Shop Cat Update

 Today we were able to catch one of the little guys I talked about in my last post...so meet Jay, the new shop cat!  He's been to the vet and gotten a clean bill of health.  The vet figures he's about 4 weeks old and he weighs in at a whopping 1.8 pounds.  He was purring so loudly that the vet couldn't hear his heart.  She thinks that the mother is no longer with the kittens because he was dirty...see that little ring of dirt around his nose?  I brought him home, cleaned him up, did a little shopping and he's now all set up in our office.  I'll head in to check on him tomorrow to make sure he's doing okay.  He is such a sweetheart!

It's tough work being a kitten though, especially one who is captured and then pampered to the point of exhaustion.  He just couldn't stay awake any longer...

Now we hope we can catch his two siblings who are still outside!

Crazy Cat Lady

So, if you saw this picture, say on an animal adoption site, would YOU be able to resist?  Well, I couldn't!  Especially since we've been looking for a Siamese at a shelter for over 20 years!  When we got married, the Boss had a beautiful Siamese named Kimmy. Ever since she's been gone, we've been looking for another, but we didn't want to go through a breeder, we wanted a rescue.  Well, these two popped up in my Facebook feed at a local shelter and I couldn't resist those faces.

That's Nala on the left above, and Simba on the right.  I went to just adopt Nala, the female, but I couldn't separate them. They came from a hoarder's home and are very skittish.  We've had them for about 2 months and they still won't let us touch them, but they do come out now and play, snuggle up with us to sleep, take treats from our hands.  

They are also coming out and running around the house now.  They are ALWAYS together and have blended well with our other three cats.  Yes...we now have FIVE cats.  See what happens when the kids move out?  

Speaking of kids, one of Ellen's coworkers is expecting a baby girl and Ellen asked me if I could make a quilt for her.  Of course!  I put together this little star quilt for the baby...

and this week I got it quilted and bound.  I love how it turned out, it's so soft looking! 

Ellen and her boyfriend are moving from her apartment into a larger apartment, so she decided she would take her bedroom furniture with her.  The furniture was my parents from when they first got married, so it needed some updating.  She started with a nightstand, just to test it out.  I didn't get a before shot, but you can see the rest of the furniture in the background.  She sanded, primed and I painted and...

it now looks like this!  Since the nightstand came out so cute, they're now busy prepping the rest of the bedroom set for paint.  Now we have to figure out what kind of finish to put on it...wax maybe?  Any great ideas?

I also decided to do a little painting.  I was tired of the shelves in the Boss's office, so while he was on a business trip, I took them from white to red.  A bright, Philadelphia Phillies red.  Without telling him I was doing it.  Yeah, I'm like that.

Fortunately, when he got home from the trip, he liked it.  He let me stay.

And just because there wasn't enough kitty cuteness at the top of the page, here's a shot of a little guy who we found outside our shop at work this week.  He was playing with two others in an enclosure where we have this hose.  They were having a wonderful time running in and out of the hoses!  We're trying to capture them and if we do, one will be adopted by the owner of the company, one will go to foster care until he's adoptable and this little one?

He'll be our "shop cat" and will live in our office/warehouse.  Yeah, kittens at home AND at work.  

I am officially the crazy cat lady.

Vintage Rouge

About 2 years ago I thought I needed to add a Block of the Month program to my life, as if I didn't have enough other projects waiting in the wings!  I dutifully did the first month when it came in and then...well, you know how THAT goes!

Months One through Three of Vintage Rouge

I've finally pulled the rest of the kits out and started working on them.  I'm proud to say that I have the first 3 months done now.  (Three months worth in about 27 months?  Yeah, don't want to think about that!) The next month is pieced, then come 2 months of applique.  My goal is to have it done by Christmas of 2014.  Wonder if I stand a chance?  What do YOU think?

I'd swear this used to be a quilting blog...

but it's become a little bit of everything.  With today being Labor Day, I was thinking back over where the summer went.  It passed so quickly!  I did little in the garden this year, chronic illness has a way of keeping you from doing the things you want to do because what you have to do takes precedence.

Summer started here with Andrew and Dayna getting engaged on the day before my birthday!  The wedding won't be for about 2 years, but we're delighted to welcome her into the family!

The happy couple!

