Saturday, November 19, 2016

A Quilt Finished, A Living Room Unfinished

What is a living room called when you don’t live in it? It’s just another room, or in our case, a Room Under Construction.  I knew it wouldn’t be done by Thanksgiving, but I still have my fingers crossed for Christmas.

What I forgot about, however, is that instead of hosting Thanksgiving for our family (kids are married and go to in-laws, etc), we have Fiesta. Fiesta is on the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving, and everyone comes for Mexican Food (so, by the end of the month, we are sick of turkey leftovers AND Mexican food leftovers, LOL). But there will be no Fiesta this year. Because....

Yes, Alfie is inspecting (lower right)
This picture was taken a week ago. It took our contractor the better part of a working day to level out the sub-floor (long story having to do with the height of the cement base of the former hearth). But after this picture, he was able to get about 25% of the hardwood flooring down. The cats love to thunder around on this floor (subfloor and the new hardwood); their toys roll really well. This weekend we hope the living room flooring will be done and then we are expecting the custom cabinets and mantel to arrive, all of which will flank and surround the fireplace. That means Thanksgiving weekend will see a lot of activity of the construction variety, if not the family celebration variety.

In between painting the hallway walls, trim and doors (ongoing), I did manage to sew another litter of cats this week; the penultimate litter. Green. Now there is just one pink litter left to sew before Kitty Quilt #3 can be assembled. Why not join us over at Angela’s So Scrappy blog for Scrappy Saturday? The participants of this year’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge are all putting together their rainbow quilts!


If we ever have a Rainbow Scrap Challenge Slumber Party, Sally and I will be the ones sewing these kitties in our sleep!

This week I also finished a quilt. The quilting on Magic Carpet took For.Ev.Er. (It finished at 75x84”). After looking at several pictures of other finished quilts online, I realized that the color choices and piecing pattern would dictate what stood out and what receded, so I just  ended up choosing some basic quilting styles for each color.


I am not crazy about the lines on the bright pink, but they are staying. Other than that, I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  Below is a detail shot of some of the quilting I did. Keep in mind that I am a quilting hack. But practice makes better, and I’ve been getting a lot of practice lately. This quilt is also a finish for my Finish Along 2016 Quarter 4 goals. My list is here, and this is #5 on my list.


Now I am working on the quilt for my DIL Kim. I got half of it quilted yesterday and plan to finish the quilting (and maybe the binding) today.  This is also a Christmas present. I’ll do a separate finish post for this one later this week.


On Wednesday, my cousin Kim came over and we basted two quilts; the above orange peel and my RSC Sampler. I will start quilting the sampler this week and hope to finish it. If I can do that, I will begin on the final litter of pink kitties and baste my Cozy Christmas quilt this week.  Luckily, my new 25-yard roll of batting arrived last week, so I am good to go for the season.  :-)

I am on track to finish everything in time for Christmas gift-giving. Christmas presents for family will be quilts and gift cards, so that is covered. Presents for friends and neighbors are jars of apricot jam, prepped last summer. Nothing to decorate for Christmas (except put up a tree? that would be nice....)  So, all I need to do is keep the house relatively tidy and SEW. Not a bad prospect....

Cathy maroon

14 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see that Rainbow Cat Quilt all sewn together. It will be so beautiful. Personally I think you did a good job with the quilting of Magic Carpet. Congrats to you for finishing such a big quilt. ;^)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like those green cats... plaid! In fact I have an old ufo of plaid scotties. Gotta dig that out! The LR will be beautiful. The cats will mourn the loss of their playground but hardwood should be good toy rolling floors. I like fiesta. We are always just a party of two for holidays. In Tampa we had lots of friends but here people all go to family events only.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Considering your house is torn apart, it sounds like you're amazingly organized and prepared. Tell me more about your Fiesta! Do you do a pot luck, or do you usually prepare all the food? Happy Thanksgiving.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think your quilting looks great! I've not ventured into the FMQ world much, but keep putting it on my list at the beginning of every new year! Maybe it will happen in 2017. I love your green kitties and also that bright and happy pink and purple quilt! Too bad about your Fiesta, though - that sounds like fun. The remodel will be worth it in the end, though - just keep telling yourself that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Renovations and quilt construction, both advancing nicely!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow I love that magic carpet quilt design / it really pops!

    As to Fiesta, your living room looks like a construction pinata popped open! :)

    Well it's going to be wonderful in the end and you are enjoying some sewing as well...this set of kitties are so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ok. That does it. All that activity at your house AND construction too? AND you're on track for Christmas making? Yep. Wonder Woman.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the green kitties - they look ready to frolic!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I admire your fortitude with the house remodel. That's a lot of work. The kitties are so cute, I've loved every litter. Congrats on your finishes. Love the bright fabrics in your Magic Carpet quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love your Mafic Carpet. It could whisk me away to dreamland anytime. The green litter is penultimate you say. Will the final one be the pink ultimate? Your amazing energy and positive attitude is enviable. Have a happy Thanksgiving even if it includes painting.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love to see your projects. The magic carpet quilt is ... bold. The colors just grab you right in. Of course we love the kitties! I am going to be so glad for you when your house re-do is done.
    Happy Thanksgiving.
    xx, Carol

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm impressed that your cats play in an area taken over by workmen for part of the day. And I'm very impressed with your great attitude and productivity all at the same time!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I never tire of seeing you kitten blocks. The new living room is going to look awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a lovely quilt! Beautiful color too! On behalf of the 2016 FAL team of hosts, thanks for sewing along with us!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your visit to my blog and love your comments!