not much - quick update

I haven't been sewing much these past few weeks.  I just haven't been inspired.

When I'm there, I've been mostly working on these:

Heating pad covers for the cat rescue.  This is a set that will cover each of the heating pads they have and once I have some feedback about the sizes (my first test was too small - I didn't realize how thick they were going to be!), I'll set about making a second set so they have one to use and one to wash.

I also got myself motivated to quilt the wedding quilt.

It was a windy day and probably not the best for longarming (power outages can be savage on something like this), but I was excited to do it and it didn't take long.  I realized their names (Anne and Ben) are quite easy to create in cursive, so the whole quilt (minus the white heart) says "anne and ben and anne and ben and anne and ben".  The heart has "love love love love" through/around it, as does the very bottom row of the quilt since I started with Anne and ended in the second to last pass with Ben, I thought it would be nice to end there.

Saturday I sat down and bound it, but don't have any photos yet.  The wedding is new year's eve, so I have a bit yet.  (Also it needs a label.)  But the hardest parts are done!

You may remember a while back I had a stash of kitty kicker toys that I was making for coworkers.  Those were given out this past Tuesday, but first I had to bundle them in groups of two and add the little tags.

Lily helped.  So did Salem and Freddie and Toby and Finn.  I just got a photo of Lily.  They were stealing them out of the box, grabbing them out of my hands and generally being crazy.  It's my own fault - these contain some potent home-grown (from a coworker) catnip and I did it out in the open instead of locking myself in a room.  The hubby tried to help with the laser mouse, but they were not fooled.  Not all of them at the same time at least!

The toys were well-received at work and the few that I sent to friends further from home also have sent videos and notes of thanks.  Now to start thinking of what to make for next year?!

This past week I made seven batches of peanut brittle, three batches of fudge (recipes here) and two batches of caramel corn (recipe from a book, so no link) to put into 36 tins for my hubby to give away to his employees, managers and whatnot at work.  Many of them have been there long enough to expect this and a few have even been so bold as to start asking.  I'm just glad to have my kitchen back.

Now for the calm before the storm of holiday celebrations.

And just in case I didn't have enough once all of that is done, I joined another quilt along.  The Tall Poppies quilt caught my attention from the start and I'm excited the designer is running a quilt along that starts after the first of the year.  I've got my pattern already, but need to decide on what fabrics/colors I'll be using.

The other quilt along, Bramble Blooms, is on hold for a bit, as the host of that project is dealing with a sick hubby.  I wish him the best, but this gives us all a bit of breathing room to get through the holidays without a project hanging over our heads.  I mean, we signed up for it, but still nice.

Happy quilting!

Katie

mostly hammocks, but almost done

This week was another busy week of sewing hammocks.  Among other things...

I teased you last week about the pink plaid.  It did not photograph well, but here you have it:

It really is more pink than this.

This one is like a lightweight oxford.  (So lightweight, in fact, that you can see my funky ironing board cover through it!)  It was about 60" wide, so I used the blue stripes for hammocks and the wider, thinner side stripes for a few more curtains.

(I don't think they're actually crooked?)

And some Christmas fabric!  Not what I might choose, but not awful either!  And though I had washed and dried all of these, this one, when hit with a hot iron, smelled a bit of a vet office.  I wonder where it lived before it came here?

This fabric was actually two pieces.  The first was about a yard.  The second was about eight yards!  And it is about 60" wide.  So that means the 15x30" hammocks are easily possible (not so thrifty when the fabric is 40" wide, so this is nice to make those longer hammocks).  And it is an odd fabric.  It feels like a woven, but when I got up close sewing, it looks to be a knit.  And it dried like crazy fast.  It was half dry just out of the washer.  So it got me wondering if this is actual military grade?

The selvedge wasn't immediately helpful, but good thing for the internet!  I actually was also curious about the fiber content, but only found this fun PDF:

(Image from the Milliken website)

It is used to diminish your thermal signature, so heat-sensing cameras or whatever kind of technology, have a harder time seeing you.  And yep.  Military.

Nine yards yielded 19 hammocks, so LOTS of ties/loops needed to be sewn.  I do this first, as they need to be pinned into the sandwich, and it turns out nicely, as this fabric does NOT like my traditional Coats & Clark thread - fair warning that a problem is imminent - before the real deal of sewing.  But throw in a slightly lighter weight longarm thread and it sews beautifully.

