After listening to serenading feral cats for the last few weeks, I decided those cats need to be kept inside and since Nikko pointed out SHE is not allowed on the beds, I picked the wood flooring for a background.. I pinned the cat group to the background with safety pins (to prevent fall-out while travelling) and changed those to short applique pins as I came to them. The meeting was long enough to add a border of the quilt pattern.
The next step is to cut away the background fabric from behind the cats. That is something to be done very carefully ... scissors with a rounded point will make it a bit easier.
The next step is to embroider faces on the cats. It helps to choose eye color that will show up on the cat prints. I added eyes, nose, mouth and whiskers on the one below I think there is a sleeping cat or two and one winking. My #3 daughter made a tessellating cat quilt for her former roommate's baby living in New Orleans and it was a Mardi Gras quilt with very fancily adorned cats. I wish I had taken a picture of it to show.
Since this quilt was named "Pearl and friends" and the design was inspired by my cat, Pearl, you can see her here with her odd eyes and kink in her tail.
I used two strands of embroidery thread and satin stitch.
Yesterday morning, I was surprised to see that one of my cactus plants was full of flowers. I have had this plant for over three years and this is the first time it bloomed. Last night I looked at it before going to bed and all the flowers were closed. Some of those plants only bloom one day and not knowing this plant's pattern, I had grabbed my camera to record the event. Well, this morning all the flowers had re-opened and I noticed flower buds developing on the smaller section.
Another of my cactuses has also bloomed. These blooms last quite a while. This is "golden week" here in Japan but the days have been very rainy. Those plants seem to be doing their best to provide a touch of gold. Several more have flower spikes and I am so happy to have found a plant that can take the extremes of heat and cold my room offers and thrive on neglect when I go camping for a week.
Happy Golden Week to you too!
Happy golden week to you! I love cactus plants and flowers - they are so unusual. I am going to try the tessellating cats soon.
ReplyDeleteYour cat quilt is really coming to life. It looks great.
ReplyDeleteI love the faces on the cats in the quilt Julie
ReplyDeleteThe cat faces really make that quilt come alive - wonderful job. What a pretty plant the cactus has become!
ReplyDeleteare thos cats appliqued? they look awesome, I might save your picture for inspiration if you don't mind?? looks just like MC Escher:-)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try your cat quilt. Is the pattern available? It's terrific!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Golden Week Julie. You seem to make such good progress with your stitching while attending meetings! Here it is golden one day and very grey the next, we are on a grey day at the moment sadly.
ReplyDeleteI just love your feral cats and would love to be able to make something like that. Our cacti are in bloom also. They are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove your cats.
ReplyDeletetricia
I love your tessellating cats. Living in Arizona I am surrounded by cactus. Everything seems so alive when they all start blooming. Happy Golden Week to you.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a fun pattern and fun using all different types of fabrics.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
I think that you sew faster by hand than I do with a machine.
ReplyDeleteThe cats are looking so cute and I love their faces! That is amazing that the cactus bloomed after 3 years. Beautiful blooms.
ReplyDeleteJust heard about the tornado in your area. Are you ok? Not sure just where you are, just know that you are near Tokyo, and so was the tornado. Praying for you and those affected.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, your cactuses in bloom are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day!
sandra