PICS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL

A couple of weeks ago I went to the International Quilt Festival held here in Houston. It's been going on here for years and this was the first year I actually got my butt in gear and went down there. My oh my it was an experience. There were what seemed like millions of vendors of everything and anything to do with sewing, embroidery and quilting. And the quilts on display were as diverse as any exhibition I had ever seen. By the time I was done looking at everything I was suffering from a severe case of sensory overload!! lol

I did take some pictures of some of the quilts on display that caught my eye and my imagination and I've posted them below. The first two are vintage quilts ca 1845 or so. The rest are contemporary. Enjoy.

NEW BREAST CANCER CHARITY QUILT AUCTION

My online group, Quilters Corner Group, has just listed a beautiful rag quilt on ebay. All of the proceeds of the auction will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Members of the group, including me, contributed a variety of blocks for this quilt and one member sewed it together. It is the best thing we've done so far. Go check it out at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130339687175&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT and make a bid or two. Or three or four! The auction ends October 31 so get a move on!

Isn't there someone you know who would love getting a present as beautiful as this quilt?

INTRODUCING CODY

Here is the lastest member of the family. His provisional name is Cody. I found him out front the morning after the storm moved thru, all wet and dirty, but purring up a storm. He's a cream point with a lot of Siamese in him. I asked around and no one I talked to knew where he belonged so I guess I'll keep him. I know, don't need another mouth to feed, but what else could I do?

Yesterday I took Cody to the vet to get checked out and be sure he didn't have any communicable diseases. Even tho she doesn't usually do surgeries on Mondays, the vet offered to neuter him so I left him there and ran some errands. (I guess it was a slow day.) I picked him up yesterday afternoon all groggy from the anesthesia, but still purring. All his tests came back negative except he has ear mites and hook worms. A dose or two of Revolution should take care of that. He slept most all of the afternoon and evening. And he's about 7 - 8 months old and weighs 7 lbs, which is just about perfect for his age.

This morning he was back to his cuddly, purry self. I've been racking my brain to try to come up with an appropriate name for him and Cody seems to be the top pick. He's residing in the back bedroom with some of the older guys who are a bit hissy, but will accept him when he stops smelling like the vet. Here are a couple of pictures of Cody and one of Ben and Jerry, his new big brothers. Isn't there quite the family resemblance?

Cody

Cody - look at that tail!

Ben (l) and Jerry (r)

PICTURE OF MISS BETTY

The only picture I could find of Miss Betty was in PDD format which is used by Photoshop. Don't know how that happened, but I found a friend who has Photoshop to convert it to jpeg and here is it. It was taken in 2003, but she hadn't changed a bit.

She was cute and petite and a bit camera shy. But she was a great cat.

R.I.P. MISS BETTY

This morning I went out on the deck to feed the "outside" cats and found that the elder female, Miss Betty, had passed away. I had turned a large litter box that had a scoop on one side upside down for shelter from the rain and I had seen her going in and out over the past few days. When I went out this morning I realized that her tail was in the same spot as yesterday and I hadn't seen her out. Well, she was gone. She hadn't appeared sick and didn't look like she had any injuries. It looked like she just went to sleep. A good a way to go as any.

I'm not sure how old she was, but I have rescued a number of her kittens and the oldest was born in 2000. So she was probably at least 10. It took me three years to trap and spay Miss Betty. She was a smart and sly woman cat. Miss Betty was a small, brown tabby and part of a larger group that has dwindled over the years. She leaves her companion Mr. Guy as the last of the group. She was a great mom to her kittens and knew when she brought them here that they would be brought inside and found good homes.

She will be greatly missed as she was a wonderful cat. She's now at the Rainbow Bridge.

WHERE IS THE CAT?

There is a cat that hangs around here I call Mr. G. The G is for gray - he's a beautiful gray tuxedo guy. He's been around for a couple of years and, I think, belonged to someone once upon a time. He was a young adult who had been neutered and had a collar when I first met him. Over the years it has become obvious that whoever had him in the beginning was no longer around. He's a very sweet and loving guy and would make someone a great pet. However, he has no love for being in the house. I've tried to take him in a couple of times and he is clearly uncomfortable inside. He did take refuge with us during the hurricane last year and seemed to realize it was the best place to be for the duration.

I always leave small bowls of food and water out front for Mr. G as he doesn't seem to want to go in the back with the ferals. If I leave the garage door open he spends many days sprawled out on the top of the Jeep. I guess he feels safe up there and can catch all the breezes. He will go off for a while several times during the day and then come back. Of course I wonder where he goes and the other day I found one of his other "perches".

I was out looking for him and something made me look up in the tree.

I caught sight of white paws and upon closer inspection, there was Mr. G, securely settled among the limbs like a jungle cat. His perch seems very secure, even when the wind was blowing.

He's not always there, but I'm glad he's found another secure place to while away the day.

This is a picture taken of Mr. G last year when someone had put a collar on him. Isn't he just the handsomest thing?

SPECIAL EBAY LISTING

I should have blogged about this before, but I have just over a day left on a special ebay listing. I've listed a beautiful set of books of The Arabian Nights on ebay for a dear friend. Her late husband was an avid book collector and now she is having to sell off his collection. This 16 volume set is in near mint condition and listed at a very good price, but I will consider all offers. Check out the listing here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320426498563&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT and let me know what you think. If you know any book collectors, please pass this on as this set would make a wonderful addition to any library.