Tuesday 17 September 2013

Alfie and Tula

I thought I would share a photo with you all today of Alfie,  he is my daughter Helen`s cat and he comes to stay with me when she is away. I had him for 2 weeks in august whilst she was suning herself in Portugal.  He is a very large or should I say fat cat and last week was under the weather, as Helen was on a 12 hour shift, she is a nurse I took him to the vets.  An expensive visit £88 and a big ticking off, he weighs 7.5 kilos which they say is twice what he should weigh!  He is now on a diet, 2 pouches of food a day, no biscuits or treats and if he does not lose any weight his food will be cut back further.  Just as well they did not see him a couple of years ago, I am sure he was fatter then!!




Now for Tula,  I have 2 weeks of photos to add blocks 46 to 51







We are working on triangles at the moment,   well at least we were  |I have now done all 100 and they are spread out on my lounge floor,   a good excuse not to hoover don`t you think! I cut loads of them out  early last week and then over from friday to sunday stitched 40 so was very pleased to get them finished, now wondering what to do with my time!  I do not know what I will do with them but wondering about adding a border to every block, this way they will all be exactly the same size as some are  not quite right. Maybe grey would look good, it will be hard to pick a colour that will go with everything , I do not want to use white or cream as I think it will be too pronounced, what does anyone else think?   Thought I would also off set them but no hurry as we only load 3 onto the site a week. Here is a photo of them on the floor. They are in number order but will move them around to get a better effect when I join them up.  If I am honest I am hoping my good friend Cheryl will help me, I will have to arrange for her to come and stay as she is  in London and I am in Leeds. It will be lovely to have her here and might even be able to unload some books onto her! Cheryl is an excellent quilter and a great friend who I met up with at the festival of quilts, we also met Queenie who I am sure a lot of you follow on her blog.


This is the 100 blocks, just as well I do not use my lounge isn`t  it.
I still have not posted any quilt photos, will do soon but her is one of Queenie with her quilt and with me.



I am the one on the left in the orange tee shirt!  It was lovely to meet with Queenie and she shared so much info with me as she is a far more experienced quilter than me a mere learner. Her quilt is really beautiful


35 comments:

motidana said...

Poor little Alfie . Having to go on a diet. And he does look so cute too ! Your blocks are lovely . I`m sure you must have had a wonderful time discussing quilting with Queenie . That picture with both of you speaks for itself !

Nana said...

What a lovely cat and nice blocks. It´s always nice to see that us patchworkers and quilters have alot in common.

Nana

Monica said...

Wow, Margaret, great job getting all those blocks finished in one go! With my first quilt top I also had to fudge the size by adjusting the width of the borders, so that is a possibility. But I quite like the way they all look together in your photo, so maybe you could also find the smallest, trim the rest down to that size, and join them without sashings at all. Yes, you may cut off some points that way, but it may not be that obvious in the final mix.

Congratulations on getting this far! This will be a nice one to pull out in later life and say "this was my first!"

Sparklyjools said...

Alfie is a handsome boy! I hope his diet goes well. Gosh, you have done marvelously on making all those blocks, what an eclectic and colourful mix!

JennyPennyPoppy said...

Hope Alfie does well on the cat diet. All your blocks look fantastic! So wonderfully colourful and so many different shapes. Great job on making them all Margaret. Very nice picture of you and Queenie. Thanks for sharing that with us. Great pictures and post :)

Pippas quilts said...

Poor Alfie I hope he manages to lose weight. A fabulous photo of you and Queenie. Your blocks are brilliant well done.

Mosaic Magpie said...

Alfie is not too fat...he is just fluffy! I do hope he is able to loose the weight without having to cut back further on his food...I like to eat too much too!!!
What about black for your blocks? Love all the colors!
Deb

Sandi said...

Alfie IS a big pussycat! :) He looks very nice and fluffy. Hope he does well with his new diet. And wow, all the blocks together look fantastic!

Queeniepatch said...

Well, Alfie might need to loose some weight but what a sweet heart shaped face. Be grateful he's not rolling round the floor on top of your wonderful block collection. It is IMPRESSIVE and I agree with Monica, in future you can show this off proudly as your first.
I hope Cheryl will come and give you some advice; I was most impressed by her knowledge and enthusiasm about quilts when we met at the festival. Grey sashing for a quiet look, but black would make every block pop!
It was so nice to meet you at the FOQ. Thanks for posting!

Dianne said...

Hi Margaret, Your blocks are spectacular. Well done!! The grey sashing might be nice, Margaret, or a printed neutral that 'reads' as a grey would be nice for a modern look too. Like, Queenie said, black would make them pop and there are some nice black on black prints around. How lovely you were able to meet up with Queenie and it is a lovely photo.

