The letter M and Feline Friday

This month for the Sew Sweet Bee we made a block for Amy at A Quilting Sheep.  I love her blog!  She chose alphabet letters and sent everyone a letter to make.  I am actually keeping the one at the top because I cut the middle section 1/2 an inch too short, so I added sashing on the other two sides (it was only supposed to be added to two sides) and made it more even.  I'll finish it up into a wall hanging later, but for now I hung it on my quilt until I have time to get back to it and so I don't forget it.
This is Amy's M, I hope it is okay.

I never did share with ya'll the quilt rack Chris got me for our anniversary back in August.  I had sent it ahead to Missouri with a friend who was visiting.  It looks like a cat!  LOL  I put it in the utility room.

The cats think it is a great place to hang out too!
A couple of years ago I won this cat toy from Friskies.  It is called an undercover mouse and it electronically moves a stick with a ball on it under the cover.  It keeps the cats busy for a long time!

My husband said it looks like we have toddlers because there are cat toys everywhere, but he's worse about buying them then I am!

I hope I will be able to start being in my sewing room more often now!  I still have unpacking to do, but I'm getting more settled.

You know you live in a small town when you go to the restaurant and they do not accept credit cards.  I offered to send my husband home to get cash while I waited but she said we could just bring the money back the next day.  That does not happen in the big cities or even the small cities!  I'm loving small town life, but I need to get involved in something so that I can start meeting people.

I hope you have a blessed day!
Missy

Rescued Cats

Lily Pad Quilting is having a linky party about rescued pets.  I've been busy all week cleaning and unpacking and am behind on my blog reading and did not realize the party started on Monday!  Be sure to check it out here.   
We do not go looking for cats, they seem to find us.  Precious is my oldest at 15.  He was a stray hanging around the daycare where I worked back in Arkansas.  I'm not really sure how old he is, 15 is how long we have had him, we think he was not quite a year when he attached himself to me, but he has always been a small cat, so it is hard to tell.  He is the grey and white cat on the left.  Tiger, on the right, we got as a kitten because we were cat sitting him as a kitten with his mom and her litter while their parents were out of town and fell in love with him.  Precious is our smallest cat and Tiger is our biggest.

Our next oldest cat is Squeeky.  She is about 11-13 years old, we are not sure.  My sister had to get rid of her because her daughter was allergic to cats.  The last thing we needed was another cat, but my sister begged us to take her so she would have a good home.  She is a beautiful cat, unfortunately, Precious is always picking on her.

My husband says that Pippi was not rescued, but abducted.  Her mom was a feral cat who had kittens under the church building.  My friend took the kittens away from their mother when they were about four weeks old so they would be tamed and not feral.  She kept two, my friend Clarissa took one and we got Pippi.  We hand fed her from a bottle and she greets everyone at the door.  There is nothing feral about her!  Muffin and Tiger helped me to raise her.  Pippi is the calico on the right and Muffin is on the left.  Muffin is Tiger's brother, Chris had to have Muffin and I had to have Tiger.  Muffin and Tiger will be four in September and Pippi will be three in May.

She loves baskets!

Next are our last three.  They were seven weeks old when my friend called me.  They were moving out of state in 30 minutes when her husband told her she could not take the kittens, just the mom with them.  How lame was that?  She begged me to take them or she would have to leave them behind to fend for themselves.  What could I do?  I had to take them!  I named them Oreo, Cupcake and Custard.  Thier sister moved with their mom.

Yes, Custard is named after Strawberry Shortcake's cat!  She is the on the right in the above picture and since I love cupcakes the name was a natural fit for the calico on the left in the above picture.  They will be one in April!  Boy have they grown!

So, out of eight cats (if you were counting) all but two were rescued in some way.  I have people ask me all the time why I have eight cats, it's not as if we went looking for them!  All but the two oldest came from the same lady, my friend who is as big an animal lover as me!  LOL  I do love them all and have hundreds of pictures and stories I could share with you!  LOL
There is no need to buy a pedigreed cat, just go to your local shelter and rescue one.  If you are worried about the cost, that is what you would have to pay to get the cat fixed anyways.  If I were to choose a cat, I would pick an adult cat, especially if you have children.  They are tamer, gentler and more loving, not to mention already house broken and won't be climbing your curtains!

