Buddy the Cat

I have been making friends with Buddy the Cat. 

Now, this may not seem like a big deal to most cat people, but let me tell you more about Buddy.  He is my mom's gray and white, long haired, semi-feral cat.  He is 16 years old and was born on her property.  For most of his life, he wouldn't let anyone touch him, except for Mom, the ultimate Cat Lady, and even that took some doing.  Of course, I've seen him over the course of time, but he always would run under the bed, or go outside to escape anyone who came into the house.  Mom always keeps him in her bedroom, which has a slider door to the yard, so it's nice and bright and comfy.

At one point, she was coordinating cat schedules between Buddy and the other black, short haired cat, also named Buddy.  Mom names every cat "Buddy".

When I say "coordinating schedules", I mean exactly that.  They did not get along and it seemed to me that all Mom ever did was shuffle the cats around the house.  When the black cat came in, the gray cat would have to go out, and vice versa.  Dinner was timed so that they did not have to eat together.  This is what started the bedroom confinement scenario.  Now that he black cat has passed on, the gray cat is still confined to the bedroom; he gets scared when Mom tries to bring him into another room.

Since I've been staying with her during her foot surgery recuperation, he has decided that I might be all right.  He has "kissed" me on the face in the middle of the night so that I could get up to let him out, he has let me pet him, he laid on my shoulder so I could better cuddle with him, let me cut matts out of his fur (and there are MANY!) while Mom held him, he's let me hold him, and the other day Mom said he even was looking for me when I was not in the bedroom with her.

I hate to think that he is getting too attached, as I will be leaving next Saturday.  I will miss him.

Artisan Late Summer Updates

Many quilters are gardeners, too, and with the summer coming to a close our thoughts turn to our next quilting project (or the one we just didn't finish this Spring).

Just as the seeds of my garden have been growing and producing wonderful veggies, and even a cantaloupe (!), ideas are sprouting for the store. You'll find more inventory, especially books and patterns, but also some great tools that I adore, especially the Quilter's FabriCalc calculator. Use it to find the yardage you'll need for sashing, backing, even individual colors in blocks! I'll soon be posting an online demo to show how easy it is to use, but until then you can view it here.

The Curve Master presser foot is another one of my favorite tools, and I can't wait to get more practice with it! It makes sewing curved pieces as easy as straight seams! I have been wanting to make a Double Wedding Ring quilt as long as I can remember and this is just the tool to help me out. I might practice on a Drunkard's Path pattern, first, though, or one of those baby bottle shapes I've been seeing. I'll post photos of my practice projects so you can see how easy this tool makes curved piecing!

I love hand quilted quilts, and especially admire those who can produce such beauties, but it's no secret that I am a machine quilter. I want to offer lots of information and resources for both areas; hopefully you will find a balance of each.

I will be adding features to download quilting patterns and Block of the Month patterns so check back to see the progress and let me know if you have a specific product you'd like to see.

Until next time...

Connie