I started this little project back in 2009 and then laid it aside. It is a tessellation exercise, really very simple blocks, but the trick is in the arranging. Originally I was going to phase it from purest white in the upper left corner to deepest black in the lower right, but there just wasn't enough VALUES CONTRAST! (thanks for all the lessons in this Sophie). So during our recent quilt retreat, I got to play with these on a design board, so now I'm in the process of sewing the little ears to the rectangle above, and then I'll just have 7 columns and 7 rows to join to gether. I'm calling this "Millions of Cats" based on the Wanda Ga'g children's book from the 1920's (which Captain Kangaroo read aloud frequently on his old tv show (I'm dating myself -- now my husband and I may be the little old man and little old woman in the book!) So the book's cover is yellow, so the border will probably be the brighter yellow on the left (but wider). To give a sense of scale, I think the rectangles are 4x5, with 1inch squares "flipped" to become the ears. I haven't decided whether the whiskers will be added before quilting or as part of the quilting, to give depth. (I would wecome suggestions). It's been interesting to work just in black, white and greys, as I am normally a color gal.
On other cat fronts, we've been thinking of getting another cat, as we have been just a single cat family since a year ago when our dear Jennifer died of kidney failure, and a quilt friend just texted me that kittens are available from a rescue group, so we may be investigating that this weekend.
On a separate front, I just downloaded about 15 or so quilt apps onto my I phone, so I may start reviewing them on this blog. stay tuned.
Your quilt prompted a happy memory for me. When I picked up and moved–temporarily, I thought–from California to Michigan when my dad was ill, i took along some fabrics and my featherweight. I was arranging cat blocks (made from plaids) and my dad walked by and suddenly recognized the cats in the design and exclaimed, "cat heads!" And that's what I said to myself when I opened your blog today.
ReplyDeleteI like that you're adding some color to all those black and white blocks.
Love your cat quilt. Hopefully, the weekend will see lots of progress for you! I also loved that book, and shared it with my young students in first, second or third every year, so you can pretend you were a child who heard it in the last 20 years. LOL It's a great read aloud, as well as a great writing jumping off point for older students.
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