1/4/25

Four-letter Sewing

Good morning, my friends. It's another gray and dark day here at the Three Cats Ranch. It has been raining, raining, raining, for a solid week. We're expecting rain through the weekend, but then at least five brighter sunny days ahead. It's a good thing because we're needing to do some maintenance work on the unpaved driveway we share with three of our neighbors. About once per year, we lay down more gravel to keep it from turning into a muddy mess. One of our newest neighbors happens to be a road maintenance guy, and so he has some ideas about how this needs to be done. But first...dry weather. 

It's okay with me if it rains. I'm just going to take up residence in my sewing room and make stuff. I started my 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt yesterday. As I've mentioned, this year's project is the Kittens in Cups pattern. I've been looking forward to getting started on this. Now that I've begun, I'm afraid it will turn into one of those projects I wish I'd never started. I'll say more about that in just a minute.

Sadie has been excited to get started on this. She loves any quilt pattern with cats.


And what girl doesn't like something that includes pretty tea cups? (My mother collected bone china tea cups, and I figure everybody's mother did that.)


When I told Smitty the first cat would be in his colors, he got interested too.


He consented to my use of the gray fabric you see there. With his appurroval, I went to work on the cutting.


And look a little more closely at this picture of Sadie. All those words listed on the sheet she's lying on are all pieces for these quilt blocks. There are two different kitten blocks, and so there's a lot of cutting to get to the end result.


Each kitten and cup will be different, and so those pieces will be cut each month when I make the color for that month. For January, I'm doing Kitten #1. These are the pieces for the kitten and the cup.


Each of the two kittens will have different background pieces. I decided just to cut all the backgrounds I would need for six Kitten #1 blocks. The pieces are very small, and so I'm using safety pins to keep them organized.


When they were all cut and sorted, these are the pieces I'd need for this one quilt block of Kitten #1.


And lemme just tell you, the instructions for this pattern are absolutely terrible. With all those pieces, wouldn't you think they'd be identified somehow? They're not. There is a diagram showing the placement, but no indication of the size of the piece. The cut pieces are not labeled with letters, although the diagram does include letters. And so it's taking a substantial amount of guess work and study to get the pieces placed where they belong. After more than an hour of sewing, I finally had the kitten's face finished.


There are still many pieces left to sew together the cup where this kitten will rest his weary bones. And I hope I'm not going to hurt anyone's feelings with my assessment of the instructions as "absolutely terrible," but I'm being honest. This is not a pattern for beginners. I'm making the smaller of the two quilts, and so some of the pieces are 3/4-inch square. In the image above, that includes the eyes and the little corner pieces below the nose. And there are so many more. It might be easier sewing the larger quilt blocks, but the instructions will still be terrible.

As I'm going, I'm labeling the pieces on the pattern instructions. When I'm finished, I'll add labels to the background pieces I've cut. And when I've finished this kitten, I'll cut the background pieces for Kitten #2. I won't actually make it until February's color is announced, but having the background pieces cut already will avoid me dragging my feet in anticipation.

Okay, so enough whining. I'm going to work on my slow-stitching to settle myself before starting the tea cup. There's not much more on today's agenda. It's probably a good thing.

1/3/25

Planning for the Future

Good morning, my friends. Not much was accomplished yesterday in the sewing room. Not much was accomplished in any of the other rooms of the house either. I said I was going to take it easy, but I approached new levels of laziness the likes of which the world has never seen. (I'm working on my hyperbole. It'll be important to keep up as we head into the future.) 

The one thing I wanted to finish for sure was the fourth block for the Merry, Merry Snowmen quilt. I needed to finish top-stitching the snowmen, and then I needed to hand-stitch their faces and sew on their buttons. When it was all finished, it looked like this:


Sadie was my helper cat yesterday. For all that I was lazy, she was ready to work.


When I laid out the four blocks on my design floor, she went straight to work inspecting them.


It's a good thing too because she noticed something on the third block, I hadn't seen. Do you see it?