Jane said...

Wow, they look fabulous. A dark green looks good too, which is what I did with one of my first, but black too.

Cattinka said...

Poor cat is on a diet... I bet he begs for food all the time, I know because I have a tomcat that weighs just about the same.
Have a nice day
KATRIN W.

Annet said...

Wow, 40 blocks in just one weekend! They look very colourfull all together. It will be difficult to find a colour for the shashings, maybe black or brown?

Grit said...

Your cats are so lovely.
And wonderful blocks.

Stitching Lady said...

I am so enthusiastic to see you and Queenie on a photo - most wonderful - Isn't that that you could meet. How lovely! It makes my day! Alfie has some terrible time before him, always hungry - or does he go out and catch mice? Your quilt arrangement is so beautiful already. I am admiring you for all this work which you did in a relatively short time.

Vintage Sheet Addict said...

It's a pity you can't throw them a ball and get them burning off some energy! I'm sure he will feel a whole lot better, my friends cat was very overweight and she's gradually lost the weight and the vets bills have almost disappeared! :) x

Margo Brooks said...

The blocks look beautiful together--so colorful. I'm impressed that you could do 40 blocks in a weekend!

Gaia said...

All the block are looking great, I like the one mixed with batik fabric a lot.
..and Alfie is so cute!

J Honda said...

a tremendous blessing - wow - to meet and have a photo with Queenie - I am so thankful for you both whom I have "met" just via stitching/quilting online -

it is incredible that you have done 40 blocks in one weekend - very very well done !! a continued inspiration, you are!! much love to Alfie, as well :)

Anonymous said...

Your blocks look fantastic now that you have put them together, I can't decide myself what colour to use, it needs to be something very plain, may be getting a few sample strips would be best. Poor Alfie,I bet he is starving but it is for the best, he is a beautiful cat!

Anonymous said...

I think gray would be great, but I love the way they look, laid out together. I'm sure you will come up with a project in no time - something bigger this time, maybe?

Mama Spark said...

Alfie is adorable!! Love me some fatties!!!

Claudia said...

Alfie has such a lovely face, sorry for his diet. Your blocks look so great, you are very busy!. I'm really so enthusiastic about the photos with Queenie and you. I wish I could meet you there next year!

Jillian said...

Fantastic work, Margaret. I think they look fabulous as they are - so I'd go with Monica's suggestion. If yo decide for borders I think the black effect is worth trying.

One of my daughters has a cat with weight problems. She's doing well but has been on her diet for 4-5 years!

Mary Ellen said...

I have three cats and two of them need to be on Alfie's diet. My husband is the culprit, as he is forever topping off their bowls. I have tried to explain to him that they will not starve to death if given a bit less food, but he is a Y chromosome human and does not seem to understand this double X chromosome person at times.

shirley said...

Margaret your quilt squares are so bright and beautiful together. I reckon they would look good with black borders.....but I could be wrong.

Anonymous said...

You have done an amazing job with those block Margaret. They look fabulous.

Sparky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Faith said...

Wow you've done really well with your blocks, how you got the sharpness of the triangles. Ive not done any blocks yet with the sewing machine as I keep shying away from it. Next week Im going on an evening a week patchwork course so maybe I will get some lessons there. I love Alfie he looks a happy chubby cat there. Thankyou for visiting my blog xxx

Starr White said...

Hi Margaret! Love the photo of Alfie - a real "fat cat"!! Do you have that expression in the UK? And oh my, your quilt blocks look fantastic all laid out together like that!! I think it looks like a fabulous quilt just as it is! Can't wait to see it come together. Happy weekend to you :)))

Mrs. B. said...

Alfie reminds me of as story my son used to like called "Flabby Tabby". The cat in it loses weight when the family get a kitten who always beats her to her bed and eats all the meals before she has a chance to get there. So she ends up exercising in secret and losing lots of weight so that she can beat the kitten.

Your blocks look fab all laid out. Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt.

Anita said...

poor Alfie! hope he loses weight soon.
Love all your blocks,my favorite is black and printed blue block .

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

Wow, such an accomplishment! All 100, looks great. Sorry I can't help with the finishing calculations, but I know it will be fabulous!

Lady Locust said...

Woohoo! I could see the pictures. Sitting some place soft is over rated:) As you would show the blocks, I thought are these all for the same quilt? That looks fabulous! Love that they are all different patterns. Bet you didn't get board.
Have a beautiful day.
JoeyLea

Vicki Miller said...

Yes, I love the applique quilt, too but Alfie is pretty cute!