Cat Tavern

Yup. I’m running a cat tavern. I set up the trail cam to monitor who was visiting the heated water bowl. The answer is cats from neighbors on both sides of our house.

Mr Tom and his shadow (both fixed)
Maybe Runt (different colony)
Tabby boy (fixed)
Tuxedo cat (different colony)
Momma (not fixed) and female kitten (fixed)

Oh that bold fluffy calico. She is on my “need to be fixed” list.

Rambouillet page

I finished my Rambouillet wool fiber page. I had samples of three preparations of wool given to me: raw fleece, scoured (but not combed), and roving. I love this wool. I enjoyed scouring and combing it, and I love how the finished pieces feel. When I’m ready to buy a new raw fleece this is the kind I’m going to get. It cleans well, and spins beautifully. I love the woven sample with my first plaid pattern. I understand why this sheep is so popular.

Rambouillet fiber page
Page with swatch descriptions showing

Project cat

Izzy the cat loves when I sew quilted things. I recently sewed my sister a quilted bag and Izzy spent most of the time laying on the quilted pieces and purring. Loudly.

Izzy napping on my project

I rearranged my craft room recently and am trying the folding table in a new location. She approves, and really appreciates that there is room for her fuzzy butt. Especially if she can lay on fabric as well.

Quilted bag

Here is the finished project, modeled after one of my favorite totes, with two external pockets, two internal pockets (one with zipper), and a bonus pencil pouch. I went a little crazy with the padding, so I’ll wait and see how it functions in the wild before I post any patterns or instructions.

Snow

Our temperatures recently plummeted (along with most of the country), but here it brought a dry snow, the kind that doesn’t stick, but whirls in the wind, dancing as it gets caught in the currents. I have not seen this kind of snow before in Texas, and it took me back to Colorado, which snows below freezing often. The flurries started on our way home, and we decided to take a less crowded back road. This barn was nestled in the curve of the road, and despite the temperatures, I had to get out and take a photo. (It wasn’t a completely deserted road, I was asked by a passing motorist if everything was OK.)

Old Red Barn in the snow

Star bread

We made cinnamon star bread from a Raddish Kids crate recipe. This is a keeper. Pretty and delicious. The preparation is on par with cinnamon rolls, so not difficult. It involves layering four circles of dough with butter and cinnamon sugar, rather than a rectangle of dough, but the shaping is rather fun.

Cinnamon star bread (Raddish Kids recipe)