Sunny Love

I've been at war with myself all afternoon.  Do I send friends to SewCalGal's site and beg them to shamelessly vote for Sunny as crowd favorite best of cats on quilts?  Then I saw a post from Sue reminding everyone that voting is open to everyone even those that did not participate in the Pet's on Quilts show.  So that means if you want to share the love for my handsome boy and possibly win us some quilt stuff - not to mention have my undying happiness forever, you'll head over there right now polls are open until Midnight Pacific Standard tonight.

I know I'm shameless, but can't you see how tired Sunny is?  We went to every single entry, okay I did - he mostly laid around the hallway sleeping.  But I didn't vote for myself and I thought that was quite upstanding.

To vote click this link which will take you directly to the proper post on SewCalGal's site. Sunny is #71 for those wishing to vote for him leave a comment saying I vote for # 71, or whichever one you'd like.  There is a category for dogs, cats, other pets, Art Quilt, and EQ Quilt so you can vote selecting your own choices one per category.  And while my DH might claim Sunny is mostly dog...  I'm certain he's a cat.  There are over 400 posted comments there, so don't worry you're going to the right place.  Thanks!

Pets On Quilts Entry

This post has a second title and that is:

Sunny's Bad Day

FYI, Sunny is safe and as sound as he ever is now.  The morning of August 11th I was sleeping in, happily curled up under a quilt of my own making I pepped open one eye when my 6 year old daughter came running in.  "Daddy Lost Sunny and now he's outside!"

Say what?  Most of that went right into and out of my sleep fogged brain.  But I heard the words; lost, Sunny, outside and that was more than enough to have me pushing myself up from the bed. I tried to think clearly while convincing DD to explain it to me.

Eventually I got the whole story.  It was pouring down rain that morning and as our yard had just been mowed my DH went to check the neighborhood drains to make sure the rainwater was draining away instead of clogging up.  He came in and closed the door behind him.  As DH went into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee he heard our infamous Sunny digging in the litter box.  After a bit of early morning putzing DH went to the mud room and was alarmed to find the front door wide open.    Seems the door hadn't quite latched.  DH went outside and looked around - no sign of anything.  So he closed the door (for real this time) and started a systematical search of the entire house.

Some of you already know Sunny is a special needs cat.  He had two operations before he was a month old due to an upper respiratory infection that went to his eye, which sadly is somewhat common in feral neonatal kittens.  Sunny is not all there at least part of the time.  He has spent at least part of his past 7 years trying to get back under our house where we found him.  Back to his mother (who was hit by a car and died a handful of years ago) and his mute brother (who died while Sunny himself was undergoing medical treatment for his eye).

I adore my Sunny, he lights up my days and makes me laugh so I was quick to become the crazy woman standing at the door in my pj's yelling "Sunny, Sunny!" out the back door.  I spent the day looking out the windows for my red fur ball, and DH was out searching whenever the rain would let up.  

Thankfully he was found around 3 that very afternoon, rolling around in my neighbor's driveway.  DH brought him to me and placed him in my arms.  He is a Maine Coon Mix so he was completely dry except for some very dirty wet feet.  But Sunny seemed inclined to stay in my arms and I'm not the type to wash a cat that has only just found his way home.

You'd think that would be the end of the story.  Cat returns home, everyone's happy.  But instead the tale goes on.  Sunny seemed to be more sort circuited than ever and would leave me only to get a drink or a snack out of his food bowl.  He seemed to get lost trying to come back to me and would call out crying.  I would call back to him and unlike his normal laid back personality that only comes when called sometimes, the new Sunny would come running and sit with me for hours.  Maine Coon cats don't often speak and when they do they have a low rip your heart out sort of voice.  That's what my Sunny sounds like.  This behavior went on for about four days, he even took to sleeping with us.  Let me tell you I love him but it wore a little thin.  Especially as he would sit on the floor in the kitchen while we were eating dinner look up at one of us and cry.  When he would jump down from my lap I began to wonder how long it would be before he would start crying again.  And crying it was - long and low and sad.  Thankfully after the 3rd day it started to lessen and now he's returned to his normal self.  I can't tell you how glad I am that everything is back to normal.

My friend Vicki told me about GPS and radio pet collars that allow you to track your pets.  I think Sunny needs one.

