Originally Posted by
QuiltingNinaSue
Welcome back, TDT. I agree with gardengal; wish the PC blocks were standard size.
And how are the cats doing? We lost the neighbor's yellow cat that had adopted us, it was hit and killed by a car. Still feeding 8 cats twice a day. QNS
Thanks QuiltingNinaSue. First, let me say I agree that Doe and Darts must be a stinker with all those Y seams. The thing about the block sizes is complicated. For sure, eight-inch blocks are a standard size. But our quilting fore-mothers didn't have those acrylic rulers, so they made the pieces any old size they wanted. The blocks based on 9by9 grids, or 5by5 and 7by7, and 6by6, come to think about it, won't have pieces that come out to even 1/8th inch increments. (Does that make sense?) Actually, I think some of the charm of sampler quilts is that unevenness.
Laurie has only ever cut quilts from templates, so the whole issue of rotary cutting never entered her mind. Frankly, when I was editing and illustrating the FWS book it never occurred to me that any other patterns would be necessary. That's due to my training as a quilt-book editor, where you always present the patterns with whatever technique the author uses. And Krause wouldn't have paid to have them drawn anyway.
From the early feedback on the FWS quilt (some of it not stated very kindly), Laurie decided the PC book would have everything on people's wish lists. I was so tired by the time I got to the foundation patterns that I sent a kind of whiny email to Laurie, "Do I *have* to do the foundation patterns." She of answered something like, "Yes, dear. It will be good for you."
Once I got started, they were fun.
Cats: My 2 year old dear, affectionate little runt that I got at the ASPCA had a eyelid turned under that required surgery last year. She is a leaper, obsessed with getting to the highest spot in the apartment. Turns out she has luxating patellas (loose kneecaps) and she dislocated one last week. She will eventually need surgery on both knees, which will cost me an absurd amount of money I'll have to save up for. It's a preexisting condition so pet health insurance won't cover it. (Where have we heard *that* before?) If a kitty is old and sick and suffering, I have no problem putting her to sleep. But this little kitty is young and happy and healthy, so what else can I do?