Another highlight of my summer was driving Grace's car down to her in Orlando.  I hadn't expected to see her until November, but we realized that she really needed her car.  I took a few days off work and drove the 16 hours from NJ to FL.  I enjoyed the ride and was so excited to see her.  We were able to spend a full day at the Magic Kingdom, it was such fun!

Grace and Minnie

We arrived at the park at 10AM and left sometime after midnight.  After visiting the park so many times, Grace knew exactly when to go on each ride with the shortest wait, the best times to get fast passes and how to time things so that we didn't have to wait for more than a few minutes anywhere.  It was fabulous.

Cinderella's Castle

 It poured the whole day, but we didn't care, it just made it easier to get on rides! She wore her Minnie ears all day and insisted that I wear the tiara that she got me for my birthday...I got to be Merida from Brave.

Grace and I...with tiara of course!

We did have the most amazing time and I can't wait to head back down in November!  Since I've been home I've been working on my Milk Run Shawl.  I fell in love with it when Mollie was making it and needed to make one for myself.  I have about 40 rows on the body left, then onto the ruffle.  I only plan to do the ruffle on two sides and not across the top, so I hope to have it done before Disney in November.  I think it will be nice to wear on the plane! I'm using Cascade 220 in Silver Gray. I did make a mistake that I see, but don't know that anyone else will notice.  I'd gotten almost a full skein past it before I noticed and I was NOT going back that far!

Milk Run Shawl

Finally, I came up with an idea to hang my Grandmother's Album quilt that I finished several years ago.  We have wood trim around the top of our family room.  I took a 6 foot long 1 by 3, stained it and the Boss and I drilled into it, and screwed it into the wall with knobs so that I can change out the quilt.  I had another of this type of hanger than I won years ago and it never occurred to me to use the same idea using the wood trim in the family room.  What can I say, I'm a little slow sometimes!  But it's finally hung and I'm enjoying it...it's much  better than just seeing the edge of the quilt, folded in my closet!

Grandma's Album Quilt

I've done some sewing, but it's handwork and doesn't seem to be showing much progress.  More on that next time...

Canoe Carnival 2013

This time of year is always a little crazy.  The first Saturday in August every year is Canoe Carnival in the little lake filled town that we live in.  It's a time to get together with friends, build a float...and mount it on two canoes so it can make its way around a lake.  The float idea and design is usually decided by late February and the serious building starts in June.  We work a few nights a week and the occasional weekend to get it all together.  This year the theme was circus, so we decided to make a Lego Circus.  Here are a few pictures from the building and from Canoe Carnival night, which was last Saturday.

Bringing all the elements we'd made to the lake house.

Getting them mounted on the float.

The work continues...

Our float group...A Group Named Sioux.

Lego Circus out on the lake.

Another view...I loved the little penguin!

Isn't it amazing what you can do with aluminum supports, 1" foam, paint and a little creativity?

Lee and I after he rowed the float around the lake.

It was a great night, perfect weather and so much fun..in spite of the fact we came in last in our division!  Now that it's all over, I'm back to doing some sewing and knitting...more on that next time!

Working on my Short List

It's been awhile since I had a short list post, so it must be time! Every year, Pennington Quilt Works sends a 20% off coupon to be used the month of your birthday.  Last year I used it to get to get the fabric and pattern for this quilt...

The pattern was Sherbet Stars by Cotton Way, with a few changes to make it my own. I had hoped that by the time this quilt was done, my Shingles pain would be gone, but that didn't happen.  Although using acupuncture, it has lessened and I've been able to cut down on my pain meds, so that was a blessing!  This one, although I had planned on keeping it, went to my daughter Ellen.  She fell in love with it and who was I to say no?  So, one down from my short list!

Second on my short list was a quilt for my youngest, Grace.  She was accepted into the Disney College Program and headed down to Orlando last week. She'll be working in Disney's Hollywood Studios until January of 2014.  I was working very hard on a quilt for her, but 5 days in the hospital really put me behind!  I still managed to get the quilt together, quilted and bound the night before she left.  This quilt is the large version of Plan C from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company book Schnibbles Times Two.  Here is the quilt, which I called "Disney Bound".  Yes, the name came to me when I was binding it. If you are "Disney Bounding" you dress like a character when you go to Disney, so I thought it was appropriate!  I love this quilt, made with Bonnie and Camille's Ruby.