Bonus?  I'm using up bobbin ends and not caring much about the matchy-matchy of thread.  I'm currently working my way through the pile of these 19, and red is currently the color of choice.  I still have some orange and light blue and then a fair amount of light grey and white shades.

And then, I will move on to my last fabric!

Another camo, and I expect this one might be military as well.  Always an adventure, but I'm learning some tricks for challenges that quilting cottons don't provide.

Oh, also in the mix were 18 more ironing board covers, which yielded 9 long, skinny hammocks.  I sewed those with purple thread, so it shows a lot - they're off-white!  (But not very interesting to photograph, so I spared you that photo!)

No other sewing again this week, aside from these, but I can see the bottom of the box!  That means the floor of my sewing room will get bigger!  (Because the box will go away.)

Toby doesn't mind, so long as his poof-bed is available.

I turned around to find him like this, happy as could be.

Finn and Freddie take turns in the extra "executive" desk chair in the room.  But they are also not as present as this guy.  He seems to follow me around a lot.  He doesn't want pets or love, he just wants to make sure he knows where I am.

Once the hammocks are finished, I have a lot of "D"-shaped ends cut off from the ironing board covers, and now that I have also been given the sheets of batting-like-stuff that was the innards of the covers (they were long ovals of fabric with a draw string and then a sheet of batting to go under it - not like the covers we buy today that are all sewn together with an elastic edge), I will see if I can figure out how to piece those together (I'll trim them into even-sized rectangles first) to make some kennel mats.

The adventures never end.

I just hope that these hammocks (I'm up to 108 now and that final camo piece will add at least a few more) will keep the rescue group well supplied for a while and I can take a break.  It's been fun, but I've had over 70 yards of fabric to work with, so it's been a little overwhelming, too.

Today I'm going to take a break, though.  At least this morning.  The catnip fishies are in need of rehoming, and my intention was they would go around Christmas.  So I've found some holiday-themed cellophane bags and will work on packaging those up shortly.  Between rounds of stirring caramel corn in the oven and making batches of peanut brittle in the microwave and, when the hubby gets home, more fudge.

(By January, I'm going to need a holiday to recover from this holiday!)

Happy quilting!

Katie

still not much quilting

It hasn't been a very quilty week around here.  I worked more shifts than I wanted last week and made a lot of fudge and peanut brittle and then there was shopping that needed to be finished...  And then I tripped over a toolbox at work and fell smack on my hip.  Thankfully nothing was broken (not even the phone that was in my pocket and I landed on!), but I was quite sore for a few days and preferred to get comfy and just stay there!

But while I was waiting for the pain to subside, I got notice that the cat toys arrived!  With photos!

First up was Isabella, who was had her catnip radar going and was onto me before the box was even opened...

Samantha is reported to have brought the two toys with her and claimed the box...

But both were super happy with their gifts!

(And you may remember these two, as they were featured on Becky's quilt a few months back.)

And then there was Ivan...

(who has had a rough month with bladder issues and is currently testing out new foods to thwart those troubles)

...and sister Cleo...

...who both slobbered the toys into oblivion, as per reports from cat-mom.

The third friend also has two kitties, but she only let me know the package arrived and thanked me.  No photos, but her kitties are equally cute and beautiful and cuddly.

I still have a few left (trying to figure out how to surprise a former coworker with some of them, but don't have her mailing address...), but the holiday is not over yet!  (I AM however, currently out of catnip!)

Not to worry.  I made sure the kitties living here had ample fun.

Wednesday, after falling, I knew continuing to move was the best choice.  Even standing still to run the cash register allowed things to start freezing up.  So I kept busy at work (the clothing department is an awful mess, so with the blessing of my manager, I spent hours tidying and organizing...of course, it looks like crap again because no one puts anything back where they found it and wads it up in a ball before leaving it somewhere random - store looks a mess?  thank your fellow shoppers! - but it IS a little better than before I started) and then decided to keep going when I got home.  I first cleaned the bathroom and then decided I would do the dreaded task of running the vacuum once the bathroom task was completed with minimal trouble.

But first I have to pick up a number of things.  Stray cat toys, boxes (also known as cat toys) and the Christmas tree is little, so move that.  Hmmm...I've inserted it into the cat tree before...

