Spring is here! with another project started.

A lot has happened this past month.  Still working on the Jacob's Ladder project.  However, also have done some quilt fabric shopping and am excited by my latest color additions to the stash.  So let me tell you about part of last weekend.  Spent Saturday and Sunday in Granbury, Tx and only visited one shop:  Houston Mercantile Fabrics on the Square  in Granbury.  "On the Square" means the original center of town which was built around the Hood County Court House.  There are shops and parking on all 4 side streets around  the court house.

Texas Courthouses are a hobby in itself with well over 200 old style Courthouses built from the 1880's to the 1920's  to find in the 254 counties.  of those over 200 courthouses, 63 have been restored to their former self.

I digressed from today's blog subject:

Here's the 5 fabrics I found that I couldn't resist.  Started out with the bottom one and added the other 4 as their colors all went together.

Have already started the first project which is almost finished.  Just covering some rectangular frames with each of the fabrics for a wall decor item.  

Next project with the fabrics will be an illusion quilt with "floating" blocks of color.  Above is the sample:  Already have two of the fabric cuts made.  Now to cut the strips and start putting it together. 

 The colors so remind me of the spring we are having now.  

Since the middle of April, we've been getting much needed rain.  Enough so that the lake behind our place has replenished itself after 3 years of drought and has even flooded over into nearby fields and our back acre. We had been getting worried about enough water to keep the fish alive.  Not so now.  I've never seen our land as saturated with water as it is now and the rain keeps coming.  Of course, we've only been here 8 1/2 years so haven't seen a lot of the local, rural weather.

All the trees in the county and the surrounding counties have turned a deep, dark, rich green which I have never seen them do in the past and the fields are full of lush greens.  Such a variety of greens.  Since the trees are greening up at different rates depending on type, they make some beautiful contrasts.

 The wildflowers are plentiful with many sprouting up where I had never noticed them in the past.  I've even found several species I hadn't noticed before in my own fields.  I think this spring is what is making me excited about doing this project with these fabrics.

Of course, all my time wasn't spent in 1 shop as we were there to watch a play and also eat!  Just can't get away from that daily habit.

My Jacob's Ladder Project part #10

Worked on the first quilt again.  Got all the blocks taken apart. Now in the process of rearranging.  Started putting them on the wall.  Realized that I needed a few more blocks (or so I thought).  Wasn't hard to put together two more blocks so ended up with this arrangement

After getting them all sorted out, realized that I had a 6x7 arrangement.  I had planned a 6x6!  Guess I had too much fun putting them all together on the wall.  Now I'm not sure what I'll do.  Either take out 7 blocks and get some of the blocks out of there that just don't seem to fit or leave it as is.

I've been taking pics of different arrangements and moving blocks around as it is.  I also found that somehow, 3 blocks are identical.  Don't know how I ended up with 3 identicals but don't remember what I was doing exactly, 2 1/2 years ago when I started this whole thing.  There are a couple of floral blocks that also don't fit well in the quilt.  so, that makes 4 blocks that I can easily remove.  Just need to decide which other 3 I don't really need.  Might make the flow of light to dark easier to manage.

Here it is with 6 removed (didn't need to remove 7 - got to get my math right)

Catification Progress

The first phase of the catification project in the living room is complete.  Just one more thing to do to the TV cabinet area and that phase will be done.  The two boys use the new "steps" easily now.  The climbing pole has been turned around and that helped them get up and down even better.  I've also been leaving treats on the steps which they enjoy finding.  Gypsum seems to get the most but Butch is in there trying, too.  Rainey has tried out the steps a couple of times but she's not making any habit right now of going up them. Goldie hasn't even been interested.

 
A couple of portraits of Gypsum and Butch since these steps have lent themselves to making decent photos of them.

This last photo is the goal.  The place that Gypsum and Butch .... and Rainey ... and Goldie like to get up and away from the floor and sleep in peace.  There is room for 4 up there.  Both beds will hold 2 but there are not 4 cats in this house that will sleep together, just 3.  It's rare for Goldie to sleep with both of her kids at the same time but Rainey definitely likes to sleep alone.  It also appears that Scooter will be like Rainey in that regard.

The last part of this catification project will be the down side on the other end of the cabinet.  That's the one that Rainey needs.  I have started clearing away the clutter on the end table but still have to find a spot for the flashlights and the picture frame. Maybe I'll have to get the turkey closet emptied out.

Scooter, a month later

Scooter is calming down a little bit.  Spouse has been letting her roam the house for the last 2 weeks, so I also let her out during the day.  She's getting so she doesn't slink around in all the rooms.  If she sees another cat, she just hisses at them and debates whether to turn around or continue on.  If one is blocking her way to her room though, she charges with growls, hisses and a swat or two on her way by to her room.  The other cats just look at her, none willing to stand up to her at that point.  She does not like going past a cat that is sitting above her and with let out nasty howls & loud growls like she's being killed, when all they're doing to her is looking at her as she goes by them.

As you can tell, her room is her sanctuary.  Even with the screen door open to the rest of the house, she sleeps there during the day.  Lately it's been up by the window on her knitted blanket.

Butch will watch her from afar, low growling as he does.  Gypsum just watches and will hiss if she gets too close.

