5/13/13

About Monday

The floor guys were here and gone in a couple of hours.  I'm not sure what made the original guy think they could finish the job in one day.  They couldn't.  Today they filled, sanded, and sealed, and made a lot of noise.  Tomorrow they will be back to put down two coats of whatever it is they put on wood floors.  Stain?  Varnish?  Don't ask me.  I'm just glad that the cracks are all filled in now.  Things are covered with a thin layer of dust, and so I'm glad I didn't get too carried away cleaning last week.  I can get carried away next week.

That meant all the doors to the main part of the house were closed, which was vexing to Smitty.  How could he get his beloved cat treats?  How could he jump on Gracie with wild abandon?  (Yes, wild!)  How could he get on top of the china cabinet?  Just what the heck was going on anyway?  And now his kitty door is shut so that he doesn't drag in all sorts of, you know, stuff.  Nothing left for a guy to do but give himself a good tongue-lashing.


By the way, that comforter there?  The one that was abandoned to this chair when I made a quilt for our bed?  That's his.  He claimed it.  Kitties do like their comforters.  And that's his little pillow there too.  Don't get any ideas about it.

Poor little Gracie made herself scarce, but once the guys were gone, she made a bee line for the potty box.  I could swear she was holding her knees together as she went.  She's back in her usual napping place now, so pretty much business as usual.  Napping.  Yawning.  That's our Gracie.

So deciding how to arrange the literal "ins and outs" today meant walking outside to go from one floor to another.  While I was out, I snapped some pictures of the latest yard goings-on.  We planted the raspberries from my quilting buddy Pat this weekend.  (Thanks Pat!!!)  They are looking marvelous in their new home next to the garage.

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I'm pretty sure I could hear them squealing in delight at the luscious dirt around their toes.

Also, my chive blossoms are open now.  I think by Friday (when all the floor/carpet work is done), I'll go out and pick enough to make chive blossom vinegar.  The vinegar bottles are waiting impatiently.


Also, the bearded iris have started blooming.  Only the white ones are open so far, but the others are very close.  Those water droplets might give you a clue that the rains have returned.  Hopefully, the rest of the iris won't be ruined by the rain.


It was windy today too.  A lot of the rhododendron blossoms were blown off the rhodies and are now littering the yard.

I checked the greenhouse to see how things are coming along and spied my first tomato blossoms.  Cool!  Come on tomatoes!


Then I went back into the house to sew.  I put the inner border on the Love Me, Love My Cat quilt.


And then the outer border.


And now it is officially a flimsy.  It requires quilting and binding.  I'm going to use that same fabric from the sashing for the binding, and I had plenty of the outer border fabric for the back.  The quilt finishes up at 39 x 49 inches.  I haven't measured yet, but I think it will easily fit into the space I have scoped out for it.

Then I set up the machine for free motion quilting...


and I got going!


I just did this middle block, and then decided I'd had enough.  I've decided to stitch in the ditch around the blocks and then stipple the interior.  That seems the best way to be able to quilt all around the words.  Then I have a sort of heart leaf motif that I want to use in the sashings and borders.

I'll work on this some more tomorrow since it'll be another day of forced sewing.  Sewing all day again?!?!?  My misery knows no bounds.  

17 comments:

WoolenSails said...

We went the easy route and got fake wood for the kitchen, less than a day to put it in, lol. Moki will not sleep on the comforter unless it is flannel or a soft material, but if I put a fleece blanket at the end, he jumps right up, picky boy.

Debbie

Dasha said...

Hello Barbara. I don't know if you have come across Bronwyn Hayes at Red Brolly in your travels on the Net. She does the most wonderful stitcheries, and has quite a few for free down load with cute kitties on them. The link is here: http://www.red-brolly.com/red-brolly/catalicious-quilt.html
Alternatively, I have a link on my blog to her web page. Lush!
Cheers, Dasha

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Poor kitties! Mine would be hiding in the highest place of the house - they hate strangers and noise. Love the kittie quilt - super fabric for sashing!!

Lynne said...

Ah, renovations! They never go as smoothly as we hope --even when nothing actually goes wrong! Love the finished flimsy and your FMQ on that block looks fabulous!

Brown Family said...

I got my one lone Sweet 100 cherry tomato set out today, It probably will never produce any fruit, but will be fun trying. The last time I set one out, 35 years ago, it made enough tomato's for all the neighbors!

quiltzyx said...

I wonder why the tomato blossoms aren't tomato colored?

I'm so sorry you will be forced to sew all day Tuesday. Sigh. Life can be so cruel.

Rosa said...

Your quilt and quilting looks fabulous!!

Sherry said...

I know how difficult it is to have to sew all day again hehehe. But I know you will struggle through with Smitty's moral support.

Diane Wild said...

I love the cat quilt. It's beautiful. And your kitchen floor project is minor compared to my sewing room move. Oy! At least I can shut the door after I've had enough.

Snoodles said...

Ah me....a day of forced sewing...it's a tough job, but someone has to -- right? LOL

Tami C said...

Your Love Me, Love My Cat quilt has turned out just lovely! I've thought about doing some redwork, but I'm not ready for it yet so I've added it to my To Do List. Your gardening pictures are great! It's the only gardening I get any more since we've moved into a condo except for the one tomato plant that I'm nursing along. It's terribly hard to keep my kitties away from it. I don't have a window to put it in that they can't get to so I'm always having to watch it. No blossoms yet. Can't wait to see your new floors!

Dar said...

Poor Smitty. It must be terrible hard to tolerate all those strange men and noises. I don't blame him for wanting the comfort of his "binky". Your flowers are so pretty. The blossoms on the tomato plant looks SO BIG that I imagine the fruit will be the size of grapefruits! lol I haven't planted anything yet, but still plan to.

Sher S. said...

Hope the fur kids have a better day today. I love your free motion quilting on the Promises quilt. Wish I could quilt like that...just feel awkward trying to do it. Love the cat quilt also. Your stitches are perfect, how do you manage that? What type of stitch do you use?
Have a sunny day!

Julianne said...

OMG! LOL! Gracie holding her knees together, that's fantastic...I cant stop giggling!

c said...

she must be a roaring twenties cat! rofl
I looked up that luv me, luv my cat and I sure cant afford it at this years behindness (word?) It is a great pattern. I would like to do it for me. At bee. But anyways
love yoru plants too. thanks for sharing your life with us.

Kate said...

Love Me Love My Cat turned out great. Love your polka dot sashing, very much the cat's meow (sorry couldn't resist).

Hope the floor guys finished up today so you can have your house back tomorrow.

Lyndsey said...

Oh Barbara life is such a trial with forced sewing. It looks like you made the best of it however. These are two very cute quilts.