I am also linking to Sarah's Feline Friday on Friday.

How many pets do you have?  Don't forget to check out Lily Pad's linky party!

Missy, sometimes called the Crazy Cat Lady!

Curtains and Chocolate Cake

 I had some friends come over last Friday for chocolate cake and fellowship.  This is the best recipe ever and always tastes great!  You can find it here.  It always turns out great, it is very rich and moist!

 I love my new tablecloth, I bought it a couple of years ago on clearance at Kohl's for $5 and had thrown it in my fabric stash.  I found it while sorting my fabric.  Unfortunately, Muffin seems to like too, he never gets on the table so I don't know why he was this time.  Don't worry, it is in the washing machine now!  LOL

 My husband is decorating his office in Route 66.  We have traveled from California to Amarillo, TX so far.  We still need to finish it up from Amarillo to Chicago.  You can see pictures here.

 Here is a closeup of the material we bought at Joann's Fabric store.  I'm slowly collecting different RTE 66 fabrics to make him a quilt.  Shhh, it's a surprise!

I actually made two curtains, but he only hung up one for now so that I could get a picture.  That's all of the sewing that I have done since I moved here.

What have you been sewing lately?  Have you ever "done" Route 66?
Missy

"All Things Hidden" book review

Tracie Peterson is one of my all-time favorite authors!  I just finished her book All Things Hidden which is co-authored with Kimberly Woodhouse.  The book is set in Alaska and based on historical facts with fiction thrown in.  It is a great way to learn history while reading a great story.

Gwyn Hillerman is a nurse in Alaska who was raised by her doctor father after her mother and sister left them to go back to high society in Chicago.

Dr. Jeremiah Vaughn is an upcoming doctor in Chicago whose life is turned topsy turvy when a rich patient dies.  He moves to Alaska to work with Gwyn's father in the Alaskan territory.

Read how Gwyn and Jeremiah fall in love through a very busy time in Alaska history, and what happens when a murderer and thief moves into the colony.  

I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you are a teenager or a grandmother, you are going to love this book!

You can get the book either at your local Christian book store or online at various book selling sites.  I guarantee you will love this book!  I read it in three days because I could not put it down (even though I was supposed to be unpacking!)

What is a favorite book you have read lately?

Missy

(This book was sent to me by Bethany House publications for review, but this is my own words for the review)

Recovering a vanity stool and my front porch

I decided that my vanity stool needed an update.  My dad and stepmom gave it to me years ago and it had a plastic seat and was red.  I (my husband) painted it white and I hot glued some brown velvet on it after stuffing it with more stuffing.  After more then 15 years it needed a new coat of paint and a new cover that matched my new bedroom which has blue walls and I will be painting the furniture white eventually.
Chris repainted the stool and I made a new cover and added more stuffing.

 Can you see that nasty plastic cover?  I was not very precise, I sat the seat on top of the material then cut around it, making sure I would have plenty to stretch across the bottom.  I then put paper underneath it.  I cannot find my glue gun so I used spray glue that I use for basting.  It helped to pull the fabric over, but did not hold it tightly enough, so I did what every American girl would do, and used duck tape!  Bright green of course.

 Make sure you mark your holes where the screws go and put it on your "new" vanity stool!  I love that daisy material!

 I love my screened in front porch and really want it to look like something out of a magazine, but that takes time and money, so meanwhile I put my rocking chair out there, which Oreo was using for his nap.  (Do you see his matching pillow?)  I have plans on recovering it a bright color and making a matching tablecloth for my $15 bistro table!  I also need another rocking chair!

 Precious is enjoying the bench which I want Chris to paint white and then I will make a matching pillow.  What I really want is a porch swing!  My friend Clarissa and I enjoyed sitting out there while we chatted.

 Cupcake and Pippi are enjoying the view through the screen.  I can't wait for the bushes to "green" out.

 Here it is looking in, Custard joined them in the middle.  I bought two yellow rose bushes and planted them in bright red containers and put them by the front door..  I hope they grow!  I also want Chris to white wash the "picket fence" bordering the porch.  (Don't tell him he is in the picture!)

 I am not very good at staging things.  Here is my fireplace mantle.  Chris bought me the painting, doesn't it go perfect with those dark walls?  Any suggestions on moving things around?

