time...

I've written dozens of posts in the last several months.  Generally at night.  And in my head.  Not one of them was actually written down.  It's too bad, because I'm sure they were among my wittiest and most interesting posts.  Oh well.

I know I've thought a lot about the end of 2016.  I really couldn't wait for last year to be over.  Without going into a lot of detail, last year was a very difficult year - physically, mentally and in so many other ways.  And even though it's just an arbitrary date, I'm hopeful that 2017 will bring brighter days.

Unfortunately, it hasn't started out that way.  In November, our dear sweet Sam was diagnosed with cancer.  It was supposed to be slow growing and not metastasize, but she was gone in about 6 weeks.

Sept. 5, 2000 - Dec. 21, 2016

She was such a wickedly smart cat.  We have 4 other pets, but I think their collective IQ has dropped in half now that she's gone.  You could actively see her figuring things out.  (I have so many Sam stories.)  She also had a thing for potato chips.  If I opened a bag anywhere in the house, she'd immediately show up.  I'm having a hard time eating them now because they remind me of her so much.  We're grieving her loss right now and trying to adjust to not having her around.  She was a big part of our lives for 16 years, so it will take some time.

I have gotten back to quilting and there are even some quilts I worked on in 2016 that I never got around to blogging about.  Hopefully I can play catch up in the future.  Happy New Year everyone!

“[W]hat we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” 

Romans 8:17 (TEV) 

Setting Sail Again...

I know that a lot of my sewing and quilting projects have fallen by the wayside over the last year or so.  I mentioned in my last post how the move sort of took over things for a while.  But I'm starting to get back into old (and new) projects again and I'm really enjoying myself!  Recently I finished one of the Ladies of the Sea blocks I've been hand appliqueing for so long.  This is the 15th ship I've completed.

I knew I'd started this ship over a year ago, but I was shocked when I looked back on my blog and learned it was actually just over 2 years ago!  I started this quilt in 2009 and although I've taken numerous breaks to work on other hand applique projects (mainly my Baltimore Halloween quilt), it is definitely my longest project to date.  Here are all of the blocks I've completed so far...

I've already started on the 16th and last ship.  I can only hope it doesn't take me nearly as long to finish.  If I work on it regularly, I can usually knock it out in a month or two, but honestly, this summer is already looking to be a very busy one so time will tell.

With my lack of posting over the last year, I've also neglected to share pictures of my furbabies.  In August it will be 3 years since Sam was diagnosed with kidney disease.  She's already beat the odds and lived longer than the vet said she should.  In fact, she has more energy and is more playful than she was before she got sick.  She's almost 16, but most days she's carrying around her baby in her mouth from place to place before kicking it's butt.  Go Sam!

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT)

KittyFest 2015...

I thought about titling this post something more descriptive but held back because 1) I didn't want to gross you out, and 2) I didn't think anyone would read it.

Why is it that every time a cat gets sick, they always pick carpet instead of something easy to clean up?  The past few days have seemed like one never ending festival of kitty vomit.  The entire apartment I'm living in right now has laminate floors with the occasional scattered rug and yet I've done no less than 10 loads of laundry washing those rugs.  Our cat Jack was in last week getting radiation treatment for her hyperthyroidism.  Moses, our Siamese, went through the exact same treatment 2 months ago and had absolutely no side effects.  Jack came home on Thursday and by Friday was extremely sick.  The poor thing wouldn't eat or drink, all she did was sleep and throw up.  I had to give her fluids under her skin just to keep her hydrated.  And of course, she's radioactive for the next two weeks so I had to be extra careful cleaning up after her as well.

And just to join in on the fun, two of our other cats got sick as well.  I think David may have eaten a bug or something that didn't agree with him.  I can count on one hand the number of times in 6 years that he's gotten sick, but he had to choose this weekend to add to that number.

Sam has been grooming herself incessantly lately, so I wasn't overly surprised when she presented me with a hairball.