I neglected to put the "point" on the exclamation point for the word "Joy!" Well. That was easy enough to fix. I stitched the word on my machine, and I'm sure I intended to add the dot by hand, but then forgot about it. So, thankfully, my cat caught it (she's good at catching things), and it's fixed now.


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


After that, she helped me read through the instructions for "The Sewing Room" BOM that starts up this month. You can find all the info right here.


I needed to pick a background fabric for the embroidered blocks. Usually, I would avoid something with a pattern like this, but the embroidery will go nicely with this floral background.


Generally, I avoid this sort of print because it can be hard to see to trace the design. Pinning it to the page and placing it on my lightbox, it was easy enough to see, and so I'll go with that.


And I can only assume I was struck color blind yesterday. Almost always, I trace my designs using a Pigma Micron .01 size pen using brown ink. Brown ink seems easiest to cover regardless of the color of floss I'm working with. So, I reached for the brown pen, but then realized I was tracing with black ink. Oh well. No biggy. When it was finished, I put the pen away, but then realized I'd forgotten to stitch the thread line below the word "needles." So I reached for the black pen this time, but then realized I'd chosen blue. Oy. Color blindness. It's the only explanation. When it was traced, and applique completed, it looked like this:


There is one button to be sewn on when the stitching is complete. I decided to go ahead and find an appropriate button while I was at it.


And then, I chose some floss from my vast stash of embroidery floss. She hasn't designated any colors, and that's just fine since I generally go my own way on these. These are the colors I'll need for this first block.


Now it's hooped up and ready to go.


For this project, there are 36 blocks total. Nine are embroidered, and the rest are pieced. My goal is to stitch one embroidered block and sew together three pieced blocks until they're all finished. Possibly, I'll start on this first block today, but I still have quite a ways to go on the "Bicycles and Lace" for the Girls' Getaway quilt. 


I'm nearly finished with the "Rosy Pink" bicycle now, but there's still one more to stitch when that one is finished.


I'd like to finish the bicycles first, but The Sewing Room could give me a little break.

It was too late in the day to start anything at that point, and so I looked ahead to my embroidery dance card. The "short" project is up next. I gave Mr. Random a chance to choose my next short project, but he chose something with Santas on it. And, I'm sorry, but I've had enough of Santa for the time being. I decided to choose my own project this time. I want to stitch the "Catmint" block that goes with Crabapple Hill's "Twilight Garden" quilt. I'm not making the whole quilt, shown in the left corner of the pattern, but I do like this one little cat block.


She had colors designated, but again...I'm trying to pick from my floss stash. I had two of the five colors listed, but the rest are substitutions. These should get the job done.


And for my last gasp in the sewing room, I selected the fabrics I'll use for the cup in this first block for the Kittens in Cups quilt


I'm doing this in the colors for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and January's color is pink. The polka dot will be for the cup, and the solid will be the cup handle.


I pulled some gray and white fabrics to make the cat, and I'll get started on this today. Since I haven't made these blocks before, I'm not sure how involved they are. Possibly I can finish it in a single day, but no promises.

So I have a couple of short housekeeping chores to do today, and I have a couple of paperworky things to take care of. Also, I need to make an appointment for a mammogram. What fun! I can hardly wait! If I'm lucky, maybe I can work in a colonoscopy too. Follow me for more entertainment ideas. 

So, there's plenty to keep me busy today. I think I've used up my lazy quota for the week. Time to get back to work. And, honestly, when sewing is the "work," how bad can it be?

1/2/25

Back to the Day-to-Day

Good morning, my friends. Isn't is great when the holidays are over? I like spending time with family and eating good food as much as the next person, but geez. I always reach January 2nd feeling as if I'm on holiday overload. I'll be glad to have the roads and stores less busy, and I'll be glad not to be making preparations for the next celebratory thing. Of course, there's lots to do between now and then, but I know my thoughts are going to be turning toward our trip to Alaska in May. Our departure date will be on us before we know it.

Keep in mind as I'm writing, that we can all feel safe knowing that Smitty is keeping an eagle eye out for invading forces. There's nothing to worry about my friends. The cat is on the job.

