The Other Summer Block

Finally making progress on these blocks.

It started with one more trip to the fabric store.  I found the green I really liked, but also came across a light blue we liked even better.  I bought some of both (heck, at this point I've over-bought so much fabric for this quilt, what's an extra yard again?).  Once we looked at the green in daylight, I'm really glad I bought the blue.  It goes with the quilt so much better.  As for the green?  Still love it.  I bought a quarter yard a couple of months ago just because I liked it, so I know I will use the additional 3/4 yard I have now.

Shattered Kites

This quilt was so much fun.  I'm thinking of making another scrappy one like it, with each kite a different color.  But my project list is so long... it may be a while before I can get to that.  In the meantime, here's my finished Shattered Kites.

After some debate, I skipped adding any borders and went straight to binding.  I'm happy with that effect.  It just kind of ends; your attention is drawn towards the middle, not the edges.

I planned to quilt straight lines over the yellow (although I worried it would show off the not-quite straight sashing), or stitch-in-the-ditch around the kites.  I didn't want a busy quilt pattern, since the kites were already busy enough.  I ended up quilting straight lines centering on a cluster of kites.  I wasn't thinking at the time that the stitching would be parallel to the yellow, which is what I was trying to avoid.  But look!  It's straight!  How did I manage that?

Cool Cannoli

Cannoli has been loving the ice packs this summer.  I have tried them on my guinea pigs before without much success.  My pigs would look at them suspiciously and carefully avoid getting close.  Only on a really hot day did the promise of cooling off overcome their distrust.

This spring I found a couple of large ice packs in the basement; each fit nicely into a cozy.  I have two cozies that are all cotton (no fleece lining).  These are great to keep the ice pack clean, plus it keeps curious pigs from taste-testing the plastic.  The cozy also absorbs the sweat from the ice pack as they defrost.  Cannoli seems to really like the cool damp of the covered ice pack.  I will often find her perched on top of it.  I also find her often like this, half-on/half-off with her toes pinched together.  (Doesn't she look smug?)

Three Quilts in Progress

I have three quilts in the works (well, technically four if you count the snowflake blocks stashed away).  I think it's a new record - usually I have no more than two things in motion at a time.

First - my obsession.  I've finished and squared the kites.  I had planned to add a couple of inches of green as a border, but now that I have it cut, I may just bind it as is.  I am swinging between a green or yellow binding.  The yellow really frames it, but I think the green may be better.  The edge just fades away and your attention is drawn to the middle.

I am loving this quilt.  I need to find wall space to hang it when it's done.

Lots of Kites

Good grief, I have become obsessed with this quilt.  I'm working on it every spare moment I have, even in the morning before work.  The more I work on it, the more excited I get over it.  I love projects like this.

I started this last week along with the triangle string quilt (that is now on hold).  I sewed together all the little pieces I had in my scrap bag.  I ended up with three large multi-colored blocks and a few long, thin pieces.  These blocks looked so nice that I nearly quilted them as they were.  But I stuck to my plan and cut them into 35 kites.  Only a few small pieces made it back into the bag for my next scrappy project.

Happy Birthday, Boadicea!

According to the paperwork that came with Boadicea, she's two years old today.

Boadi has been with us for a little over six months.  She settled in quickly, and is more at home with us than Cannoli.  She likes humans, often coming to the edge of the cage for nose scritches and attention.  She rules the roost, although Noli isn't a total pushover.  Bickering appears to be one of their favorite pasttimes.  They follow each other around for floor time and Cannoli searches for Boadi when they're separated, so I know they get along even if there's more fuss than my other sow pairs.

Strings and Scraps

While my summer quilt is on hold, I started working on some other projects.  My collection of scraps and strings have been growing and I'm looking to put a dent in it.  First is a sting project.  I've never done an equilateral triangle quilt - we'll see how it goes!  I have also never used selvage strings before.  So this project has two new elements in it.  I'm skimpy cutting off the selvage edge of my fabric; I may have to start cutting a wider edge if I want to make more of these.  By the time I stitch on the next color, I've hidden all of the pattern.  But I like the way they're looking so far.

The foundation material was part of the Key West stash my mother gave me.  It was a plain lining material from a dress in the collection.  Everything had been kept in a trunk in my parent's basement, packed with mothballs.  Each time I iron the triangles, I can smell that trunk - and makes me think of my mother and grandmother.  I know plenty of people who would wrinkle their nose at that scent, but it makes me smile as I iron each piece.

Flying Leaps

Floor time is fun.  But the best floor time is when I clean the cage.  Boadicea loves to come over and check out the upper levels as I pull the cage apart.  Cannoli usually hangs behind.  But this time, Noli led the charge to check out the upper levels.  They were pretty funny, burbling all up and around the levels.

Boadicea bailed first:

She's hard to see with that white butt against the light background.  Cannoli almost appears to be surprised by Boadi's departure.