5/2/17

Pawtrait of The Emperor

No, I'm not talking about Mike, although he would love it if I started walking around referring to him as The Emperor. As if. Anyway...no, the cat whose name really is The Emperor.


Before finishing off the binding, I added the "gleam" to his eyes, and then stitched the binding on. Here's how it looks from the back:


The Kaffe Fassett print was out for consideration as a binding, but then I decided it would make a better backing. As it turns out, I had some scraps of that turquoise binding, and so I chose that. Then I got to work hand-stitching it under the watchful eye of Himself.


This is a very impurrtant quilt for one of our good furriends. Don't muss up.

Okay, so remember what I said yesterday about going to pick up a wine shipment and then to the tulip festival? Well, never mind. It started raining, and then we figured out that the winery is closed on Monday. Instead, we went to the recycling depot, made a short trip to the grocery store, and then topped off our outing with lunch at Taco Bell. Yep, the good times never end here at the Three Cats Ranch. The weather is supposed to improve on Wednesday, and so we postponed our trip to the winery and the tulip festival until then.

When we got home, I got to work quilting the Mommy & Me quilt. As a reminder...


I started at the center with the appliques and did some pebbling in the elephant ears.


Then a basic meander in the rest of the elephant. The center of the fusible was cut from these to keep them soft, and so they need to be quilted down securely to keep them from floating above the quilt background.


Then I outlined the ears and the rest of the applique, including the balloon strings and the balloons.


Same for the baby elephant.


That's as far as I got before I needed to quit for the day. I'm pretty clear on how I want to do the 5-inch squares above and below the elephants and the areas above and below the rickrack. I'm still mulling over what to do behind the elephants. I'll probably do a sort of rectangular meander. It's a baby quilt, and so I don't want to quilt it too densely. It should be functional but still maintain some flexibility and softness.

The reason for our quick grocery trip was to pick up some lemons. (I'd used all of mine on the lemon meringue pie last week.) Recently, I saw this recipe for Vermontucky Lemonade, and I wanted to give it a try. Earlier in the afternoon, I made the lemonade, which is sweetened with maple syrup (the Vermont portion). The recipe said 1/4 to 1/2 cup of maple syrup. First, I added 1/4 cup, and it seemed a little tart to me. So I added another 2 tablespoons, and that was just about right. It would depend on your lemons. Then we added ice to our glasses and added a shot of bourbon (the Kentucky portion).


Mine had less bourbon in it because I'm not much of a bourbon drinker. Still...I liked it! It tastes like summer! Wishing we had some warmer weather to go along with it. We're definitely ready for summer.

So today is an egg pick-up day and then we need to do a serious grocery shop...not just for lemons. After that, back to the quilting. Hoping some inspiration for that background will come between now and then.

16 comments:

piecefulwendy said...

Hmm. I might have to try that lemonade; I'm not a bourbon girl, but I'd like to try it. The pawtrait finished up nicely. I like what you are doing with the elephant quilt!

gpc said...

It's early days yet, Mike still has time to achieve Emperor status if he plays his cards right. And seriously, that's what I love about retirement -- feel like making lemonade?, run to the store for lemons! Why the heck not.

The pawtrait is amazing. Emperor's family will be over the moon with excitement and gratitude, there really is no other possible response in the civilized universe. Amazing.

And the baby quilt is going to be adorable. You work so quickly these days, gotta work on those slacker skills.

claudia said...

Love the Pawtrait! Sounds like you two are already having a great time in retirement. That is good, live it up each and every day!
Those lemonades look delicious!

Quilter Kathy said...

A fabulous portrait finish! I'm always amazed at how the glint detail adds to the look of a face.... furry face or human.
Love the baby elephant too!

WoolenSails said...

I love it as the backing and the simpler binding, wonderful quilt for a wall hanging.
I love the baby quilt, that is such a fun design and fun quilting.

Debbie

QuiltShopGal said...

Beautiful quilts, but I'm blown away with Pawtrait of The Emperor. Purrfect pawtrait. Love the name Emperor too! Maybe Mike and the Emperor can debate who should carry the name now that he is officially retired. LOL!

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Cathy Smith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cathy Smith said...

WOW! You have become the Empress of pet pawtraits! The Emperor is wonderful! I am amazed at how quickly you can gin them out now.

Shirley said...

The pawtrait is awesome! It looks just like the photo! What a wonderful gift for your friend. You really have a talent for making the animal come to life.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Beautiful Emperor!!!! That lemonade sounds like we'd like it. Must give it a try.

Brown Family said...

The turquoise background and binding plus the bright backing fabric gives the Emperor a playful look! I am sure you will come up with just the right quilting motif for the Elephant background!

Auntiepatch said...

I can't believe how beautiful your Pawtraits come out! I love your quilts and wall hangings but your Pawtraits are the cat's meow! You are truly the Princess of Pawtraits. I wish I had a crown to send you! Great job!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

The turquoise really pops that Tuxie - wonderful pawtrait!

Janarama said...

Good thing you had Smitty supervising the finish, otherwise you could have made a mistake. The Emperor turned out great! You really mastered this technique.

quiltzyx said...

Just Fabulous. That is all.

Kate said...

The pawtrait turned out beautifully and the baby quilt is so cute. Hope you've gotten in lots of stitching time since.