We had a good day yesterday, but it started early. Usually when I make a dinner for some kind of celebration, I plan things I can make ahead. And I could make some of these things "ahead," but only by a few hours. Virtually everything had to be done the "day of." So, I started out bright and early getting some Maple Baked Beans going in my slow cooker. I make them from Ina Garten's recipe. I've figured out, however, they can be done in a slow cooker instead of the oven, and that makes it easier for me. I follow the recipe through where she says to transfer the beans to a Dutch oven. Instead, I load them into my slow cooker, and then cook them on high for 6-8 hours. They can dry out, and so I check them occasionally and add more liquid as necessary. So delicious. 


Next up, I needed to bake this Apple-Cinnamon Upside Down Cake. And I don't know about you, but I love any kind of upside down cake. That gooey brown sugar stuff that ends up on top...mmmmmm...food of the gods. We had that with a little dollop of whipped cream.


Those were the most time-consuming parts of our dinner. There were also deviled eggs. Probably everyone has their own way of making deviled eggs. You can see how I make mine right here.


Next up, my new favorite recipe for copycat KFC Coleslaw. This is the image from the website.


We had a Flame Craft Ham purchased at the grocery store. My only job was to heat it up.


While that was heating, I made some copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. I gave Mike a choice between cornbread and these biscuits, and the biscuits won out.


So, you can see it was a long day in the kitchen. I had plenty of time for everything, but I was still a pooped pup by the end of the day. In all of that, I had just over an hour to spend in the sewing room. I used my time to do almost all the top-stitching for Block 4 of the Merry, Merry Snowmen.


I still need to stitch around the white snowmen, and then I'll need to do some hand-stitching of their faces. The larger snowman also has a few buttons to sew on.

There should be no problem finishing up that block today. After that, I think I'll get to work on my monthlies. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm doing the Kittens in Cups for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year.


Also, I'll trace out the first block for The Sewing Room BOM from Jenny of Elefantz. You can find all the info about her new BOM right here. There is some applique involved in this year's project, and so that will need to be done first.

Next up on my list of WIP's is to make the final four blocks for the Scrappy Plus quilt project.


I might start there, but I'm more inclined to get a start on the baby quilt I'm making for a friend, if for no other reason than I have all the supplies piled up in the sewing room, and I want to get them out of the way. Besides...baby quilts are fun, while the Scrappy Plus blocks are a painus in the anus. I do like those blocks, and I'll love that quilt. Nevertheless, I'll be glad to have the blocks finished. And since it's time to choose a project for January's 


My goal will be to finish the final four blocks for the Scrappy Plus quilt.

So, I'm happy to be staying home for the next several days. I'm in need of some down time. Probably I'll get in a workout today, but mainly, I'm going to take it easy. Who's with me?

1/1/25

Welcome to 2025!

 Good morning, my friends, and...


I hope y'all have recovered from last night's celebration. As for us...we were in bed and asleep by midnight. We're old. We probably rang in our last new year with the new millennium. It's all been downhill from there. Now, they just flip the calendar page without us. I doubt we'll be around to usher in the next millennium.

On that happy note, I'll say I gave myself a lazy day yesterday. Today will be spent mostly in the kitchen. I have cooking to do for our celebratory ham dinner. I'll say more about the food tomorrow. As for sewing, my lazy day included selecting a background fabric for the 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I selected the pattern several weeks ago. This year's project will be the Kittens in Cups pattern from Lorna McMahon.


The pattern includes instructions for a "baby quilt" or a large quilt. I'll be making the smaller of the two. Probably I'll add some borders to it, and that will make it a little larger. Picking through my stash, I decided to use the fabric below for the background. It seemed as good as anything. January's cup will be pink, and I'll get started on this within the next couple of days.


Yesterday's sewing started my journey through my list of WIP's. First up was to make the fourth block for the Merry, Merry Snowmen...this one:


Smitty was my helper cat. He was disappointed we weren't starting on the Kittens in Cups. He has some impurrtant input about any quilt that includes cats. Of course, his opinion is always appurreciated.


The first step is to piece together the background. I added the peeking snowman in the lower right corner so that I could catch it within the seam allowance.