It took a bit before they came back out of hiding from the scary monster, but this was a novel idea and they took to it quickly.  Of course, they were already chewing on branches and generally getting into mischief before it was in the cat tree, but it's not plugged in and it is what it is.

(There were no pain meds in my system to make me loopy.  This is just how I work.)

I left it there overnight and the next morning, had this:

I don't know about you, but where Finn is sitting does not look very comfy.  (I, on the other hand, was comfy as could be, snuggled under a quilt in my reclining sofa with my achy hip just right.)  But they were still having fun, so I let it roll.

The next morning...

...well...

This morning (day 4), it looked the same and I decided it was time for a reset.  It is back upright in the cat tree.  The skirt that goes under it is folded up with the pile of quilts.  And presents don't get wrapped until the last minute because *someone* will unwrap them.  (And by *someone* I mean all of them.)  So it's not like our tree functions like what you see on holiday cards...

I DID manage to get some sewing in.  And then some unsewing because in my excitement to have time to sew, I managed to not notice there were sashings between rows...

But!  I finished the Christmas-ish quilt I started just a few weeks ago!  I think it was Love that teased I would have it done by the holiday and I laughed.  I never expected I WOULD!  I mean, it's not a quilt-quilt yet, but here you go:

Apparently I'm a little crooked today, but in my defence, I was out there without a coat and it was spitting sleety snow at me.  So I was trying to hurry.

And now it goes to the Rack of Shame.

Speaking of the Rack of Shame...  I had an idea to keep me motivated with new projects each month for 2021.  Sort of keep me on track and not just starting new stuff willy-nilly.  And I bought some craft supplies.  (I was out shopping for other, actually needed items, and these just fell into my cart as I...um...detoured over in that direction...)

And then today, since the year is so close to being done, I needed to get rolling on that actual project, so...

I'm not entirely happy with how poorly that paint is covering the wood, but I'll be heading back to do a second coat soon - first coat is drying while I blog.

Toby helped, but I was too busy shooing him away to get any photos.  (He is definitely trying to fill those big Emma-No shoes lately!)

The plan is to have projects, sorted by colors, on the sticks and each month I choose one stick of each color for my goals.  I made four categories: new quilt, leftovers, new technique and longarm.

New quilt are things like "from a pattern I own" or "using acrylic templates" - basically working from what I already have as far as patterns and ideas.  They may or may not be finished within the month, but that's okay.  Maybe 2022 will be the year of the UFO?

Leftovers refer to things like strings and bonus half square triangles.  The plan here is to figure out how to use some of them.  Or decide to pass them along to someone who will use them.

New technique doesn't necessarily refer to quilting, but more things like learn to use that sock loom or watercolor pencils.  Again, things I have at least some of the supplies to do, but just never got there.  This is kinda like giving myself permission to NOT make a quilt for a bit!

And finally the longarm section is just that.  Trying to reduce the Rack of Shame.  Not that the first category isn't going to increase it, but hey, I gotta start somewhere, right?  (And I gotta make room for the new quilts, too...)

I may kick myself for this by March.  But I also know if I have a specific goal in mind, whether it be a deadline for a birth or an online challenge or whatever, I flounder less and put down the phone more readily and get to work.  So we'll see how it goes!  I promise to blog about it at least every so often!

And lastly, while plopped on the couch (that gets less comfy with each passing day, but that might just be me getting antsy?), I took my Pinterest uploads and did some fun data analysis with them (using free apps, of course) and found my top nine posts of the year:

(Funny that this year and last, my top posts were from quilt-alongs!)

As well as what is called the "year of color":

The color one was difficult for me - there are dozens of different combinations of layouts and number of dots and all sorts of things, so it made Science Katie feel a bit like she was skewing the data in her favor...  But I decided to just play around until I found something that looked pleasing and rolled with it...statistically accurate or not.

Remember, these are Pinterest, which only covers a small number of the photos I share here.  I don't know if there is an app to look at blog post colors, but this is always fun to see.  Even if I seem to have a fairly large number of more blah colors in there.

But my hip is feeling much better (pretty much normal today), so I have few excuses to not go do something productive today.  (The excuse I DO have is that I have slept poorly the last two nights and kinda want a nap...)  I will go add a second coat of paint to the sticks and then see where the wind blows me.  (See what I mean?  No deadline, no project in the works and suddenly I'm adrift!)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, or whatever other holiday you celebrate.  I hope you and your loved ones all stay healthy.  And I'll be back for one more post before the new year!

