Quilting the Cat

I am planning a quilt or, more accurately, trying to plane one. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now, but I’m not getting very far. I saw one design I liked, but it had a zillion little 1 ¼” squares and triangles, and, while I’m a good enough piecer to do it, I’m far too lazy. (I know that lazy seems the antithesis of a quilter because a quilt is fiddly and, as an old friend once commented, “takes the patience of an idiot,” but there are quilts, and then there are quilts.)


My real problem is that my eye for quilt patterns isn’t good. I want to see a pattern made from the very fabric that I choose. When you think about quilting patterns, you have to think in geometrics, and sometimes it's easier than others.

This particular fabric is quite unusual. I bought it in a little quilting store off the central square in Healdsburg in the Sonoma Valley. ( And, no, I wasn’t drinking at the time.) It is bright yellow and has black and white polka dotted chickens with bright red combs and legs running around on it. It makes me laugh and will be a great feature fabric. Not only that, but I had and also found coordinating fabrics in record time. I’ mean, we’re talking within a couple of weeks here whereas the other fabric I just finished finding the coordinating fabrics for, I bought a good year ago.

You'll have to mentally adjust for a slightly blurred, brushed effect to the fabric which is cat hair. I’ve got it spread out on the guest bed in my office where Elaine likes her afternoon snooze. You can see that she's a calico, so no matter what intensity or color the fabric, she has fur that will show up. 

The quilt isn’t going to really be a quilt, but a table topper for the kitchen table. I’d like it to have a sense of movement to it like the chickens are running madly around (which they seem to be to me). It will probably involve black sashing. I don’t have to use all the fabrics (the red flowered and green leaved pieces are from my stash and are under ¼ yard). The thing is, there’s no getting more of the chickens, and once it’s cut, it’s cut. Should I cut it in squares? Or in diamonds? (Yes, they’re the same shape, but they differ depending on which position is “up.”) Octagons would be good, but without a commercial pattern, I think that is beyond my skill level. I mean, the first step would be to use that graphed quilting plastic and draw and cut out a symmetrical octagon. Yeah, for me that’s difficult.

Here’s the great thing about planning a quilt. It’s something to think about when you either (a) have nothing else to think about or (b) have something else you want to avoid thinking about. Right now I’m working on a sequel to my paranormal thriller (Jaguar Sees: The Lacquer Box ( http://amzn.to/hUuFdS ). ( Please buy it if you haven’t already, and make all your friends buy it, too. I used to be too proud to flatly ask people to do things like this, but this is the low to which authorship has brought me.) Anyway, I’m working on the sequel which tends to be an addicting, obsessive activity, and planning a quilt is a great mental relaxation. Or vexation, I’m not sure which.
Anyway, I’m open to all ideas about quilt patterns. Also, come to think of it, all ideas for plot twists. Feel free to Comment.

Santa Rides Again

I know that the Christmas holiday is over, and it seems a little out-of-season to be writing about Santa Claus, but, you know, we all do what we can do, when we can do it.  Here is my story about my little Santa Claus. 

About a million years ago (okay, about 25 years ago) , I saw the most adorable pattern for a tiny stuffed Santa and Rudolf.  I bought some cute Christmas fabric and, even though stuffing is my least favorite craft activity, I made them up.  They were SO CUTE!  Being slightly (yes, really, only slightly) obsessive and because they were so cute, I made all the reindeer.  At the 5 & 10 – which, when they existed, were the most wonderful stores in the world  --  I found a small rattan sleigh.  I wrapped some tiny boxes (did I mention the slightly obsessive thing?), bought a tiny ornament sack labeled "reindeer feed," and Santa flew across the coffee table or book case every Christmas, in the past fifteen years witnessed by my children's dolls and stuff animals gathered under the tree.  However, the past few years, we were either in Russia or at Pumpkin and Pie Boy's house, and so Santa and the dolls stayed smushed in the plastic tub (yes, with cedar slats).

Last December we all barreled down to Disney World so just Steve and I were here for the holiday.  However, Pumkin and Pie Boy were here for Thanksgiving, so the next day I pulled out the tub the next day and put out Santa while they arranged the toys around the room (alllll around the room).  I was sad to notice that Santa's fabric was splitting down the middle of his back and his cotton beard, which I'd been vowing to replace for many years, was grayer and more more sparse than ever.  When I re-packed Christmas, I held Santa back for repair.

 I inserted a piece of Stitch Witchery under the bright cotton on his back, smoothed the fabric over it, and ironed.  This did a lovely job of fusing the fabric together.  Unfortunately, it also melted some of the stuffing, making Santa's back stiff as a board.  He now sports excellent posture.  I clipped his beard close and deep in the recesses of my linen closet found the old roll of bandaging cotton.  I don't think this stuff is even sold any more, and you certainlywouldn't want to use this particular roll (opened since 1982) for an open cuts or abrasions or anything really.  I don't think I've even used it for crafting since Santa's first beard.  There it was, though, cleverly forgotten in the back beyond.  I cut a piece, glued it in place andpulled and fluffed it. 

Santa is repaired!  The man, the myth, the jolly old elf rides again in his full glory!  And he's still really cute.

And, for a fuller picture, here's Santa, Rudolph and Cupid -- 'cause what's Christmas without a little love.

(Lookit me!  *puffs with pride*  I uploaded pictures!)