And then I went ahead with the rest of the applique. It will have both hand and machine embroidery, and I'll be sewing on a couple of buttons. When it was finished, it looked like this. When I can get back to my sewing room, I'll top-stitch the applique and finished sewing in the rest of the details.


Heading back upstairs, I found Sadie like this:


She gave herself a lazy day too.

So, like I said, I'll be spending most of the day in the kitchen. Good food is a good way to kick off the new year. I hope y'all have something good planned for yourselves. If you're a football fan, then I hope your team wins. Happy New Year, everybody! Let's make it a good one.

12/31/24

2024: The Year in Review

Good morning, my friends. The day has come to say good-bye to 2024, and to ready ourselves for 2025. I remember when I was a kid and the year 2025 would have seemed too futuristic even to contemplate...and yet, here we are. It's only turning a page on a calendar, but somehow New Year's Day seems filled with anticipation. We're looking forward to heading to Alaska when the weather warms up some, and we will celebrate 50 years of marriage in May. 

As for today, there was a beautiful red sky this morning.


When the sky lightened up some, we had a pretty view of the mountains. You can see Mt. Rainier to the left of Mt. St. Helens, but it's partially hidden by a cloud.


We had grocery shopping to do yesterday. Mike needed to meet some guys doing work on our fifth wheel in the afternoon, and so we were up and out fairly early. It was busy, but not as busy as the days leading up to Christmas. Probably, I'll take it easy today. I'll be spending most of tomorrow in the kitchen. For the past several years, we've rung in the New Year with a ham dinner. It's not a big elaborate feast, but we're having the neighbors up, so I figure I'll serve them something better than the usual slop. 

Despite going grocery shopping, there was some time for slow-stitching in the morning, and I took the first stitches on the "Rosy Pink Bicycle."


After we'd had some lunch and Mike left for his meet-up, I made my way to the sewing room. As you know, I was considering starting on a baby quilt. There's really no hurry on that since the baby hasn't even been born yet. My personal experience with the loss of a newborn infant makes me a little reticent to tempt fate in that way. Probably I'll hold off for at least another week or two. 

Instead, I decided to follow the path set out by my whiteboard. Next up was to sew together the quilt blocks for Joy in the Ordinary. This was 2024's free quilt pattern from Jenny of Elefantz. It might not be free any more, but you can find it in her Etsy shop. By the way, she's doing a new one in 2025. I always enjoy her free stitcheries. You can find The Sewing Room fact sheet right here

So here are my completed blocks:


I wanted to sash them and give them a border or two. Perusing my fabric bins, I ended up with these fabrics...all long-time residents of my stash. The aqua hexi print could be a back. I had just over a yard of it, but it had a rather large hunk cut from one of the corners. The other two would be used on the top. 


That aqua batik was from the cut off edges of Wind in the Whiskers, finished several years ago.


Sometimes there's quite a bit of fabric left when a quilt is squared up. It always makes me feel smug when I can find a way to use it. In this case, I used it for some narrow sashings and a stop border.


And then, I added a floral border, and I had myself a finished quilt top. It ends up at 34 x 42 inches.


There was enough width of my backing fabric, but not enough length. And so I used these two fabrics to piece together a back for it. These fabrics fall under the heading, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." I like both these fabrics, but I've had a hard time using them. They seem like a good choice to represent something ordinary that brings me great joy.


And then I chose this pastel stripe for the binding strips.


Probably, I'll be quilting this one fairly soon, but I'm on to my list of WIP's now. Today, I'll get to work making Block 4 for the Merry, Merry Snowmen. This one is less complicated than the previous one, but these still take quite a bit of time.


So that pretty well covers yesterday's activities. Let's just see what was accomplished in a year's worth of quilt-making. There were 23 quilts finished during 2024, which is fewer than the 32 finished in 2023. My excuse is that we traveled for three months of the year, and so I only had about nine months of sewing to work with. A lot of 2024's quilts were small quilts and art quilts, and so it's not as impressive as it might sound.  