The Quilt Sunny is laying on is Patisserie Waltz and it's my daughter's quilt which I finished this spring.  The Quilt is traditionally called a Tennessee Waltz, as it uses both snowball blocks and the fight star block.  All I know is that when I saw that pretty Patisserie fabric I knew it had to be a quilt for DD.  Then I saw Eleanor Burns making this particular quilt on her show and I knew it was the perfect answer for this fabric.  My DH is a whiz with acrylic and made the triangle templates I needed and everything went together lickity split, of course until I tried to use fusible batting but that's a different story which you can read here.

That's my entry to SewCalGal's Pet's on Quilts Show.  So often we read sad stories online and never find out how the ending resolved.  Well let me tell you what this white pawed boy is staying inside with me!

Spring Quilt Festival 2011

Lollipop Baby Quilt

Welcome fellow bloggers!  I love doing Amy's Quilt Festivals and this time is no exception.  Normally I show off a large quilt but this time I'm going to show something a bit smaller.  This is my modifications to Moda's Lollipop Quilt.

This quilt was a challenge, because while I wanted to keep the concept of the original design, I wanted to make it into a baby quilt instead of a wall hanging. This kit was plenty generous with fabric so I only needed to add a new backing fabric.  The next challenge was the colors.  I don't usually work with fabrics like these, I'm more of a bi-color quilt girl, or even a single color, I like order to my quilts and I tend actually have to work harder to force a scrappy look, vs. if I had just gone with the yardage my fingers couldn't resist.

This quilt was one I made while working on the Freemotion Quilt-a-long, so I had both that quilt and this one going at the same time.  What a rush having my sewing machine tuned just right!  When I feel the fear of how in the world will I quilt this coming on I can just look at my quilting and say, hey there's an option here somewhere.  Do you have an inspiring quilt like that?  Well I'd love to hear about it, so drop me a comment.  I know you're busy hopping the Festival so I'll let you get back to it.  

I love when the binding gives just the right touch!

As always happy Quilting! 

SewCal I can Do it! Christmas Quilt Show

LOL!  When SewCal did her pets on quilts I was so fussy over my photos that I couldn't just settle and enter already.  Well she's doing it again.  This time is a Christmas Quilt Show and that I can do.  Sheesh how many Christmas Quilts have I made!?!?  Wish I'd been keeping track after almost 3 years of quilting I can't even tell you how many I've made.  Opps!  I'm bird walking aren't I?

I highly recommend you visit her blog and check this contest out because the sponsors she rounded up!  WOW!

Row Robin Front

Now on to my entry!  This is the Christmas Row Robin Quilt.  I hosted Jan. 2009-July 2009.  The theory was that would allow more than enough time to get it quilted in time for Christmas.  Well I the hostess missed it and my quilt wasn't ready for Christmas 2009.  That fact must have put a bee in my rear because I did finish it for this Christmas.

Quilting Detail

This is freemotion quilted with Hearts and Loops in blue thread.  I should have gone with white or at least a thinner thread but I didn't so look out 40wt blue because it showed all of my flaws, but I think that's okay.  I loved putting it away with the other Christmas things this past summer and am looking forward to putting it back on my wall shortly.

Back Before Quilting

I never took a picture of the back once it was quilted so here it is not quilted.  It is a reversible quilt and the missing picture surely must mean I was embarrassed by the quilting. Silly me.  Oh yes and that line of teal in the bottom row I fixed that before I basted it together and matched the seam because I knew I couldn't live with the strange miss-alignment there.

Reguardless of what my memories tell me about the quilting I am really looking forward to getting this quilt out along with all of my other Christmas items.  I decorate nearly every room in my home so I have at least two or three things that go in each room, I can hardly wait to see what this quilt looks like all decked out in the living room.

As a Lover of Christmas I joined in Sue's Christmas Quilt-a-long this year as well; I think I only missed one month and that was due to the crazy kind of headache that messes with your equilibrium.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the Show.

The 100 Inch Star

Sometimes we come up with a great idea.  Like this one I had...  Oh yes let's double a 50" pattern so we can have a star to cover my mother's entire bed!   When your brain tells you this is a good idea, take a second and think about what a 100" star looks like.  Okay well you don't really have to do that, instead you can try to look at mine.  Taking a picture of this quilt is like trying to have a nice conversation with my in-laws.  You think you've done it, you really do, but nope there's the zinger. 

