BLOG HIATUS-Message from Momcat/Linda

I'm going to take a blog hiatus until further notice. I'm currently working two jobs whose hours and commute time use up 16 hours a day. I work 12 days straight and then have two off, then go another 12 days straight. I'm very grateful in these hard times to have a source of income and benefits.

As you can imagine, on my work days all I want to do is sleep when I get home. And on those two days off I'm catching up on errands and housework.  Quilting and other hobbies are temporarily put aside.

My crazy schedule should ease up some towards the end of January and I hope to get back into a balanced life at that time.

Meanwhile, I'll visit your blogs as time allows.

Piwacket, Trouble, Butch, Sundance, Maggie and I truly appreciate all your visits, comments and encouragement. Quilty blogger friends are amazing!!

I (well, Piwacket) started this blog on the advice of friends when my husband moved out. They told me it would give me a voice and a purpose when I felt a bit lost. I'll always be thankful to them because they were right. Seeing the world through Pi's eyes, taking photos, thinking of how to share stories with readers and receiving blessings from many of you on here and in private e-mails helped me transition through one of the toughest periods of my life.

Thank you, thank you.

Enjoy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all other days that are important to you. I'll see you again in 2011.

Love and hugs,
Linda/Momcat

Stash Report Sunday - September 19, 2010

The Go Fish! quilt top is completed, allowing me to count stash for the borders and the backing that I worked on today. Goal for this week: layer, baste and start some loopy meandering.  I'm right on schedule to have this completed in order to turn it in for the Kate's Cupboard fund raiser. Woot woot!

Used this Week:               7.5 yards 
Used year to Date:          142.25 yards
Added this Week:               0 yards
Added Year to Date:         81.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     61 yards

Click here to visit Judy's blog and cheer everyone on for using up his/her stash!

I hope everyone of you has a great week. Momcat is still dealing with poison ivy, but it's not as bad as it was. Did you  know that it can stay in your system for three weeks?  Of course, I'm immune. All animals are. You beans are the only ones who just can't deal with it. I do feel so sorry for you creatures at times.

Here's to a non-itchy week,

Piwacket

Trouble Goes Fish and Then Naps

I put Trouble on the job of helping Momcat get the 80 Go Fish! blocks together into rows.  Unfortunately, she needed a rest after Row 3. Poor Trouble.  It's an exhausting life around here.

Momcat forged ahead without Trouble and got the main body completed!

Next weekend we'll add a skinny black border and a wider colorful solid border. We're right on target for completing it by our mid-October deadline for the Kate's Cupboard fundraiser. What a fun quilt to make for a good cause!

As a reminder, the Go Fish! pattern can be found in the Dealer's Choice book by Atkinson Designs.

Time to help Momcat pick out the border fabric.

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - September 12, 2010

No changes this week. Momcat has today off and we'll be putting some of those Go Fish! blocks together into rows. Fun, fun, fun!

Used this Week:               0 yards 
Used year to Date:          134.75 yards
Added this Week:               0 yards
Added Year to Date:         81.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     53.5 yards

What's not fun is that she has poison ivy. Yesterday she took Benadryl and slept all day. I loved being able to cuddle up in bed with her.

Please visit all of our stashbusting friends through Judy's blog and cheer them on. Click here.

Have a great week everyone!

Cuddles and purrs,
Piwacket

A Thousand Words Thursday

I Spy Pi

Today was Labor Day! Most of the day was spent helping Momcat clean out and organize her closet. She was grumbling about how her business casual clothes seem to shrink after a summer of her running around in shorts and t-shirts. I've heard her make the same noises when she pulls her winter clothes out of the cedar chest.  She left the house for awhile to go to Labor Day sales.

The closet looks great now, with some things to give away and what's left all sorted by item and color. Work outfits for the week have already been grouped together.

Finally we made it to the sewing room. We finished all 80 blocks of the Go Fish! charity quilt. Since we used stash there are 24 different solids used as "frames" around the novelty blocks. Putting the rows together should be a cinch since the most we have of any one solid is 5 blocks.  Not much danger of putting one right next to another when there's this much variety.

I'll just keep everything safe until we can get that done next weekend.

Happy creating!

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - September 5, 2010

Are you sitting down? I'm going to let Momcat herself explain why she brought home 33 yards of fabric this week. I'm not kidding. 33 yards!!!


I know. I know. I'm shocked myself. I have been so good about busting what I have, especially since money is very tight. So here's what happened.