I'm very pleased to report though that they've all gone 24 hours without an incident.  Jack has finally turned the corner and is on the mend.  She's regained her appetite and is drinking water on her own.  Now that she can handle it, I've been offering her food and treats at every opportunity.  She needs to put on a good bit of weight to get back to normal.  She's nothing but skin and bones right now.

All my cats are indoor only, but my parents take care of about 30 feral cats.  Due to a generous grant, they've been able to get most of them fixed and hopefully will be able to catch and fix the youngest ones in the near future.  It's quite a sight though to see so many cats come running for breakfast in the morning - all sizes and colors.  About 8 of them have taken to sleeping under my dad's truck during the heat of the day.  They're everywhere you look.

I think this one looks like a rag doll...

They clip their left ear when they fix them so you can tell right away who's been fixed and who hasn't.  This little fellow has obviously already been snipped.

My parents have been feeding these cats for years, but their numbers were growing and it was just getting to be too much.  They've paid to have some of them fixed themselves, but it quickly gets way too expensive.  This local grant has been such a blessing to them and to the cats.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. 

Revelation 21:4 (NLT)

I'm Swooning...

After 14 years in the same house, my husband and I recently decided to start over and build a new house.  So the last couple of months have been non-stop busy with packing, trying to get the house ready to show and a temporary move.  We officially listed the house last week and are so grateful that it's already sold.  We had 3 showings and 3 offers over this past weekend.

All of this has left me with little time to sew recently.  My mom and I had been working on a Swoon quilt to use as a raffle for my niece's school.  I'll confess I only sewed one block and helped with a few others.  My mom did the bulk of the work.  Now that the top is done, I'll be quilting it.  FYI - The fabric in this quilt is Miss Kate by Bonnie & Camille.

Our 4 cats are not handling the move very well.  Of course, they've lived in the same house since they were all kittens so this is a huge transition for them.  I think the vet down here (whom I'm becoming very familiar with) is going to hate to see us go.  I'm sure I've already paid for his summer vacation and am working on his winter one!  In fact, yet another of our cats has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and has to have radiation treatment.  That's 2 cats within 2 months.  You'd think the condition is contagious, but it's not.  Jack goes in for treatment on Monday and she'll continue to be radioactive for another couple of weeks after that.

Jack

Sam has developed acne yet again and her kidney values have gone up.  However, I think she's adjusting the best of all them.  While the others hide when people come over, she's always out and ready to interact with them.

Sam

Moses is and always has been completely neurotic.  She hides under the covers all day and only comes out at night.  However, she loves to explore my dad's garage and is slowly cleaning out the cobwebs from every nook and cranny.

Moses

David was a terrified wreck for the first couple of weeks and hid under the bed most of the time.  He's now growing more comfortable with everyone and his surroundings.

David

Our new house won't be finished until November, so they've got enough time to really settle in before I move them again.  Hopefully they'll handle this 2nd (and last) move better than the first!

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

Skywalker....

I'm still busy quilting my mom's Winter Wonderland quilt so I don't have much to show there, but I did have a big knitting finish recently.  This is Skywalker.

I'm taking the Craftsy class "Knit this! Mastering Lace Shawls" by Laura Nelkin and this is one of two patterns she offers through it.  It was fun to knit, but I definitely had to pay attention to what I was doing.  I used Classic Elite Yarns Villa in Lavender which is 70% baby alpaca and 30% bamboo so it's incredibly soft.

I wasn't sure how big to make it and I ended up enlarging the pattern.  I knew it would grow once I blocked it, but I just wasn't sure how much.  What a difference blocking made!  This is what it looked like just coming off the needles.  It was small and difficult to see the patterns.

If anyone's curious, I added another Star Stitch section before the border to make mine larger.  That's the top section in the picture.  I think my favorite section though is the elongated stitches just below it.  They're incredibly easy to create, but I like the effect.

She offers two patterns in the class and I've already started on the second one.  I find it very relaxing to knit at night while watching TV.  I used to do my hand applique during this time, but it meant my lap was full of project stuff.  With knitting, there's plenty of room for a cat (or two).  Usually this one...

