Thread Painting Project

I finally completed a quilting project I've been working on for several months - a quilted wall hanging done via a technique called "thread painting," or "thread play," that I did from a photograph of my cat, Angel Kitty. This is a technique I learned at the Quiltfest I attended in July in Jonesborough, TN. It is my first art quilt. I hand embroidered her whiskers at her nose, to make them stand out against her white fur, and I used Angelina fibers to make the highlights in her eyes. Also, in the grass underneath her is a little mouse!

Mokkah

I'm sitting in a Chick-fil-a restaurant and marveling at the speed of my laptop when using their wifi.

Last December a stray kitten showed up at our house, limping and hobbling with a bad leg. After several days of coaxing her to the porch (it didn't take that much effort; she was hungry!), we convinced her we wanted to be her friend. Finally she agreed to come inside and after that we were hooked on her and she on us. She even tolerated Angel Kitty hissing at her and chasing her.

Mokkah is now a joyful part of our family. The leg was broken but has since healed and you can hardly see a limp at all. Angel and her aren't good friends, but every month they get a little chummier! Mokkah won't let Angel keep her from TRYING to be a good friend.

When we got her, she was 15 months old per the vet, and she was all black with a brown tail. I named her "Mokkah" to be another way of saying "Mocha" because of her black/brown coloring. Since then the brown has disappeared and she is mostly black with a wisp of white on her belly. We know that she is part Siamese because we saw an adult Siamese cat hanging around at the time she showed up, plus she has Siamese eyes. Her brother was around at the time also, and he still comes around from time to time to get a free hand-out. He is identical to her except that he's bigger with more white.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Learning to Quilt

I attended the Quiltfest from July 16-18 in Jonesborough, Tennessee. What a lot of fun it was! I took three classes in machine quilting and learned a lot! There was so much talent and creativity there and oh so much inspiration! I've been working on the quilt that I started in one of my classes, but when I lay it out on the bed, Angel Kitty is right there on top of it and she even tries to help!
Little scraps of fabric are just too tempting for kitty. No, Angel, that doesn't go there! Yikes! Watch those hind claws!I'm almost done with it and when I finish it, I'll post a picture here.

How to Give Your Cat a Pill

In light of what Doug and I go through each morning giving Angel Kitty her two pills for her urinary tract infection, I thought I'd share these humorous instructions that I found on the internet about how to give a cat a pill:

How to Give Your Cat a Pill

(I particularly like the note at the bottom on how to give your DOG a pill.)

Actually, we have the procedure down pretty good, with the help of a pill giving gadget thingie we got from the vet's. I have to wrap her good in a towel and hold on tight while Doug does the administering. Usually the pills go down but not every time. Sometimes it takes more than one try.

And when it is all done, Angel gets her "special food" treat - a bit of Fancy Feast canned food that she loves.

Angel Kitty's Lion Cut 2009

Angel Kitty has her new summer "do" - the lion's cut. We have it done at our vet's office and they give her a sedative. That makes it easier for her, and THEM!

Before:


After:

Isn't she cute?

Woops - maybe she needs a bra! (click on the above picture to enlarge it, and you'll see what I mean!)

She was a bit groggy when she got home, but she insisted on going outside on her line. When she got out there, however, she was just too sleepy to do her usual exploring. She couldn't even keep her eyes open.

I normally wouldn't do this; I would prefer to let her hair be natural. We tried it two years ago, however, and by July Doug and I were breathing, eating, and constantly brushing off her hair! It was intolerable, so we went back to giving her the cut. Plus, this gives her a break from ingesting so much long hair and having hairballs.

It is after this cut that I realize how tiny she is. My little beauty, at least for a few months, becomes my little cutie pie!

Angel Kitty

I've been holding back. I love to take pictures of my Angel Kitty, even though she HATES to have her picture taken. I got her last evening on the couch. She was awake but didn't see it coming and, judging by the indignant look on her face, she did not appreciate it. She immediately jumped off of the couch and went to my (her?) basket in the corner where she tried to hide. Later, when she thought the camera was safely put away, she returned to the couch and fell asleep all scrunched in the corner. Of course I just couldn't resist getting yet another picture!

Angel Kitty

This is my calico cat, Angel. The vet estimates that she is between 8 and 12 years of age. She came with our house that we bought in 2004. Her story is that she showed up at the house as a stray, pregnant. The former owners took care of her and her kittens when she had them and had her fixed and gave her the name Angel. She is afraid of pretty much everyone except for me, and she is absolutely terrified of cars. She was an outside cat but now she's inside, but I take her for walks on the leash and tie her out on a line with me out there to watch her, of course. Tomorrow she gets her "lion's cut" and will look much different than she does in these pictures. Her pictures are in the Day at a Time 2008 Desk Calendar - "Kittens and Cats," on February 19 and October 9. My celebrity kitty!!