Mr. Cat Keeps His Toes Warm

This is one of our farm cats by the name of Mr. Cat. I know it is not a very imaginative name but he got his name when we were working on the remodeling here before we moved in. Our granddaughters (aged 4 and 5 at the time) and their mother were with us in the pickup truck coming here to see the progress on the house. When we drove in the yard this cat walked across the yard and the little girls asked John what it's name was. Very quickly John just said "Ah....Ah....Mr. Cat" so that has been his name ever since. He had another name given to him by my in-laws when they lived here but guess he probably doesn't mind the new one too much.

Here he is sharpening his claws on the split rail fence. I took these photos last week and there was still snow and ice everywhere. The sidewalks were covered with ice even after the snow was removed so this fence was a nice place to hang out, survey his world and keep his feet dry.

Mr. Cat is not a young cat, we are not sure how old he is but has to be between 10 and 12 yrs. old. That is pretty old for a farm cat but part of the reason he is still here is that he was neutered when he was a year old so he doesn't get the urge to roam. When I say farm cat I mean he lives outside and sleeps in the farm shop or the barn. Most farm cats don't live real long lives or they decide to leave and go live at another farm so they just are only around a few years at the most. Mr. Cat is a great hunter too as we see him carrying his catch quite often.

All the grandkids love him but he doesn't like to be carried, he will allow them to pet him a little though then he is off on one of his cat adventures. Up until last summer he was the top cat on the farm but now Olivia, a long haired black cat, rules the farm. It doesn't bother Mr. Cat as he just stays out of her way and spends a lot of time on the deck or checking that things are OK around the shop or around the backside of the house.

Lynn

Borders

I finally am getting the Scrapaholic quilt finished. Maybe I should say I am finally getting some borders on it. I have stitched the light blue 3 1/2" border on and preparing the next red border.

This red border is going to be finished at 5 1/2". As you can see it is made up of lots of strips of different reds. Some are bright, some are dull, some are dark and some are more orangie reds. I once was told that if you think the reds you selected don't go together just add more and they will look great together. That has been my theory to use with lots of colors. The more you add the more the colors go together.

I plan to add two more borders after these get stitched on then I will have to decide if I am going to machine quilt it myself or send it to a local machine quilter. Hopefully I can get them done right away but I sure have been sidetracked with other things around here since before Christmas.

Until later...
Lynn

Beads for Boys

Our grandsons wanted a beaded bead too after they saw the ones I made for the girls at Christmas. I didn't think they would want one but since they do I am using the blue and silver one you saw earlier for the older 7 yr. old boy and made a black and red one for the 4 yr. old. They are both made with seed beads.

I have not had a chance to get the beads to them but hope they like them. Their mother (our daughter) assured me that they each had a chain that would work to put them on. Will see them in a couple of weeks so will present them to them at that time.

The temperature outside has really risen this last week and it feels wonderful after the sub-zero temps. we had for several weeks. We have had temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s for several days - whoo hooo a heat wave! The snow piles have shrunk a little but you sure wouldn't know unless you measured them. We still feel like we are living in a white mountain range with all the piled up snow everywhere though.

Lynn

Beaded Beads

It is time to take down my Christmas tree in the house as well as move the Christmas posts down the list on my blog with something new. We did have a great time with our family last weekend for our postponed celebration. It is always so much fun to watch and listen to the 4 grand kids play. They don't get to see each other very often and really enjoy playing together.

The week we were snowed in here before and during Christmas I spent some of that time making more beaded beads. These 4 below are the twisted kind using several sizes of beads and an uneven peyote stitch.

These next three are made using an even peyote stitch and the same size beads. I let my daughters choose the bead they wanted and they each chose one of these rather than the twisted ones.

I also made these pastel small ones for the two granddaughters. When the two grandsons saw them they said they would like one too so I will be making a blue and white one and a red and black one for them. Their mother said they have a chain they wear once in a while so the bead could be put on that to wear.

One of the things I have started doing to the latest beads I have made is to do the beading over a plastic drinking straw and when it is finished I cut a piece of the straw to keep inside the bead. I draw up the beads on each end with my beading thread which makes the ends smaller so the straw section will not fall out and you can't see it. The straw keeps the bead from collapsing and it is easier to run a chain or cord through also. The beads are quick and fun to do so expect to see more in the future.

We are experiencing another blizzard today. The snow started coming down this morning and started blowing by noon. The winds are blowing 20-30 miles per hour with gusts up to 35-45 so the snow is building up again into new drifts or making the ones we have even larger. Thursday it is supposed to continue to snow and blow plus be really cold with the high for the day not getting over 0 degrees F. with wind chills of -30 F. Burrr! I am so tired of this weather we have had this winter. We still have a lot of winter left to go so hope we don't continue to keep having these horrible storms as we are not used to winters like this. Most years we get some snow and some cold but not the heavy snows and blowing like we have this year. A lot of times we don't get any snow until January so we already have had a month of this and I do believe we have had our share.

No question about it though, tomorrow I stay in and sew and can watch the snow storm through my sewing room window.

Lynn