Thanksgiving Report

 

The Thanksgiving Table before picture. We pulled out the extra leaf to make it longer, polished it up, got out the decorations and china.

I spent so much time ironing the napkins and table cloth. Regretting the choice of 100% cotton the whole time but still loving how it tuns out on the table. Next time I'm putting it in the dryer on the steam setting first. 

DS and Korben greeting my parents as they arrived. They hadn't been over since before Covid so it was a big deal.

Here's the three of us, picture credit to mom. My mom gave us these Thanksgiving aprons from a charity that she reports, one a year until we had three. She was pretty thrilled that we were wearing them. The blue thing on the wall is a NanoLeaf which responds to noise/music/etc.

This was the one and only food picture I took unfortunately, but that turkey was awesome. Diestel Farms never fails us.

My SIL's family joined us too and brought their dog, Ginger along. She had a good time running around with Meg chasing the cats. 

The End

Hope your day was great too!

Quilting Break Time

Well, I was trying to get some more quilting done today.

But my new studio assistant insisted that I take a break to pet him. Immediately.

He wasn't taking no for an answer.

I took off my quilting gloves and did enough scratching and scritching to make Korben happy.

He thoroughly inspected the Stitch Happens quilt.

There may be a few teeny tiny holes besides where the threads are going in and out, but I think that'll be okay.
 

A Finisher Ribbon And A Kitten

 

I meant to post this yesterday, but things got a little busy. This is the original Trinket finisher bonus block that's included in the 2019 pattern. It's a finisher ribbon and is very cute. The center bit is also able to filled up with small pieced blocks. I think I'll try one and see if I like how it looks before committing to doing a whole set of them.

Here's why we got a little busy, we adopted a kitten boy yesterday. Meet Korben Dallas, he's three months old and is a purr-machine. 

And very very good at hiding. 

So far Leeloo is not a big fan,, but Meg is welcoming and cautious.

Korben Dallas is the corresponding male character in the movie, The Fifth Element that Leeloo got her name from. 

Naps Suggested

 

Playing around with layouts for the Trinket quilt. This is a 14x14 arrangement. I kind of like this one.

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Another 14x14 arrangement. This features and highlights the paper pieced blocks more by centering and featuring them. Still not satisfied enough for the layout to begin sewing the blocks together.

My studio assistant has been offering helpful suggestions.

Mostly she's suggesting I take a break and maybe go lie down for a nap since I finished off quilting the Orange You Glad bullseye quilt. Which is apparently very comfy.

Definitely time to go back to napping.

Path Words

 

As I've been going along working on the Trinket blocks, I've found that I really have been enjoying using the fabric with words called "Path", as seen here in the HST block above. From far away it really "reads as solid." Also...the actual words are pretty cool, "Tonight is a beautiful day"

This is one of the Sunprints line which was from 2019. I have a collection of fabrics with words/typography and somehow missed buying these back then. I really liked how these prints "read as solid" when used in the blocks and felt that I needed some more of that happening in my Trinket quilt. I also had a couple spots missing in the color coverage (purple and blue).

I decided to search online to see if anyone was still selling this fabric four years later and I found The Trendy Little Geek shop still had 8 colors remaining on offer. I had to include this picture just because of LeeLoo's hilarious expression. I had just spoken to her and she was mad that she had been interrupted while inspecting the new fabric arrival.

I was really impressed with the super quick delivery and the very nice communication (and refund) about the small amount of sun damage that was on this pink piece. If you're looking for OOP Tula Pink or Alison Glass fabrics, check them out they have a lot of oldies. 

I also noticed this on their website: "April Hansen, the owner of this shop passed away May 12, 2021 from a 28 year lifelong battle with Cystic Fibrosis. This store will go on-because of her love for Tula Pink fabrics. Her inventory of current and retired fabrics is extensive." and am even more happy to have shopped with them.

That is it for fabric acquisitions for now, especially for the Trinket quilt, as I am now declaring that I have "enough".

Shifting Slopes

I counted and figured out how many blocks I made, 200 exactly. Which is funny because I know that I did not at all plan for an even number like that. Just ended up that way? Eleven of them aren't included here as they were mis-cut due to my problem with figuring out the trimming instructions. So, I probably shouldn't use them. A few of them are probably not that far off but I'm not sure if I want to try and fudge it with a design like this that relies on all the diagonals matching up.

I've left the main part of the layout mostly untouched and fiddled around with the edges a bit. I've introduced some diagonal stripes a bit and I'm considering playing with that a bit more across the whole quilt. I will try that as I move the blocks around. I also might change the dimensions of the layout, taking out a column and adding a row.

Leeloo squinching up her eyes in hello to DS as he makes comments on the quilt in progress. He likes it a lot, so maybe I'll give this one to him when it's all done.
 

Magnolia Sunday

We're having a super bloom on the small magnolia tree I planted years and years ago.

The entire tree is absolutely covered in blooms. Normally there aren't so many so it's very striking.

I love how the blooms come first and then the leaves follow afterwards.

They really are extraordinary trees.

This tree hasn't been struggling exactly, but it has been a bit more shaded than it probably should have been as we allowed an enormous butterfly bush to take over the nearby airspace. A lot of that plant has been taken out now, so maybe the magnolia will expand.

I'm really glad that I planted this magnolia, it looks so pretty against the darkness of the redwood grove behind, and the neon green of the new growth on the buckeye to the right.

And a bonus Alex + Meg shot from yesterday at parent's house. We were helping cut up and move a big sycamore branch that had fallen down in the storms. Their fence was being repaired as well, because part of it was blown down in the storm, along with three other homes in the neighborhood. They just hired the dudes that were working on the other fences. 

Happy Cat-ur-day

 

Time for a Cat-ur-day update, our new kitten is doing very well. Leeloo Biscuits is her name, and monitoring all water pouring in the house is her game. She's obsessed with all things sink-related and loves to nap in the tile shower.

She survived the visit of my brother and two of his kids. This is a selfie Charlotte took of herself with Leeloo.

They have a cat of their own, so they were super calm around Leeloo which helped a lot. Milo liked how soft she was.

She loves lying between my feet.

She and Meg are still working out their relationship, but so far they're doing pretty well.

She's named for Leeloo Dallas in the sci-fi movie The Fifth Element, don't you see the resemblance? She is rather orange in her shading.

No Name Yet

So exciting! We got to meet our new kitty yesterday at the animal shelter. She's an Abyssian mix, so she has these incredibly long elegant legs but she is so very tiny. They think she's likely 10 months old. I forgot to take pictures while she was exploring the get to know you room, at one point she jumped up on the counter and was curled up in the sink. So these are of her after they stuck her back in her cage setup. 

Currently her shelter name is either Lavender or Basil, but we will likely change that, not that she'll really care of course. We get to pick her up after she's had her spay surgery. We can't wait to introduce her to Meg who's been pretty lonely since Spike's passing in December.

As you can see, she's going to fit in just fine around here.
 

Farewell Spike

 

R.I.P. Spike, eighteen years wasn't enough with you. Named after a cool and cranky vampire, he lived up to his name.

And now we find ourselves cat-less for the first time ever :( 

Meg's Dream Finally Comes True

 It was a day she always knew was coming, she never gave up hope.

Someday there would be a pancake just for her.

And when that day arrived she couldn't believe it.

She waited to make sure that this was really a pancake meant for her.

And then she ate it up in a few bites.

The Happy Ending We All Deserve