Box Lids Are a Hit

I've made covers for three box lids for my gang so far and put all three out in the family room.  Lilly was the first one in a few days ago with the one and only box.  I swear she didn't leave it for two days.  Yesterday, I made two more covers and put them out.  Lilly was in one of the new ones because Delcy and Meg took over hers.

 It looks a little crowded.......

but they don't seem to mind, since there was an empty box right next to them.  And don't you like how well they go with the decor.

February Morty

Today was our February quilt guild meeting, and,again, nobody guessed Morty's outfit.  I guessed Lincoln, since my daughter was born on Lincoln's birthday.  Others guessed Cupid, Valentine's Day, and Mardi Gras.

Nobody guessed George Washington!

We almost had to tie Morty in the chair.  He wasn't made to bend and he kept sliding out.  We had to put a box under his feet to keep him in the chair.

Jeanne said the shoes were a problem, too.  Morty has fat stubby club feet that weren't made to fit in shoes.

Isn't he the handsome fellow?  Once again, Jeanne did an awesome, spectacular job of dressing him.  His wig is quilt batting, his clothes are real clothes, and his shoes are real, too. He even had an ascot.

 Morty's wig was complete with front and side curls and a pony tail.  We're all simply amazed at what Jeanne comes up with.  I can't wait to see him next month.  Good job, Jeanne.

Cool Cat Bed

One of my favorite cat blogs is the Katnip Lounge at http://katniplounge.blogspot.com.  It's also on the right side bar of my blog.  Trish and her husband Scott have 13 adorable cats and the coolest cat patio (the catio) ever.  You have to visit their blog.  Anyway, the cats are often pictured napping in these cute copier-paper box lids with a fleece cover.  They're a perfect size.  She gave the directions, but I don't remember what month or day it was.  I finally got some box lids from another foster mom and made six of them in half an hour.  I gave one to the lady who adopted Scooter and will take some for foster moms tomorrow.

This is Lilly, who was the first one in it.  Buster came and wanted in, but Lilly said no way.  Hey, Scott, I thought of you when I saw the fleece at the store.  Scott and I both like tie-dyed things and bright colors.  Thank you, Trish, for sharing your cover pattern.  I have about 7 yards of fleece to sew.

You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had getting the box lids.  I went to our local Office Max, because who would have more empty paper boxes than them, right?  When I asked if I could have some of their box lids to make beds for poor little foster kittens who have been rescued from death's door, I was told no, I couldn't.  They throw them all away.  And they don't give things away that they sell, and they sell boxes.  I asked if the boxes they sell have the separate lids, or do they have the flaps?  They have the flaps.  So, let me get this straight - you don't sell the type of box lids I want, but you can't give me any because you throw them away?  Yes.  My money spent at Office Max will be far less from now on.

Another foster mom, Cheri, brought me half a dozen box lids from her work.  Thank you, Cheri.  You have first dibs on the covers tomorrow.

Scooter is Adopted

Scooter went to his new home tonight.  Michelle is a very nice lady who saw Scooter's blog and fell in love.  I didn't think to get a picture until she was walking out the door and Scooter was in the carrier.  She promised to send me a photo for my blog.

He'll have another cat, Charlie, to play with, and a dog.  I sure hope it's a short introduction period.  The few times Scooter was out in the house, he hissed at some cats and ignored others.  Who knows what is better or worse to a cat.  Only they know.  Scooter is a very friendly and loving cat once he knows you, which took a day or two here.

Thank you, Michelle, for giving Scooter a home.  And get him a track ball.  He loves those things.

Bridgette

Bridgette doesn't get enough attention on the blog, so I'm featuring her today.  She's about a year and a half old and was rescued by a lady, Nita, who found her behind a store eating out of the dumpster.  She managed to trap Bridgette, have her spayed and vaccinated, and was going to return her to her habitat, but couldn't.  Bridgette was too beautiful, so Nita put her in a spare bathroom for a while to get her used to being in a house.  Well, there was a little hole in the wall, which Bridgette, being bored, made into a bigger hole and thought she'd found her escape route.  She spent days and days in the wall, coming out at night to eat and use the litter box.  Nita contacted Heartland, and when she finally managed to trap her again, brought her to my house.  For the first couple weeks she stayed under the end of the bed.   She couldn't get under the bed because it's boarded up.  I'd let the quilt hang down to the floor to give her a place to hide and get used to a house.

