Placemats and Cats

All four placemats are finished, but I still need to make two more.  I set a plate and soup bowl on a placemat on the dining room table with silverware and a favorite pink stemmed glass that I sort of collect.  I took a half dozen shots with different lighting until I got a couple I thought would work.  Then the helpers came.  Did I seriously think I could do something alone?  There are a few "good" photos.  Then some of what I had to go through to get the "good" ones.

 What?

"Nice, but they're empty!  Get come kibble in there."

When's dinner ready?  I haven't smelled anything, but I know there's chili leftover and burnt cornbread.  Not bad if you cut the burnt parts off.


I hope you all have a very "helpful" and unburnt weekend, too.

Barb

Random Cats

My camera wouldn't take a picture!  It was full.  I had the placemats on the design wall and needed a picture NOW.  I could have gone through 500 pictures and deleted some, but all those pictures had been copied to Picasa, and everything is saved weekly.  It was still scary, but I bit the bullet and deleted all the pictures from the card.

So, now I have kitten pictures.  My daughter will be happy. First of all, I want to thank Margie Murphy, fellow member of the Bound Together Quilt Guild, for giving me some batting that she found when cleaning out her parents' house.  Everybody knows I make crate pads and cat beds for the critters of Heartland.  The pads eat up the batting, because every one uses two or three layers of it.  I made one last night using Margie's batting.  As soon as I put it on the floor, the cats came running.

From left to right, fosters Deeks, Doyle, Abby and Bridgette.

Doyle, Abby, Bridgette and Xena.

Bridgette is so beautiful.  She's been playing with the kittens a lot lately.  She chases them through the house, then they chase her.

She's still not a lap cat, but she does lay on the couch next to John, and she winds in and out of your legs when you walk.  I pick her up and hold her for a few minutes, and she leans into my hand, and then she wants down.  I wish I had nothing to do but hold her and work with her all day long.

 Sabrina and Bandit.

"What ya doin' down there?"

 Ziva.   "You woke me up for this?"

 Abby and Bridgette playing.  Really.

 Bridgette and either Hetty or Kensi. Two of the orange kittens are almost identical.  I had colored collars on them to tell them apart, but they both got them off.  I'll have to take one to Petsmart or the vet and scan her microchip and try the collars again.  For now, they're both HettyKensi.  If you watch NCIS: LA, their siblings are Callan, Deeks, and Nell.  Needing two more girl names, I went to Rizolli and Isles for Jane and Maura.  Callan, Jane, Maura, and Nell have been adopted.

 Gibbs on top and Doyle below.  With Halloween coming, Doyle is practicing his haunting laugh.   Waaa ha ha ha ha ha.

 This is Abby.  Her siblings are Gibbs and Ziva (NCIS).  All three of them are just the sweetest and most lovable of kittens.  Gibbs is sleeping on my arm as I type this.

Doyle was carrying one of Lucy's dog toys all around the family room.  He ran down the hall to the bathroom, chirping the whole time for everyone to stay out of his way.  Karla was just watching him like, "What's your problem, Dude?"

It's been fairly quiet around here lately.  I've been getting some sewing done.

I don't watch much baseball, but I'm watching the ninth inning of the playoffs.  Cards have bases loaded, winning run on first, try to lose to the Washington Nationals.  The Nationals have a big W on their shirts and it looks like the Cards are playing against Walgreens.  Wow!  Somebody just hit a double and tied it up 7-7.  OMG!  Two more runs, and the Cards lead Walgreens 9-7.   Bottom of the ninth and I'm going to do bedtime scooping and feeding.  They'll have to win or lose without me.

Take Four Placemats

A quilt friend, Jan, sent our group pictures of four placemats she made.  They were really cute and I determined from the picture how they were made.  Now, John and I don't eat at the kitchen table.  We make our plates and eat in the family room watching shows we've taped the night before.  However, I had to make a set of these.  I bought an antique set of china three or four years ago that have little pink flowers around the edge.  Although the placemat design is probably too contemporary for the china, the colors will look very good together.  I host four friends for lunch a few times a year and will use them then.  When the placemats are finished, I'll take a picture of a place setting and show you how pretty the china is.  Are you watching, Deb?  You'll love them, but they're not white.

I'm used to making quilts using at least 100 different fabrics.  So much easier than picking FOUR.  I already know what's wrong.  The dark pink is too dark and bright, and the light pink doesn't have enough pattern to it.  And, they're too contemporary for the china.  Other than that, they're perfect!

All four tops are done, and the backs are cut.  They're made using the slice and dice method. I got some thin batting today and will finish and ditch quilt them tomorrow.  I'm birthing them, so no binding.  The pattern is Take Four Placemats, designed by Cary Flanagan.  Available from www.quiltwoman.com.

I don't have Simba, yet.