Happy, Happy

I finished my January goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. 

(Number 122)

Happy Butterflies

40 x 60

I will donate it to Wrap-a-Smile - quilts for kids undergoing cleft lip/palate surgery. 

(See the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild blog  for more information and pictures, ways to donate and then join the Sunshine Yahoo Group.  The Sunshine Yahoo Group makes quilts for Quilts Beyond Borders and Wrap-a-Smile and share emails, photos, challenges, advice, and fun. )

Back to the quilt...well, this is also a UFO finish. You might get tired of all the Happy Block quilts you see me finish up this year from the bottomless box of Happies. 

These blocks started with 6.5 inch centers and have 2.5 inch sides. 

I quilted with freemotion flowers on my Plain Jane sewing machine.  I don't really like machine binding but it is recommended for these quilts.  I'm getting a little better at it but it's far from perfect. The binding was a piece of fabric I picked up at the thrift store.  

My second finish is Happy Cats. It's also 40 x 60 and going to Wrap-a-Smile. 

These Happy Blocks started with 4.5 inch centers, 2.5 inch sides and finish at 8 inches. 

I picked up the gingham for the backing at the thrift store also. I think I have enough for two quilt backs.  The binding was fabric left over from the Happy Butterfly backing. 

I also freemotion quilted this one on my plain Jane sewing machine with some wonky concentric squares. 

Now I'm going to Whoop it up over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Design Line Monday

44x56

Fall Lottery

This quilt will be donated to Wrap a Smile- quilts for kids undergoing cleft palate/cleft lip surgery.  It is made from 6 blocks won in an autumn color block lottery hosted by the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild and some other miscellaneous scraps, pinwheels and wonky stars. 

Isn't that Scottie Dog cute? They are looking for more "boyish" quilts so hopefully this could be appropriate for a girl or a boy. 

I quilted it with loops and stars on my plain Jane DSM. Looks like I should have gotten a little closer to the edge with my quilting  but that's the way it stays now. I'm also getting better at machine binding. I actually enjoy sewing down binding by hand but I do understand that machine binding is better for kids.

40x52 

 "Happy Cats"

This quilt will also go to Wrap a Smile and I think either a boy or girl would enjoy it. Who doesn't love a happy cat? 

Looks like I hung the quilt upside down so maybe the cats aren't that happy now. 

I think I have a bottomless box of happy blocks in different themes waiting to be made into quilts. 

Quilted on plain Jane DSM with spirals. Looks like I made it closer to the edges on this one with my quilting. And, again, binding is sewn down by machine. 

And now I'm linking to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. But I guess since I don't have a design wall but do have a clothesline now you know why I titled my post today Design Line Monday. 

The Birds (a sequel)

Another set of bird blocks for the "For the Birds DYB". I can only send 6 blocks around with this RR so will have to decide which of the 6 to send of the 14 I have made. I think mixed with some wild butterfly and bright and wild flower blocks it will be a pretty spectacular quilt. I will have to do the cats hiding in the shrubs/plants since we have a lot of feral barn cats we feed around here. We seem to adopt all the ones people let loose out in the country.

Cats

My sister, the youngest of 5, at age 51, is still trying to find herself.  She has never forgiven our parents for being alcoholics. She has never forgiven mom for leaving us. She has tried several different religions. She has tried several different forms of therapy. She has tried several different marriages. She has tried several different hiking/bicycling/mountain climbing trips to several different countries. I really can't understand her since I've never lost myself and had to find myself again but I do try to put myself in her shoes but I just can't get that nutty.

A few months ago she told me she quit working on her doctorate in psychology and was instead going to study to be a shaman. She was going to climb some sacred mountain in Peru as part of her training. And she told me she had a CAT as a spirit guide- "two of them actually". Yes, a CAT now gives her spiritual guidance. I'm not a cat person. We have lots of barn cats we feed and they always seem to stare at me when I pass by. They actually give me the creeps. They follow me when I'm gardening and poop where I dig. So, I'm not really understanding how to get advice from a cat. They just don't speak to me (nor I to them.)

At any rate...I made my sis a CQ cat for Christmas. She can have the spirit of me with her now.  The tag, which I haven't made yet, will say "Although I can't support your belief in a cat as a spirit guide, this is to remind you I will always support you. Love, Cat" (Cat is what my DH calls me...short for Cathy which is short for Catherine.)

I won't bother to tell her that about 30+ years ago I woke up in the night (probably because I talk in my sleep and wake myself with the chatter) and thought I saw a ghost cat at the end of my bed that looked a little like a white Cheshire Cat. It smiled and spoke not a word. And I haven't spoken of it...until now.