Saturday Photo Hunt Word - FLUFFY

Today's photo hunt word is Fluffy.  I knew immediately what photo I would use.  This is from back in July of 2011.  I walked into the bathroom one day and found fluffy toilet paper.  One of the cats had a very good time.

Saturday Photo Hunt Word - BLISS

Todd and Winnie at about 4 weeks old, shortly after they were dumped at an animal shelter.  A lady adopted both of them so they got to stay together.

An Unexpected Visitor

We had an unexpected visitor at our quilt meeting today.  Jeanne came and said she had dressed Morty, the Giant Sock Monkey, in a costume and there was a prize for whoever guessed it correctly.  Guesses were a snowman and Valentine cupid, and I can't remember the others.  I've had a sinus infection for a month and am still tired and not thinking clearly.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Jeanne brought Morty in and we were all wrong.  Nobody guessed a New Year's Eve baby.  And nobody got the bottle of champagne. 

Morty with his diaper, horn, sash, top hat, and champagne.  You can't see it, but the hat brim had sparkly sequins on it.  I think he tried to put the moves on Katy.  She seems to be ignoring him.

This is Jeanne, the creativity behind Morty.  Jeanne has come up with an interesting concept.  She will make a different outfit for Morty every month and at the end of the year we'll have an auction for him and his ensemble.  The proceeds will go to Heartland Humane Society, the rescue group I'm with.  This is very generous of Jeanne, and I hope we'll have some enthusiastic bidders.  I have no idea how we'll do this, but I know bloggers who will know. 

Our meetings are the third Tuesday of every month, so pictures will be that night or the next day.

Every month we have show and tell of projects we've worked on or have completed since last month.  This is Linda's quilt for her brother in England.  Xena and Lilly, my two very shy cats, as you can see, approved Linda's quilt.  

 Besides the vertical stripes, there's a mid-value diagonal stripe through all the strips.  Not an easy design to execute, but Linda is a master and has had quilts in Paducah and Houston quilt shows.

 Xena and Lilly also approved the bag Linda's quilt was in.  They're not all that picky.

Shy Xena also approved Katy's top she started at the retreat in November.  You can't do any better than a batik quilt in gorgeous fall colors.  I'm working on several myself.  I don't think there is such a thing as a quilt cats don't approve of.

Or a sack or bag of any kind.

Cat Hide and Seek

There's always antics of some kind around here.  This went on while we were watching TV last night.  I know the pictures would be so much better with lighter furniture, but John insists on a better reason to get new furniture than nicer pictures of the cats.

 Bridgette was on Lucy's quilt on the sofa when Ebony crawled under the edge.

The lump in the middle of the quilt is Ebony.

 Then, she slipped out the side.

Meg came to join in.

Catnip Toys

 I had some fleece left over from a project and got a brainstorm to make catnip cat toys.  They were definitely a hit.  Twenty percent of cats aren't affected by catnip, and a couple of my guys weren't interested.  But the ones who were, were really interested.  No fights or anything, but they were zoning out. Directions at the bottom.



Cody rockin' out..

 Cody.

 Little Cary Grant before he got adopted.  Boy, I miss him.  He was my buddy and shadow.  My biggest problem was not stepping on him.  He was just so sweet and cuddly.

 "Touch...it...and...die!

  My sweet Lilly usually isn't like this.

 Even Sweet Bridgette says, "Don't even think about it!"













I made a bunch of these after Christmas and gave them to friends.  They're fleece filled with batting and catnip.  I literally cut and sewed one in seven minutes or less.

The fleece was cut 3.5"  x  6".   The batting was cut 5"  x  just less than 6".  Sizes are just what I had and what worked.  This is not rocket science.

 Fleece cut 3.5"  x 6".

 Batting cut about 5"  x  just under 6" so it's slightly shorter than the fleece.

 Fold the batting to fit inside the edge of  the fleece.  Wider batting will make it fatter.  This is just what I had.

