We Interrupt This Program to Introduce ...

Meet Lady Red Squirrel.  She goes by Scarlett with her family and friends.

The artist shares a backstory for each of his animal portraits and includes it on his Etsy site and on a lovely card that comes with the order - here is Scarlett's:

"Lady Red Squirrel - Fed up with being patronized by human park goers, this redhead founded the internationally renowned club: Never Underestimate Tree Squirrels [N.U.T.S.]. She now serves as the group's president and chief party planner."

And this is Gentleman Squirrel who goes by Douglas (Doug for short) with his family and friends.

This is his backstory as told by the artist:

Gentleman Squirrel - Tragically this squirrel has a vicious peanut allergy. He is researching antidotes using rare wild mushrooms but in the meantime, he luckily lives in an area with an abundance of nutritious berries.

Doug and Scarlett sitting on my pressing table . . . 

. . . and at home on the wall in my sewing studio where they can hang out with Hunter, Lady Violet, and Flash (Mischief's cousin) as members of the Ad-Hoc Squirrel Club.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men."

Roald Dahl

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day

As my regular readers know, I have a lot of fun with the squirrel concept including the Ad Hoc Squirrel Club.

First there was Chase.  

Then there was Hunter.  

Then there was Flash.

Then there was Mischief.

And more recently Violet joined the scurry.

(and it is all Dug's fault - you know, the dog in the movie UP who frequently stopped mid sentence to exclaim "Squirrel!")

This  photo was sent to me by Louise  who noticed this winter-season-dressed squirrel during her recent visit to Montreal.  

Thankfully I am not alone in my chasing of squirrels.

There are lots of you out there who are self-identified members of the Ad-Hoc Squirrel Club (linked above) and probably a lot more who haven't actually ID'd themselves yet. 

(remember, it is never too late to join the party)

Mari (on a blogging hiatus) sent me this fun photo a while back.

(Fair warning - squirrels can be very convincing!)

And here's a fun vintage graphic that Louise discovered while doing research on a completely different subject.

You can see lots of other posts featuring my studio squirrels by clicking on the different labels at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy! 

Quiltdivajulie

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Double click the image below to enjoy one of my all-time favorite Non Sequitur comic strips --

Rident - Question Answered

And the answer is . . . 

I was able to cut fifty-one 8.5" squares from those many four-strip strata.

They are now sorted onto five trays ready to be pieced into five columns - after I get February's placemats quilted and bound.

(Pretty in Pink is quilted with binding pending - so I hope to have a finish to share on Wednesday). 

Of course (!) I saved all the strata offcuts  - you can see them sewn together on the right side of my second design wall.  

That full-length offcuts strip is shown here folded in half.  

Once the top is pieced and I know the size, I'll use these vertical slabs to piece the backing using my notes on the clipboard in the second photo.

Rident (adj. - laughing, smiling, cheerful) is going to end up being an awesome big brother quilt.

* * * 

Hunter has arrived safely and seems quite happy in his matted frame on the wall in my sewing studio.  

And, as Megan put it, "he's definitely a bloke." 

Quiltdivajulie

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"No one looks stupid when they're having fun."

Amy Poehler

More Squirrel-y Additions

National Squirrel Day Part Two: 

I sorted my collection of KF books into date-published order and added small labels to the spines so it will be easy to put them back in chronological order. 

Of course I had to sit and browse through some of them . . . 

When I encountered TUSSIE MUSSIE from Quilts in Italy, I remembered how much I've always wanted to make this.

No time like NOW to create the fabric pull . . . so off I went.

TA-DA . . . Proposed backing on the bottom, fabric stacks in the middle, and possible binding fabric along the top edge.

I will go ahead and cut strips from each of the stacked fabrics since this glorious assortment is monopolizing my design-cutting-basting table.

But as I was taking this photo, one of the comments left on Saturday's post - the one from Cherie (no blog) who was part of the SSOBB (see sidebar for permanent link) - popped into my head.  

Cherie wrote:  "I found a cool stuffed squirrel while thrifting shirts and he has lived in my studio ever since"

I quickly headed downstairs to the spot where we keep our grand-dog's toys.  

We bought her this squirrel because her very favorite thing to do when she visits is to watch for and bark at and chase the squirrels.

Since she does not like the toy (with a squeaker in his tail, even), I have now claimed it as mine and moved him to my studio!

His name is CHASE, for obvious reasons.

After he checked out the greens in my diamond squirrel project, he hopped to the other side of the room to meet up with Max.

And then he was off to the design studio where he just had to get paws-on with the new fabric pull for Tussie Mussie.

 (Note to self:  Blogger's spell checker does NOT like those two words.  It keeps turning them into "Aussie Aussie" -- so I must come up with another name for the project)

And because there is never ONE squirrel anywhere, I have this character on order.  

(the print will arrive unframed but I have one ready and waiting)

I've chosen the name Hunter.  

There's quite a difference of opinion here as to Hunter's gender and so I chose a neutral name meaning a hunter or provider - of ideas in this case.

* * *

And so ends National Squirrel Appreciation Day 2022.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

Albert Einstein