Lots of Cats

Yesterday morning I was out of the house early to try to beat the crowd at the grocery store. I had a long list and checked out with a full cart. Heck, the fresh vegetables took up half the cart! I'm making a roasted vegetable side dish for our holiday meal and it has sweet potatoes, onions, rutabagas, parsnips, and carrots. Also, I had four pounds of mushrooms for the Pioneer Woman's Burgundy Mushrooms, which is pretty darned good. I don't always like her recipes, but this one is a winner. I've linked to the recipe there. If you want to try it, do not underestimate the size of the pot you'll want. Four pounds of mushrooms fills my Dutch oven to the brim, but you'll be amazed at how they shrink down.

Before leaving, I spent some time with my slow stitching.

It helps me calm my nerves before venturing out. When I finished up, I left Sadie tucked in on the couch.

No lives were lost to murder at the grocery store yesterday, and I was glad to have it all done so I could get back to my sewing. It was time to start the appliqued cats on the Alley Cats Quilt Guild. Here's the first one.

They were a little bit fiddly with so many pieces. Getting them under and over and in the right spot before fusing them down was a bit of a challenge. It's hard to see in that image, but I'll be stitching whiskers and mouths onto them before they're finished. I gave this one a pink nose. Here's my model.

Also, they have buttons for eyes. It took all afternoon, but by day's end, I had all eight of them finished.

Today I'll get the hearts and stars fused onto the quilt...that's what the alley cats are quilting. Then I'll top-stitch them and sew on the eyes. If I get that far, this one will be ready for sandwiching and quilting.

Meanwhile, Smitty has been on a photo shoot for this month's cover of Winter Cats Magazine. It's not actually in publication, but it should be.

It has been raining pretty steadily for the past week. I've been lucky to get out between rain showers in my comings and goings. The forecast shows it clearing up this afternoon and tomorrow. If so, I'll get out and do a few outdoor things. There are a couple of housekeeping tasks on my calendar for today, but I'm hoping to get in plenty of sewing time too.