Block 23: Kettle's On

I feel like I could do with a good cup of tea right now. But it's right before bed so I had better not.

I'm thinking about tea because this week's block was "Kettle's On."

This was made in a week that felt like I had a lot to do. I managed to get the block done except the last seam in two mornings when I had just a little time waiting for the kettle to boil for tea. (How apropos.) This is what happens when your sewing machine is out and ready to go and you have your small travel ironing board and iron set up on your desk (and you've kitted up all the blocks).

This block had a lot of tiny pieces--one inch squares, for instance. Fortunately it did not have a lot of seams that had to match. I really like the delicate pink flower and heart background fabric, but it is too thin. I don't like how much the seams show through it. I imagine this will get better when the block is sitting against a white batting instead of a black background, though.

Here's my story about tea that happened recently. A few weeks ago when it got colder after it had been nice and warm for a bit, I started making a pot of tea in the morning and bringing a cup to work. I realized I could put most of the rest of the pot into a thermos so I could enjoy two big cups of tea over the morning and one more I would make myself wait for until lunch was done.

Then my real self resurfaced and I got out of bed with barely enough time to brush my teeth, let alone make tea. And I went without for a few days. And (you're going to guess the punch line here) I was soooo sleepy all through the day and into the evening. But it wasn't like I was giving up tea and knew there would be consequences. I just didn't have time to make it. I could not figure out why I was dragging so, but after a few days I realized it was the lack of tea and wanted it back. So I mostly get out of bed on time now. (And I now understand those people who get out of bed for the sake of having a coffee.)

Here are all the blocks I have done so far:

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Here is Kim's pretty kettle:

She loved that piece of pink floral fabric but it didn't seem right for any of the blocks she was cutting. Then the kettle block came along and she could use it in one solid piece and it yielded a very pretty and dainty kettle. (I think we both went kind of dainty this week.) I also like her yellow floral spout and lid. (And did you notice we both put a red knob on the lid?)