Work in Progress

What is it about cats and quilting projects? Whenever my cat hears the sewing machine motor start up, she is in my face! Much as I love my cat to death, she is hard to sew with. I finally got my butt in gear and started on my friends baby quilt. I've got the top part pieced, now I just need to machine quilt it. I always find that part more work than the piecing.

I've been tagged by my friend Sami to mention 6 random things about me. I've never been tagged before, so I'm sure there is a lot most people don't know about me.

Let's see....

1. I'm left handed but I can only use right handed scissors.

2. I'm 21 weeks pregnant! This isn't really a random fact, but I haven't announced it on my blog until now.

3. I hate driving - it's my biggest anxiety. I would rather go out of my way to walk, ride my bike or take transit anywhere instead of getting into a car and driving.

4. I've hated jello for my entire life. I don't plan to start liking it any time soon!

5. I have this bad habit of opening the new bottle of dish soap before the old one is empty. I then end up with 2 bottles of dish soap on my kitchen counter at one time. I've no idea why I keep doing this. If it was my husband's annoying habit, for sure I'd be nagging at him about it!

6. My left foot is bigger than my right foot.

Now it's my turn to tag Amanda of Owl and Pussycat. I don't know too many other bloggers in person, so I'm only tagging you. Sorry if you've played this game before!

Here are the rules:

Here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules.
Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that let's them know they've been tagged.

Cat quilt

Here are some photos of my very first quilt. It was inspired by Owen & Weasel and I made it as a baby gift for my neighbours (Owen's owners) when their son Daniel was born last year.

I didn't want this quilt to be a traditional baby quilt, so I chose to use a more sophisticated colour palette of black, brown, beige and cream. I wanted it to have a "cat theme" without being too "catty" if you know what I mean....Both of Daniels parents are quite scholarly and academic - they have an entire wall of their living room covered with books! So, when I found the beige fabric with script as a pattern I thought it would be perfect. The brown I associated with coffee which was perfect because Daniel's dad was working part time for Starbucks while completing his Masters in Theology.

I was very proud of my first attempt at quilting and it inspired by second frog quilt which I have photos of a few posts below.

That's all for today. Have a happy and safe long weekend (we will be celebrating BC Day here in British Columbia on Monday)!

Jodi

Owen loves Weasel - a cat tale

This isn't going to be a crafty blog entry, because I haven't had any time this week to get my hands busy with anything other than preparing wheat free food!

Because I don't have any kids of my own, I can justify sharing a pet story with everyone. Six years ago our neighbours cat Weasel adopted us. She is a wonderful fat tabby cat with the most mellow personality. She is the kind of cat who always wants to be petted or picked up and apart from her relentless shedding and occasional bathroom neurosis she is the perfect cat. Eventually her owner moved to California to get married and asked us to adopt her. We happily agreed because by our account she had already adopted us way back.

Three years ago a new couple moved into the same apartment that Weasel came from. Along with this new couple came a frisky orange male cat named Owen. From day one he pursued Weasel with relentless energy! After six months of rejection Weasel finally gave in and let Owen into her life. Owen is a handsome cat on all accounts but what makes him unique are his blue eyes. For the past two years Owen & Weasel have been inseparable. One year ago last March the unthinkable happened - Owen's owners had a baby! Well he packed his bags the very next day and moved in with us as soon as he heard Daniel's first holler. We made room for Owen in our place because we really didn't have much choice. Owen had decided he would rather be with Weasel. Owen is not a mellow cat. In fact he is the complete opposite. Demanding and vocal - he will not take NO for an answer! Not even at 3:30 am when he wants me to get out of bed and pet him while he has a snack!! He has us very well trained. In fact I don't know how I will figure out my own schedule when he's gone because right now he sets it. Which brings me to the sad part of my story.....

Owen is American an his Visa runs out at the end of August. His owners are moving back to Seattle. I keep telling him and Weasel to elope so they can stay together. They could run away to Tofino and get married on the beach. Feast on wild salmon and such (no seriously). It's sad because I know his owners want to keep him. I don't even feel like I can broach the subject with them. It will be a sad day the end of August when they all leave. Weasel will be so lonely and we will miss Owen's demanding cries for attention and food. When he makes that same pleading face as Puss In Boots from Shrek, my heart melts and I give in every time. Yep, he's got me trained!

I know there are lots of other wonderful cats out there needing homes and this consoles me a little bit....we get so attached to our furry friends!