Cat Clowns

Good morning, my friends. I'm happy to say I've finished the main subject of my art quilt. The collage quilts are challenging. Even though I've done many, I always start out not really sure I can get it done. This one worked out better than expected. I'm still thinking about what to do with the background, but the most challenging part is finished.

When I finished yesterday's blog post, I went back downstairs for breakfast. When I looked back up the stairs, Smitty was wondering why we don't get on with the quilting.

Pawssibly you have furrgotten what we were doing?

When we were able to make it into the sewing room yesterday afternoon, he continued to let me know his displeasure. I'll give you one guess how that fabric bin ended up on the floor.

Whoa, Smitty. Did you do that?

Oh, Smitty! You are hilarious!

Uh-Oh. Do you think we made her mad?

Well, he redeemed himself by helping me pick out some fabrics to finish it off.

Since then, I've had a change of heart. I'll probably still use the two on the left, but the two on the right will get put back. Here's your peek. This part is finished. Any guesses?

Also, I finished the fifth kitten yesterday. The outlining was finished in the morning. I finished the last of the gray cross-stitching while we watched the news last night.

Here are the five blocks I have for this quilt so far.

Today I'll start on the 11th block for Domestic Affairs.

As I was lying in bed last night, I realized I'd forgotton to top-stitch around the little cut-out heart on the roof. It's the sort of thing that can keep me awake, but I fell asleep and slept all night. It was the first thing I did this morning...even before I had my coffee, and that's saying something. 

My friend, Kara, asked how I'd done the curtains in the windows. This pattern is the "Gentle Domesticity" pattern from Jenny of Elefantz. It was a free download in 2016, and now it's for sale in her Etsy shop. The curtains could have been embroidered, but Jenny suggested using lace or something else to put three dimensional curtains in the window. I had this little snip of some lacy stuff. It was a bit of a trick, but I carefully fused them to some Heat N Bond, and then fused them to the background like applique. After that I used a zig-zag stitch to hold them in place and secure the edges. I'm hopeful it will hold over time.

So that's where I'll start today. It's a grocery shopping day. With Thanksgiving just a week away, there's plenty on our list. I'll have to pick up a few more things next week. Some things simply can't be purchased this far in advance. We're having the usual stuff for our Thanksgiving dinner. Mae is bringing dessert and one of her wonderful charcuterie boards. (She's especially good at putting one together.) 

When the grocery shopping is finished, I'll be able to get back to my sewing. My hand is feeling better today, and it gave me no trouble yesterday. If it continues to feel good, I'm hoping to get just one of the three borders quilted today. And I swear I will whip Other Me into shape and limit her to just one border. On this I will stand firm. No arguments. No excuses. (I swear Other Me is more troublesome than my shadow self.)

Okay, I'm girding up my loins for grocery shopping. But first, breakfast and some slow stitching.