Monday, August 7, 2023

the new project

Last week I mentioned I needed to start a quilt for an upcoming great nephew.  This week I started sewing!

First, I got a photo of the background and back - with Finn posing, of course.


I think the color of the background (a light teal) shows fairly correctly here, so just pretend it's the same in the next photos, okay?

Also, Finn would like you to know he is the goodest boy, not Toby, as I mentioned last week.

And how perfect is that vehicle print for the back?

I knew the pattern would have a lot of tricky points and lost corners, but I dug in.  First up, the cement mixer:


Seeing this come together was exciting.  I'm less than pleased with where that corner cuts off at the top, so maybe I'll go back and change it.  (Maybe I won't, though, because I think I might have used up the rest of this fabric on a future block!)

Then on to the tow truck - something his great grandpa has done and still uses from time to time!


And then Toby decided it was dinnertime.


He is channeling Emma here - making sure I cannot do anything more before I feed him.  He does get the hungries like Emma, and it WAS dinnertime.

The next sewing chance I got brought me an excavator...


...at the same time one was being delivered to our house to help remove the concrete that sat below the barn.  The barn has been gone a while now, but the concrete also needs to go.  The concrete is now gone, but the big "dirt pusher" (as my family calls all sorts of construction vehicles because we are silly like that) is still awaiting pickup.  (If it wasn't raining...)

And then a fire truck:


As I was sewing, I was hoping that sewing these blocks was not channeling the vehicles because no one wants a fire truck in their driveway!

The following day, after a massive deep clean of the hubby's bedroom (it took about four hours and I think I sweat off 10 pounds, but it is so nice now!), I made a forklift.


This is a vehicle that all his great uncles know how to drive.  Probably his grandma and great-grandma as well!

And after a short break for the plumber (I thought my tub was plugged after I had filled it and soaked the blinds - turns out I just can't drain the tub and the washing machine at once - not enough room in the pipe!), I made an ambulance.


And then Toby told me it was dinnertime again.


No, mom, stop.  I'm really hungry!


(I actually got the block photo alone last, but it took some effort to shoo this brat off my work.  And he bites.)

Yesterday, after some pull-everything-out cupboard cleaning, I made a scissor lift.


I can hear this thing beeping in my head.  The whole time I was sewing it.

And then, finally, a police car.


I tried to make this one look like the blue state police cars here, but the grey kinda took away from that.  I'm not ripping it out.  It will be fine.  (But I am pretty pleased with the dots used for the bubble light!)

I still have a dumptruck to go, but after the disappointment of the police car yesterday, and the rainy weather, I decided to go snuggle kitties and read for a while instead.  I'll make it today.

Last week I also showed fabrics used to make pillowcases for the cat rescue group, but not the cuffs.  Turns out I had a photo, I just forgot to transfer it.


The colors show more true here than the photo last week, too.  And when I handed these over to my volunteer, she was so excited!  Just two each, but that's okay.  I want them to seem more rare, so a few at a time is good, right?

And finally, the back fabric for the Positivity quilts:


It's a bit brighter in real life, but I just took this photo this morning and we've got another gloomy, rainy day in store, so...  The leaf pattern is about 5" tall, in case you were wondering.

And that has been my quilty (and some other stuff) week.  Today, as I said, is gloomy and cool, so I'm not sure how much motivation I'll have for things.  I do want to make the dumptruck, but otherwise it may be lazy.  (I did do some chores this morning, not to worry, just nothing spectacular like earlier.)

Time to go figure out what my day holds!

Happy quilting!
Katie

PS I may be making small quilty-like mats for the cat rescue group.  They've partnered with a couple of local pet stores and want the kitty enclosures to look coordinated and uniform.  I'm not sure what exactly I've gotten myself into, but anything I can do to help kitties find forever homes is worth it.  And this is something I can do.  When I know more, I'll share!

3 comments:

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

WOW - you're moving right along on those blocks! They look great! Finn and Toby are great posers/helpers - even if one of them is always hungry - ;))

Preeti said...

Such a labor of love! Each of those blocks are so much work requiring precision piecing with kitty dinnertime interruptions making it all the more tricky. This will be one fabulous quilt that everyone will want.

Ruth said...

The blocks are so cute!! I hate cleaning, but it does feel good when it is done. I really need to do some of that, but This week I have a craft show to go to. I like how you can quilt 2 quilts at one time (almost)!