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Sunday, September 22, 2019

When Emmy Lou Came Home.


This happened on Friday evening.  Now that I am in Virginia “MOST” of the time, it’s been weighing heavily on me to get Emmy Lou up here where she can live out the remainder of her days in peace and quiet – not in mayhem and chaos having to deal with rowdy Dresden and Lola.

The trio has never gotten along really well, and at 19 – who can blame Emmy Lou for just wanting to be left alone?

The getting her here was an adventure all its own, and luckily I wasn’t the one doing the driving.  The Hubster returned from China on Thursday night, took care of a bunch of things on Friday while working from home, and brought Emmy up with him in a carrier on Friday evening.  

I don’t know who to feel more sorry for.  Dave?  Or Emmy Lou, who proceeded to get sick at both ends and meowed pitifully the whole 100 mile journey.  She hasn’t been in a car in many years, and it was very traumatic for her to say the least.  And Dave too, who not only had to listen to the cacophony, but smell it as well.


Emmy Lou, after a much needed and even more traumatic bath!

We don’t have any trips that overlap each other over the rest of the year.  Someone will be here for both Emmy and Sadie.  And my friend Martha has offered to step in and check in on them should we need her to.

At 19 we don’t know how much time she has left – there is a growth on her skin on her side that seems to have not only grown, but ruptured.  I’ll have to brave the cat carrier and the car to get her to the vet to be seen to this week, but it needs to happen so we can give her the best years for the rest of her years.

She has wandered the cabin with wonder, has discovered where we’ve put her food and has no problem reaching it.  She’s comfortable with her litter box in the laundry room area.  She’s just settled in and is talkative and inquisitive.  I hope she’ll be happy here.


“You stay on YOUR side, and I’ll stay on MINE!”

The funniest thing was how Emmy Lou took over Sadie’s bed the first night – and poor Sadie didn’t know where to go or what to do with herself.  Yesterday morning, Sadie claimed her bed first thing before Emmy Lou was done eating, making SURE there were no further Cat Take Overs!


I remembered to take a photo!

This is the sweet pitcher I picked up while out antiquing with Martha – there is something about the silver nearly worn off on the rim and the crackle of the finish that just spoke to me.  It’s not very large really, and I think it would be pretty with a bouquet of silk flowers or a silk ivy in it for décor. 

Was it ever part of a set?  Maybe with a sugar bowl that matched?  Who knows – but I love how delicate it looks.


Also from Friday’s road trip -

Seven Mile Ford Presbyterian Church.  Oh how I love white clapboard country churches!  And Martha knew as soon as I said “Oh my!” that she needed to pull over for me to get a photo.

The only history I could find through a web search was “The Seven Mile Ford Presbyterian Church, built in 1880, was constructed of lumber and beams taken from the property of John M. Preston, who built the church.” [source]

But there are things I noticed just from the front that made me smile – You might not see it from this angle, but check this out -



The top of the door -

To the covered entry roof line,

To the next vestibule roof line,

To the top roof line -

And then to the steeple.

Everything points upward at nearly the same angle -

It reminded me of those nesting cups my kids played with when they were little.

I also love that no matter what your faith tradition is – hope leads us upward.  Such beauty in simple architecture. 


I was right that there wouldn’t be machine time yesterday.

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t cutting out time!

And as I look at this photo I am amazed at that far left strip bin and how it is balanced over the edge of the ironing board.  LOL!

It must be the weight of the strips keeping that thing from completely falling off – or a trick of the camera angle, maybe? 

There was football on the TV upstairs.  That’s all I can say about why I was down here cutting in the first place.  Some of you will understand, the rest of you won’t – but football makes me run away to safe corners elsewhere.



From chaos to order and productivity!


This is waiting for me to sew today.  I’ve decided to take the Jack’s Delight quilt and make it at least twin size.  It’s just not speaking to me at the size that I stopped at.  It needs more to be useful.  And it’s not like there is a shortage of recycled shirt plaids going on around here – so more it is.

The blocks are fun and easy and will be appearing in a 2020 Addicted to Scraps Column in Quiltmaker Magazine, so be watching for it.  And I’m still thinking on what to do for borders to spice it up a bit, but that’s how things grow. In stages.  I rarely know what a quilt is going to look like start to finish before I begin.