“But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God.” 

Romans 13:11 (MSG)

Back to Quilting...

How can it possibly be the end of summer?  My internal clock is still stuck somewhere in June or July.  This summer has been a whirlwind and I feel like I've gone from one thing to another.  However someone told me the other day they're predicting this winter to be another cold and wet one.  If that's the case, I plan to hibernate in my sewing room until Spring.  I haven't had much time for quilting lately, but being shut in would give me lots of time to make up for it.

Recently I've started working on a quilt for my mom called Winter Wonderland.  We both made the same quilt back in 2011; hers is in blues and mine is in blacks and browns.  I promised to quilt hers over a year ago, but am only now getting around to it.

The first step to quilting it is to outline all of the embroidery.  It's slow, detailed work, but I'm halfway done with it.  Once I've finished that, I'll go back and quilt the background of each block.

I'm also burying all my thread tails on this quilt.  I've been doing that for about a year now.  I used to just stitch in place a few times when I started and stopped, but I feel like pulling the threads to the top, tying them in a knot and burying them is a little more secure.  (Not that I've ever had a quilt come undone doing it the other way.)  I also think it looks a little nicer.  In any case, I was trying to explain it to my mom and mentioned that I use the cheater needles to bury the threads.  She wasn't familiar with them.

Instead of threading the needle, you press your threads down through the slit on the top and they'll pop down into the eye, threading your needle.  You wouldn't use this for all of your sewing, but it's invaluable for things like burying thread tails.  (I'm using the John James Easy Threading Needles for this - aka cheater needles.)

I have both of my machines set up right now and so in between working on this quilt, I'm also practicing my FMQ (free motion quilting).  I recently took the Free Motion Fillers class with Leah Day on Craftsy.  (Hint:  If you're interested in taking one of her Craftsy classes, she offers a 50% discount on them if you go through her website.)    I've started quilting some of her fillers and plan to put together the sampler so I can try them all.  One thing I've already learned is straight lines are very difficult to quilt.

I have to mention one thing before I finish.  This time last year, our Sam was so sick we didn't think she was going to make it.  We had to carry her to the litter box to go to the bathroom and then hold her up.  However, she's doing amazing now.  She's more playful then she's been in years.  She has a birthday next week where she'll turn 14 and I'm so very grateful that's she's here with us to celebrate another one.  Thank you to everyone who prayed for her!

"Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged."

Matthew 7:1-2 NLT

Mystery Solved!

After such a great start to the summer spending lots of time in my sewing room, I somehow managed to catch a bug and put an end to all that fun.  I've been a complete slug for the last 2 weeks as I've tried to get over it.  I've had no energy to do anything other than sit in front of the TV.  I'm really grateful to whoever invented Roku.

At the beginning of the month, my quilt bee got the last clue to the mystery quilt and were finally able to see what it looks like.  (Fortunately I had finished both of my tops before I got sick.)  I'm going to keep the black/brown version and the patriotic version is for QOV.  They're both a nice size at 72" square.

Now that my bee has finished the mystery, I can also share where I found the pattern.  When looking for a mystery that we could do as a group, I just happened to stumble upon Persimmon Quilts website.  What a great find!  She has an entire category dedicated to QOV mysteries and this particular one is #28.  I looked through most of them and there are definitely more I'd like to make.

I already have the patriotic top loaded on the frame so I hope I can get it quilted soon.  I'm going to have company for the next week and a half so I know that there won't be much sewing going on then.  However, it's a visit I've really been looking forward to and I plan to have lots of non-quilty fun!

Here's a picture of Sam with her baby.  She's been really playful the last few days and it's good to see her acting so young.

Better a poor man who walks in integrity

than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.

Proverbs 19:1 HCSB

Halfway Solved...

I've just handed out the next to last clue to our mystery and can now share what the center of the quilts look like.  One member guessed star, which is pretty close, but most of them weren't sure what it was going to look like.  First is the black and brown version I'm making for my husband.  The cream fabrics are flannels I had left over from another project.

