It was a hopeful afternoon. I sewed the fourth row to the Live, Love, Teach quilt.
After that, I continued on with my household chores and inserted a boring household task before starting on the bottom half of the quilt. I always complete large quilt tops in two pieces (top and bottom...logical, eh?) before sewing both halves together. And so I was ready to make the fifth and sixth rows. Row five was complete and laid out with the top half.
Row 6 was complete, and the sashing was sewn to the top. I was hard at work pinning the two rows together when the power went out. Oy. Hard stop. I waited a few minutes to see if it would come back on, and no dice. It was out for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. And there I sat with my vacuuming not done. Bummer.
There's always hand-stitching next to the window. So I did that long enough to move my hoop for the first time, and then continued on until my fingers got sore. The longer I stitch on this, the better I like it. It wasn't a sure thing when I started.
Before the power went out, I had lots of help in the sewing room. He's an excellent coach on all things related to sewing. He's watched a lot of blocks sewn together.
We've had to clip his wings about going outside. There have been as many coyote sitings in the past two weeks as there have been in the 14 years we've lived here. Obviously, something has changed, and I'm afraid that's how we lost our Maggie. Since I can't bear to lose another cat, he's an inside kitty until the outdoor shelter is built. Mike has promised he'll start on it this weekend. Up until now, it's only been in the planning stages.
Smitty, for his part, is taking it all in stride. I expected a lot of complaining this morning, but he simply went up into his He Man Woman Hater's Clubhouse and we haven't seen him since.
On a positive note, I can leave the Live, Love, Teach quilt laid out on the design floor without worrying that some furry critter will bleed to death on it.
This morning, I finally got a chance to sew rows five and six together, and here is where it stands.
Two more rows to go, and then I'll sew the top and bottom halves together. It'll still need a border after that, but it's getting close to finished.
Yesterday was gray and rainy, but today is dazzling. Sue and I are meeting for oatmeal, and then for a long walk on the Lower McCormick Hill loop. I'll get my 10k steps easily today. Our internet has been flaky this morning, as it sometimes is after a lengthy power outage. Hopefully, I can post this for your viewing pleasure.
13 comments:
Live, Love, Teach is looking great. Can't wait to see where the two red hearts end up. I'm glad to read that Smitty is taking house arrest so well. Hopefully the new screen room will go together quickly and by Sunday evening he's enjoying his new space. Perhaps since you already have a "catio" for the 5th-wheel you'll have to call this one the "gaze-bo". :-)
Your big-stitch quilting is looking great. I've found that my fingers get sore a lot more quickly than with regular hand quilting, it must have something to do with the larger needle. It's also more difficult when there are a lot of seam allowances to stitch through.
Live Love Teach is looking great. Such a fun idea. Sorry Smitty is grounded for the moment, glad that he is taking it all in stride.
The quilt is coming along nicely - all those special 'signature' blocks just blend so well. I know when the coyote are close as my 'furs' stick to the upper parts of the house.
Your Live, Love, Teach quilt just shines, Barbara! What a lovely gift that is going to be.
I'm looking forward to hearing about the catio progress. I was thinking about you guys today. We made the transition from outdoor cats to indoor with several cats over the years and I've thought about sharing our experiences but hadn't wanted to seem like I was pushing an agenda, especially at such a tender time. But if you want to hear about how it went for us, the stories are pretty encouraging.
Brilliant idea, using the Tiger Tape, by the way. Don't you think that will give you the muscle memory of making even stitches, until eventually you'll do it automatically? You should submit that tip to American Patchwork and Quilting!
Each day I've been hopeful for Maggie but with coyote more common I suppose you have to think about the possibilities. One things for sure, if that has been her fate, she had a blessed time with you both beforehand and a salvation from the rescue centre.
So losing her, knowing she enjoyed such good care and affection, though small solace, is a saving grace I hope.
I love seeing your quilt put together. I have enjoyed watching each block to its finish and I love how colorful it looks. Hope your power stays on.when I put my squares on the floor to arrange them, I have someone come sailing into the living room and rearrange them all in one swoop.!
It will be interesting to see how Smitty acts with the kitty shelter, will you have him loose when you're out? I can hear him now if he's locked in and you're walking around loose.
We live by the Santa Ana River, and having lost seven cats to coyotes, raccoons, skunks, etc, I very much sympathize. Love your quilt!
Love the hand stitching. And who can resist the Smitster ?~! Looking forward to the Gaze-bo for the kittehs; coyote make short work of our beloved familiars and it's incredibly sad so I condone keeping them inside.
This project is coming along so nicely! What a treasure it will be when you're done. I'm so happy to hear that you are keeping Mr. Smitty inside until the catio is done. Major kudos to Mike for making it for him! We are hearing of increased sightings of coyotes here too. In the NC mountains where we got Rocky, they are decimating the cat populations. All of Rocky's family (mom and 2 siblings) and about 7 more cats disappeared from my mom's neighborhood in a couple weeks' time. It's just not safe for them outside anymore. I'm glad Rocky has shown no interest in going out here. He has surprised us by being very happy to be an indoors-only kitty.
That is a great looking quilt. What a pain to have the power go out. We really are very lucky as a power outrage is an infrequent occurrence. Smitty is being a very sensible cat, he appears to realise the dangers.
Poor Smitty - I had to come back and see what prompted the catio construction. We've never been able to let our cats be outdoors at all here. The coyote and fox population is vibrant and there's not as much truly open space as there is around you - makes for a zero survivability rate for outdoor cats in our area. :( But these guys have grown up always being strictly indoor kitties, and they don't mind at all not getting to go out on their own for a roam. Still - I know they'd adore a catio!
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