Catnip looks like oregano and both are members of the mint family.  I only had one little bag of catnip and used about half a teaspoon.  If I'd had more, I would have used a teaspoon or two.









Fold the top down to meet the bottom, and sew around the three raw edges. Fleece doesn't ravel, so no need to turn edges under.

 These can be made any size or shape.  Longer, shorter, fatter, paw-shaped, bone-shaped, round - whatever.   Since there's no turning right side out, you can cut two of any shape you want, cut a couple pieces of batting slightly smaller, and sew around the edge. 

Jack, Ben & Ginger's Christmas Beds

My friend, Madeline, came over with her grandkids, Isaiah and Bria, after Christmas.  And did I get pictures?  No!  My brain was so fried after cleaning the house for Christmas, having the party, then cleaning up afterwards that I just wasn't thinking clearly.

Madeline's been a dear friend for years and adopted two kittens from me a couple years ago.  Jack and Ben are brothers and give Madeline and her husband, John, endless hours of enjoyment.  They love their cats.  Jack and Ben have an older "brother" named Ginger.  Madeline didn't find out that Ginger was a boy until everyone was used to the name, so they kept it.

I made little cat beds for the three of them.  More like cat pads.  They're good for keeping the hair off chairs and sofas.  Looks like they were a hit with the boys.  Thanks for the pictures, Madeline.  The boys are just adorable and are so sweet.  They're lucky to have parents like Madeline and John, too.  The little blue toys are fleece tubes filled with some batting and catnip.

Madeline loves Elvis.  I had half a yard of Elvis fabric leftover from the Elvis quilt and made one side of two cat pads with it.

Ginger

Ben

Jack

Ben is enjoying one of Madeline's beautiful quilt tops.

Jack

Ginger, Jack, and Ben

Ben

Ginger

Ben

Jack and Ginger - Awwww

Where's the Pom Pom Ball

All the cats love the pom pom balls I get from Michael's or Hobby Lobby in a big bag.  They're light enough that the kittens can grab them in their mouths and they start playing with them at about 4-5 weeks old.

I was in Jilly's room today.  Zach and Cody were in there, too.  They like going in with Jilly, because she's their foster mom.  They were put in with her and Josie when they were kittens, and Jilly and Josie have taken care of them, groomed them, and cuddled with them since they were about 6 weeks old.  I put pieces of heavy plastic sheeting under the litter boxes to keep the carpet cleaner.  A corner of the plastic got folded back with a green ball in the fold.  They just couldn't quite understand to unfold the plastic.  Kind of the feline equivalent of a Rubik's Cube.  A real stumper.

Zach

Zach

Zach

 

Cody

Cody

Lucy and Buster Sittin' in a Tree.......

I don't know about the weather in the rest of the world, but in Missouri we've had just the best weather I can imagine for January.  Sixty and sunny during the day, with a slight wind.  Perfect.  The cats have been allowed on the deck for several days.  Today I went out with them to read for a while.  I'm re-reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series.  Almost halfway through the second book.  I love them just as much the second time.  Only Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The DiVinci Code are higher on my list at #1 and #2.  I need to add a page to the side bar of my booklist.

For several years we've watched Buster, the cat, make advances toward Lucy.  It happens almost every day.  Buster rubs all over Lucy's face when she's laying on the floor.  Lucy looks embarrassed and eventually gets up and walks away.  I snapped a continual stream of pictures today on the deck and edited them down to a few.  Ebony, one of the black cats really likes Lucy, too. 

 Ebony is on the far left watching.

Some random pictures of the others.

Delcy pretending I can't see her.

Ebony and Xena

Xena, the Warrior Princess

Lilly and Lucy doing what they do best.

Meg and me.  Since I can't find sneakers with lights in adult sizes, the best I can do is neon laces. The shoe industry is really missing the boat by not making lighted shoes for adults.  And no one can tell me why.

Meg