Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Twilight Block quilt done ,pink/brown Star Struck done, teaching quilting and what kind of bird is this?

I was in a swap on Yahoo. This swap was called Twlight Swap. Only black, red, gray or white were allowed. The blocks were 12" finished. I made another block to replace the "odd" one in the next picture. It just did not play well with the others.

Anyway, the quilt measures a perfect 60" square. Hubby's artistic eye says it is done. I will leave it on the wall for awhile to see if anything hits my artistic eye. I think it is done too.
I need a bigger or another designwall. It ends up being a catchall for leftovers.

There was a small bit of gold in the black fabric which was a no no. It just did not make the cut for me.

Does anyone out there know what kind of bird this is?
The poor thing kept flying into the window. It was all by itself. I saw no others of it's kind. Maybe it was seeing itself in the window and was trying to join others. There were plenty of my House Sparrows feeding and the squirrel was in the bush too. So there was a lot going on. And this poor little bird was trying to get into the window.

The bird appeared very healthy. Just determined to enter the house through the window.
Now those of you with inside kitties can only imagine how my 5 were reacting to this bird.

It was also perching on the window sill and staring into the house with no fear. It seemed to be watching me frantically getting photos and looking through my bird books. Yes, I am a bird watcher big time. That was one big reason I moved my sewing machine to under the picture window.


As soon as I moved to pin up the Twight quilt, MaggieMae took my chair away. The poor thing can really not even groom herself. Too much DENSE fur and a short face make for a daunting task for my little Persian tortie-point.
I take her outside for her weekly major brushing. But she does get lightly brushed everyday.
She hates the outside brushing. I use a different comb that gets the tangles out of her undercoat. I try my best to not pull too hard. But the teeth of that wonderful comb do seem to be a little on the sharp side. And her skin is sooooooo tender. Like a little girl with long hair that cries when it gets combed. MaggieMae cries real tears when I take her outside. She chokes and sobs like I am killing her. But once back in the house she carries no grudge. Everything is fine between us.

My pink/brown Star Struck has reached the "borders all on" phase. And the backing and binding are all made too. She is ready for quilting. I want to keep this one!
There are 10 quilts on the back of my quilting room door in the same condition. I cannot keep up with myself! Anyone else have that problem?
I purposely allowed you all to see the background in the above picture. The room was my sewing room. It is now my fabric prep/storage room. I cannot believe that I used to cram myself in there for hours on end. I have a "big board" that I leave up all the time. LOVE IT! And one of those new Reliable Velocity digital irons. LOVE IT!
In my spare time I am teaching quilting to this sweet lady, Jann. She has been bitten by the quilt bug real bad. I wish she lived closer. It is quite a drive for her to come to my home. Would you believe she found me through this blog??????? About six months ago. I take it as a compliment that she wants me to teach her.
And there is Macy as usual in the thick of things. She loves it when I have visitors so she can share her lovliness.
All five of the kitties like Jann. So she is a welcome guest anythime.
I did a major cleaning in our bedroom and found 17 of Macy's favorite toys. The round rings from under twist-off caps, strings and feather balls. She leaps in the air when we toss them. And she brings ALL her toys to us to play with her. Just like a dog. She fetches all of them. She will even bring them closer if we cannot reach while playing. She looks so very content in this picture.
And another funny thing....when the food bowl gets low enough (but not empty) to see the china bottom she leaves toys in the food. We do not know if she is hoping we see the toy and fill the bowl or if she is telling the other cats that what food is left is hers!








10 comments:

Wendi said...

WOW!!! You are such an inspiration!!! Makes me want to start a new quilt!!! You do a wonderful job!!!

Wendi
www.justkeepstitching.blogspot.com

Bonnie said...

My DIL bought a "furr"inator to brush her cats. I bought one for my dogs and I really like it for them. But she likes it alot for her two cats. Just a suggestion, it might be easier on your cat.

Lane said...

congratulations on teaching a new quilter!!! We need all we can get. As always, your work is beautiful! Lane

Camilla said...

Your bird looks like an American goldfinch to me. The females are pretty drab this time of year.

If she's still bugging you, you could try a strip of paper on the outside of the window to break up the reflections a bit.

Millie said...

Wow, the red blocks are going to make such a striking quilt. Congrats on teaching a new quilter...hope she will make many more quilts. Your cat is so cute!

Nann said...

The Twilight blocks look wonderful! (I'm flattered to see that one of mine is included.) Wonderful colors for your Star Struck.

I can't help you with the bird....

Gari in AL said...

No wonder you have so many quilts ready to quilt, you are a piecing fool. and Bonnie quilts, no less. I feel like a piker.

Sallie said...

Yes, Subee--it's an American goldfinch in it's winter plumage. they usually travel in flocks, so it probably thinks its reflection is a lost buddy! Poor thing.

Sallie in Va

The Calico Quilter said...

I think the commenters are right - that's a golfince in its winter feathers. For a while I thought it might be one of the warblers - they all start to look the same to me. The Peterson bird book groups them as "Confusing "Fall Warblers - confusing is right! When it rains here birds sit on the windowsills to keep dry and drive my poor cat crazy!

All your quilts are spectacular too!

Leanne said...

Hello
I'm Leanne and I'm Jan's penfriend from Australia, I just wanted to say hello and say what a great job both of you are doing.