There was also a bit more cutting out of Shoo Fly Shoo blocks to use as Leaders & Enders during this block building process.  And by the looks of it, there is no shortage of scrap strips and squares that these can continue to come from with no dent being made in the volume. Ever.

And that brings me to now – it’s a lovely cool morning, and I’m just happy to be here to enjoy it!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Every single day.

Scrappy nine patch quilt made many years ago as a table topper.

Oh, how I love a small simply scrappy nine-patch!

have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!




29 comments:

  1. Poor Emmy-Lou hope she’s more settled now especially as she and Sadie have been together for a long time. It must be so nice for you to have you sweet girl with you to make your new home complete.
    I love those Jacks delight blocks are lovely, I’ll be watching for them in the addicted to scraps column,
    I have a subscription to the Quiltmaker magazine and look forward to its arrival.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  2. Oh, poor Emmy Lou! And poor Dave as well. Man, we've done that - all the way from the Finger Lakes to FL and back again. No fun for anyone. Love that Sadie has staked her bed, lol.

    The scraps… How long (ish) does it take to cut a pile of that size? I used to be so good about cutting, sorting and storing (I was able to pull over 300 from my boxes toward my Spoolin' Around, without duplicates!). But at some point, I got lazy and now it seems like pressing and cutting from that jumble takes forever!

    Hope the vet can take care of that spot on Emmylou so she can enjoy her peace at the cabin. Such a pretty girl.

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    1. It's a continual process to cut the scraps to size and store them. It's like doing the dishes, or folding the laundry - it never stops, is never fully done, and is best when kept ahead of the game!

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    2. My Greatgraddaughter is lucky...she is learning your scrap system as she is learning to quilt...fortunately she has never seen my bin of what needs sorted !

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  3. Love the architecture of the church.

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    1. I do, too, and the symmetry just shows the love there, even the flowers at the door are carefully placed, very peaceful and inviting.

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  4. As alway I love seeing Sadie. And now her long time friend is there. Your quilts inspire me to be better at sewing. Your blog inspires me to always find wonder in everything around me
    We are headed to Boone NC in October looking to retire out around that area I hope I can come visit you some once we move love you Bonnie

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  5. Ask EmmyLou’s vet for a motion sickness recommendation, like 1/4 of a Dramamine? It helps by stopping the vomiting/diarrhea and makes the cat a bit drowsy which helps with the Vet exam, etc. 😉😻 Love EmmyLou’s heart!!

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  6. Sending up a few prayers for Emmy Lou. I have been our neighborhood cat lady for over twenty years and know how change and rides in cars disturb them. Hope all ends well at the vets. Jeep on strippin’.

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  7. It seems that the more I cut the scraps to size..the larger the over flow.LOL Nice that the two friends are together.

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  8. I would rather be hiding during Football too. DH was flipping channels between Football and Baseball last night. Glad Emmy Lou is home. Smart Sadie this morning. I see that balanced tote, did it fall after the picture?

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  9. Emmy Lou is such a pretty old girl. Her game of stake-a-claim w Sadie made me smile.

    Jack's Delight is really fun. Look forward to seeing where you go with that one.

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  10. I just love hearing about your animals. I hope that Miss Emmy Lou is comfortable for the rest of her days. I always say that when I pass on I am coming back as a kitty cat and my momma is a quilter! HAHA!!
    I also love the old church, and the symmetry at the front door was well thought of. Pointing towards the heavens in prayer!
    Anyway, there is no hiding in this house during football time except for my kitty cat and my daughter. They know when momma is yelling at the tv it's time to go elsewhere! :)
    Happy Sunday and have a blessed week!

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  11. Glad the old girl is home and alone!! Hey Bonnie I was trying to purchase the little items that matched the good fortune quilt? Are they all sold out? I couldn't located them in your stored page?

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  12. Sweet Emmy Lou probably claimed Sadie's bed because the scent was familiar. So happy they're both settled there with you, and you're settled in with scrap happiness 😊

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  13. Thank you. I needed some inspiration today. It has been a ruff morning.

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  14. I have a shoebox sized bin on my cutting table to throw small strips and scraps in while cutting for a project. When it got full, I processed the scraps and it resulted in a lot of fabric strips and squares that I used to make the small and larger Shoo Fly blocks! Ready to put my borders on my Cathedral Stars quilt today!

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    1. The idea of using a a shoe box size for catching those scraps is a good idea. Much better than my large sewing machine box waiting, taunting, sneering at me. Hahaha. I think I will use your idea.

