8/14/19

Uniting the Unicorn

Matthew and Lyndsay are here for a couple of days. They got in late night before last, and had the good sense to sleep well into the afternoon, which gave me plenty of time to finish up my housekeeping chores and get back to the object of my desire...the unicorn. You know how it is when you're on a roll with a quilt. It's hard even to take bathroom breaks.

My first task was to finish off the second of three large sections and get it all sewn together. And...voila!


With a few interruptions, visiting with the kids, and then picking up the CSA share, I had some time to finish all the pieces for the third section. When I laid them all out, something wasn't right.


You can see how there's a little triangle of background where it shouldn't be. Also, I was having trouble figuring out which colors went where in the mane. I realized (again) that the picture I was working from was cut off at the bottom. Until then, I hadn't realized how much I was relying on it for color placement.


After dinner, I went online in search of the whole image, and I was able to find it. When I drew in the sections, I could see where I'd gone astray.


There were just a couple of colors in the wrong spot, and so it didn't take long to fix it and then sew the whole of the third large section together.


Smitty was exhausted by my efforts...and bored. He decided to take a nap.


So here's where I left it. Just two seams to sew, and the top will be finished.


I'm hoping the unicorn will be cooperative, and I'll be able to get on with removing the bits of paper from the back. Sounds like fun, huh?

Also, I remembered where that background fabric was used the first time. It was in this quilt I made for a friend.


Here's the label from the back, and you can see that sneaky fabric right there. And since that was way back in 2010, no wonder I couldn't remember.


Speaking of sneaky...the squirrels. Do you remember all the sunflowers I planted in the spring? There were 30 in all. The squirrels ate every single one. As a consolation, they planted this one from seeds they stole from the bird feeder. I don't know whether it's a consolation or some kind of cruel joke. I suspect the latter. I can imagine them all out there laughing and clinking their margarita glasses together as I'm snapping this picture. "Thanks for the sunflowers! They were dee-licious!"


It has several buds still coming. I suppose that's some consolation.

Sadie is helping me write my blog post this morning.


My office window is a nice sunny place for a morning nap. That relaxed pose is quite a contrast from this little anxious kitty we brought home a couple of years ago, isn't it?


She still looks pretty kittenish in that picture, but she'd already had a litter of kittens. Hard to imagine such a tiny little kitty caring for even tinier offspring.

Matthew and Lyndsay will be here until tomorrow morning. I suspect they'll sleep in again this morning, and so I should have plenty of time for my morning routine. I'll do some slow-stitching, and then I'll finish off the unicorn. Picking bits of paper while I visit with the kids might be a good way to ease the pain of it all.

10 comments:

Sandra W said...

The Unicorn is lovely. The little girl will love it. So many people are fixated on Unicorns. I just don't get it.
Those squirrels of yours are naughty. But I guess you can't argue with nature.

Unknown said...

The zebra and unicorn are both spectacular!!

Connie Wolfe said...

The striped fabric for the unicorn's horn and the flower for its eye are "just the ticket!" as my grandma would say. Good job!
Connie

Ann said...

Just wanted to tell you that I loved the zebra quilt and the unicorn quilt is also super cute. Nice job. And thanks for telling all of us cat staff about Temptations Treats in the Mix Ups flavors. My cats love this new variety. They usually just get the Chicken flavor Temptations treats but I think in the future I will be buying the Mix Ups.

Quilting Babcia said...

Love both the unicorn and the zebra! Those are heirlooms for those little girls, I hope their mom will save them after they've outgrown their doll bed status, so they have them when they're grown.

kc said...

Beautiful!! I didn't even notice the blue spot till you mentioned it. But, had I seen it, I would have fixed it too. heehee. Sadie has made quite the transition and transformation. Kind of like your fabric. It's pretty, but after it stays with you a while, it's exquisite. I loved that little star charm you affixed to the top of the tree in the label - that was quite charming and such a special touch for what I'm sure is a special friend.

piecefulwendy said...

Boy you sure whipped up that unicorn in a snap! Looks great! It amazes me too, that Sadie was a mama kitty. She is so petite. Do you ever wonder where her kiddos are?

gpc said...

How nice to have a visit from the kids! Sadie's progress has been nothing short of amazing. I remember wondering in the beginning whether she would ever settle in, poor little thing. Your squirrels were more magnanimous than ours; I also planted a variety of sunflowers and put out a ton of seed-feed and have nothing to show for it. Perhaps it was rodent revenge for our lack of welcome for the chipmunks. Oh well, shake it off. I had forgotten that Winter Wonderland quilt, just gorgeous. And I am again admiring your Unicorn Patience, which I will never ever have.

Kate said...

The unicorn looks great! Hope you had a good visit with the kids.

quiltzyx said...

You were very speedy making the Unicorn, even having to revise a bit of it. Congrats!

My friend Brett brought in one of his Sunflower's head - which was bigger than Brett's head! LOL At least the squirrels gave you ONE back.