random threads

My calico cat, Cleo, has been sickly as of late. About a month ago I took her to the vet for an infected wound on her face (courtesy of her sister’s claws), and we discovered she had lost 1 and 3/4 pounds since last fall. That’s a lot for what was a 10 pound cat, now an 8.75 pound cat.

She was put on a special diet that she did NOT approve of until we tried the flavor of “Duck and Green Pea.” That is acceptable to the royal princess. She is still vomiting frequently tho’ (3 times in the past week). We made a return trip to the vet yesterday, and the good news is she has gained 1/4 pound in a month, now at 9 pounds fighting weight, and her blood pressure (measured by a cuff on the tail) was good. She has heart problems, so that is a concern.

Xrays and blood tests are somewhat inconclusive. The recommendation was to continue the special food–she may have ‘irritable bowel disease’, and add hairball treatments (Laxatone) and bring her back in 2-3 weeks for a recheck. It’s a change from taking Emma to vet–she’s doing OK and due to return in a month.

Photos are from the Cat Hospital in Wheatridge CO, seen on my recent vacation. The calico cat in front of the building was about 5 feet tall.

One of the classes Mom and I took in Colorado was a mystery quilt class with Charlotte Angotti. Charlotte herself is a hoot, and always has funny stories to entertain you. The class is set up so all participants pay for a kit, so you don’t have to buy fabric and cut it ahead of time like most quilt classes (a big thumbs up for that!). All the kits are the same, so no fussing or fretting that someone else gets the color you wanted. You just bring thread, the machines are provided and start sewing! Most of Charlotte’s designs are based on four-patches, nine-patches, quarter- and half-square triangles, combined in overall designs. The design was revealed at 3pm in the afternoon, and we found out we were sewing parts for three different blocks, a snowball, 54-40 or Fight and a Shoo Fly. The fabrics made for a subtle result, but I liked it–very suitable for my bedroom that is currently done in golds and teals. Charlotte also lectured about her quilts on Saturday, and I took a lot of photos of her quilts. Here are some of my favorites. She is now selling patterns and kits for some of the quilts, but they aren’t up on her website yet.

I have the second installment of my sock-knitting from the toes up class coming up this Saturday, where we will learn to do the heel from the ‘ground up’ so-to-speak. I have been good and done my homework–knit the foot until 3″ from the back of the heel. So good, in fact, I did start over my mom’s new socks using the Turkish cast on but on DP needles not magic loop. I ripped out a few inches of lace that was terribly obscured by the multi-color yarn.

Vacation was great, as usual, altho’ air-travel was a bit of a nightmare, and the weather in Denver was unseasonably hot–it hit 100° F. on Saturday. At least Sunday we cooled off at alpine elevations over 12,000 feet, where it was in the pleasant mid-60s°.

I didn’t make it to any yarn shops, but hit my share (and then some) of quilt shops. I enjoyed my two classes, a mystery quilt with Charlotte Angotti, where you just sew and sew and sew, and Stack-n-Whack Fans with Bethany Reynolds. The class worked on a sampler, but I had to be different, and made all my blocks the same. I had started a Quilt University class on these same fans a couple of years ago with Bethany, but never got beyond a sample block, and I wasn’t too thrilled then with the fabric I picked out. This time, I love it, and the rick-rack on the edges of the fans adds a fun touch, don’t you think?

I’ll probably be quiet for the next few days, as I’m off to Colorado for five days, to attend the McCalls Quilting Symposium in Golden Colorado. This will be my third year attending, and it is always a lot of fun. Some of the same people who went on the cruise in February will be there. The sightseeing trip this year on Sunday is to Rocky Mountain National Park, which I have not been to in 21 years. I used to live in Boulder, Colorado so I often visited RMNP with out-of-town visitors.

Quilting, you say? Yes, I have not been doing much of that in the past year or two–knitting has become my predominant addiction. But I still have a healthy fabric and book stash to support my quilting habit should the desire strike. I’m taking two classes at the symposium with teachers I have had before–a mystery class with Charlotte Angotti, and Stack-n-Whack Fans with Bethany Reynolds. Also included is quilt shop hopping, and a lecture by Charlotte Angotti. Should be fun–I’m going with my mom, and meeting her in Chicago and we’ll be making the last leg of the journey (Chicago to Denver) together.