A couple of finishes to show

May has been a very difficult month!

Just two days after losing Max, we had to bring Furrytail (our Maine coon) down to NJ to have surgery for a gigantic (non cancerous) cyst (or collection of cysts) that had attached to his liver.

Fortunately everything went well, and he is back home with us! In fact, I have never seen a cat recover from surgery so quickly! He had a huge incision, from top to bottom! You would never know it to look at him now though!

Of course all of this was quite unexpected and quite expensive!

Now, it seems to be my turn to have health issues, mostly with my back. I am hoping to be able to avoid having surgery.

Good thing I had my stitching!

Margaret Ledden has actually been finished for a while now. I just haven't had a chance to post the photo.

Here she is:

I love the trees! They seem strangely art deco-ish to me.

Then, I turned my attention to an older kit that I had in my stash. This was a kit for a pin cushion doll. The kit included a half-doll, but when I looked at it, I was disappointed that it was rather modern-looking. I was really going for an antique look. So, off to ebay I went. I found the perfect little half doll. I love the coloring in the cheeks. The only problem was that it was considerably smaller than the one included in the kit. I scaled it down by stitching it on 32ct instead of the 25ct that was included, but it still came out a bit big.

The verse says

Pins and Needles
Needles and Pins
My Sewing Friends

It was an easy stitch, but gathering the fabric was quite a chore!

I also decided to make a little strawberry emery that was not included in the pattern. Luckily it turned out ok. I was fortunate to find a bit of wool left over from my rug that exactly matched the green floss.
I decided to give it to my mother-in-law for Mother's day.

TUSAL

Thank God for stitching! If not for that I might not have any mind left!

It has been a great de-stressor for me.

I do have a finish as well as some other projects I have been working on, but I will have to post them later.

For now, here is my May TUSAL.

I would like to thank all of you who offered your kind comments about Max. I really do appreciate it!

Max

We lost our little Max this weekend.

About 14 years ago a scrawny, young male cat with a gorgeous black coat, wandered into our yard.

My first reaction was to ignore him, thinking he would soon return to his home. Max however had no intention of leaving. We had an old shed at that time, and he hid from the cold November weather by curling up on an old rug that we had stored in there. During the day he came out and sat at our back door. He had no intention of leaving. Eventually we let him in, much to the protest of our other cats. At night we put him in the cellar for the sake of peace and quiet. Max got to know this routine very well, and one night he hid just before bedtime. He was not going into the cellar! With the same remarkable determination, he made his way over to the place of honor on the couch. Max was here to stay!

Though he was ill for sometime, he never complained. We gladly took care of him.
I have lost many cats over my lifetime, and each time I think my heart could never break like this again, not until the next time.

Animals teach us how to live and how to die. I am a better person for having known Max, but there is a hole in my heart that will never heal.

Here is a picture of Max in better days:

Max

1996 - 2011