Folk Art Cats

Pine Ridge Quilter Laura recently posted a picture of folk art cats in a basket. Wow, I have that same picture cut out from a magazine that was printed back in the early 1990s - it's part of my inspiration folder. I made several cats to use for Halloween decorating. This is a really lousy picture of three of them (the other one I gave away).

I used a pair of my husband's worn-out wool pants for fabric, embroidery floss, and some bits of colorful wool that I bought years ago with no particular project in mind. These little guys aren't here for Halloween this year, which makes me sad. I get way too attached to things. But I did bring some black wool to make more if I get so inspired.

On Monday my sweetie and I were able to go in and see all of our belongings that are in storage (on this side of the Atlantic). The warehouse is huge, with these crates stacked up four high and then wrapped sofas and other odd sized objects lining up around the sides of the building. It was great to see our things are okay, at least at a cursory glance. We pulled out items that we are going to need in our unfurnished apartment, as well as the warm clothes. I didn't get to go through every box - we were working fast - but I think most of my quilts will be going to Paris.

I did actually nab one of my quilts out of a box, one in particular that Finn is very fond of. It's all scrunchy right now, so once I can get good pics of it, I'll throw those in. Coming soon to a blog near you. The quilt is scrunchy because I didn't fold it- I just smooshed the quilts into pillowcases. They certainly won't get creases and lose batting from always being folded the same way.

On Tuesday our air freight shipment arrived. So now I have not only my sewing machine and other sewing necessities including some fabric, but also my Halloween Houses quilt. I gotta get some kind of 3M stickies to hang the quilts temporarily on the wall.

Several of you asked what quilt shops Bonnie and I went to this weekend. First we went to Cottonseed Glory in Annapolis. It's not very enticing from the outside, but wow, it's crammed with great fabric. Then it was off in a rush to Seminole Sampler in Catonsville. They had lots of my beloved Bali Fabrications fabric as well as some other enticing hand-dyes. Both shops have friendly staff and give you an extra inch or two when they rip the fabric - something I always appreciate. [There's nothing like getting a stingy bit of yardage home and then losing another inch when you have to cut off the edges of the fabric where the threads pulled and you have all those white bits. You know what I mean.]

Lois asked what kind of yardage I bought. Well, I got all of the wavy stripe that was left on the bolt - about two yards. And that incredible purple that was in the same picture with it? Two yards. I bought four yards of a purple hand-dye that looks a lot like a fabric I absolutely fell in love with this year and couldn't get any more of. Two yards of an excellent orange hand-dye. These are the hand-dyes that the batik fabric makers make, know what I mean? Not an individual artist hand-dyeing. Fabrics I really liked, got a yard. Also did halves and a few thirds. Because most of the fabric I buy doesn't have a strong print, I can use them in all sorts of different quilts. That's one of those lessons I've learned.

Denise, sewing without templates or exact measurements is EASIER than being precise, at least if you can just relax and enjoy yourself. Tell yourself you are playing and don't worry about how anything turns out.