So there is a part of a tour of my house that still needs a lot of work before I will be happy with it.

Next week I need to make Chris's curtains for his office!

Have a great weekend!
Missy

North East TX TOGA

Okay, I know when you think of a toga, you think of people wrapped in bed sheets and drinking beer at a frat party, let me assure you this is not the case!  TOGA stands for Treadle On Gathering Academy.  I have gone for the past two years and you would not believe what all you can learn about people powered machines!
 I am going to quote what Sue says "The North-East Texas TOGA is fast approaching.  The dates are April 25th and 26.  We gather in Lone Oak TX ( just down the road a bit from Greenville), about 40 miles east of Dallas.  We have lots of demos planned and always have lots of machines to admire, lust after, and some even go home with us."

 Here are just a couple of the machines that were at the TOGA last year.  Treadles and hand cranks, we learn about them, how to clean them, how to use them, people help us fix them and teach us how to fix them ourselves.  People sell, buy and trade machines and machine parts.

 There are all kinds of free demos, quilt blocks and more.  I know there are a couple of different pin cushions and a potholder demo.  There is also a demo on how to clean your machine, and if I get on the ball, I'll do a demo on how to use a ruffle foot.

 Even a few vintage electric machines sneak in.

Here is the link to the Yahoo group if you are interested in coming.  https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/North-eastTexasToga/info

Here are several blog post I written in the past about the TOGAs, lot of eye candy!  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results

Here is the first TOGA I went to:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/04/toga-2012.html

Here is a sampling of the bow-tie TOGA from last year:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2013/04/bow-tie-blocks.html

Here are a lot of the machines from last year's TOGA:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2013/04/more-sewing-machines.html

I'm still going this year even though I now live eight hours away!   Everybody is so friendly, last year I learned how to treadle and the year before I learned how to use a and crank.  I hope you can come, and if you do, be sure to say hi!  I'll be the redhead with long red hair!

Missy

Cat Blocks

 I joined a block exchange on Treadleon.net for 8 inch cat blocks.  I was planning on doing two sets of ten, one with the sitting cat and one with the reclining cat.  I had gotten the background cut for the reclining cat, but with my sudden move, I was not able to get them done in time.  :(  The requirements were jewel toned background and either a small cat print for the cat (I used two different cat prints here) or a small calico print.  I made an extra block of each material I used to keep for my quilt.  My black and white cat is half finished on my very small design wall.

 We had to sign the blocks and put our name, city, date and the machine we used to make the block on the exchange blocks.  Here is a link to the pattern we used:  http://vickisvintagestitches.blogspot.com/2014/01/treadle-on-cat-block-exchange.html   If I ever have time after unpacking, making things for the house and finishing my quilt for my bed, not to mention all of my other obligations, I need to make some more blocks!

 One of my bloggy friends sent me a block as a house warming gift, which I thought was very sweet!  Thank you Joan!  I love the pink!

 There is not a door on my closet in my sewing room, so I took a shower curtain and some curtain clips to attach one of my quilts to.  I'm using a quilt my mom painted when I was little.  The blue is perfect in my sewing room with all of my other blue stuff in there.

Here is another picture of my cutting table, I really should have waited to hang the quilt until after I had arranged my furniture!  LOL  My cutting table is just a card table that was bowing in the middle, so my husband bought a piece of wood to put under my mat.  I then confiscated a table he had made to use as a lap desk across our comfy chair (it sits on the arms) to put at the back of the table for my supplies.  Both boards help to extend the size of my table.

Here are three of my babies curled up asleep on the bed.  Oreo has such an awesome tail!  The calico is Cupcake and my big baby is Tiger.

I'm not getting much sewing done, but my house is starting to come together.  We had unloaded all of our boxes in the garage when we moved.  That helps to not have boxes everywhere waiting to be unpacked, so what I have been doing is bringing in a few boxes at a time, unpacking them, making a mess, clean up the mess, and then start over again!  I'll try to keep ya'll updated as get things done though!

Missy

Ruffle Blog Hop

I am participating in my first ever blog hop!    Think Ruffles Blog Hop hosted by Amy from Sew Incredible Crazy.  and Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt.

