On to the next UFO!

Can hardly believe it but my April UFO goal is already a top!  So I am debating working on a second one...

This one isn't going to be as fast!  I made lots of these little 5 inch random pieced squares at one point.  I made a table runner out of some and some coasters out of others.  These are the remainders...the "rule" is when I open a UFO box/bag I either finish it, donate it either as a finished project or UFO, or I toss it.  No putting it back into the pile...

Checkerboards is now a top!  Even have a top pieced for it...

I'm also busy washing fabric to piece backs.  One of my least favorite parts of quilting...such big pieces to iron then pin then push through the sewing machine and then press again...One down and three to go.  I've washed the fabrics. Still lots of work to do!

We are dealing with some extreme weather here in Georgia today...thunderstorms, hail and potential tornados!  I hate tornados!

A pixelated photo of Dobby I was thinking of using for a quilt...

It has been really wet this week. Last night Dobby hadn't come home at his usual 7 pm curfew.  About 9 we went out to look for him.  We found him next to our deck covered in mud...totally covered!  Had to get him into the bathtub...he isn't a big fan of baths.  Anyway, he has some scratches but nothing too serious.  The only blood flowing was mine...

He is in his safe and quiet place recovering....

Cleaning day...

First the good news...Dobby is mellowing out.  He no longer is howling, batting glassware off the counters or ripping up pillows.  It took a week but he is almost back to being himself.  Here he is in his regular spot on the couch checking out the shirt-strings...

Now the not so great...I have to spend the next two days getting my house ready for a quilt bee on Friday...I love having quilt friends over the house but I have to admit the quilt room has expanded to every room on the house.  There are vintage blocks soaking in the guest bathroom, fabric on the dining room table, projects piled in boxes in the corner of the hallway, applique bits and pieces on the coffee-table, and a stack of "stuff to take to the bee" in bags in the front entryway.  And that friends is only the half of it!

So time to buckle under and get organizing...which is difficult because I have projects like this ocean waves that I am making using an antique one (it is underneath the new patches) as inspiration that is begging for me to get back to work on it!

There are some good things that happen when you clean...I gave a stack of orphan blocks to my friend Angie and she made this little quilt in the photo above!  Sometimes it is more fun to let go of the blocks and let other folks finish them!  This is going to be in the Guild's silent auction in October...

Sigh...must be strong and at least get the dining room cleared out....

Orphan block mayhem...

I've been trying to keep busy the past few days.  Lots of changes has made life a bit stressful of late...

One good thing was a visit by my friend Tonya!  She totally spoiled Brownie...this cat will be impossible for the next few days...totally expects me to sit around and pat her all day!

Tonya spent a good part of the visit scrounging up old projects and lots of orphan blocks from every corner of the house!  (trust me there were a lot of blocks!)  She is trying very hard to convince me to be more "liberated" and adventurous in my mixing of fabrics.  I am much more adventurous than say, 4-5 years ago but still not able to totally cut loose.  Tonya tried mixing my repro crumb blocks with some Moda reds and greens with some brights and Kaffe...I felt like one of the martian in the movie Mars Attacks when their brains explode!!!

There were some less stressful projects like these Carolina Crossroad blocks that ended up in a mislabeled box when we moved back from England.  (Yes I still have some boxes I haven't unpacked....)

And these Cowgirl Sampler blocks from when I taught some new quilters...

We also went through some fabric scrap boxes...why I thought  needed to save these "strings" I'm not sure!

Now a question for you cat experts out there.  Since my dog Mac passed away last week my male cat, Dobby, has been a mess.  He is chasing the two older cats around the house, he will not allow me to pet him, an he is just being really aggressive and "confused."  He and Mac were really close.  When Dobby came into the house 2-1/2 years ago the other two cats wanted nothing to do with him. Mac on the other hand, cleaned him, played with him and kept the peace when the cat fights began.   Is there any way to hasten this adjustment of "power" in the house?  Today for the first time Dobby destroyed a pillow...he is getting out of control!