I've been trying out the Spirit Essences scent, Peacemaker, but not sure if it's working or if it's just that she's getting used to the house and the presence of other cats.  Getting drops on all of their coats is a challenge.  If they see that dropper coming at them, they will try to avoid.  I think it reminds them of my using the eye dropper on their eyes as kittens or when I had to put drops in their ears.  I don't think they like the alcohol  smell that is in the drops, either.  I've tried it on their water, but then they avoid drinking from that particular container.  Don't dare to try it on their food because of their immediate reaction to the alcohol smell. At this point, I'm not sure if she'd do better on one of the other Essences than the one I got.

George no longer spends long times at night with her to keep her company and she's ok with that now.  He just kept that up for about 3 weeks.  I found that I just couldn't sleep on her couch for more than a couple of hours.  Even so, she'd sleep on top of me or down by my feet.

  We do play with her in the evening in her room which she enjoys.  She likes to play with the string attached to the wand, but not with the ball at the end of the string.  She also likes to attack the wand when it's being swished under her tent.  Catnip doesn't seem to interest her.

As for her visit with the vet a month ago.  He figures she's between 10 and 12 years old.  She had already lost most of her teeth through decay and gum disease and had to have surgery to remove her last 2 teeth.  She recovered from that well.  Vet also said to keep her on her normal diet as  she's quite healthy.  Since the dental surgery, her gums have healed and she's learned how to use her mouth to pick up things without a problem.

Rainey mostly ignores her, except when she hears one of the other cats in trouble with her.  Then Rainey will move to see what's going on and is ready to interfere on her friends behalf if we're not around to interfere ourselves.

My Jacob's Ladder Project, Part 9

Finally, the last 4 blocks are done and I've been rearranging the blocks.  It's in kind of an order, mainly trying to keep the lighter blocks together and the darker blocks together, but not quite.  Still had to please my eye and make both quilts have the same color blocks in the same spot on each quilt.
Here's what I have at the moment.  Of course I'm going to let it sit for awhile while I piece the sashing and cornerstones though I am pleased with this placement.

I might even have these 2 quilts done in time for my guild's next quilt show next February.  They'll fit right in with the show's theme, Quilt Color Splash

Now for a look at the old family quilt that started this project:

and here is the first unfinished quilt from this project.  I'll be taking this one all apart and rearranging the blocks as I'm still not pleased with the layout of it:

All the fabrics used in this setting are used in the two color block quilts above.

Catification starting

If you've watched My Cat From Hell (on the Animal Planet channel), you've learned about Jackson Galaxy, the host of the show.  He does wonders with families experiencing what they think is a cat problem.  Many of his problem fixes have to do with changing the cat's environment in the house and he labels the process as "catification".  He's even co-authored a book called Catification with his designer, Kate Benjamin, just recently published (2014).

With our new cat, Scooter, I felt that we needed to do more to our house so she can fit into the household of 4 other cats in a smoother fashion.  This will probably be enjoyed by the other 4 as well.  So, I took a picture of the first area that will be improved as it will be the easiest to do and will solve one of the issues the first 4 cats have with each other.

As it is now, the cats like to sleep on top of the TV cabinet when we're in the room (there's a heater vent right above their beds (1 cat bed and 1 low-sided cardboard box).  They've only had that spot for a few months now as I cleared the "CLUTTER" off the top this past September and have a climbing post on the right side. It is the 3rd post we have in the house and one they use a lot, even the scratching posts on it.

 They love being able to use the post and sleep on the cabinet.  But they don't love having to get past Rainey or Rainey doesn't love having to get past them, all depending on  where they were sleeping and who got where first.  It does get kind of funny watching Butch or Gypsum try to get past Rainey as they will look for other ways down but end up having to run by Rainey (she swats them anyway).  They do the same to her if she has to get past them to get down.

Before

As you see, I've labeled the first 2 areas that will be fixed.  The deadend spot on the left and another route down on the right. (thank you Jackson Galaxy for explaining some of the finer points of catification to the world).

The left side will get some steps down and I'll have to clear the "CLUTTER" off of the end table, maybe even move it to another spot in the living room.  Though the house is large, the rooms are on the SMALL side so this will take some more thinking as to furniture placement.

On the right side of photo, the corner will get a couple more "steps" leading down. (and I really need to remove the "CLUTTER" in that corner.  The dark spot in the "tunnel" at the top of the post is Rainey, sleeping, her favorite spot at the moment and a spot the boys don't like having to go past to get down as she swats them in the butt every time as they go down over the end.

As you can tell, CLUTTER is my problem as I collect but I also like things orderly.  I will have to cringe and remove a lot of CLUTTER that I  no longer use nor can make orderly.  The cats would have more room to run around if I got rid of that CLUTTER.  btw (by the way) the cabinet looks stuffed because we have a small bird that we needed to keep out of places as she is destructive to anything paper or even cloth(anything that will make nesting material).  We ended up leaving her caged permanently, which in the long run is safer for her in a house now full of cats.

When this part of the Living Room is catified, I'll post an "after" picture and then move on to the next catification project.

My Jacob's Ladder Project, # 8

The Corner Stones are completed!

 

and work has begun on the missing blocks.  Mind you, I will be rearranging the orders of the blocks in each quilt once the final 4 blocks are completed.

Here's what I have so far:

 
Ready to sew together.

and the solid blocks are ready to sew.  Here's one:

Now it's off to sew for the day ... and get the final fabric cut for the 3rd and 4th blocks.

 

The last blocks above.