Category Archives: miscellaneous

Diamonds, Diamonds and More Diamonds

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Not a lot of stitching has been done this week, although I now have enough diamonds joined into pairs to start the next round on the scrappy star top. As the scrappy star has grown, I’ve found it easier to put them together into pairs and then, once the placement is figured out, join the pairs into sets for each of the 8 segments.

It’s definitely looking like fall now.

This birch tree has now lost almost all its leaves.

This is a shot of Queen’s Park, a park near our building. Some of the trees still have their gorgeous fall colours.

Baxter was watching me stitch. We think this is his Morris look.

Stars…Again

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These 4 blocks have also been bumped up the list to be finished. The lime batik I’ll use to set them is ready and the little quilt top should be done in no time. The blocks have been sitting for ages and the lime batik is washed and ready.

It has been quite a week around here. Last Thursday and yesterday, Mr. Q.O. had cataract surgery. The difference is absolutely incredible. He can basically now throw away his old glasses and use drugstore readers. I was able to sit with him in the pre-op area until the doctors came to get him and the nurse told me as soon as he was out of surgery – less than 15 minutes. What an amazing process! The nurses in the pre-op and recovery room were wonderful and we both got a hug from one of them as we left.

Baxter sprawled out under a desk yesterday afternoon. It really doesn’t look like he could possibly be comfortable, but this is how he likes to sleep.

Pink, pink and more pink

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Notice a common element in these pictures?

Joseph’s Coat melons.

And more melons.

A multi-tone quilt.

A two-colour quilt.

Chintz Circles quilt.

A teddy bear quilt.

The answer may be that there’s a lot of pink to be seen in all those photos.

And now? Now I have a pink purse that has decorative melons on it. There’s a bit of a story to this. Earlier this summer, in one of the leather goods stores downstairs, I saw another pink purse and was quite taken with it but didn’t buy it when I first saw it. When I finally decided to buy it, it was gone. Yesterday I saw this one in the same store and immediately bought it. Didn’t hurt that it was on sale. Now I know there was a reason I didn’t get the one I saw earlier in the summer. This one is absolutely perfect for me. It’s pink, it has melons that make me think of Joseph’s Coat and Chintz Circles and — well, it’s pink!

Baxter wasn’t particularly interested, although I have a feeling if I left it where he could get it I’d find some kitty tooth marks. This is one of his favourite poses when sleeping and one that always make us laugh.

Fabric Choices

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The weekend plan includes making some blocks using these fabrics. There’s an idea for a small quilt that’s begging to be made so last night I pulled some batik and hand-dyed fabrics that will be in the 12 blocks I plan on making. I’m planning to stitch them on the machine and am hoping that I can get all 12 done quickly and then put the little top together. There are a lot of tiny HSTs (half-inch ones, actually) in each block. I may decide to use a black fabric instead of the white.

My plans for the long weekend are almost all quilt-related. Along with the blocks mentioned above, there’s one quilt I want to get quilted (machine quilting), a top I want to finish and perhaps get basted, a top I want to baste and perhaps start the quilting of and a few design ideas I’m dying to play with.

While putting the fabrics out on the board to photograph, a little helper arrived to investigate.

Baxter seems to prefer to sleep with his front paws up around his ears. Makes us laugh every time.

Sunflower Fabrics & A Question

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Mr. Q.O. started picking out fabrics last night for sunflower blocks. So far these are the fabrics he likes, although the specific combinations aren’t settled on yet. These are going to be very vibrant sunflowers. There’s a stack of other fabrics that he’s still considering, so this group is bound to grow.

I’m getting ready to do some machine piecing this weekend, as well as some machine quilting. Yes, I said I’m going to do some machine piecing. I went through the Jinny Beyer Album of Patchwork Patterns and found a few blocks that will be quick (I hope) to make by machine.

Which brings me to the question. When I started to wind a couple of bobbins, this happened. It isn’t the first time that thread has wound on to a bobbin like this. Last spring when I went to Creativ Festival, I talked to one of the vendors in the Pfaff booth about it and she suggested that I hook the thread under the thread guide as it fed to the bobbin while winding. That clearly didn’t work for me. Does anybody have a solution to this? I have a Pfaff 1472.

Two Baxter photos today. A few minutes before this photo was taken, he was tearing around playing with toys, leaping on furniture and then, all of a sudden, he was sound asleep on the kitty scratcher which is also being used as something to chew. I don’t think it’s going to be long before it has to be replaced.

Earlier in the day, I got this shot of him in Mr. Q.O.’s computer chair.

A Baxter Day

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It was just too hot to stitch yesterday. While we have air conditioning and the apartment isn’t hot, the heaviness of this incredibly hot, humid weather made holding a needle and fabric and stitching unattractive. I can’t believe I just said that!  Today is supposed to be even worse.

I love this picture of Baxter. It really shows off his amazing eyes. He has been gazing at the sewing table. I think I have to clear it off this weekend completely as there’s fabric on there and he has proven that he loves to chew on fabric.

This is how Baxter beats the heat — sprawled out on the couch. We’ve been putting ice cubes in his water bowls to ensure his water stays cool longer.