Happy quilting,

Katie

jade's baby quilt and I'll do anything to avoid quilty sewing, apparently

Since I don't think my niece reads my blog, I can share with you her finished baby quilt!  It went out in the mail today, but with delays promised by the kind gentleman at the counter, I'm not sure if the package will arrive before Christmas or not.  (Her Christmas present was also in the box...)

Let's review a bit, shall we?

It started out with quilt inspiration and a fabric purchase:

I added a few more grey prints from my stash and started cutting.  And cut and cut and cut and cut.  I think there are 400 pieces in this quilt.

Next up was sewing those curves.  Curves aren't that difficult, now that I've got a handle on them, but these were gentle enough to go quite quickly.

All were trimmed as best as I could (this pattern specifies that it will not be perfect, much to my OCD's disappointment!) and a layout was determined.

Sewing them together took a bit, but they went together better than I anticipated with the non-perfect trimming that was needed.  Pressing instructions that helped create nesting seams was much appreciated.  And then to the longarm!

The binding took a bit to get sewn down, as I am an excellent procrastinator, but then I added to the length of time to finish with the label.  Yesterday I decided the package needed to go in the mail today.  While baby is not due till May, the remainder of the package is for Christmas, and time is getting short and why not kill two birds with one stone?

Toby helped.  (He has figured out lap snuggles and boy does he love those...when he's not trying to attack the string from your hoodie because SQUIRREL!)

And then it was outside to get a photo.  It was a grey, overcast day, but no snow and little wind, so a good day in general for taking pictures.

I've had to edit the photo a bit for colors (which still aren't quite right, but close), but I doubt I'll be getting any better days in the months to come.  We do get sun some days in the bitter cold winter, but I'm not waiting for that...and I needed it finished!

You can probably click on the photo to see the quilting better.  If blogger still works that way.  *eyeroll*

Quilt pattern: Chic Country by Sew Kind of Wonderful

Size: about 45x45"

I've been sewing some, but it seems I've been very interested in sewing non-quilt things lately.  I worked Saturday, picking up a shift for an ill coworker, and when I got home (frustrated - it's been a long few weeks), I decided to make some cat toys.  That should make me happy.  Or more frustrated...

I started out with Christmas fabrics, but obviously I got a little carried away...72 pieces in all were cut here.  But I have a fair amount of catnip, a bag of stuffing that just keeps giving and I'm sure I can share these with friends, right?

Every time I make these, I try a new method of adding catnip.  This went quite well, and an added bonus was that the cats licked the plastic tub clean afterwards.  (Yes, I washed it, too...)

I had loads of help inspecting my work along the way.  I removed all four cats at least once each from the area behind my sewing machine.  Freddie hit it just right with my camera being out before he got the boot.  I did put some loose catnip on the floor and that kept them busy for a while, but they also found swatting and stalking each other to be more fun when stoned.

I packed them all up into a bin that I could close and put on a high shelf.  Of course, I kept a set of 12 (6 each of 12 fabrics!) for my kitties, but they have only been given four.  When those disappear, they will earn more.  But apparently the lure isn't as strong when there isn't an open container around...

Then I put out a call to facebook friends with cats.  Three folks wanted some toys, so I packed them up in USPS flat-rate boxes and again had some help selecting who got what (about 8 will fit in a box)...

Finn jumped right in for the first shift...

...and by "in" I literally mean IN.  He is obviously not shy about doing his job to the fullest extent possible.  This kid has amazing work ethic.  For this job.  Freddie also helped with a later round, but there are no photos to prove that.  (And nobody better get any ideas about putting security cameras in my sewing room to make sure I'm working either!)

There are gonna be a lot of happy kitties in the coming week!

There are also a few sets put aside for Christmas gifting...

I also, with the hubby's help, made a big batch of fudge and two batches of peanut brittle.  More to come there, as the tins he distributes to his employees are not yet full.  He wants to hand them out later this week, as holiday time off is starting next week and no one wants stale fudge.  I mean, they'll eat it, but if you can have fresh...  (I ate some cast-off edge pieces for breakfast.  Not recommended...I was a little spacey at the post office for it...  I mean, it was delicious, but probably not what the doctors would recommend.  Party poopers that they are.)

