was bored silly.  No really, he was being very silly.


Eventually, I sprinkled some catnip on his bed to encourage him to go there and stop trying to eat my pins.  

Hmmmmmm, what's this here?


Well, the catnip had the effect of getting his tail so jacked up that he just had to bite it to show it who was boss!


And if that wasn't enough, his bed went kind of crazy, and he had to bite that too!


And then the whole cat went kind of crazy!!! 


And his bed sort of bucked him off and they both ended up on the floor.  Holy Mackerel.  Really, he likes mackerel.


And with all that ruckus, I don't know how I ever managed to get the borders put on this quilt, but there it is. I'm planning to use a bright green for the binding.


I'm not going to quilt this right away.  It's for Matthew's birthday in April, and if I finish it before then, I won't want to wait to give it to him.  I'm terrible that way.  I'll just hold off until closer to the big day.

As for Smitty, he was kind of tuckered out with all of that, and he sort of crashed right here as you see him.


So then I turned my attention to these troubled children of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  When we last left these little ladies, they were misbehaving badly.  After I took them apart, I realized that the top and bottom sections were just slightly too wide, and the middle section was about a quarter inch to narrow.  Altogether, there was about a half inch difference between them.  No wonder they wouldn't lie flat.


Well, I am so happy to say that two lovely quilting bloggers, Denise and Andra, each sent me paper-piecing templates so that I could remake the center skirt section of these blocks.  A million thank you's to both of you.  Quilters are the nicest people.  But quilting bloggers are the nicest of the nice!  

So today, I gave it a whirl and they went together beautifully!  Hooray!  


Also, after getting a better gauge of the size of the blocks while I was making the Hello Sun quilt top, I decided that I would only do one of each color on this quilt.  I was going to do twice as many blocks.  They finish up at 12 inches, and with borders, sashings, and cornerstones, I think a 3 x 4 block configuration is going to make a nice sized quilt.  I'm afraid it will be humongous if I make it twice that size.

So these other two little ladies will get new dresses and shoes when the new challenge color is announced next month, and I can use them again.


So...I'm a day late, but I'm linking this post to ScrapHappy Saturday.

http://superscrappy.blogspot.com

Did you have help in the sewing room today?

26 comments:

Lynette said...

Haha! Great fun with Smitty. :) It's so frustrating when the parts won't fit. Your ladies look wonderful.

Quilting Babcia said...

Boy, Smitty is one spaced-out kitty! That must be supersonic catnip you're feeding him! Love the little ladies. Can think of lots of ways to use any extra blocks you might think about making - they're precious. Your strings quilt is going to be super - the straight stitch applique is perfect.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

It was a catnip day in my house too. Love the little ladies and how nice that bloggers came to your aid.

Teresa in Music City said...

Oh so glad you got your little girls to behave!!! They are much too adorable to give up on :*) And I'm glad to hear that the two mouseketeers are getting along better - I noticed that Gracie is too wise to allow herself to be disgraced by the inebriating effects of the "weed" LOL!!!

“Old World Goodies” said...

Oh, you have some great helpers there ....funny....got some of them too.

good job on top stitching, and the top looks nice.

thanks for sharing

WoolenSails said...

Smitty is such a character and so fun. I had a cat who was always trying to eat my hooks when I was trying to hook, she also liked scissors.

Love the border you used, really makes it fun.

Debbie

Lucky Duck Dreams said...

Oh Smitty! You are so entertaining! You made me LOL!

Kathleen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathleen said...

My helpers are 4 legged also. They are two wonderful very small toy fox terriers. They follow me everywhere. Cannot step on foot with out them being by my side. I love them. What they can not do is get onto my sewing table, but I do pull up a chair next to me and I put them in the chair. They sleep there until I am ready to leave. Silly I know, but I love my buddies. XX Kathleen

Kirsty said...

What a lovely post, thank you. I always look forward to reading about the antics of Smitty and Gracie, and seeing your wonderful projects come together is a bonus. Harmony is a great name for the quilt. You might also consider "Beautiful Music."

Sue said...

Your description of Smitty had me laughing out loud. I've bought Lestat some catnip....he's never had it before....So I have no idea how he will behave....As he behaves like catnipped Smitty without having having any! Your kitty adventures always have me smiling. I hope your ladies learn to behave themselves better in the future....They are looking lovely! As for the guitars..WOW!!! My vote goes for String Theory.

Lynne said...

Sounds like quite a day in your sewing room!

scraphappy said...

Your little paper pieced ladies look great. Paper piecing always gives nice precise results.

Dana Gaffney said...

Matthew's Musical Mystical Montage.
I don't know how you get anything done, I'd be sprinkling catnip like fairy dust and just laughing the whole time.

KatieQ said...

I'm happy to see that your girls came through surgery looking better than ever. Tht block is going to make a pretty quilt.
The guitar quilt is wonderful. I love the way the guitars meld into each other.
Smitty never fails to put a smile on my face. I'm glad Gracie is beginning to tolerate him.

Diane Wild said...

The guitar quilt is going to be awesome..it is right now but wait until it's quilted. Smitty looks absolutely stoned.

Anonymous said...

We also have a pinthief in our house :) She also likes to occupie the ironboard......, but on the other hand, they are so cute. You just have to laugh at them :)
Gun, Sweden

Snoodles said...

I need to get Moses some fresh nip! LOL
That guitar quilt is stunning, no matter what you end up calling it!

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Oh that crazy cat! Glad to hear there may be cat peace on your horizon...

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

Smitty, Kirby loves the sewing machine, too. I need to get his picture posted where he is trying to lay in the hoop!

Is that a 640, you have?

Unknown said...

Aren't kitty helpers the best? I have two... and a doggie who lays under my chair as I sew/paint/write/do whatever :-) Gorgeous quilt--I'm sure he will love it!

Sheila said...

Stunning quilt! Love your cat pictures : )
Your girls are looking good. Difficult blocks.

Rachel said...

Good job Smitty! Looking good Gracie! Glad the quilty girls got with the program. Matthew's World.

Deb A said...

Such a fun post! Your quilt is wonderful and it looks like guitars to me so Harmony would be a great name.
Beautiful ladies... they could always be made into 2 quilts?
Looking forward to next months colors.

Denise :) said...

I do adore reading posts about Smitty -- he's such a ham!! I'm so glad the pattern worked -- yay!! And definitely yes...quilty bloggy friends are the best. I happen to know this first hand. :)

quiltzyx said...

Oh my! Leading Smitty into a life of catnip abuse. He may have to go into a 12 step program at this rate, silly kitty!

Glad your 'girls' are behaving now. What great bloggy friends you have!!