Which brings me to my next birthday coupon!  When I was putting the borders on Disney Bound, I hit a pin with my machine.  Yep, it started clunking, the tension was off and I was in a panic...it was Thursday night and the quilt had to be finished by Saturday!  I pulled out my Featherweight and was able to finish the border, then put an emergency text in to my son's girlfriend and asked if she could send over my old Singer which she'd borrowed.  I was able to get the backing and binding made on the Singer, panic over!  Yesterday I took my machine up to Pennington Quilt Works to be serviced and brought my birthday coupon along.  So, this year's birthday quilt is going to be one from Camille Roskelly's new book Simply Retro.  The fabric is Lario from 3 Sisters...this is a very pretty line of fabric which I hadn't seen before.  The pattern I'm using is called "Fresh".  

I can't wait until I get my machine back and this quilt goes to the top of my short list!

Magna Cum Laude and all that...

Friday, May 17th was one of the greatest, proudest days in my life.  And one of the worst.  Ellen, after a very long road that included several colleges, major changes, a life changing diagnosis of Celiac Disease, and some time off to regroup, graduated from Rowan College with a degree in Law and Criminal Justice.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude (just .01 from Summa!) with a 4.0 for her last semester.  She was accepted to grad school and is leaving with a job as a case worker.  I'm so incredibly proud of Ellen and all of her accomplishments!  Here she is receiving her diploma...

And with that precious diploma that she worked so hard for!

 

The new graduate!
 

 My parents were there to cheer her on at graduation...

 

 

And so was my husband....

 

 

Her boyfriend Joe also graduated...

 

Do you see a picture of me?  No?  That's because I wasn't there.  While Ellen was graduating on Friday, Grace was taking me to the Emergency Room for a bladder infection gone bad.  I thought I might have one when I came home from picking Grace up at school on Wednesday.  I called the doctor on Thursday for some antibiotics but it was too late. 

 The infection had moved into my kidneys and had gone septic.  I was admitted and spent 5 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics, fluids and anything they could come up with to keep the fever down and get this bug out of me.  There were a few times I was worried...when my blood pressure dropped down very low the first night in the hospital, when my fever shot up over 104 degrees and they had to cool me down with ice packs...but all I could do was lay there and cry that I was missing one of the most important events in Ellen's life.  I also missed her party on Saturday which sounded like lots of fun!  I can deal with a lot of things, but this was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with.  Not being sick, that happens.  Missing graduation?  That sucked.  Ellen, I swear I'll be at your grad school graduation...I'm so glad I'll get a second chance!

 

Happiness is a Warm Baby...

and we have a new one in the family!  Little Emma is my great niece, the daughter of my nephew and his wife.  She decided she couldn't wait until her due date of May 30th, and made her appearance on April 27th.  This is the first of the new generation in our family...my sister's first grandchild and my parents' first great-grandchild. She is very tiny, so she's been in the hospital since she was born.  Of course, I couldn't stay away and have been to visit her several times.  She's just beautiful!

Emma and me

I was going to make her a quilt, but my mom was making one for her.  I decided that a quilt made by her great-grandmom would be very special, so chose to crochet an afghan for her.  Had she been born on time, I would have had it finished, but since she came early, she had to wait for it. (Not that she noticed!) I didn't use a pattern, just a tutorial on how to make hexagon crochet blocks from Lavender and Wild Rose.  I arranged the colors differently, trying to make them resemble roses surrounded by leaves.  I love how it turned out...I hope Emma does!

Emma's Afghan

Here's a little closer shot so you can see the blocks...

It was a fun afghan to make, it just took a lot longer than I thought it would!  I'm glad it's finished and I'm glad she's here!

It's Hard To Believe...

But I've been sewing! My daughter Grace is heading to Florida in a few weeks to take part in the Disney College Program. She'll be working at Disney for 7 months, so I thought she might need a new quilt to take with her.  This is the big Plan C quilt from Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles times two book. Now to start putting those rows together!

