My Kitten Mini Quilt Swap parcel of awesomeness

Further to Tuesday's post about the Kitten Mini Quilt Swap - here is the parcel of awesomeness that I received from my swap partner who funnily enough was Jeanette! @jeannettelgraham  Yes, unknown to both of us at the time, Marni had matched us both up together.  

When the parcel arrived, I went outside to open it with Gemma:

Lots and lots of pretty brown paper packages tied up with string

There was a special parcel with Gemma's name on it.

"Thank You Auntie Jeanette"

Inside were some yummies just for her!!!

The complete parcel of awsomeness

Biscuits & coffee for me and Whiskas for Gemma

This beautiful softie is actually a scissor holder & pin cushion

Tea Towel

A lovely mini quilt

A beautiful embroidered wall hanging which is now hanging in my kitchen/lounge room

Kitten Mini Quilt Swap

Last year I participated in the Kitten Mini Quilt Swap which was hosted by Marni Franks @FrankiesFabrics.  At the time of completing the swap I was without access to my laptop and by the time I was able to sit down and blog about it, my darling Gemma had just passed away.  Hence I kept putting it off. Since Marni has just opened up registrations for this year's round, I thought I'd better type this up.

We were assigned our partners back in December 2014 and we had until 31 March 2015 (3 months) to create a mini quilt to send to our secret partner. The theme was Cats and Kittens.  Much to my delight, my assigned swap partner was a good friend of mine - fellow crazy cat lady Jeanette in Queensland @jeanettelgraham.  As Jeanette is a friend of mine, I included quite a bit more than normal in this swap parcel.

At the time of this swap Jeanette had 5 cats living with her.  Her favourite colours were purple, red and blue.  This is what I made and sent to her:  

The parcel we sent

Some extras - a note pad and some stickers

The card we sent was handmade by Willow Fox Design in Bendigo

Some more extras - a Cat Purse (design by LYPatterns), a key fob and some washi tape

Some more extras - a set of three Cat Lady Embroidery Hoops - pattern by Becky Helms

"Fish 'n' Chips" cat softie - pattern by Ric Rac

The mini quilt that I made - designed by me - made from "Here Kitty Kitty" fabric by Alyssa Thomas for Clothworks.

Gemma helped me to wrap all of the items

There were extra yummies specially packed for Evie, Bella, Lucy, Garfield & Mr Hyde  - Jeanette's pussy cats

Introducing Amity

Hi there, so much has happened lately and to be honest life had been too overwhelming to sit and blog, but I would like to share some lovely news with you (further down).

Those closest to me may have noticed that my head hasn't been in a good place lately.  Winter hit me hard this year and I have had many health relapses; and losing my beloved Gemma was very very hard to cope with.  It took me 6-weeks before I could sit and actually write about it, which was extremely difficult to do, but something I knew I *HAD* to do.  {Read Gemma's tribute here}  Over the past 8+ weeks my Sewjo had totally disappeared.  I found it difficult to spend time in the sewing room without my constant companion in there with me (Gemma was almost a permanent fixture sitting on her beanbag in front of the window with her mousies).  Instead I tried to work my way through the pile of hand sewing that I had in a vain attempt to retain my sanity. I'll blog about that separately.  

Anyway, I could see that I was starting to slide down into a dark space as I was totally consumed and drowning in my grief, and it terrified me!  I prayed earnestly to Jehovah for help, and the help he sent was unexpected to say the least!

I had been scrolling through the various cat adoption pages online trying to work out if I was ready to re adopt or at the very least - to see what the options were for the future when the time was right.  I had started to put some money aside "just in case" thinking that it might still be a number of months off before anything happened.  The RSPCA has a wonderful adoption program for senior pets.  Any cat over the age of 7-years is free to adopt, and of course already house-trained, and I decided that with my health limitations and the type of property that I lived in, that it would be easier to cope with a senior cat.

Very late one Thursday night I noticed a new listing for an 8-year old long hair cat named "Tigger" and her description fit my brief.  I messaged some close friends and asked their advice - "Is it too soon? Do they think I'm crazy? Should I go meet her?" They all agreed that I should at the very least go to meet her and if it is meant to be it will be.  I prayed about it and the next morning I telephoned the RSPCA to enquire.  Someone else had just phoned ahead of me but they still suggested that I come down in case they were not a suitable match.