Bridgette eventually warmed up to me and within a few weeks was laying on the bed and wandering around the room.

She's a beautiful gray and tan tortie.  The tip of her left ear was nipped off during her spay as a universal sign that a feral cat has been spayed or neutered.

I got Bridgette in the middle of a heat wave the end of July '11.  She quickly adapted to air conditioning, a soft bed, and food she didn't have to get out of a dumpster.
 









I then got a pregnant cat, Delcy, who was put in the nursery closet in Bridgette's bedroom.  The two girls had been pawing each other under the door and whining, so after the kittens were born, I opened the closet door and let Delcy and Bridgette meet.  They soon became inseparable, and Bridgette was a regular in the birthing box just laying next to Delcy and the kittens.  The white kitten isn't Delcy's, but an orphan I took in.  Delcy graciously adopted him.

Bridgette soon became Aunt Bridgette.

I know you've all seen this photo before, but it's one of my all-time favorites, and I had to post it again.  All the kittens have been adopted.

 Bridgette is in the upper right corner supervising the track-ball play after the kittens were old enough to be let out in the bedroom.









Bridgette was soon let out into the house and got along with all the other cats.

Here she's groovin' with her Christmas capnip toy.

Bridgette is still just a little shy, but she is constantly winding in and out of my legs no matter where I am.  She's getting more used to me holding her, but would rather be on the floor.  I try to give her some treats of people food, but the other cats are faster than she is and barge in to take it.  I know Bridgette would blossom once she was in her own home without all the other cats.  If you have patience, a quiet house, and are thinking about adopting a cat, please consider Bridgette.  She will make an awesome pet.

Zach is Adopted

Zach got adopted yesterday.  He's a great cat and deserves a home where he can get more one-on-one attention than he got here. 

Lilly and Zach sharing a box Petsmart was throwing away.

John's Bread

My husband has become quite the bread maker the past couple years.  He has several recipes that are our favorites.  One is called Japanese Milk Bread.  Thankfully, he didn't let the name deter him from making it.  It's a soft bread, and I love soft marshmallow bread.  No hard crust.

This time he made rolls with half the dough.  You'll notice one roll is missing.  I didn't know he wanted to take a picture of them!  It was worth it.  They taste like the Hawaiian rolls in the orange package at the grocery store, but less sweet and much better.  He said the secret for a soft bread is to make a flour and water paste, boil it, and add it to the bread flour. 

I didn't have to eat all of this bread myself.  John took the big loaf to the office for a patient who was coming in that day and likes homemade bread.

My other favorite John makes is called Honey Oatmeal Bread from Father Dom's cookbook.  It's online if you Google it.  A very hearty (and soft) bread.  Father Dom is a friar at a monastery somewhere in Illinois, I think.  He's the head baker and has published a cookbook.

P.S.  I thought I posted this a few days ago, but found it listed as a draft.  The rolls are now gone.  I had a couple pounds of hamburger that I made little sliders with and used the rolls as buns.  A slice of cheese and some of my onion jam - fabulous.

Ebony is Adopted

My beautiful little girl, Ebony, was adopted today by a very nice man, Jon, and his wife, Pat.  She chose to stay home so she wouldn't see and want all my fosters.  Darn.  I could have arranged that.  So Jon and his son came to look at Ebony.  They love black cats and wanted one to replace one of theirs that died at 21 years of age, and saw Ebony's picture and bio on Heartland's website. 

Ebony with her new dad, Jon. Thank you for giving my girl a great new home.

Ebony after she crawled through an empty Jello box.

Ebony with her best bud, Trevor, before he got adopted.

Batik Strip Quilts

A friend asked if I'd make her a lap quilt from batik fabrics.  Batiks are awesome fabrics hand dyed in Indonesia and are simply gorgeous with a definite tropical look. 

