4/27/14

Oh Deer

It was an exciting morning here at the Three Cats Ranch, and Smitty had a chance to show off his best Kung Fu moves. We looked out the window and right outside there was a deer (a young buck) nibbling away at the tulips that are planted in the whiskey barrels.


Mike tapped at the window and even went outside to shoo him away, but he was pretty bold! Usually they run like the wind when a human shows up, but this guy seemed pretty unperturbed with our petty protestations (awesome alliteration).

He moved off a little ways, even turning on his lasers to let us know he wasn't a bit afraid of us.


Well, about that time, Smitty caught sight of him and gave chase. The conversation between the deer and Smitty went something like this:

Hey! Get away from my outdoor litter box, you lily-livered ruminant. Why, I oughta....I've eaten bigger critters than you!!!


About that time, the deer stopped and turned around, obviously curious about Smitty.

Hey...what kind of an animal are you anyway?

You better run, Bambi Britches, because we don't like your kind around here! 

And then the deer trotted off. Smitty stood guard for another hour or so before being completely satisfied that this interloper had loped off.


So. That was something.

After that I worked on my stitcheries and did some housework, and then I finished up the applique for the last two little campers.



And then I did all the top-stitching. Here's the original:


Here's mine:


Here's the original:


And this one is mine. I used a triple stitch for the "trees," or whatever they are.  I thought I might use a satin stitch for the "poles", but then I just laid down row after row of triple stitch, and it worked out pretty well. I don't usually do this, but I backed each block with an OESD mesh stabilizer because I knew that machine stitching would give me puckers if I didn't.


Here's the original of the next one:


Here's mine:


I have the blocks trimmed to 8-1/2 inches square right now, but I might make them smaller. I really want the trees to go all the way to the top of the block as they are in the original. The panel I'm trying to cover in our trailer is 18 x 22, and so I can cut them fairly small and still have plenty of coverage once I add borders and sashings.

Here's the original of the last one:


And here's mine. On this one, the "trunks" were a little wider, and so they are appliqued while the "branches" are done with a triple stitch.


I used hot fix nailheads for all of the door knobs.

My plan is to put a narrow stop border around each block and then use the trailer fabric for the borders and sashing. I was trying to decide what color to use for the stop border, and at first, I laid them out like this...just auditioning the colors, you understand:


And about that time, Mike came in and was pretty clear that he thought it was too busy. I had to agree. I really love that trailer fabric, however, and so I tried putting a black border as the stop border around the blocks.


I like that better. I think the absence of color is better than any other color I could choose. I'll most likely give it a black binding too.

So that's how I left it today. I won't be doing any sewing tomorrow because I'm going to an all-day long-arm class at my LQS. I'll probably get the Happy Camper quilt top finished on Tuesday. As for my long-arm class, I have my sampler quilt top and back made and packed up, and I'm ready to go. It's a small class...only three plus the instructor, I'm told, and so my inner introvert isn't feeling as apprehensive as she usually does. It is going to be a long day, however. Hopefully, I'll be having so much fun that the time will pass quickly.

Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, you'll know it's because I'm tuckered out from my day of long arm learning. I'll most likely take pictures, however, and so I'll tell you all about it when I get back.

18 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I like the black better, too - enjoy your class.

Betty said...

I'm sure Smitty is very proud of himself for scaring away the evil creature!
I hope you enjoy your class. I wish I had something like that around here. Would love to be able to quilt my own big quilts.

thepiececorps said...

I LUV those trailers and the trailer fabric!!!!

KatieQ said...

Smitty is so brave. You must feel very safe with him around to protect you. The black border is exactly what you needed.

SewCalGal said...

Yeah Smitty. What a protecator! As much as I like Deers (we don't have many where I live), I draw the line when it comes to eating bulbs.

Beautiful blocks. I like them all.

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Brown Family said...

I like the black stop border with the camper fabric!

sunny said...

Love all the little campers! The finished project is going to be adorable. Thank goodness you have Smitty to protect you from all the wild creatures.

Anonymous said...

Definitely the black and, maybe, moving the lower left trailer to the upper left spot (I know you said this was just an audition!). I really love this one and the "sketchy" feel that the blocks have!!!

Meg said...

Love the whole post!

What a beautiful view you have there - all all your flowers are so beautiful. Our trees are just barely starting to bud here... Oh well that's the way it is in MN. At least our weather was nice for prom on Saturday.

We were at our cabin in WI about 7/8 years ago taking a walk. It was right before dusk, had our german shepard mix dog Al with us (he was an abused shelter mutt, came with the name Albolto), here we are walking in the middle of nowhere and out comes a deer. We yell "Al, get the deer"! He takes off into the woods and eventually we don't hear a thing. No tag on him and it's starting to get dark. Our youngest daughter, Natalie (the one who went to prom on Facebook) was about 10. Her and the neighbor girl start crying. We all all getting a little nervous as we hear nothing in the woods. About ten minutes later he comes bounding out of the woods right where he ran into them. That was a thankful night. Lesson learned to not have him chase the deer and to get him a tag...

Love the camper squares, etc. I like your versions better than the originals. Also love the background fabric. So cute.

I've made a cute apron - it was a little bit of work, had about 8 pieces to it. it flares out with a small collar on it. It's for a wedding shower I am hosting in May. It's sort of trendy/young looking so I think the bride will like it. Also was in the garter business for a few days. They turned out really pretty. No more garters now until weddings i am thinking....

Enjoy your posts! Anxious to hear about your day with the long arm!

Meg

Dana Gaffney said...

The campers look great and the blue map fabric really works with them. I can't wait to hear how the long arming went.

Diane Wild said...

Smitty rocks. Those little campers are wonderful. Yes, the black makes it all come together. Now I suppose you'll pony up for a long-arm. LOL

Dar said...

Smitty had an exciting day and I bet he was exhausted with all the work he did. Your camper quilt is just too cute. I like the black stopper border too. Have fun at your LA class. It is lots of fun and just remember to do one thing -- breathe, everything else will fall into place.

crazy quilter said...

Smitty the gaurs Cat was on the job! Yeah Smitty for running off that bad tulip eating deer. I can't wait to hear how the long arm class was for you! Love the trailers and I know they will be fantastic in their place in your trailer.

quiltzyx said...

Smitty, always on duty! Good job dude!!!

The happy campers will be terrific - and yes, I think the black will calm it down best too. Great minds and all that.

From the pics on f'book, looks like you had fun in your class! The one I took, I think we worked on a charity quilt they had on hand. Can't really remember! lol

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Good job chasing away that garden eating deer! The trailer fabric is so cute, I haven't see this one yet.

Lyndsey said...

Smitty makes such a great guard cat. I love the trailer fabric it is really cute. Older daughter loves the old VW sleeper vans and I've got some great fabric with it on. Now I just need to come up with a project to use it on.

Kate said...

Love your campers! The black frames really work with the camper fabric.

Smitty is such a good guard cat!

Michele said...

I'm glad that you have your trust deer-chase-awayer handy to keep those pesky critters away.