Tigger's adoption ad

By the time I got there the other people were part way through the adoption process with "Tigger", so I was encouraged to meet the other cats instead. What happened next totally surprised me.  The lady who assisted me naturally asked why I was looking to adopt a cat and as I told her about what happened to Gemma, naturally I broke down in tears.  Samantha lead me into one of the cat enclosures and we sat down to talk.  As soon as I sat down one of the cats immediately jumped onto my lap and refused to leave me.  I couldn't see her face, all I could see was her furry blue butt.  I was there for ages talking to Samantha (who I discovered was a fellow quilter).  She explained the adoption process and introduced me to the other cats in that enclosure, but there was still this furry blue butt on my lap refusing to leave me.  I asked Samantha if that was her normal behaviour?  Apparently it wasn't - it was pretty obvious that I had been "claimed". 

My first view of Amity

I had to take a selfie with my iPhone just so that I could see her face!

Her name was Amity and she is a short haired blue.  (On further investigation we believe that she might be a Chartreux).  Not much was known about her history other than her previous owners had found her and took her in and cared for her  for 12-months until their circumstances had changed and they surrendered her to the RSPCA to be re-homed. She appeared to be in excellent health & it was obvious that there was an immediate bond between us.  (All cats brought to the RSPCA are quarantined and thoroughly examined by a vet before being accessed to see if they are suitable for adoption.  All adoption animals are health and behaviour checked, desexed, vaccinated, micro-chipped, and up to date with flea and worm treatments, which is all included in the adoption fee.). As Amity was 5-years old, she was classified as an "Adult Cat" therefore her adoption fee was $90 plus the local council registration fee ($15.50 for a Pensioner). 

Amity's online adoption ad.

My heart sank as I hadn't been prepared for this and I knew I didn't have the full amount of money to cover her adoption fee.  I was heading to my parent's house next anyway, so I decided to beg the "Bank of Mum" to lend me the remaining balance.  When I discussed it with them my Dad was supportive but my Mum thought that it was too soon for me to re adopt; reluctantly she agreed to go back with Dad & I to meet her. When we went back, as soon as Amity saw me she ran over and climbed back onto my lap.  It was obvious that it was meant to be so the "Bank of Mum" kindly agreed to loan me the balance.  The shelter very kindly agreed to let Amity stay one more night whilst I prepared my house for her arrival (usually adoptions are immediate due to their limited space), and I went back and collected her the following day.

Our second visit

That was Saturday 15 August 2015.  Amity has now been living with me for 3-weeks and she has settled in beautifully. She is so loving and affectionate.  She loves to sleep under the doona (duvet) and loves to cuddle! She is very friendly and always comes out to greet any visitors. She recognizes her new Grandparents and gives them a lot of love as well.   I have had to extend the height of my back fence to prevent her from jumping over it, and now that Spring is here and the weather is improving, she is enjoying spending time in the back yard. 

Happy in her new home

Modelling her snazzy new purple collar

Rub my belly human!

Bring me a beer!

Her lovely new scratching pole, but of course the box is more interesting LOL

She loves her Grandparents!

Amity has helped me to regain my Sewjo

My Supurrrvisor is asleep on the job!

Off on new adventures - exploring the backyard for the first time.

Life has certainly improved.  I still miss Gemma very much, but slowly my heart is healing and I am learning to move forward. I am no longer drowning, but learning to swim and stay afloat.   I cannot tell you if I saved Amity or if Amity saved me, but we do share a special bond and I am so grateful to have her in my life! Jehovah certainly answered my prayer for help and sent me a very special angel to look after me and help me to heal!

Click here to donate to the RSPCA Victoria

Pattern Testing

I recently answered a call for help from the lovely Juliet at The Tartan Kiwi who needed some pattern testers to help test some of her new patterns.  Well you know how much I enjoy paper piecing so of course I put my hand up.

 

Juliet had recently released her "Big Bear" pattern and had designed some "Bear Paws" to accompany it as a border component.  The design features two paws, an angled one and a straight one. 

 

 

 

I went through my fabric stash and dug out a lion print and a cat print that I had been hoarding.  My idea was to maybe one day make a rather schmancy cushion for my gorgeous cat Gemma.  I found some coordinating solids and set to work making a test block.

 

 

Here is my finished Angled Paw Block. 

 

Here is my finished Straight Paw Block.

I found the pattern very easy to make.  As it is only 6.5" it uses many smaller pieces & I was able to make good use of most of my offcuts so I had very little fabric waste.
 

Now to decide which fabric I will pair them up with...