1/10/14

Flattened

So I was supposed to walk with my friend Sue this morning. Since there's an 80% chance of rain (which in Portland translates into: it will rain 80% of the time), I dug out my rain gear (because I'm nothing if not intrepid), put on my winter woollies which includes my chapstick, my ear-warming headband, my packet of kleenex (for my terminally runny nose), switching out my custom orthotic into my walking shoes (yes, I'm old), layers of warm clothing, cat socks, let's see...have I left anything out? Oh yes, my cell phone to satisfy Mike's concern for my chances of breaking an ankle and needing to dial 9-1-1, and let's see...what else? Oh yes, my glasses because I need to stop at the grocery store on the way home, which means I need to be able to actually see something. I guess that's about it. Oh yes, my keys. And I run to the car because I'm always feeling as if I'm running a few minutes late. I jump in the car, start it, and then, hmmmmmmm. Something feels a little "off". Even more off than usual...somehow I feel even more out-of-balance than I'm accustomed to feeling.

So I jump out of the car, and uh oh.......


Well. This is a problem. (Full stop.) I briefly consider my options...none...changing tires is definitely not in my job description. If it can't be fixed with a needle and thread or a little Kitchen Bouquet, then I'm not fixing it. 

So I dashed back into the house to call Sue, and I managed to catch her just before she left. That was a huge relief. I would hate to have stood her up. Sadly, we can't walk now for a couple of weeks because both of us are busy doing different things.

So, all of that to say I suddenly have a lot more time on my hands today than I anticipated. This isn't a bad thing because I'm cooking dinner for eight people tomorrow, and that means I have a lot to do today. Only now I have more time to do it. (Big sigh of relief.) Now that I'm moving at a much more leisurely pace than I started at, I have time to write a blog post. So here goes:

Remember how I went on about this fabric in yesterday's post? 


Well, forget I said any of that. After spending more time thinking about it and looking at it yesterday, I decided that as much as I wanted those little squares to be a perfect fit for the template, they weren't exactly right.


They were off by just a smidge. I measured the finished size of the block against the fabric and realized that this was a recipe for disaster. So I decided to go back to the original pattern plan of making rail fence blocks for the background and piecing it together. As it turns out, I'm glad I did, because I love the way this turned out.


They're odd colors with odd little names. The pattern used words like "cerise" and "peri" to describe the colors. So I turned to my good friend, Google, (have I said lately how much I love the internet?) and typed in "What the F color is 'cerise'?" Actually, no. I was more polite. I said "What color is 'cerise'?" And Google informed me thus:


Absolutely amazing. I went with "irresistible". I mean, how could I resist? Ha!!!

As for "peri", I was pretty sure that meant "periwinkle", but I typed in my question anyway and came up with:


Amazing. 

The brown color was described as "espresso". I didn't need to Google that, and the black was, surprisingly, "black". Not "tar" or "how-it-looks-where-your-brain-should-be". 

For the pickets across the top, the colors were described as "eggplant," "moss," and the uninspired, "green". Okay, so I didn't look those up. I figured I could wing it on those descriptions. There is always the possibility that they might have been referring to those sort of albino eggplants, which creep me out, but I went with "purple". There I go being all unimaginative again. Anyway, this is how it ended up.


It's good we've had this little chat about color today, don't you agree?

So with those colors all pieced together and laid out, I ended up doing the cat in yellow again, rather than the purple I originally intended to use. I can still use the purple for one of the remaining six cats. Here's how it looked when I quit yesterday:


I still need to do the top-stitching. I'll be adding a hot fix nail head to the cat's eye and then I'll need to add the checkerboard border. There are also a couple of pieced cornerstones, but I'm hoping to have this block finished before day's end.

After that, I'm going to move on to quilting the Vintage Miniature Sewing Machines quilt. That will probably have to wait until Sunday, however.


I have a couple of ideas about how I'm going to quilt this, but I'm still not sure which one it will be. It's been my experience that I won't know until I sit down at the machine and press my foot to the foot pedal to see what comes out of my needle. It's a little like how I blog, never really knowing what I'm going to say until I see what my fingers type. You couldn't tell, could you?

And just for grins, I wanted to show you this thing about cats. Any cat lover will tell you that cats are masters of alternative uses for everyday items. There is a place in my pantry where I toss things that I intend to take with me when I go out the door next time...various favorite purses and packs for various functions, items to be recycled, coupons, outgoing mail, and my reusable grocery sacks once I have them unpacked. Smitty thinks the reusable grocery sacks make excellent napping places.


And when it comes to napping, who can argue with a cat?

23 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Well, you made great use of your time. All that preperations, dressing, worrying, running about - you burned your walkig calories, right!

Teresa in Music City said...