The Christmas tree is up.  And by "up" I mean this:

Actually, in the hunt in the attic for an empty box to send the quilt and such, I snagged the tree skirt, forgotten in the mad rush to get the tree down before the cats made it up there.  So I stood it up, straightened the branches better than they've seen in years, and put the skirt around it.  Finn is afraid of the tree skirt.  Maybe if I put a bin of catnip toys under it?!  It's currently still standing, but so far the record is 2.5 days upright.

Speaking of holiday decorating, I decided to see how Toby would tolerate the Santa hat I bought last year.  Remember last year when Freddie and Finn tried it on?

Well, Toby didn't even let me get that far...

He was doing a lap snuggle, but went from zero to 1,000 when this came out.  It was in the bin with the toys, so maybe there was a catnip aura to it, but he is also crazy.

I got it on him, but there was a glare in my camera lens.  And he was not happy about sitting still.  The hat didn't much phase him, but the behind held to get a photo was NOT the thing he was after...that pom-pom, however...

Later he forgave me...

(You may notice the differing clothing.  I may or may not have been in my pajamas when I forced my cat to wear clothing...)

Despite all of this, I have dragged myself into the sewing room to work on the Snow Day quilt.  I managed to sew six of these stars (all stacked up here) from 40 billion half square triangles.

This is the last design and these only need to be sewn together and then the top constructed, but this has stalled out.  I pressed carefully so seams would nest for these blocks individually and, hopefully, when they attach to one another.

But the pattern...

...the top two diagrams insist that I make two identical sets.  I looked at the pattern 100 times, trying to determine WHY they were separated like that.  Instead of (like a smart person) turning the page, I just sewed merrily along.  I assumed (you know what happens when you assume things, right?!) it was because there were two sections of the quilt that these will end up in that they were separating them for that.

Nope.

Turn the page and lookie there - some stars spin right, some spin left.  Guess what?  All my stars spin the same direction.  Guess what else?  They're gonna stay that way.

(I made sure no important details were included in this photo - don't wanna steal the designer's livelihood, even if there is an error - a totally understandable error!)

So that is where I stand for now.  I SHOULD go sew these together.  Maybe I will.  It's a better option than setting up a new printer.  (My Christmas gift that I bought for myself for my hubby to give to me today...he carried it in and plopped it next to the computer desk...but at least I was able to find one like I wanted.  It's been a while since they've been in stock a lot of places (for good reason) and I've been holding off for a less pricey one that still works the way the old one did...that works just fine unless you want it to actually PUT ink on the pages...)

Speaking of printers.  My old one used these cartridges.

I have three of these double-packs and know putting a new one in does nothing.  The new printer does not take these.  Apparently no new HP printers take these.  Then again, after searching for 47 hours to find out WHAT cartridges ANY printers take online, I gave up.  Why is that not a feature listed?  I could care less the quality of styrofoam you used to package it, nor do I have any interest in knowing about the cords that will be included (though those missing would be good to know about).  I DO care about what I need to buy to go with it.  But, you insist, it comes with ink.  Yes, yes it does.  But before I buy it, I'd like to know if I have to take out a second mortgage on my house and promise you my firstborn to pay for another cartridge.  And yes, this is on the box, but if the store where one might buy a printer has an empty shelf and I am relying on ordering online, I DO NOT SEE THE BOX!  Anyways, I found one (printer) in the store today.  Obviously.

But.

That leaves me with six unusable black ink cartridges.

Anybody out there use these?  I'll send them to you - first reply gets 'em all!  I got them free at my last job, as they were upgrading all the printers and no longer had any that took these cartridges, so I've invested nothing and would be happy to just not have to toss them out.  (I did use about half of them before my printer started ghost printing.)

You know now that my old printer is gonna start working, though, right?

Okay, time to go do something more productive.  Maybe eat more fudge?

Happy quilting!

Katie

not exactly quilting in this post...

It's been a crazy week.  I did make 15 tiny stars last Thursday.  I took no photos...oops!  But I was kinda rushing because I knew Friday I was going to my mom's to raid her stash.  I've pretty much exhausted mine for tiny stars and what's left is pretty much a pain to deal with.  But my mom...oh Lord does she have a stash!  I should have taken a photo of that, too, but she'd probably be embarrassed!  (It's tidy, but a lot!  But she's sewing through it...ha ha ha...we all know how that goes!)

