Birds, Cats, and Dogs

What a lot of fun I had in the sewing room yesterday working on something...anything...besides the Quiltmaker's Garden. First, I made the January block for the Block Lotto. This one is called "Birds in the Air". I chose the "nine-patch" method of making it, which allowed me to avoid working with bias edges. This went together pretty quickly.

Then I got to work making Block 3 for "It's Raining Cats and Dogs". Here is the pattern picture of the block I'm making this time around.

The most difficult thing about this quilt is choosing the fabrics. It's all done in pastels, and so choosing fabrics with enough contrast, and yet light enough, is a challenge. It often means using the wrong sides of the fabrics. I chose these three for my background piece.

And then I was able to get this far with it before quitting for the day.

All that's left now are the leaves, the "umbrella" flower, and the cat. And then, of course, there is the top-stitching. Sometimes there is hand embroidery to do, but the embroidery for this block can all be done by machine. The dog has some details stitched in that will bring out its form a little more, but I find myself wishing I'd used the right side of the fabric for the body to give it more contrast. I might still decide to peel it up and start again.

All's well in Catland, although we're still negotiating the terms of our living arrangements. Smitty has been a perfect gentleman for the most part, although he's still up for a good game of chase any time Maggie wants to run. Maggie, on the other hand, has had quite enough of his shenanigans and lets him know it with a good hiss every time she sees him. Yesterday, Smitty came innocently into Mike's office to scratch his chin on a box conveniently placed at his level. He didn't even know Maggie was in the room until she started hissing at him.

If looks could kill...

We're leaving them alone together now, although we still isolate her at night. We really, really, really don't want to be awakened by the sound of cats fighting.

This morning, I'm heading off to the Stitches in Bloom quilt show. And, of course, that means I'll have some pictures of quilts to show you tomorrow and for a day or two afterward. I swear I'm not going to take pictures of every quilt I see this time. And I know I say that every time I go to a show. But this time I really mean it!

Don't think I can't hear you laughing...I can.