Monday, August 22, 2016

Pets on Quilts 2016

It's that time again!

Lily Pad Quilting's Pets on Quilts show.  (go there via the button along the side of the page or click that embedded link. . .go!)

This post is to show off my entry (cats on quilt) and the new quilt I made just for the show.  This show has become a way for me to guarantee I'll make at least one quilt a year (such an overachiever *eyeroll*).  This is my third year in a row participating so this is my third quilt.  Ok, to be honest, it's my second "real" quilt.  The first year I made a little wall hanging quilt but this year I made an adult human sized (read usable) quilt.  Not a lap quilt, either (not that they aren't lovely and technically usable) Hey, when I want to cover up just covering my legs ain't going to cut it.  I need to be covered chin to toes (and ideally, tucked under the feet though my quilts might be a little shy of being able to do that. . .but they are as long as, if not longer than I am tall, so definitely not lap sized).

Ok, let's not fall deeper down the well of how I like to cover up (trust me, I have a lot of peculiar covering habits, including making my husband use his own blankets. . .I swear that's the key to a happy relationship right there) let,s just see cute cats and quilts.


TA DA!

(shout out to my husband who's holding up the quilt.  Oh, he gave me a teen girl worthy eye roll and sigh when I asked him to help me.  He wasn't going to bite, but then I told he wouldn't even have to put on pants to help and that no one would see him in the pic, sans pants, he bit.  HAH, but now everyone knows he's behind the quilt in just a t-shirt and boxers, not that he's never been outside in just his skivvies before. . hell, he's been on the roof in just his skivvies. . .he's classy like that)

Yup, that there is a quilt.  I don't know the exact dimensions but it took just under four yards of fabric for the backing (two, two yard cuts sewed side by side to be wide enough).  I had plenty of over hang all around so I went the lazy route and just trimmed the backing down to 2 inches all around then folded it over to make the binding.  Holy crap, my lazy heart sored at how dang easy that was.  Yes, you get a stitch line all the way around the back of the quilt (because when I'm lazy, I'm super lazy and I machine stitched that lazy binding. . .what, I didn't have time to hand stitch that bad boy, I just finished this quilt YESTERDAY, yester-freaking-day, people. . .the last minute, I use it).

For the quilting, I stitched in the ditch around each of the big heart block units and then around the actual heart.  Then it needed just a bit more stitching so I quilted the heart shape again inside each heart.  You can kind of see it in the photo but I used tan/neutral thread (which I use for just about everything because. . .see above. . .I'm lazy).

The front is scrappy (reds/pinks with low volume white/off whites for the heart blocks. . .then a five inch border in between. . .the border is all the same fabric, a low volume white/white with little x and o's on it).

This is the backing:


I want candy!  I want CA-a-nDY!

I love novelty prints (and candy) and sparkle (there's some gold on some of the candies) so I had to have this fabric for the backing.  It's an off white background (looks white in that pic, but my pics are always crap because the lighting in my house is coal mine bad so. . .yeah).

But, but, but. . .this is supposed to be PETS on quilts. . .


"Get to it, mom."

Yes, Eugene.

He's scowling because I wouldn't let him gnaw on the plastic bag from the padding.

"No, I'm disappointed that you used that huge padding and had a ton of scraps left.  You should have measured and then bought a padding closer to the size you needed."

No, you're not that deep a soul, Gene.  You just wanted to chew that bag.

"Yeah, I did.  You're mean."

Hey, I did let you "help" with the quilt.


"Yeah.  I like being the first to hair up new blankets.  Take THAT, Murray!"

I think you also like the odd smell the padding has.  Anyone else notice that?  I swear, fresh out the package padding smells like dog biscuits.  Like a cracker-y, bland bread smell.  I think it's the starch in it or something.  It's not a bad smell, but definitely a smell.  (again, I'm lazy and don't pre-wash things. . .if I obeyed the quilting police I'd never actually finish anything and as it is now, I finish so few things so. . .YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, QUILT COPPERS!!!)

Gene definitely likes to get up on the new quilts first.  He likes to roll on them and kick them and. . .


Gene Green?  Nope, that's Gene SIMMONS right there.  Dang, boy, you have a long tongue.

He's not alone in liking to have a good bath on a new quilt.


Murray at least waits until the quilt it truly finished.

He also doesn't wrestle the quilt.  He has a more classic approach to breaking in a new quilt.


Aww, him's tie-tie.

(yes, I really do speak that line out loud to Murray on a regular basis.  And, you have to use your best Rudolph voice, you know, that little childlike voice baby Rudolph. . .from the 1964 cartoon. . .uses the first time he meets Santa. . .what?  like you aren't a weirdo?  yeah, right)



Gene, look here so I can get a super pretty pic of you.

"No thanks, mom.  Murray's up to something on the shanty town and I have to watch."

But not get up to investigate?

"No.  The table is still cleaned off and the new quilt lifts me up just enough I have the perfect perch to watch from here.  And that shanty town is really falling apart.  Maybe you could make a new cover for it?"

Yeah, I've been thinking about re-covering your shanty town for a while now.  Maybe that should be my next project.

"Well, put down that phone and get to it then."

Well, my feline overlords have spoken!

(too bad for them, I have to sew up some stuffed toys first before I even begin thinking about re-covering their shanty town. . .but I might be able to enlist my husband into helping with that project. . he showed interest before in salvaging the original shanty town so. . .we'll see!)

Thanks for visiting the blog.  Make sure to check out all the other folks sharing their fabulous quilts (and even more fabulous pets).