Good Wednesday Morning and I hope you can stay warm and cuddled up.  The windchill here is 30 below.  At least the sun is out!

Thank you all for the compliments on the newly finished quilt top. It was an intense seven weeks, but well worth it for all the tips, tricks and techniques I learned from the teacher and all that I learned from making mistakes and then fixing them.

Now I am practicing quilting on several samplers I have, because,  big breath in,  I am going to try to quilt this small quilt in my sewing machine.  I did find my quilting stencils and the chalk used to mark them on the fabric.

Many quilters decide to have the quilt quilted on the long arm machine at the store.  Then, they pick out the quilt design and the thread used, pay a fee and wait for it to be done.  I don’t know how long it takes.  This machine cost 35K and would not fit in my living room unless we moved most of the furniture and maybe the fireplace.

I completely understand why people use this service.  Piecing a quilt, putting all the colors together, making all the seams meet is one kind of project. The actual quilting is another, with different skills, problems, solutions.  The bulkiness of the quilt with its three layers( top, batting, backing) and its size( what do you do with and  how do you support the weight of the rest of the quilt as you are sewing on that one part) makes this part, uh, interesting.

Some people only enjoy putting the pieces together: the math, the angles, the corners, the colors, the patterns. Some enjoy hand quilting, and I do, but I think for this project I want to have it done sooner rather than later, just to keep up the interest, just to finish it.

Now I need to decide on the backing fabric and the batting.

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Partaaaaay!  A kitten partay!  Katya and I were invited to a kitten party last night at the vet’s.  I was hoping for some socialization with another kitten, but we were the only attendees, probably due to the cold and snow that was falling then.  But I did learn a lot from a learned vet tech who gave me new information about kitten maintenance and health.  I learned how to provide hunting  opportunities (for food and for fun) that will keep her active. I also learned more about the pheremones that can help dispel anxiety and a super cool way to train the kitten with treats.  She uses a soft canned food smushed into a cut off syringe!!!

Poor little thing was trembling so badly when we got to the vet that I could feel the carrier vibrating.  I took her out of the carrier, held her to my chest and zipped up my coat.  Her little head was pressed into my neck.  Once we got into the kitten room with all the toys on the floor, it still took awhile for her to let go and explore.

She was in her second shelter and had been isolated with ringworm for a month  by the time we picked her up at three months.  Who knows where the first shelter rescued her from.  and from what.  That kind of a beginning would make anyone scared.

I remember that Rally who Jes rescued during a cold autumn from a YMCA camp where people dumped their pregnant cats was always very appreciative and followed  and sat next to me wherever I was. She was a young kitten, too, barely weaned.

Well, it’s been fun to chat.  Have a Wonderous Wednesday!

Love,

Janet