:: Ron Swanson Along - blocks 4, 5 AND 6!! ::

So today didn't quite go as planned on the sewing-front BUT I was determined to at least get all my Ron blocks sewn together - look!! 

{{oh hello top-half of Ron's head!!! I have repeatedly tried to crop out the yuk clothes-line surrounds,  but you'll just
have to focus on Ron and ignore the gutter and red pegs}}

Can't quite believe that Ron is starting to emerge.  So happy with how he's going.  Monica's pattern is awesome.

Here are some closer peeks at the latest surprises buzzing around Ron's head:

{{this is a big stretch, but we have Ron's first favourite food and Ron's 4th (I think ...) favourite food.  Bacon and shrimp.  Go with me}}

{{not Fairway Frank and some salad.  Messin' with Ron's head with the salad.  Ignore the thready bits, I was in a hurry to take the pics}}

{{aaaand now we have library books and a red man's-shirt, not a lady's shirt ... but no Tammy}}

{{finally - we have actual bacon.  the cheese, tomato and lettuce are an unnecessary addition to the meal and can be left on the plate}}

Awesome Ron, awesome.  Remember to visit Monica's flickr group for Ron to see what some super clever people are creating in honour of Ron.

Happy weekend to you.  Cold and windy in BrisVegas, perfect weather for the Ekka. 

xoxo cat

:: this week ... ::

Suddenly it's Thursday.

It's been really hard to get into a regular sewing-groove lately.  I write nice lists of sewing-things-to-do into my diary (well, calendar, since "diary" sounds like I'm 14), but then other things pop up and walk all over the sewing lists.

I DID have a good run this afternoon, and got blocks 4, 5 AND 6 of Ron chain-pieced and ironed.  I have high sewing-hopes for tomorrow - I plan to be back here with pics of blocks 1 - 6 sewn together, with Ron half-formed.  That will be a big jump on today's Ron pic:

{{ready for ironing. I spy library books and a red shirt ... but no Tammy ... }}

In other news, a very awesome package arrived yesterday:

{{errm hello, is this what I think it is??}}

{{gaaahhh!! yes it is!!}}

{{super-gorgeous constellation quilt made by Katy from ImAGingerMonkey - link below }}

{{quilt and bag, also made by Katy, which I bought ages ago, hangin' by the pool}}

Exciting, no?  The quilt is just gorgeous, I loved it when I first saw it on Katy's blog - gorgeous fabrics, stars, binding, quilting.  Reeeeally lucky to have snapped it up.

Katy makes awesome things from awesome fabrics.  She is part of the Fat Quarterly team, and is queen of the Hexy MF (hmmmm, no hexy making going on around here for a while now ...).  Katy's blog is ImAGingerMonkey - go have a look, if you haven't already.  

Last thing.  A happy-mail-day on a much smaller scale today.  The King of the Disco arrived:

{{kickin' back against the constellation quilt - are you noticing the awesome quilting? or are your eyes locked on the
towering 'fro}}

I found the king on Amy's blog (awesome Amy, did you order yours yet?) and knew I needed one of my very own.  He is destined for the dishes, but not 'til he's danced off to an upcoming disco party, where he's needed to double as a microphone. 

OK.  Happy dancing to you.    xoxo cat 

:: Ron Swanson Along - block 3 ::

And oh, within 24 hours I'm back with block 3!!

Moving onto the top right / left side of Ron's head, depending on your / his perspective, I bring you a few Parks and Recreation treasures:

{{can you see the treasures or do you need a closer look?}}

((ok here we go}}

Top to bottom, we have another 'tache for Ron, a Sherbet Pips girl scooting along in a Pawnee park, Fairway Frank himself (yes, it's Fairway Frank, indeed a possum, not a squirrel), pancakes and cream for Leslie, aaaaaaand Portland, 'cos Monica is never far from Ron's thoughts.  

And ooops, coming out for a wider shot, we have some rogue vegetables sneaking in, to mess with Ron's head.

{{vegetables, begone}}

And last pic - here's the whole top of Ron's head:

{{had to do a bit of photo-cropping to get the pyjamas out of the pic}}

OK, I'm off to cook dinner and have a pre-weekend glass of wine - awesome - happy weekend everyone, keep Ron in your thoughts.     xoxo cat

:: Ron Swanson Along - block 2 ::

Well it's been a while between blocks ...

The fabulous Monica Happy Zombie has now posted instructions for 10 out of 12 blocks for the super awesome Ron Swanson Along.

And the fabulous Penny from Sewtakeahike has now finished her Ron.

Me?  Bam!  Here's block 2:

{{my Ron helper out by the pool}}

And here's a pic of blocks 1 and 2 together:

{{both my Ron helpers.  see their little fingers holding on together in the middle?  love them}}

As I've been sewing Block 2 today, I've been thinking it seemed way more serious and down-to-business than Block 1.  Lots of one-colour going on, for Ron's hair, covering his mighty brain.  I got to thinking of 'business-mode Ron'.  March 31st Ron.  So to lighten Ron's mood, I added in a tiny square of bacon, do you see it? 

In case you're not in the mood to squint at the screen, here's the bacon up close, in all it's quarter-inch-out-seams glory.  What's with my seam-alignment ... I swear, some unpicking is in Ron's future. 

{{it would be embarrassing to admit how excited I was to find bacon fabric, so I won't even mention it}}

Very happy to be another block down.  Hop across to Monica's Ron Swanson Along flickr pool to see more Rons in action - we're talking gorgeous colours, we're talking Ron on tour.  Not to be missed.

Here's to Block 3 tomorrow .... oh yeah, I set the bar high ... 

xoxo cat

:: Ron Swanson Along - block 1 ::

Ron Swanson Along - block 1, a photo by cat&vee on Flickr.

Do you know Ron Swanson? From 'Parks and Recreation' on TV? 

It's a ripper of a show, and there is a lot to love about Ron.

Never would have thought to make a pixellated quilt of his face though.

That very happy thought occurred to the awesome Monica of Happy Zombie. She's created a pattern and broken it down into a 12-step quilt-a-long - the 'Ron Swanson Along'.  Click here to see her hilarious and amazing quilt.

I'm in. Here's block 1. 

Looking forward to seeing Ron come to life.

xoxo cat