Then there's the patriotic version that will go to QOV.  The colors are deeper than in the picture.  For some reason they look washed out, particularly the red.

As you can see from the kitty paw in the picture above, I had a lot of trouble getting a picture without them in it.  That's the problem with trying to take a picture of a quilt on the floor.  In fact, most of my pictures looked like this...

I'm working on the last clue now which is the pieced border.  However, I won't be able to share the final quilt until early July when my quilt bee gets it.

I realized that although the name of my blog is 'Mike & Gabby', I haven't shared any pictures of Gabriel (Gabby) recently.  This is one I snapped with my phone after a nap we took.  She decided she had enough with sleeping and wanted to play.  That face is really hard to ignore!

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 

Psalm 40:2 (NLT)

Stepping Stones...

I've been quilting for about 10 years now.  And in those 10 years, I've lost track of the number of quilts I've made.  (I really wish I'd blogged back then so I'd have a record of all of them.)  I've had fun learning/trying new techniques and I've given away more quilts then I've kept.  But in all those years, there is one goal I could never seem to reach - to finish a quilt for our own bed.  It's a king-size bed so it's a big undertaking, but I've actually made a couple of king-size quilts for others in the past.  I think it must be like the cobbler who never has shoes of his own.  However, on Memorial Day I finally finished our first quilt.

Stepping Stones - 113" x 104"

I started this quilt in June 2012.  It was a free Schnibbles pattern that Carrie Nelson was offering to participants in the Schnibbles parades.  I had a Layer Cake of Wiscasset by Minick & Simpson laying around so I decided to make a lap-sized version.  When I finished, I liked it so much, I decided to go even bigger and turn it into a king-sized quilt.  I had to do some searching on the internet to find another Layer Cake since this was an older line of fabric, but I finally found one.  Then I sat down and drew up a layout that would work with the fabric I had and the dimensions I needed.  The rest of the top went together pretty easily.

The quilting though has been  nightmare.  I have never had as many problems with a quilt as I did with this one.  The thread kept breaking on my machine.  I changed needles.  Cleaned it. Changed the thread.  Had my machine serviced.  Replaced the carriage on my frame.  And finally replaced the track on my frame.  (FYI - I have a Grace GMQ Pro frame.)  After all of that, it now purrs like a kitten!  But it was months of frustration where I didn't want to even touch it.

I have to loosen the leaders when I'm not quilting or the cats use it as a hammock.

In addition, the cats were wrestling in there one day and tore a hole through the batting.

This is the first time I've ever had to do a patch job on batting, but I think it turned out OK.

I used the Dusty Miller pantograph from Urban Elementz on this quilt.  It's the first time I've used it.  It's a dense pantograph, but very pretty.  I'll definitely use it again.

As usual, I used one of the blocks from the quilt for the label.  I just added a pre-made label to the top of it and hand-stitched everything to the back.

With 5 pets, I know this quilt is going to get a lot of heavy use and will undoubtedly be washed frequently.  I decided to sew the binding on by machine.  (Also because I don't like hand sewing binding down.)  I glue-baste my binding to the back with Elmer's glue before I sew it down.  It's water soluble and helps me get a nice even finish.  Just a tiny bead of glue and then a press of the iron is enough to make it stay.

Sam was ever so helpful while I was trying to finish the binding...

So, to sum up Stepping Stones:

• Size: 104" x 113"
• Fabric: Wiscasset by Minick & Simpson, Kona cotton for the sashing and backing
• Batting: Quilter's Dream Request
• Thread: Aurifil for piecing, Superior Threads So Fine #457 for quilting
• Pattern: Adapted Leap Year by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Because of the patriotic colors, I always planned for this quilt to go on our bed from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  So it was really nice to finish it yesterday and put it on there.  I have such plans of having quilts for our bed for all of the seasons, but considering it's taken me 10 years to produce my first one, there's no telling how long the others will take!  One step at a time...

Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory. 

Psalm 50:15 (NLT)