A local yarn and fabric store decided to close out their quilting side and concentrate solely on the yarn/knitting section. The close-out price on their quilt-quality fabric was 80% off. Yep, I paid only $1.80 per yard for lovely quilting fabrics.

Here's a picture of what I brought home. I'm really happy about the fat quarters that read as solids. I'll be able to get a lot of use out of them.

I didn't do any sewing this week. I'm now working 14 hour days plus 1.5 hours in the car. That means saving my hobby time for the weekend. Today is my cleaning day, particularly since my son is having guests over tonight for a Fantasy Football draft. Tomorrow is a blessed day off and a full day of sewing. Yippee!

Used this Week:               0 yards 
Used year to Date:          134.75 yards
Added this Week:               33 yards
Added Year to Date:         81.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     53.5 yards

You can see how everyone is doing by visiting Judy's blog here.



Happiness is.....

...a talented daughter-in-law.  Niki is an actress and artist. She and my son, Darren, live in Los Angeles. I received a surprise package from Niki that included this lovely hand-painted bookmark she made for me. I'm an avid reader and often am working through several books at a time. I so appreciate anyone who shares their talents with others. 

Now it's time to get out the Swiffer. Pi, you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow for me to play with all that new fabric. I'm glad you're keeping watch over it until then.

 

Love and hugs,
Momcat/Linda

Blog Hop

We're participating in a Blog Hop. We all love visitors, don't we!

Stash Report Sunday, August 29, 2010

We're at the end of August already. Where did those eight months go?

Our stash report this week looks really good since I get to add everything together for the last three weeks. Now that Momcat doesn't have to get ready for work on Sundays I'm hoping we can be more consistent in our reporting.

The purchase of 3.5 yards was made for Cattywampus. We used other fabrics from our stash to complete the top.

From the stash I used 3 yards for the Chips 'n Dip Table Runner, 8 yards for the Go Fish twin top I'm working on, and 4.75 yards for Cattywampus. That makes almost 16 yards since the last report on August 8th!

Used this Week:               15.75 yards 
Used year to Date:          134.75 yards
Added this Week:                3.5 yards
Added Year to Date:         51.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     83.5 yards

Our fearless leader, Judy Laquidara, has used almost 300 yards so far. Holy cow!!  Take a look for yourself and cheer us on.

Purring along,
Piwacket

Chips N Dip Table Runner

Momcat and I just finished this table runner top. If she doesn't pick up a subbing assignment tomorrow then we'll get it quilted, too.

It's another great pattern from the Dealer's Choice book by Atkinson Designs. That's the same book that we used for the Go Fish quilt.

There's a lot on the plate (but not in my food dish. Hhrrumph!). Momcat heads to court for the last time this Monday. The final hearing on the divorce is scheduled for 9 a.m.  From what I understand, she'll walk out of that proceeding officially, legally single for the first time in 31 years. That evening she also starts her new job at the customer service call center.

Sadly, she decided to leave her job at the quilt shop. Momcat is going to miss her friends at the shop and especially going to the shows. However, if I've learned anything from my Momcat at all, it's that she believes in moving forward to the next chapter.



KAREN MONTGOMERY

Karen Montgomery of The Quilt Company was a recent guest at The River City Quilt Guild, to which Momcat belongs.  Karen's lecture on the process of getting fabric from the imagination of the designer to your local quilt shop was fascinating. 


She also brought along a wonderful trunk show. Sit back and enjoy, and if you ever get a chance to have Karen come to your guild, please do so.  She's an interesting, multi-tasking lady.

 

 

I hope you each take 15 minutes daily to create.

Hugs and purrs,
Piwacket and Momcat

Cattywampus

The Cattywampus top is finished, just in time for Momcat to take it to class tomorrow!

After looking at the red tone-on-tone I convinced Momcat to use the light gray pawprint as the skinny inner border. Every now and again she actually listens to me.

Maggie's looking into the Picam wondering, "What just happened? I thought I was top dog."

Have you created for 15 minutes today?

Piwacket

Kitties Night In

Momcat is teaching a class tomorrow at the quilt shop. The pattern is Kids Night In by Christine Porter and features her dinosaur fabric line. Sarah from the shop made a really cute quilt from it.

Momcat hadn't made one though, and didn't feel comfortable teaching something that she herself hadn't made. And THAT's why you saw Trouble and me working hard to help her with cat blocks last week.

Our quilt features Where's the Cat? fabrics by Exclusively Quilters, plus some pieces added in from Metro Mirage.  Momcat played with the layout on her bed and then used blue painter's tape to mark her blocks.

