Spinning a Yarn

There wasn't as much time for sewing yesterday as I'd hoped. Nevertheless, I got a good start on the next section for Purrfectly Pieced. Initially, Smitty turned up his nose at making yet another cat block. He wonders why I make so many cat quilts when I have purrfectly good cats living in the house with me. Also, fluffy cats are not fond of flat cats. Finding a flat cat is never a good thing.

When I showed him the pattern and explained that I was making a gray spotted cat with a pink nose...

He suddenly realized he had a vested interest in whether this was done correctly.

I first traced all the applique pieces, and then I needed to make the ball of yarn.

I was so immersed in the business of creating the ball of yarn that I neglected to take any process pictures. This morning, I took a picture of the pattern diagrams. It was easier than it looks. I created a freezer paper template according to the measurements show in the diagram below. Then, I cut three different reds to 12 x 4 inches. I stacked the whole thing together, and then cut wedges along the drawn lines on the freezer paper.

Then, I mixed up the wedges and sewed them together, alternating directions. When that was finished, I cut four 3-1/2 inch squares from the strip set, and then sewed them together 4-patch style. Then, I used the circular template provided to cut the 4-patch into a circle, and voila! One red ball of yarn for the kitty to play with. The next step was to fuse all the applique.

After that, I went to work on the top-stitching. I had all but the birds finished when I needed to stop for the day. I ended my sewing day early in order to get a stew going in my Dutch oven.

For today's sewing, I'll finish up the top-stitching, and then draw in a line representing the yarn in which the cat finds himself entangled. I'll also embroider some legs and feet for the birds. This section also includes some piecing, and so I'll need to do that before I can say it's finished.

The only other sewing I did yesterday was to finish November's lavender block for the Books & Roses quilt.

There is just one more of these, and I should have no problem finishing it off today.

Of course, today is going to be a kitchen day too. We'll start brining our turkey, and I'll be making fresh cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and a green bean casserole. That's pretty much all I can do ahead of time. I'll work on the rest tomorrow. Mike will be smoking our turkey in the Traeger grill. We've done it that way before, and it's always delicious.

That's all I have for you today. The weather looks pretty good, although we're expecting rain for the next week. It might be a good day to get out for a walk while the getting is still good.