TQPM Quilt Kitties Photo Contest

What is it about Kitties & Quilts? Why do they love them so? This is not something that just happens in my house, my state, and my country. I see pictures of kitties on quilts from almost everywhere in the world. There must be some secret communication going on where they share favorite things. Could it be the Meow Express?

Let’s face it. You will find a kitty sitting on a floor, a chair, a couch, even a table. When you add a quilt to any of those things, it is like a cat magnet. It has to be checked out and sat on. Why do they like them so much? Could it be because of the texture, the smell, the color? Somehow I don’t think the color makes a big difference, but then we will never know because hummingbirds do like red things!

So why fight it? Just accept it and let your kitty enjoy that quilt. When he or she does, grab your camera and start snapping away because the second annual TQPM Quilt Kitties Photo Contest just started on September 1. It was a huge hit last year and Gracie was the winner.   Wouldn’t you like your cat to be a winner?

This year there is something very special about the contest. Petfinder.com Foundation is going to be a sponsor. Petfinder.com Foundation helps homeless pets by saving lives through adoptions, helping shelters prepare for and recover from disaster and working to make shelters across the country more sustainable. They have been very busy helping animals affected by Hurricane Isaac. Their mission is to help ensure that no adoptable pet is euthanized for lack of a good home. They exist soley to support the 13, 500+ organizations that post their adoptable pets on Petfinder.

In addition to the Petfinder.com Foundation, Olfa, YLI, Electric Quilt, Kona Bay Fabrics, The Quilted Kitty, ChristaQuilts.com and Fort Worth Fabric Studio are also helping sponsor this event with their generous donations. We even have a sponsor kitty as Miss Piggy of Kona Bay Fabrics has agreed to help again this year. She wants all her kitty friends in shelters to find forever homes.

After the dog days of August, the months of September and October are for the cats at The Quilt Pattern Magazine. In fact we even have directions in the September issue for an embroidery pillow that features – what else – a cat!

Now what does this mean for you? Well all we ask is that as a subscriber, please submit a picture of your kitty on a quilt or in a quilt-related surrounding. The voting starts in November and everyone can vote. And guess what – your kitty could be a star and appear on the front cover of The Quilt Pattern Magazine. And you the owner will receive lots of great prizes!

But there is more! We will have free patterns on our website to make Kitty Kennel Quilts. You can make one for your special feline and make an extra for the shelter in your area. You can also get a group together to help with this project and make lots of quilts for your shelter.

Please join us in making this a special event for your “Quilt Kitty” and all those kitties in shelters waiting for their forever homes. For more information go to http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/program/QuiltKitties/

The Great Bread Heist

Heidi, one of my kitties, loves bread.  I can’t leave bread lying around, because it will disappear. When I’m done making a sandwich, I have to put the loaf of bread in the pantry right away, so she can’t get to it.

One day I was at my computer. (Like most days of course – hehe.)  I heard a little rustling in the kitchen.  I remembered that I left the bread on the counter after putting up the groceries.  I knew what was going on; she was gnawing a hole in the corner of the bag to get to the bread.

I got up from my chair, heading for the kitchen and she heard me.  She wanted that bread and knew her window of opportunity was closing! She had to think quickly.

I heard a thud and I knew the bread had hit the floor.  This was a full loaf and I was amazed she could drag it to the floor!  This is one smart kitty and she knew that once I reached the kitchen, all I had to do is pick it up off the floor and take it away from her. I swear I could hear her little brain ticking with plans!

I am not kidding – she grabbed the end of the loaf and took off with it!  Just as I turned around the counter to the kitchen, this loaf of bread zoomed past me and into my bedroom!  Geeze this is one determined cat!

I headed to the bedroom and heard a thump.  Heidi made it under the bed, but the bread did not.  It was too big to go under!  The bread bag was shaking, as she frantically tugged and pulled on the other end.  She was determined to get that loaf of bread under the bed, one way or another!  Unfortunately for her, it didn’t happen.  I bent over and picked it up, examined the damage and repackaged the portion that was still OK.  I put it away in the pantry.

But, there was my disappointed little Heidi. She wouldn’t come out from under the bed, and I could just feel her sulking under the bed.  She did all that work and had no bread.  I have a soft heart for my little furry babies, so, I gave her the pieces of bread she had mauled during the Great Bread Heist.  She was a happy kitty.

cindy

The Fantasy of Quilting

We all have them – we just don’t talk about them. I’ll share mine! In my fantasy, I’m sitting in a lovely upholstered rocking chair, and I mean the MOST comfortable rocking chair ever invented, so that when one part of my back starts hurting, it automatically turns on the massage unit sensing where to use it. Then, when my shoulder is starting to ache a little, the massage and heat unit comes on in the shoulder area. This is my ideal chair for quilting. It’s sitting in a corner, with my small table nearby where I can have a yummy cup of tea, thread, scissors etc – you know all the stuff (a few cookies). In this particular fantasy I’m doing some needleturn applique, which I dearly love to do, but often get frustrated with how long it takes. So, (since this is my fantasy) the clock has also been turned off. Nothing is waiting for me, there is no laundry to be done, no meal to be prepared, no one at school waiting to be picked up – nope, it’s just me and my needleturn.

There is a beautiful stone fireplace in the other corner, and the fire is blazing comfortably.  The window is between my chair and the fireplace, and I can watch the snowflakes fall lazily down to earth as I stitch away. There is a cat curled up, in a box (clearly too small for her, but you know how cats are!) in front of the fireplace, and every once in a while, she stretches and curls up again, to sleep and dream of little mice.

I’m working on a large top, with lots of scrolly bits and curves, which will one day end up on my bed. My favorite jewel tones are used in each piece, making it look very rich and full of depth. Each pin I pull out is another inch toward completion.

When I tire of watching the snow fall, I turn on the TV and watch my favorite old movies or TV shows. I Love Lucy, The Long, Long Trailor, Holiday Inn, Gone With the Wind, I Was A War Bride, with Cary Grant, My Three Sons…. oh what fun!

Then my dinner tray is magically delivered, so I do set aside my needleturn for a few minutes, let’s see what they brought for dinner! Oh my favorite! Chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate chip, vanilla with chocolate sauce, and just to keep my blood sugar even, a nice piece of tenderloin steak, wrapped with crispy bacon.

My tummy full, the kitchen is clean (the elves did it) and I go back to my needleturn. I sure would like to have this finished before bedtime!

Oh the fantasy is just that – a fantasy. But as we spend time doing handwork on our quilts, our minds do tend to wander. Where has your mind wandered lately, and what were you working on? Do you have a quilting fantasy? We’d love to hear it!