Newtown, Connecticut

Mom, Kathi and I would like say that our thoughts and prayers are with the Newtown, Connecticut community today.

And Here's Lucy

Last night, I found my little Lucy laying under the Christmas tree:

I'm a bit surprised that Nightmare even allowed this!  He's quite the bully and thinks nothing of kicking Lucy out of the space he wants to lay in.  But I found her under the tree so I was able to get a picture.

We didn't get the 5 inches of snow yesterday that they were calling for.  Thank goodness!  We only got about 1/2 an inch and I'm okay with that!  And believe it or not, there's this big yellow, bright thing in the sky now!!!  It's been quite awhile since we've seen it that I barely recognized it!  Ha, ha, ha!!!  Ya'll know that I will take as much sun as I can get this time of year!

I finished up another one of my Valentine Cat Dolls this morning:

They never look like much until I sew them together but this is my traditional 6 inch cat doll.  I'm not sure why I went with all blue, white and silver on this one.  I think I just liked the way it looked.  What rock is it written on that all Valentines have to be pink and red?  LOL!

Have a great day everyone.  I'm heading over to mom's for awhile.

Cat Dolls for Valentines Day

Oh, what a cloudy, dreary, grey day!  We haven't had sun here in McHenry, Illinois for I don't know how long.  They're calling for snow later today.  Ya'll know how I feel about that!  But it is what it is and there's nothing I can do about it.

I've filled my bird feeders, fed my squirrels and ran to WalMart for Nightmare's prescription.  I have laundry going and when I finish up here on the computer, I plan to stitch the rest of the day.

I snapped a few pictures of my precious Nightmare this morning.  He loves to sleep under the Christmas tree:

Is he a beauty or what?  He seems to have pretty much recovered from the stroke he had 4 months ago but he's still a bit off.  Not too bad though.  Scott and I are taking him to the vet on Saturday for another blood test to see where things are with the kidney disease.  He eats well, in fact he's quite happy with the special kidney diet he's on.  I've had to get a little creative with snacks though.  He's kind of pathetic when he wants a kitty cookie which I can't give him due the fact that kitty cookies are all protein and it's the protein that's so hard on the kidney's.  He sits on the counter in the kitchen and stares at the cupboard door where I keep them.  Poor little thing!  Instead, don't laugh, but I make him pasta.  He loves pasta!  Just macaroni chopped up little and tossed with a bit of vegetable oil.  And he also loves the crust on white bread.  What we do for the ones we love huh?

I've been stitching up some Valentines for my Etsy shop.  My current projects are some of my little cat dolls:

I have 3 more sewn up and ready to stitch.  After that, maybe I'll make another purse.  Something pink perhaps?

How To Finish A Crazy Quilt Purse

I'm pleased to announce that my latest publication has been released:

Step by step instructions with loads of photos on how to finish a crazy quilt purse with a sewn-in lining and purchased handles.  Available along with my other publications at Magcloud.

Christmas Time

My presents are wrapped, my tree is up, my cookies are baked and I've been to the Post Office!  I can relax for a few days now:

Scott picked out a beautiful tree this year and it smells lovely!  I decorated it simply with handmade country style ornaments that mom and I made a few years back.  For garland, I just use red and gold beads.  I have to be careful with what I put on the tree because of my cats although this year, Nightmare and Lucy don't seem to have much interest in it.  Instead of my tree-skirt that mom made for me, I kept it simple.  Just an old quilted blanket from when I was little.  Mom gave it to me because I love mint green so much!  I must say, the tree makes me miss my Simba.  He used to love to lay under the tree.  He thought he was hiding but I knew better.

I've been stitching away the early morning hours on my Valentine hearts.  I've made 6 of these so far.  These are the last 3:

We've had a few flurries today and I have Christmas music playing on the radio although I think I'll turn it off again, make a cup of tea and see what they're selling on QVC.