I started working on a tote bag to carry my Bible and hymn book to church.  I thought I would make it all ruffly, but did  patchwork pockets on it instead and opted for a ruffled flower. I started it last month and was almost finished when I found out we got the rental house I wanted and had less then two weeks to move!  Of course that meant the bag had to be put on hold and packed up along with the rest of my sewing room!  All I need to finish though is the lining and handles.  I made my ruffled rose today.  I love ruffled flowers!  It is just a simple rose, I did not want to detract too much from the patchwork pockets.

 I started with a 2 1/2 inch strip that I folded the ends in and folded the strip in half and ironed it all down.

 I ruffled the strip then sewed it on to the black circle of fabric to give it more stability while sewing it on.

 I just kind of twisted the ruffles around and hand sewed them together.

 I then hand sewed it onto my bag before adding the lining so my stitches would not show.  Make sure you sew it on tight to make sure it does not fall off.  I'm wondering if the yellow flower might be too dark?  I have a detailed tutorial on making fabric flowers here., but they are a little different from this one.

I hope to finish the bag this weekend so that I can get my tutorial written up for you on how to make the bag, but I started sorting my fabric by color and this is what my room looks like now!  It's a mess and I am still sorting!  As ya'll know,  I just moved in last week.

I wanted to share some of my other ruffle projects with you, I love ruffles!  I admit that I am a girly-girl!
Here is my tutorial on how to make a ruffly purse.


Here are directions on how to make a ruffly dress for a little girl, it is super simple!


Here are some ruffly aprons I have made.


I have lots more ruffles I have made, I like to add them to everything!  I hope you have enjoyed some of my ruffles, now go visit everyone else's ruffles today also!
Here is the lineup for today's blog, be sure to visit everyone!

March 6^th

Lily Patch Quilts

Hill Valley Quilter

Missy's Homemaking Adventure  (me!!!)

Quilt in a not-Shell

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Quilt Doodle Designs

 QuiltnQueen

Thank you to everyone who came by!
Missy

New Sewing Room

I am slowly getting my sewing room together.  I am so excited about finally having my own room to sew!  I got my grandmother's quilt hung, but I still need to find my sewing themed knick knacks to put up there. See that built in on the left?  That is why I chose this room, I think my husband's office might be a tad bigger, but I fell in love with this room when I saw it!

I also fell in love with the shelves in the closet, I knew they would be perfect for my sewing machines!

The first thing I hung up was this wall hanging I won from Michelle at http://afwife85.blogspot.se/  Aren't the spools perfect for my sewing room?  My sewing room is green and blue too, so the green is perfect!

I put my treadle and hand crank back to back to give myself more room along the walls, and this way I'm not staring at a wall all day.  I picked up the white cubbies in the corner at a yard sale, I need to find a couple more to make it higher because the cats like to eat my peace lilly whom my husband has dubbed Lilly.

I spray painted the changing table blue.  I still need to move those quilts out and use that shelf for more tubs.  Do you see Oreo on the middle shelf?  The top is designated as a cat bed.  I laid a flannel sheet and their pillow there, which Pippi is sitting on.  I thought this was a perfect place for some of my blue penguins.  To the right is my cutting table.  It is a card table and is bowing in the middle so my husband bought a piece of wood almost the size of my cutting mat, plus another piece of wood for the back of the table to hold all my stuff.  To the left are my spool holders which I also spray painted blue, it was all supposed to be aqua, but that was the closest color I could find.

Here is Muffin enjoying the quilts.

The colors are terrible in this picture, but I put one of my antique aprons on my dummie and she is also holding all of my measuring tapes.  I decided she needed a bit of bling and put a pearl necklace and a hat on her.

I found this picture on the internet and got it printed out at Walgreens and spray painted the picture frame, I hung it above my quilting table, between the window and quilt wall hanging.  It says "one who makes no mistakes, never makes anything"  I thought above the cutting table was a perfect place for it!

All I need now is to figure out where to put my bookshelves for all of my books!

I'm sure I'll still be moving things around and changing them as I go along.

Pippi loves the bathroom sink and drinking from the faucet!

I am just so happy about my sewing room!

I am still trying to get caught up on my blog reading after being without internet for over a week!  I also need to finish my cat blocks and get them mailed, unfortunately they will be a day late.  :(  But I did only have one week to move!

Missy