Earlier today we finished sewing the sashing strips and corner stones. Trouble completes the inspection.

Momcat is using a red tone on tone for the skinny inside border. And you're going to love the wide outside border fabric......

We're keeping this quilt. Momcat promised. It will become our new living room sofa quilt. It's about time she made one to keep us happy!

Momcat's going to call this one Cattywampus.


JOB UPDATE

Momcat accepted a seasonal part-time position with a major retailer's call center. The job begins on August 30 and goes through mid-January. The hours are 6 p.m. until midnight. She'll still sub during the day and work weekends at the quilt shop. She might not have time to give me scritches, do much sewing or blogging for awhile, but at least I'll get my kibble.

There's a chance that the employer will choose to keep her on after the seasonal period is complete. In that case, she'd go full-time and be eligible for benefits. Thank you to all of you for wishing her luck on the hunt.

Purrs,
Piwacket

A Thousand Words Thursday

Stash Report Sunday - August 8, 2010

Very little crafting going on here as Momcat focuses on job-hunting. The spousal support she's due to receive covers only 1/3 of our monthly expenses. If she starts skimping on my kibble I'm going to be VERY hard to live with.

Although she works two jobs, as a substitute teacher and weekends at the quilt shop, those occupations don't pay as much as we need to live on, plus they don't have any benefits. I keep trying to convince her to put Maggie up on ebay, but she just scoffs at me.

Anyway, boring stash report. Nothing in, nothing out.

Used this Week:               0 yards 
Used year to Date:      119  yards
Added this Week:             0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     71.25 yards

Judy's putting us all to shame as usual. Take a look for yourself by clicking here.

Momcat belongs to the River City Quilt Guild which will be hosting Karen Montgomery, of The Quilt Company. Karen will be presenting a talk on how fabric gets from the imagination of the designer onto the shelf at your local quilt shop. Pictures to follow!

Happy creating!

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - August 1, 2010

It's a new month!  August is usually pretty busy around here. That's when Momcat realizes that it's back to the classroom soon and all those projects around the house that we were going to get done over a long summer are still on the "to do" list.

This summer was a bit unusual since we had to wait for the magistrate's decision regarding the property trial between Momcat and CatDaddy. Just about a week ago we found out that we get to keep the house. That means Momcat and Philip will do some cleaning up and get the family photographs out of boxes. I for one am glad that I don't have to get used to a new location. You know how we cats enjoy our ownership of a space.

Now for the stash report. I helped Momcat cut up some more novelty fabrics to make a twin-size version of "Go Fish," the I Spy quilt in the previous post. There's a group at church called Kate's Cupboard, a non-profit charity to help young mothers in need. A fund-raiser is coming up in October and we think a quilt is just the thing to donate to the auction!

Used this Week:               1.5 yards yards
Used year to Date:      119  yards
Added this Week:             0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     71.25 yards

Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara is the place to keep up with all of us brave enough to track our stash and report on it. How are you doing with yours?

Hope you find at least 15 minutes to create today. Poet Henry Van Dyke wrote  "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - July 25, 2010

What an easy-peasy stash report. Nothing in, nothing out.


Used this Week:                0  yards
Used year to Date:      117.5  yards
Added this Week:             0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     69.75 yards

 

This is the shop sample that Momcat just turned in. We had a lot of fun together fussy cutting the 5" squares. It's such an easy quilt to make that we've already started on another one.  The pattern is called "Go Fish" and is from the Dealer's Choice book by Atkinson Designs.

Speaking of the shop, the sign blew down a few months ago during a severe storm. It broke in the parking lot. Best Friends Quilt Shoppe's owner, Jan, took the opportunity to add a little pizazz. Take a look at the workmen installing the new awesome hot pink sign!

The front door arch is going to be painted in the same color. Very exciting!

Now take some time to visit Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.  Have a great week!

Purringly,

Piwacket

A Thousand Words Thursday

Momcat's Helpers

Momcat's still working on her Doggy Big Shirt. She's finished with the sleeves, discovering that only one was sewn on backward. Since she realized it after she'd already put the cuffs on she's leaving it this way and will just establish a new trend of wearing your cuff buttons on the front of your arm.

This is a pretty typical scene at our house.  You can see that the sewing room is fully staffed.  That's Trouble on the bed, Maggie on the floor, Sundance on the ironing board with me and...wait, where's Butch?  He's our only male and we sure have to put up with a lot from him, so where is he when there's work to be done?

