Jan/Feb Sew Along: Accessories!

[Joanna Jones]

Mrs Peebles - my sympathies for all of your troubles.  We have floods right now closing many of the bridges over the Minnesota River right now, and getting to the communities I usually serve with homecare visits has become a journey of many many miles. (Not to mention my favorite JoAnn's is cut off - I can see her across the river but I can't get there!! sob.)

My past and present kitties have always slept with us - our current one thinks it is her duty to push in between my husband and me under the covers while we are snuggling. She nips whoever resists.   She's the reason we only have one child! 

[BethT]

Oh Mrs. Peebles I'm so glad your cat is going to be ok!!!  And I must say it sounds nice to snuggle with a cat.   Most of the cats I've known have not been of the snuggly variety, but the one I did know who cuddled with me made me wish for a cat.  We've never had pets because of allergies.

[BetsyConnolly]

I am so glad your cat is feeling better, Mrs. Peebles! We just lost one of our cats in January - he was a good cat (and by that I mean he was loud and demanded food and snuggles and to be let outside and for us to make the snow go away in the winter), and it was his time to go, but we still miss him.

We have just one cat now, and my fondest memories of her are when she was a kitten and I was a teenager, and she claimed me as "hers" by sleeping curled up under my chin. There's nothing weird about sharing a bed with an animal!

[MrsPeebles]

Greetings All,
Well, I think it perfectly normal to share a bed with a pussycat. Dogs, are another story, they are too large and often are not deep sleeper types. Tiger still hasn't eatten, is taking more water, and is still groggy from her temperature. My hope is that sometime today she will take some food, especially since it's been a week now.

As for the mudslide, well I figure that it will be quiet here for a few days. The mail trucks generally use the 101 route all the way up to Brookings, OR. Consequently, I doubt anyone in Humboldt or Del Norte county will be getting mail, or much else.

Folks who drive the grocery trucks from Tracy and San Leandro, CA up this way now have to drive through Grants Pass which means our town is the last store on the line. I do expect shortages, but happily, I have a closet full of cloth, so will keep myself busy regardless. I'm just really happy that I've got you folks to offer me encouragement and kind words. Thank you all.

You know another thing that amazes me, hearing from folks who live so far across the country, yet know the area. Doesn't it just amaze you? It makes me smile.

[Heidi Hollister]

Hooray!  I'm so glad Tiger's going to be ok.  Both our cats sleep on our bed... even the evil cat who hates me wants to snuggle on my side of the bed, not my husbands, but only at night time and only if she's not actually TOUCHING me... there has to be a blanket between her and me.

Mudslides are just God's way of saying you have neglected your fabric stash long enough, it's time to make projects!    If you're anything like me, you have 6 projects in mind at any given time and are working on about 3 others currently, so no doubt you'll stay busy until they get the mess cleaned up.

Funny, I used to live in several places in California but I never lived in an area where mudslides affected me...  How did I dodge this?

[Jessamyn]

I'm guessing you lived in the flat, inland places. There's plenty of hot flat nothin' in California - that's just not the California they put on TV!

[Heidi Hollister]

LA, Inland Empire and also Sacramento area.  So there were foothills around where I was in the Inland Empire, but not near enough to affect anything we ever did.

[MrsPeebles]

Mudslides are just God's way of saying you have neglected your fabric stash long enough, it's time to make projects!    If you're anything like me, you have 6 projects in mind at any given time and are working on about 3 others currently, so no doubt you'll stay busy until they get the mess cleaned up.

Heidi,
what a positive thought! Yes, I suppose the good Lord is saying, "hey stay put, get those projects done, and I mean now not next month." The beauty of it is, I do have a tidy stash of cloth ready and waiting for me, so I should truly get some work done on old projects.
On the bright side, Tiger is up and sitting on the table. She still isn't eatting, but at least she's got her eyes open and is nearby! Gosh, am I relieved that she's getting better.

Thank you all for your kind wishes and words of encouragement.

[Denise Butler]

Tiger's up! 

A dear wise woman once told me "Starve a fever, feed a cold" ... and I have found through experience that she is right. Tiger will eat when ready; until then all the fluids she'll drink. Perhaps she'll take some chicken broth?

[BetsyConnolly]

Heidi,
what a positive thought! Yes, I suppose the good Lord is saying, "hey stay put, get those projects done, and I mean now not next month."

I wish God would say that to me more often...instead of "Isn't there something else more important you should be doing...?" 

[MrsPeebles]

Tiger's up! 
 Perhaps she'll take some chicken broth?

Ms. Butler, my husband suggested the same thing. I didn't think kitties would lap up chicken broth. So far, today she actually got off the bed on her own, and did attempt the stairs, so she is improving. I even took her outdoors and she visited the planter.
She still eats little, but after 8 days without food, it's wonderful to see her walk up to her bowl. What a relief I feel, and perhaps now "I" will get some rest and life will return to normal.
Today, stormy and windy weather. Just another lovely day in Humboldt County. Today, I SHALL get some sewing done, at least a bit more than just sitting and doing embroidery.
THANK YOU ALL for your wonderful kind words of encouragement.

[kabrilew]

My project for January is a smoking cap. ........ It's olive green embroidered with violet (hideous/beautiful) lined in a polished cotton with a paisley pattern (also hideous/beautiful).

I have a question about the embroidery..... Is that a 'chain-stitch'? Do you have any original sources for appropriate embroidery such as that? I'm not at all questioning your methods, but curious as I wish to do some chain-stitch type embroidery on a chemise at some point for decoration & have seen vintage period garments with the same, which is where I got the idea. So now I am looking for information about the actual embroidery.

Thanks (in advance) for any info anyone can share with me regarding these questions about embroidery.