January started with 26 projects on my list of WIPs. December will still end with 23 on the list. Any time I can end the year with fewer than when I started seems like a victory. There are 3 sets of finished blocks, ready to be sewn into quilt tops, and there are 14 quilt tops sewn together, and awaiting quilting. For every set of finished quilt blocks removed from my list of WIPs, I start a new project, and so I have only myself to blame if I can never get my list of WIPs lower than about two dozen. And, honestly, is there a single one of us that won't run out life's clock with a few unfinished projects on the shelf? 

Here comes the parade of finishes for 2024:


Birdie Bungalows
pattern from HKNeedlework Designs
made for Project Quilting Season 15 prompt "Bird House"
started 1/7/24 and finished 1/10/24
24 x 15 inches
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Dwell in Possibility
Embroidery pattern from Gingiber
15 x 15 inches
Started 5/25/23 and finished 1/15/24

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French Roses
pattern by Heather French
hand tied and washed to rag
60 x 60 inches
started 11/2/21 and finished 1/18/24

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 Sunset Sail
for Project Quilting 15.2 "Sky Color" prompt
14.5 x 16 inches
started and finished 1/21-22/24

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Ring of Fire
Created for Project Quilting Season 15.3 “Inside Out” prompt
10 x 10 inches
Started and finished 2/6/24
~~~


Fall Flannel Four-Patch
Started 2/1/24 and finished 2/7/24
56 x 72 inches

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Joined by Thread
design from Leanne Knell
hand embroidery
started 7/23/23 and finished 2/15/24
12 x 12 inches
~~~


Time Flies
Created for Project Quilting Season 15.4 “Hourglass” prompt
12 x 12 inches
Started and finished 2/18/24

~~~


Starburst
Created for a Free motion quilting 
video series by Angela Walters
started 1/3/24 and finished 2/21/24
52 x 42

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Hanging the Christmas Lights
12 x 12 inches
started 10/18/23 and finished 2/21/24

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Bumble Sampler
pattern from Kathy Schmitz
started 11/22/23 and finished 2/22/24
15 x 17
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Tin Cup Store
An art quilt for The Endeavourers art quilt group
“Vintage” prompt
Started 6/3/24 and finished 6/17/24
18 x 22 inches

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Blackwork Baskets
Pattern by J. Michelle Watts Designs
53 x 53 inches
Started 12/21/21 and finished 6/25/24

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Tiny Hearts
a stitch-along from Meg Hawkey for International Embroidery Month
started 2/1/24 and finished 6/27/24
13 x 15 inches
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Catnip
From the Catnip panel by Moda fabrics
67 x 67 inches
started 4/16/22 and finished 7/20/24

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New Mexico Kitchen
pattern by Pam Wolf  
started 3/27/20 and finished 8/31/24
52 x 66 inches

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"Spices" Saffron Crocus
an art quilt for The Endeavourers art quilt group
started 8/9/24 and finished 10/1/24

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Shop Hop 2.0
a memory quilt of quilt shops I've visited
started 5/23/20 and finished 10/26/24
67 x 67 inches

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Beach Bums
pattern by JoAnn Hoffman
33 x 43 inches
started 10/9/24 and finished 11/17/24

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"Mosaic"
challenge quilt for The Endeavourers Art Quilt Group
started 11/6/24 and finished 11/19/24
12 x 18 inches
Just a peek for now
Reveal will be 2/1/25

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Color My World
free pattern from American Quilter's Society
42 x 42
started and finished 11/19-24/24
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Calendula Patterdrip's Cottage
pattern by Meg Hawkey, Crabapple Hill Studios
hand embroidery started 11/16/20 and finished 12/22/24
67 x 73 inches
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Phenology
pattern from DartmoorKin
started 8/23/24 and finished 12/29/24
16 x 16 inches

~~~

Okay, so it's getting very close to the hour when we bid adieu to 2024. Let's all meet back here at this time in 2025. Be careful out there tonight. Don't celebrate too hard. As for me, I'm still trying to decide what to wear to my living room tonight. Honestly, I might not even go.


Happy New Year's Eve, Everybody!