This could not have been accomplished without my very helpful stitching cat.
When I wrote yesterday's post, I hadn't yet done the inchy from yesterday, so here it is.
As I mentioned, I was heading out to the grocery store. It snowed most of the day and it was coming down in great fat flakes when I left the house.
With the temperature well above freezing, nothing stuck, and most of the remaining snow has been washed away.
When I came downstairs to leave, I found my stitching cat comfortably ensconced on the dining room table, which is a big no-no. The kitties wonder why we put quilts on the tables if they aren't supposed to sleep on them. It's very confusing.
There were hardly any people at the grocery store yesterday. It's the first trip in months that I haven't needed to kill anyone while there. A refreshing change, to be sure.
When I got home, there were several deliveries at the door, including this one from The Fabric Shack.
Usually when I shop for fabric online, I shop at Fabric.com. I've always had good luck with them, and I think you \]ettttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt===============] (<-------an interjection from Smitty).
Ahem. As I was saying, I think you get free shipping after spending $35. Also, I get an ebate from them. Their website was impossibly slow that day, and fabric shopping waits for no one. Am I right about that? So, anyway, I ended up at The Fabric Shack. They stuffed approximately 13 yards of fabric into that little priority mail envelope, and it burst during shipping. I sent them the picture with a suggestion not to pack it so tightly next time. (Always the smart aleck.)
So here's what I got: The first one is to be a back for Matthew's quilt. He asked for a "gold" back, and I liked this gold batik. It's already pre-washed and ready to be cut and sewn into a backing for the Rainbow Jubilee quilt.
Also, as long as I was shopping, I got this fabric for a backing on the Snow Globes quilt. It has both metallic silver and metallic gold on it, and so it seemed like a good choice for that quilt with so much sparkle floss.
Also, this "ivory" background fabric for the next new embroidery project.
A few of you have noticed that several of my embroidery projects are coming to a close, and so I'm already preparing for the new ones that will fill in the open spots on my embroidery dance card. The fabric above will be for the background on this new project from Anni Downs at Hatched and Patched. It's called "Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs."
I forget where I first saw this quilt...probably on Pinterest...but then I knew I had to make it right now! So, that's my next project. Supplies are accumulating.
After petting the fabric for a while, I got to work on quilting Hocuspocusville. I spent quite a bit of time messing with the tension. I was getting eyelashes on all the "humps" for this insy-outsy motif in the nine-patch blocks. As it turns out, I had different weight threads for the top and bottom. It worked okay for the spider webs, but it was a no-go for the nine-patches. I ended up winding a bobbin with the 40-weight top thread and my problems went away.
Here's how that looks from the back.
All the full blocks with spider webs are finished now, and I'm just getting started with the nine-patches. I hope to get this center finished today, but that might be overly optimistic. We'll see.
Also in yesterday's mail, I received these two little hand-painted buttons from Australia.
Recently, I tread where I should never tread...into Lynette Anderson's online store. There, I found this little Bunny Garden embroidery pattern, and how could I resist? I purchased the instant download,
and then, I noticed the buttons. Well. I couldn't very well do all that stitching without the buttons, now could I? I knew you'd understand.
Yesterday evening, Miss Sadie had the utter audacity to get on top of the china cabinet, something Smitty has claimed as his...where he can claim dominion of all he can survey. The noyve of some cats.
Of course, a rumble ensued in which the big cat got a little too rough with the little cat until Mom and Dad had to lower the boom. Later, he sat at the top of the stairs waiting for the all-clear sign.
Life with cats is never dull. No, never.
Okay, so like I said...it's a day of NBS. Those kinds of days are best started early. What's on your agenda today?
12 comments:
That was a lovely blog!. Lots of news and humor and projects and cats.
Oh the poor kitties getting into so much trouble--
they want spring to come so they can go back to being outside and using up their energy for real--chasing stuff/critters out of the yard!!!!
Nice new patterns for you to start--
and a nice hull on the fabrics!!!
I get some packages like that and they aren't even full--unfortunately--
all shipping companies/post offices are not careful with our packages anymore--they just throw them--some are even quite dirty by the time they get to me!
You are ahead of me--I have never done the bullion stitch before--first I have to see if I have the right size needle???
luv, di
At least the fabric appeared to be in plastic! I like what you are doing in the nine patch!
My Max cat has been on a tear lately! He has slapped Angel several times. Then he Bit Kirby on the tail. I do not think is was a hard bite, but it was a rude awakening! Tonight, he tried to make up for his behavior and gave me a real gift. Non of my cats are lap cats but tonight Max laid down in my lap. It was so sweet but my restless legs kicked in and he got up!
The new fabrics and projects look great. I had a package arrive today that looked much like yours - but it was a box kicked to the curb! Kitty squabbles that need parental involvement are never good.
Wilbur and I have an ongoing discussion about counters and who can be on them. I tend to stay off of them, but Wilbur? Obviously, we differ on that subject. I love the backing fabric for Matthew's quilt. I'm pretty sure I would've had to buy those buttons even without the pattern because they are so cute. Enjoy your NBS day!
oooo - yeah, super fabric for the snowglobes backing. Lately, I've been getting a lot of badly handled packages and boxes from both the post office and UPS. Come on, guys - honestly! And soooooo dirty, oh my gosh. Anything from the UPS truck comes with a nasty black film that is super gross to touch. I have to wipe the box down thoroughly before I can even open it, or everything will get stained. I've called once. I need to call again. There's no reason they should be like that. Love your upcoming projects. And your boullion stitches look marvelous!
I can't believe that anyone got 13 yards of fabric in one of those envelopes. I can never get more that 10 when I ship fabric!
That new bunny embroidery pattern is adorable! You sure do keep busy. I've had problems like that with damaged packaging, more than once. I was lucky that nothing got ruined but the USPS isn't what they used to be. Then again, neither is UPS and Fedex. They used to be a lot more dependable. We've gotten a few inches of snow recently but then lots of rain, so most of it is gone.
I am a big fan of FabricShack. Fabric.com has gotten kind of weird with its minimum quantities.
You've got some fun projects going on. Love the spiderwebs, those turned out beautifully. Your hand stitching is looking grand. Love your in the works stitching project. Very fun and very colorful. Hope you get in lots of stitching time this weekend.
One of the most recent packages I received from the "Rotten Fruit Company" was delivered to my work, after hours. It was thrown over the 7'ft. fence & thus was sitting in the rain all night! Luckily even tho' the box was soaked through, the bags of dried fruit were OK. Amazon delivery did the same with some of my Christmas present orders too. So I've changed my delivery address back to home again. We'll see.
Love the backing fabrics you picked!
I like your choice for the next stitchery. I also love the Lynette Anderson pattern. I showed it to Lucy who loves rabbits and she's asked me to stitch it for her Christmas present. I'll have to go look on her website and I'm hoping there wont be too many adorable patterns.
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