Not knowing what pattern she'd like, I decided I'd just cut 2.5" strips and sew them together like I had several times in the past.  For non-quilters, we call it stripping.  I always cut too many pieces and ended up getting three lap quilts out of the strips.  I put green borders on two and a blue border on the third. 

OMG, I love them!  I think I'll cut all my fabric into strips and make these for the rest of my life.  After decades of making meticulously perfect and exact quilts, it's so liberating to just sew strips together and have a quilt. Mindless sewing, but they look great.  They do have a bottom border.  The quilts are too long for the picture. The second one looks just like this one.  They're 58" x 78".

A closer look.



















Saturday at adoptions, another foster mom asked if I'd make a lap quilt for her mother who's going to have chemotherapy soon.  What a great comfort for mom when she feels so bad.  I had made her daughter a batik quilt for her bed last year, so she knew what the fabrics looked like.  When I told her I had a couple done, she quickly said she'd take the blue bordered one. 



This one's not quilted, yet, but I have a customer's quilts on the frame and will do this one in a couple days.  It also has a bottom border.

Introducing Scooter

After promising myself I wouldn't take in any more fosters until I had adopted out five or so, I got another call from Erin, the animal control officer at the Warrenton Animal Shelter.  Could I take an 8-month-old long-haired black and white female kitten named Snooki.  She was trapped in back of a store eating out of the dumpster.  As soon as she said "black", I wanted to pass (I already have five black fosters), but I heard the words, "Yeah, I can take her" come out of my mouth, as I had a visual of this feral cat and her living conditions.  And I was definitely changing the name. 

I picked her up on Thursday, and she was beautiful with very fine, silky fur.  I took her directly to the vet.  She was negative for feline leukemia and aids and had a negative fecal.  No fleas, ears were clean, and no runny eyes.  A picture of health!  Yeah!  However......Snooki was a boy, with all his equipment.  I had to call Erin and kid her about it, and tell her Snooki was now Scooter.  He gets neutered on Wednesday.

I put him in the nursery closet for a few days until I knew he was using the litter box, which he went right over to and used.  I also didn't know how feral or friendly he was, but he came right over, rubbed on me, let me pet him and pick him up.  This was definitely not a feral cat.  I was sure he hadn't been outside long and was someone's pet, but nobody had called Animal Control looking for him in two weeks.  Their loss.  What a sweetie.  I let him out into the bedroom an hour later.

Doesn't he look like a scared feral cat?

He has a light gray outline of a soul patch on his chin and is a medium-haired black tuxedo with four white paws, long white whiskers and cute white hairs in his ears.  I have to keep him quarantined for 10 days, but I think I'll be able to let him out in the house very soon.  He'll be available for adoption in a couple weeks.

Scooter quickly made himself at home.

Micky is Adopted

Today was an excellent adoption day at Petsmart.  I think we did 15 or 16 dog and cat adoptions.  I adopted out Micky to a wonderful family.  I was hoping he would go to a family with children and I got my wish.  Adam, mom Kara, and Alaina, and Micky not looking at the camera.  Dad was off camera putting Micky's new carrier together for his trip home.  Micky is such an affectionate young cat, the whole family is going to love him.

He's such a beautiful cat.  I have a special fondness for gray tabbies, and he is indeed special.

Saturday Photo Hunt Word - FLAT

Today's photo hunt word is Flat,  http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.com/.  Since none of my cats are anywhere near flat, it was between a picture of my hair when it hadn't been washed for three days, or a picture of one of my wallhangings.  Normally I take the quilt pictures from 8' to 10' away, but this one is in a hallway where I could only get the camera 3' away, or take it at an angle.  The angled one didn't work at all to show the quilt, but it sure is flat against the wall.  I use little straight pins and carefully "nail" the quilt to the wall.

A close up of the bargello quilt showing some of the embellishments - couched fuzzy yarn, gold metallic thread to quilt certain areas, and many rhinestones, sequins, and beads glued on here and there.  This was a very fun project to make.