Turns out she is also making tiny stars.  Hers are a little less wonky, but the type that the points aren't close enough to the edge so you don't have to worry about losing them.  And hers are all colors.  Off-white backgrounds from scraps, but for every other part, every color goes.

I cut.  And cut.  And cut.  And cut.  And cut.  We broke for lunch with my dad (trip to Taco Bell!!!), but I was focused.  My book showed a lack of yellow, orange, purple and red.  In about that order.  Purple is hard because many of the darker purples fade into the background.  But I went through one of her boxes (the "sweater" size of the Rubbermaid tubs) each of all four colors. I ran out of tiny baggies, but she had more!  So I cut probably 150 sets of squares.  And a few for her project when I had a tiny piece that was the right size for her.

That's not quite a gallon size ziplog bag they're all hanging out in, but holy cow!  (And I giggled as I was cutting the International Harvester fabric...she didn't even know that's what it was...some Iowa girl she is!!!)

I had help, much in the same form as at home, just from my baby sister, not my children...

That's Shandy.  I helped rescue her and get her to my mom and dad years ago.  She's a great cat, but hates being kissed on the head.  So guess what I do?  (Well, this time maybe she deserved it because she tracked dirt in from outside all over the cutting mat!)  (And her head is kinda tiny.  Not as bad as this photo makes it look, but she does have a little head.)

It was a super fun day, though my feet were hollering the next day!  My mom does have a squishy mat in front of her cutting table and I am used to standing for hours at my job, but not in just one place!  (Even as a cashier, I do get to run around some helping customers and stuff.)  But that was the last day in a stretch I had off...I worked the next four days in a row.  Some scheduled, some I opened my big mouth and offered to help.  But the more I do that, the harder it is for anyone else to deny me time off or swapping shifts when I need it, right?!

Saturday I worked 10am-6pm.  Though I don't have to get up early, I don't much like this shift.  But it is what it is and I don't get that shift often.

And they did need me.  We had pet photos with Santa (when you work at a store that sells tractor parts and horse feed...you also sell pet food and dogs are welcome to the point where you have treats behind the counter for them!) and that meant a lot more foot (and paw) traffic.  Extra hands were good.

But the boss ALSO scheduled a rescue/foster group to bring in kitties for adoption.  I told her she cannot EVER schedule me to work those days again!

Why?

Meet Freddie.

How?

My hubby is "C" in the texts.

He brought the money, met the cat, filled out the paperwork, brought in the carrier (that he knew enough to at least put in the car) and took the little guy home while I (unwillingly) finished my shift.

He loves black cats.

I love ALL the cats.

So while we lost Luka about a month and a half ago (he was so sick, it was time...hard, but the right choice), we're quickly back up to 5 cats.

The others had varying reactions.  Skitter and Lexie were like "oh, this again".  Emma hissed defiantly, but pretty much let him be.  Gabby is very angry with me.  She was terrified of him.  But now, just a few days later (and finally a day off work for me), they are doing much better.  Emma still hisses a little, but she's a spoiled princess.  (That I adore.)  And this morning, I caught Gabby playing with him...running through the house.

He's a very people-oriented cat and not very hyper as kittens often are.  The foster human said he had been bottle fed and we met the terror of a 4-year-old he grew up with, so he's pretty chill.  His new sisters hiss and snarl at him and he's like "whatever, I'm playing with this toy right now"...  But we'll see how his personality changes with time.  I think he's about 10 weeks old right now and so tiny, but he's got huge ears and paws, so he's gonna be a big guy when he's done growing.

So between the snuggles and bonding (and efforts to make the other cats sure of their place in the household...not that we'd ever get rid of any, just the hierarchy they've developed), work and making fudge and peanut brittle and such for the hubby to give to his employees...no sewing.

I should be sewing today, but haven't made it there yet.

There's still time!

I should go do that now instead of sitting back down on the couch...cause one cat or another will find me in no time!

Okay, I talked myself into it.  Off to the sewing room...Christmas blocks!!!

Happy quilting!

Katie

PS My mom gave me this fabric.  She has no idea why she had it and says its ugly.  It looks very vintage, but the selvedge says Connecting Threads, so I know it's newer.  But I adore it!

PPS I promise more Freddie photos (well, duh), but mostly he's just sleeping in my lap when I remember and those aren't very interesting...