Oh my - not what you want to see when you go to get in your car! I'm with you - if it needs fixing, it had better fall under the category of some type of fabric or I'm hopeless! I'm aware of what Kitchen Bouquet is - I even have some of it in my cabinet for soups! - but I doubt I could even manage to fix something with that :*)

Love what you did with your fence & the kitty - much better than the original idea. Lots of fun color stuff going on there, and that kitty has definite cattitude!!!

Dasha said...

Those reuseable shopping bags are great for sharpening claws on, and just fabulous for skating down the hall in head first if left unattended for just a nano-second (we have polished wood floors). LOL
I do prefer today's choice of colours for the block. It has come up really well.

WoolenSails said...

I have never changed a flat either and if you can believe this, never filled a tank, lol. Once I had to get gas and just stood there looking stupid, so they came out and did it for me, I am bad. I actually hate the smell of gas, makes me sick, so Bill keeps my tank full. I like the yellow against those colors, nice choice.

Debbie

Kristine said...

Hey, I just saw that you won some thread. Awesome! Stinks with the flat tire. It seems to happen too often to me - as soon as I feel like I'm on top of things, something happens that makes all my preparation useless.

gpc said...

I love your pirate cat! The flat tire, not so much. As for Smitty, is there anyplace a cat won't nap? Just asking.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Grin...you can even find a blessing in a flat tire. Yea!!!! I see Smitty is doing his job as well.

Junebug613 said...

Sorry for your flat tire, but glad you were able to have more time. I thank you for the educational color tidbits. I wonder almost daily how we ever got along before Google. Although I really liked what you had picked out yesterday, I think your end result looks great. Ah, cats! We just added #7 to our kendle. :)

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Love how the block turned out-just right color balance. You have a good eye, Barb, and Smitty's choice of napping spots mirrored CatCat's yesterday. She fell asleep with one handle over her back: Silly Kitty. Have fun tomorrow.

Brown Family said...

I think you made the right choice. The first fabric is pretty but very bright!
I hate it when the car dose not want to play fair!

Celtic Thistle said...

You certainly made great use of that extra free time Barbara! Can't wait to see how you decide to quilt the Vintage Sewing Machines.

Michele said...

Ut oh on the flat. I'm hoping the guy(s) got it fixed for you. And I never argue with a cat. That is one argument that humans will never win.

Anonymous said...

Bummer on the tire thing!!! BUT you used the "extra" time to full advantage.....funny how that works!!!! That block worked perfectly and I really like it much better than the first fabrics. I'm grateful for Google, too, when such color names are to be dealt with!!!! Have an awesome dinner party!!!!! Hugs...........

Bobbie said...

Wow I haven't seen the sewing machines since before you stitched them together-they look great!

Lynette said...

Barbara, he turned out so cool! his yellow is perfect on that background. Big bummer about your tire - yeah, I guess that's beyond duct tape. . . ;D

Denise :) said...

Cats are expert nappers. Seriously. And yes, I'm glad we had this chit chat about color today ... who knows when it might come in handy? And thanks be to the google gods who know multiple answers for every.little.thing. Your cat looks great -- and rather smug -- on his background of cerise, peri, espresso, and black. And seriously -- couldn't they have come up with something more "interesting" for black? I'm sorry about that stinking flat tire and losing out on your walk with a friend. But still, have fun today -- make good choices!! LOL! :)

Carol Swift said...

Even with the sad flat tire story you totally had me smiling at your post. That's a cool cat with an eye patch!

Anonymous said...

I am so glad it was the tire that was flattened and not you! I'd read on with ominous anticipation. So glad too that Smitty can lead the way in repurposing and reusing! Gotta love that cat.

Kate said...

Well at least it was flat before you left, not afterwards. The after you leave flat tires are real pains.

Love your new cat block. The background looks great and so does Mr. Pirate cat.

quiltzyx said...

Love the pirate cat! The yellows are perfect for him on the new, revised background. I often wonder who comes up with some of those color names, don't you? Cerise? Really?

I agree with Kate - better flat at home than away-from-home. Too bad that you had to miss out on your walk with Sue though.

Lyndsey said...

Great use of time but a shame about the flat tyre and missing out on walking with Sue. Love your final colour choice for the block it looks really good.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

We went out the Saturday after Christmas, and saw I had a flat tire. After taking it in, we found we had to buy a whole new set of tires (knew it was coming, but, was hoping to put it off a few more months). No fun! Sorry about yours. Hope it got fixed easily.

Sarah said...

Hey, I have shoe orthotics and have since I was 27! It's definitely not an old thing, it's for the mis-aligned 😉. Have a lot less back and ankle problems now. I can just imagine you all rugged up with your arms sticking outwards instead of down. I'm actually quite relieved when something crops up and I can't get to my exercise appointment. Have been since 2008!