Wow, didn't realize how awful the picture I posted last night was, sorry about that!  I took a new one with a real camera instead of my phone.  This is the second Plan C I've made, the first can be seen here. This is the larger version, which I'm loving.  I'm using Bonnie and Camille's Ruby fabric for this.  I had bought it to make an applique quilt, but that project has been abandoned.  I  love that this quilt showcases the fabric by having a big, bold design.  I have a few more finishes to share in the next few days...I really have been working on projects!

New Winners!

Well, I never heard from the winners from my previous post and it's been more than a week.  I've decided to go ahead and pick new winners for The Giving Quilt.  Mel from Covered Porches and Wooden Screen Doors and Suzy from Suzy's Quilting Room are the two new winners according the random number generator!  Congratulations ladies, please send me your addresses and I'll get your books and pins off to you!

I visited a lovely quilt display a few weeks ago...post coming soon!

Winners!

I'm sorry it took so long to choose winners! Last week got away from me because I was busy with our new family member...we welcomed Ivy to our home!  She's not really a one eyed cat, the vet said that her eye is in there, but is so retracted that she couldn't tell if it was very small or just retracted so far in.  Ivy will see an eye specialist later this week.  She's a sweetheart and adapted into the house quite easily.

But, enough about Ivy, how about some winners?  Comments number 4 and 5 were chosen by the random generator, so Elisabeth and Patti from My Current Obsessions are the winners. Ladies, please send me your shipping information and I'll be happy to send your books along!  Elisabeth, I don't have an email for you, please email me!

Happy Easter Giveaway!

Wishing all of you a very happy, blessed Easter.  I love going to the Easter morning mass at our church, love the music and seeing all the little children dressed up in their adorable outfits.  I miss those days!

I was lucky enough to receive two copies of The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini and some pins to share with you.  If you are interested in receiving a copy, just leave a comment.  I'll choose two winners in the next day or two and send them along.  I reviewed this book awhile ago, you can read about it here.  I enjoyed this story!  The Giving Quilt comes out in paperback on Tuesday.

On The Needles Friday

It's been a while since I posted for On the Needles Friday.  I've been working on this hat for awhile, it's a Ravelry pattern called the Temperance Hat.  The pattern is pretty easy, I just knit slowly!  I'd hoped to have it done to wear this winter, but that didn't happen, so now I'm planning for it to be done by the end of baseball season...some of those late season games get cold here!  What's on YOUR needles today?  Show us at Patchwork Times!

My Little Helper

Holly decided to give me a little help quilting today. This quilt is made from blocks that I exchanged in the Jo Morton Yahoo group a few years ago. I made the top and basted it on the machine for hand quilting. Well, you can see how far I got with that! So it's back on the machine and on its way to being finished at last. Sometimes you just want/need to get things done...

Binding

Time to stitch down the binding, I just love the polka dot flannel on the back!

Getting close...

To another finish! Should have this one quilted today, then the binding and I'll be done!

Monday Morning

This was on my desk when I got to work this morning. Day made!

Hexies

It seems I've caught the hexies bug too. But mine are just a bit different than the rest I've seen on other blogs, seeing as they're crochet, not quilting! I used the tutorial from the Lavender and Wild Rose blog but did the first two rounds from the same color so the blocks would sort of look like flowers. This is the start of a baby afghan for a little girl who will be arriving in late May!

Winner at last!

I'm quite late in choosing a winner for this book...bet you thought I forgot all about it!  The random number selector chose Ruth's comment as the winner, so I've already contacted her and the book will be off to her house in the morning.  Thanks to everyone for leaving a comment!

Christmas Quilt

The sewing room is finally cleaned up and I found a little time to quilt and bind my Christmas quilt made from a free Gail Pan embroidery Block of the Month from a few years ago.  I couldn't seem to get a good picture of it, so here are a few...I hope you can get an idea of what it's like.  This one gets the whole quilt in...

A little closer so you can see the embroidery. Most of the fabrics are old Robyn Pandolph Christmas fabrics and some by Three Sisters.

Here's a picture of the family room where it's hanging...even though Christmas is over!

So, that takes two items off my short list.  I really didn't like the way the baby blanket for Ellen's friend was going and when the baby was born he was far to big for the small blanket I was making...he was over 10 pounds! Now onto Plan B, whenever I figure out what Plan B is. So, that leaves me with this...

The Short List

1.  Ellen's quilt - my "birthday quilt" from this post

Wow, guess I need to find a few more projects!