Typical. Catching a few ZZZZZZs in the kitty condo away from his sisters.

Letting sleeping cats lie,
Piwacket

A Thousand Words Thursday

Doggy Big Shirt Update

Mwaaaahahahaha!!! I am rejoicing that Momcat has hit a snag in making her Doggy Big Shirt.  She's at the point of making the sleeves and doesn't understand the directions. I heard some bad words and then something about going to the shop to get some expert advice from Cheryl, who teaches the class.

Here's what she has so far:

The front.

The back.

The sleeves and buttons.

I'd help her out of her dilemma if she were making a feline version. That'll teach her to play favorites with the DAWG!!

Smugly,
Piwacket

Stash Report....Monday? Three Weeks & A Day Late

This is what happens when Momcat gets busy doing things other than quilting. She forgets about the Stash Report! 

Fortunately, we busted a little bit, but brought in some as well.  Momcat has stayed true to her New Year's Resolution of making no fabric purchases except what is needed for a specific project.  In October the shop is promoting the Eleanor Burns' book Quilt Block on American Barns as a Block of the Month.  That required a little yardage for barn texture, sky and animals.

Momcat has been working on her Big Shirt, little bags, 9 Patch A Day Blocks, and Rotating Snowball Quilt Along Blocks.

She spent the day at Cathy's on Saturday. Both of them busted some projects.

Momcat is on the left, Cathy is on the right. 

Cathy's baby quilt using yellow bubble Minkee for the center and borders.

Cathy's potato bag.

Momcat's 9 Patch A Day Blocks for July.

Cathy's beautiful Rotating Snowball Quilt Along flimsy.

And that finally brings us to the report:

Used this Week:                4  yards
Used year to Date:      117.5  yards
Added this Week:             2.5 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards

 

Net Used for 2010:     69.75 yards

Judy's blog has links to the other folks playing along. Click here to see for yourself and possibly join us!

Purringly,

Piwacket

The Holly Bandana Pattern

My friend, Jen, the Cre8tive Quilter, developed a great bandana pattern for her big girl, Holly. I'm now using this pattern to make Maggie's bandanas. The plus is that they slip easily over the collar, are very durable, and are super simple to make. Here's a link to Jen's pattern:  Holly Bandanas by the Cre8tive Quilter.

Maggie is wearing her new patriotic bandana, red covered in white stars.

She just saw her reflection in the sliding glass door. Look at that tail going!

She's bringing momma her dragon. She's quite the dragon slayer. This is her very favorite toy.

All tuckered out.

Three more bandanas for different seasons. Watermelon, fall flowers, and winter are ready to go.  I also made a duplicate red starred bandana for Kim's vizsla, Scout.

Butch and Sundance, my support staff.


BFF KIM and HANNAH

Kim and I have been best friends for years and years. I now get to share her granddaughter with her. Being Auntie Linda is loads of fun, especially when Hannah is so adorable.  Yesterday we grabbed some Wendy's and headed to Winton Woods for a picnic and walk around the lake. Weather was a glorious 85 degrees with a breeze.

Just like her Nana, Hannah thinks I'm pretty funny.  She is such a happy baby.

The Canadian Geese and ducks were abundant. Especially once they found out we had French Fries to share.

Hannah was fascinated, and despite her love of food (this little one can EAT!) she was attempting to throw her Cheerio at them after she saw me throw my French Fries.

Nana Kim and Hannah watching the fowl.

After we left the park we headed to the Greenhills Creamy Whip. Just look at this beautiful heirloom quilt from Kim's family. It's so soft and perfect for the baby to roll around on. I'm tellin' ya, a lovely summer day under the shade of a tree on a quilt with your best friend, a baby, and some ice cream. Can it get any better than that?

Kim's quilt. Yeah, I'm jealous.

Just look at that smile. Nana's got some yummy vanilla creamy whip to share.

I'd like you to notice the bench in the background. This is in memory of the daughter of one of my teacher friends. Jeni Miley died tragically from a fall and a seizure a few years ago shortly before she was to be married. Her mom, Linda, has turned her death into a legacy of compassion and giving. The Hugs from Jeni Foundation supports animal welfare, education, and children....all the things that Jeni loved. I didn't realize that I'd captured the bench in this picture until I started to edit. It makes a perfect day even better to be able to send Linda this picture and let her know what an inspiration she is to all of us.

Purrs and hugs,

Momcat Linda