The 100" Star

I have added a video clip especially for my fellow Fall Festival Quilt Visitors so that you may see this giant beauty. 



I made this quilt for my own mother two Christmas's ago.  It has a prairie point binding and the pattern, before I jiggered with it was called Wintergraphix Star by In the Beginning Fabrics.  It truly is 100" square designed for a Queen sized bed.   Now this not so little wayward quilt has come home to me (all the good ones do) and I have learned it wants to be a KING sized quilt.  I'm inclined to agree if only because this 16 point star could benefit from a bit of a drape down the sides thereby allowing the star line flat, shining on the top of the bed.

Tiny my Five year old Model

I am fully prepared to allow the prairie point binding to remain attached and visible in spite of the new 10" extensions.  How will I do it?  Well I guess you'll just have to check back in over the upcoming weeks to find out.

Thanks for Stopping by!

Blogger's Spring Festival 2010

So many changes have happened in each of our lives since the first Quilt Festival, perhaps you can spare a moment to share yours?

Both yesterday and today I have spent nursing a deformed butterfly for my 4-year-old daughter.  I feel like I've been through the wringer, but still I think it's important to participate in this Season's Quilt Festival as I have since it began.

My entry is The Cat Quilt, which my husband hung on the wall only yesterday evening. This quilt was my very first Block Challenge Swap. As I said naughty words over blocks that other Quilter’s had selected they were saying the same words about my cats. It has taken 6 months of thinking to put the blocks I selected into a quilt and I'm so glad to see it finished.

For me this quilt isn't just about the finish line, it's about the process. I was new to quilting when I started the swap and even as the blocks themselves increased in difficulty my own skills increased - Thank Heavens!

Happy Quilting!

Fall Quilt Festival 2009

Welcome to Sand and Sunshine, where you get a bit of both.  I'm so excited about this Fall Quilt Festival.  Amy gave out hints so I was able to give some thought to which quilt I would enter and here it is.

I try to make all of my quilts double sided especially baby quilts like this one.

My dearly beloved sister loves to put of buying baby shower gifts to the very last minute.  She also loves to have me make quilts for her to give away.  I try very hard to find the best quality softest flannel so maybe that's the appeal.  I haven't been able to say no to my sister yet, but this one was by far my favorite. 

My sister was the teacher's aid at a local elementary school last year and the teacher she was helping was expecting a little boy over this past summer.  I just had to include the embroidered letters and the pretty greens.

ABC's at 26 letters don't divide to make good dimensions for a baby quilt, so after hoping around looking at baby quilt photos on other blogs I made these stars.  Each expressing words of hope that parents have for each and all of their children.

When the quilt was finished I felt it was perhaps more of a toddler quilt for the years to come so I added this little receiving blanket too.

I asked my sister the other day how the mom and baby were doing and she told me she hasn't seen the mom since she gave her the quilts. So my two quilts are out there, hopefully keeping a little boy warm and safe. I like to think these two quilts are loved with every fiber they are made of. I'd rather seen it worn to tatters than hidden away for years.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Quilt Festival 2009

A bit of blogging this morning had me finding out about http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/quilt-festival-spring-2009.html It looked like so much fun I just had to join in. You're more than welcome as well! Check out the link above for the details. My favorite quilt, is my very first one. I drew up the pattern I would use before I even knew a thing about quilt blocks or seam allowances. I made it from my daughter's baby clothes. The cut off points don't matter, for me it's about all the memories, both of the past and of the future. In this quilt I found a part of myself that I had been missing for my entire life, and yet never knew. Sitting at the sewing machine allows me to reach through the generations to touch the people who having lovingly made quilts before me. Touching all of those fabrics, some outfits had been hand-me-downs and some not allowed me remember all of the joy of my daughter's babyhood and to peak into the lives of the wonderful women who had shared their children's things with me. I am blessed to have made this quilt. Working with bias square triangles and knits at the same time showed me how limitless quilting can be. When I started I was certain I would send it to a longarmer yet, when the time came, circumstances prevented it. Taking a deep breath I started machine quilting in my little Elna which has only a 6" throat, and you know what? It wasn't so bad! To this day that machine is still my favorite for quilting! Jessica playing peak-a-boo with her quilt.