A cause near and dear to my heart. Do you know that the Empire State Building in NYC will be lit in orange today in honor of the founding of the ASPCA in 1866? The famous Wall Street bull sculpture will sport orange ribbons too. Visit
http://www.aspca.org/ for ways that you can help make the world a better place for animals. One year when I was "volunteered" to be in charge of the Yellow Daisy Quilt Guild's holiday party, my co-chair and I decided that the theme would be cats and dogs and we made cookies in the shape of dog biscuits and made little catnip favors out of four-patches. The favors went home with people who had cats or members could put them in a basket for donation to the local humane society.
If anyone has leftover four-patches from the
Orange Crush quilt, you can make really cute cat toys by sewing two four-patches wrong sides together and leaving a space to turn rightside out. Stuff with leftover cotton batting (you know all those little scraps you have everywhere) and add a couple of spoonfuls of dried catnip (organic is best since it has the best catnippiness). Sew up and voila a quilty cat toy! My cats LOVE these little quick, easy toys from scraps. I made a bunch and donated them to the local humane society and gave out to my friends who have cats. And it's a great way to use up scraps.
OK Morticia update. The news is not good. She most likely has soft tissue cancer in her nasal passage and the vet had to remove some of her teeth where the cancer had eaten away her jaw bone. Dr. Harris took biopsies and sent them to the University of GA vet school. We'll get the results back next week. The lump means that the cancer has become aggressive and Dr. Harris said that maybe she will have one to three months, six at the long shot to have a comfortable life. I didn't know it would be so short but I knew that her prognosis was not good. I am going to make sure she is comfortable and pain-free and when it is time then it will be time. I know that she has had the best life possible for the past 10 years. Morticia was adopted from a humane society at the age of 6 months and the other 4 are strays. They really have the best life. My cats eat better than I do, have better health care, have a zillion toys, and are happy to be indoor only cats safe from dangers outside. That's all I can do for them.
It's made from a potholder.
Inside ziploc bags are sewn in to hold your thread, needles, scissors, and a seam ripper. Close it up with a loop and button and you are good to go. Thanks Mom! 
