Two more done. I can’t wait to see the first few rows of this done and put together.
The backs:
Monday was somewhat better than the weekend as far as how we felt goes. The worst of this bug is the headache and muscle aches. Even sitting at the computer feels like work!
There were lots of leaves drifting about for the boys to watch. First Smudge:
Then Lester:
I wasn’t sure this block was going to work with the cream hexagon frame. I’m happy I was wrong on that score. I love the look of this one.
The back:
My POTC blocks have all been made with the Inklingo 1″ long hexagon shape collection. Sunday a new Inklingo collection for these blocks was released with 1.5″ shapes. The first thing I did was print out the shapes on various sizes of paper to use as my window templates when choosing fabrics. I was amazed at the difference that .50″ makes. All the fabrics I had picked out, thinking they’d work for blocks using that size, were prints/stripes that were just too small. So back to the stash for me to find some larger prints and stripes.
The weekend plans went out the window as both of us have come down with some sort of mild flu-like illness. Picking up the iron feels like I’m trying to lift weights, so my plans for ironing fabric and printing all the Harpsichord Quilt pieces is on hold for a few more days. Now I am ever so glad I have that box full of pieces all ready to stitch with no prep work necessary, so I can just pick out an envelope and stitch.
It was incredibly windy Friday night and Saturday so the cats were very busy. There are very few leaves left on the trees on the roof garden now. Lester resting after a busy weekend of leaf watching:
Smudge completely crashed.
… is now finished. Ten more blocks to go and then I’ll have enough for the lap quilt I have in mind.
The back, after pressing.
Thursday was a very busy day for the kitties on the windowsill. The gardener was here early in the morning with the leaf blower so they had to watch that. Then it got a bit breezy in the afternoon and leaves were falling off the branches at a rapid pace. Lester’s eyes got enormous every time a few leaves would fly by.
Smudge can’t just sit and watch. He has to be pacing back and forth along the window and sometimes batting at the window. He had to jump into a chair beside the window and have a bit of a rest at one point. It’s hard to get a good shot of him on the windowsill as he’s usually in motion.
This stack of fabrics are cut and ready to print either with octagons or squares for the Harpsichord Quilt. It takes no time at all to prepare to print as the Inklingo collection with these shapes gives suggested sizes of fabric pages, which I generally follow. Once I get all these pieces printed, I’ll have enough to keep me stitching for a few weeks.
It will take next to no time to get these all printed and then cut apart. All I need do is iron a few sheets to freezer paper, print, then re-use the freezer paper and print some more and so on until all the fabric sheets are printed. I plan to get these printed as well as more of the cream long hexagons for the Patchwork of the Crosses blocks this weekend.
Lester spent a fair bit of time on the windowsill on Wednesday so he was relaxing Wednesday night, stretched out on the sofa.
While Smudge had a real sleep.
One of the envelopes in the box I showed yesterday contained all the pieces for a Pink Ice block, so I got that started.
I finger press the blocks as I stitch so, although it’s not been pressed yet, you can see that when I do it will be a quick process. It takes only seconds to finger press as I go, and saves a lot of time at the ironing board.
Smudge, curled up having a snooze in the kitty bed, after another day of leaf watching on the windowsill.
Lester, reclining.
A few more hexagon rosettes were done over the weekend for the Aussie Hexagon Challenge. More will be made before the week’s out and then I’ll send them off.
The backs. They are so easy to make with lots and lots of lovely continuous stitching — and they press wonderfully.
I thought the migraine from last week would never leave. However, it finally did on Sunday. It’s this bizarre weather we’re having, I’m sure. It’s supposed to be amazingly mild most of this week. The longer the mild weather stays, the better.
The kitties were very busy chasing leaves as they flew by the window. Smudge was, I think, getting tired when we got this shot of him!
While Lester was incredibly alert.
.. is what this piece seems to be turning into. I think I’ll make as many more of these as I can with the pieces from the swap and then see what I can turn those into.
On Thursday, I got this shot of Lester on the windowsill. He had lots to watch as not only was the gardener here most of the day, getting the roof garden ready for winter, but it appeared most of the leaves on the tree directly in front of the living room window had turned yellow and were beginning to fall.
Smudge dozing. He’s saving up energy to chase leaves as they fly by the window over the next few days, I think.
I’m still not altogether sure where this is going but on evenings when I’ve got a raging migraine, which I had on Wednesday evening, it’s totally mindless stitching. The weather was incredible on Wednesday, unbelievably mild but rainy. It sounds like the next couple of days are more of the same.
I could not resist this photo. I caught Smudge as he was grooming, with his tongue out. 
Lester posing for the camera. It would be nice if I hadn’t managed to cut off the top of his ears but …
As each block is framed, it becomes my favourite. It’s going to be hard to pick the centre block for the quilt when I get to that point. The centre of this one seems to vibrate.
The back:
One of the many Inklingo charm swaps we’ve had was of the 2.25″ equilateral triangles from Collection 3. I’m not altogether sure where I’m going with this, but I have a feeling that this is going to work up into a lap quilt that may well be a Christmas gift for someone. I have no real plan on colour placement with this other than alternating light and dark/medium, but that may change as I put together more of the triangles.
Smudge lounging on the love seat.
And Lester caught mid-yawn on the couch.
Harpsichord block number 15 is now done. Only 139 to go. Only!? These are actually quite quick to stitch together, but I’m trying to work on some Christmas gifts at the same time which means, rather than getting 2 blocks done while we watched the baseball, only 1 was finished. 
This fabric was, I thought, perfect for the black octagons in the Harpsichord Quilt. I washed it and was stunned that the water was pitch black. Did a little research and read that soaking a fabric like this for 24/36 hours in plain cool water will draw out all the excess dye molecules. Did that. Water still pitch black. Rinsed it out and soaked it again, this time with a piece of plain cream cotton fabric. After a few hours, the water was again pitch black. The cream fabric didn’t pick up the dye, but it made me a bit apprehensive about using this in my quilt. To spend the hours it will take to hand piece this quilt and take the chance the black is going to spoil it when washed is just not a risk I’m willing to take!
And Lester on the windowsill — again. We’re supposed to have 3 or 4 days of quite mild temperatures so I think he’ll be enjoying the squirrel antics on the roof garden all week. Monday was rather mild as well and we were able to turn the heat off. 
Quilt Obsession 