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    2. I've been cutting for my Shoo Fly and have been cutting the scrap strips into 1 1/4" strips and setting them aside for a log cabin. I love log cabin quilts and this will be a great way to save pieces for a new log cabin. The shoe box size sound just perfect for scraps. They wouldn't take up a lot of space if a person wanted to sort colors into several boxes.

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  15. Emmy Lou will do fine with peace and quiet and she knows Sadie. My Cassie lived to 21, but her younger brother always was pestering her at times unmercilessly. A good vet will help her through. She is very lovely.

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  16. So glad Emmy Lou is with you. Love the little church and the pitcher. so sweet. Hope you are feeling better. I have a subscription for Quiltmaker Mag. I love it. I have so much fabric I need to cut for the scrap system. Have a Great week.

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  17. Do you think the publishers of QuiltMaker would put together all the Addicted to Scraps columns in a single collection. I would buy that.

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  18. Emmy Lou is 19! That is a great age for a cat - my old girl went on to 18 and had only 1 kidney nearly all her life. Here's hoping the vet can sort out the bump and she can chill out in her new home. I suppose 3 was a crowd and she was the odd one out with the youngsters. She looks well happy - and poor Sadie ousted! LOL!
    At the moment I'm rearranging my stash and cutting for the scrap users system. I've folded and sorted these fabrics far too many times over the years so hopefully this will be the last time!
    Jack's Delight is lovely - and such a cheerful one too. Cheers.

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  19. My cat hates car rides, too! I never thought, though, that it might be due to motion sickness and the trauma of being inside the carrier. Our vet is quite near but we've always taken my cat in the car for vet visits, and she's hated it every time. I'm happy to note the suggestion for 1/4 of a Drammamine. I'll ask the vet and giver her that to calm her down next time. I wish my cat would also live to be 19! I'm 55 now so 19 years or so later, I'll be 75. After those years of being with my cat, I'm sure I wouldn't know how to cope with her passing. But, well, that's how life goes. As early as now, I'm trying to get used to our time together ending. I hope all goes well with that growth on your cat's skin. It might just be a fat mass or some benign issue. She's lucky to have you to care about her. Cheers!

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  20. Poor kitty. Feel better real soon. Love the scrappy quilts. Next on my list.

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  21. Argh! Car and carrier were such a trauma to dear Emily, when the time came I was happy to find a vet to come to our house to pin her wings!!! Emmy looks much happier clean and loved and if she's eating and using the litter box (not at the same time)LOL, has found and claimed Sadies' bed! I think she's settled in ... "they" say you can't move a cat, but you can and they love their people most of all, I'm confident she's pleased to be with you and Sadie... Hope you're continuing on your road to health, look forward to seeing "Jack" -- now I've conquered over a thousand HST for Emerald City... this will be a no brainer!!! and so nicely scrappy!!! Hugs and thanks Cats in Carlsbad, CA

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  22. I love the quote Bonnie
    Poor Emmy Lou. I hope a vet visit is less traumatic. 100 miles is a lot for a kitty girl.
    I am so happy that you are in Virginia now.
    The church is very beautiful .....so beautiful
    Today is my day to get some things done, I took Princess to the vet for a quick booster shot, and now I am back home. It is dry here. Hubbs is retired and watering the yard so our plants and trees and grass do not die
    I am still taking good care of my 95 year old daddy. We have fun every day, Today I left him on his own. I am only 4 miles away though

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  23. Emmy Lou looks very content in her calm and quiet new home. I feel so sorry for your husband having to listen to Emmy Lou crying and the bad smell. Your husband must have been driving with his head out the window. The little creamer is beautiful, I would not have passed it up either. I love the beautiful church and didn't notice the roof lines till you mentioned it. I had to laugh at the bin sitting just off the edge of the Ironing board. I like to set my stacks of patches like you do all ready to sew. I love love love your Jacks Delight. I'm thinking I will have to subscribe to Quiltmaker magazine so I can follow along. Now to start collecting plaids. I don't have any plaid shirts around here. I have been cutting and cutting patches for my Shoo Fly. I am loving the look of putting a 4 patch in the center.

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  24. Been away and just catching up on your posts. I had cats to the vet this spring and same trouble as Emmy Lou, got reminded to cover the carrier and the next cats road with no trauma. Glad your girls are there with you now!

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