Nasty Flu Pretty quilts!

 

I got the flu last weekend and for the first three days my head was so stuffed up I couldn't breathe well except while I was sitting at my sewing machine. I don't know why this happens but it is probably because sewing relaxes me so much I stopped stressing about my stuffy nose. So I started piecing UFO's that have been stacked near or on my sewing machine for several months. This one is called Bold and Bright and is from an internet swap I was a part of. About half the blocks I made and the other half were from swappers all over the world. As you can see the kitties love the bright colors too and it was impossible to get a picture without kitties.

Was going to use a 2" lattice but didn't like the way it looked so I cut the strips in half and it turned out the perfect way to frame each block. The otter border was going to be a bright pink floral but my cat stole it and ran away with it and then brought me back this purple 60s reproduction print with mod flowers in all the colors in the quilt. I am so glad my cats join in the quilting process because he was so right and I would have had to take the pink off. So I will save the pink border for another quilt. I have about 30 UFOs that I want to get finished this year. I am trying to do them with only the fabric I have on hand. I got 3 quilts pieced while I was having trouble breathing but I can't find the corner blocks I made for the outside border of one of them. The cats steal fabric if they like it. Here is a photo of the second quilt top I finished while I was having trouble breathing.

This quilt is called Kitty Kat and is an adaptation of Janet Kime's pattern Plaid Cats from her book The Cat's Meow. I have one of these done in Christmas prints too but I can't find the outer scrappy border I made for it. I can't even blame the cats for it this time. It got packed away somewhere years ago which is why I never pieced the top together. But I'll find it or make a different border and then I will post the picture of the 2 other tops I made while my head was stuffy. I am now at the point where I have been sleeping a lot because I didn't get much sleep while I was coughing and had a stuffy head. I am doing much better now and I still plan of sewing lots more of my UFO's together so I will keep posting them.

Happy 2011!

I decided to start 2011 by using up my stash of UFO's and orphan blocks to make tiny quilts to go with the kittens to their forever homes. One has found a home and took one of the quilts before I got the photos taken but I will make sure that doesn't happen again. I want them each to have a small doll quilt to take so they will have something that smells like this home to keep them company while they adjust to their new home. Its tough letting them go but this house is way too small for 13 cats. They have started fighting and that's when its time to find them forever homes where they all can get the love and attention that they deserve.

These are the 3 little girls that are left laying on a folder quilt in a window. They are Barbie, Rockette, and Eclipse. Barbie got her name because her foot pads are pink and she is black and white which is the classic Barbie colors. She also naps in a basket of pink, black and white Barbie blocks from a swap. I will be making her quilt this weekend out of left over blocks from the swap. That way she will have a quilt that will smell familiar.
I will try to post pictures as I get the kittens quilts done and also the pictures of the lap robes for our local VA hospital that I am using up left overs on. I've got to reduce my stash and I think that is a very good way to get it done. I will also try to post more often now that we are finding forever homes for the kittens. Right now all my extra money is going to cat food and litter. You wouldn't believe how much 13 cats go through in a week!