Elvis Sings the Blues Mat: A Finished Quilt

This floor mat, in dark blues and contrasting reds, was my November and December OMG goal. I made this mat especially for our elderly cat, Elvis. He's 24 years old!

This mat was started many months back, and I wasn't sure what it would become. placemats, perhaps? A table runner? But when Elvis took to laying on the hard floor rather than a comfy couch, or chair, I knew he needed a good old floor mat. 

I started this mat by finding a lot of blue scraps. Most were already cut into strips for one reason or another. I pieced them together and made four or so "squares". At that point, this WIP sat around for a while. Once I decided on making the mat, the smaller pieces got joined together to make a rectangular top. This top contains new, vintage, and repurposed fabric in cotton, denim, poly and more varieties. 

I used a large piece of purple and white dotted cotton fabric, which had been gifted to me from a friend's destash, for the backing. The batting is two larger cotton batting scraps all sandwiched together. Two layers of batting make Elvis' mat slightly more cushiony but not too puffy.

I quilted this mat using a dark blue embroidery thread. I know I did not want a lot of quilting, but that I did want the quilting to stand out, especially on the backing. I used an alternating cross pattern. I folded the edges of the backing to make a wide binding on the front. 

Elvis Sings the Blues Mat measures approximately 35 1/2" x 28". Elvis himself certainly did help me while making this quilt, but ironically doesn't sleep on it too often. He's discovered the bed and his life is forever changed!! Luckily, other cats in the family are enjoying this finish. 

I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts for the final OMG2016. This makes x of 12 goals finished for my 2016OMG. I wish I had added this mat to my 2016FAL but alas, it wasn't on there. I am linking up for the first time with My Quilt Infatuation's Needle and Thread Thursday. Still, I'm glad to have a lovely finish to gift at the end of the year.  

Regular Scheduled Programming

OK, scheduled might be pitching it a bit thick, but there are some regular columns posted here at Mad Cat Quilts. This is what they looked like for 2016 (and before if you scroll back enough):

Months in Review - My review of the month with my favorite instagram posts. 

WIP - Works In Progress, few words. 

Something New - New things I'm trying, or old things that are new again. 

New Block - I'm always trying to sew new blocks. 

Book Reviews - One of my yearly goals is always to read more. 

Zoo at Home, Zoo Abroad - I love to visit zoos. This column shares them. 

Monthly Plant Update - A visual account of the plants around me. 
(Added this year)

On My Mind On Friday Morning - Links, thoughts, research, and little updates on life. 

Art and Nature... - Art and nature go together, here I write about where I find that combo. 
(Only one post this year)

And here are some community groups that I joined in on this year:

OMG2016 - One Monthly Goal started by Red Letter Quilts in 2016. Currently showing at Elm Street Quilts. Pick a goal each month and complete it!

YOTS2016 - Year Of The Stash was started by Quarter Inch From The Edge in 2016. Use your stash, record it here!

2016FAL - This is the big Finish Along which you can find at A Quilter's Table among others blogs. Make quilt finish goals for each quarter, and get 'em done!!

And for the very first time this year, I'm working on making my own Block of the Month club:

MCQBOM2016 - Mad Cat Quilts 2016 was all about trying to set a monthly block goal and complete it. New (to me) blocks only!

Some columns I tried this year didn't work out as well as these and won't be continued. But you win some... etc... I hope to add to this list every year, if possible. This list is mostly for myself but I thought you might like to see them, too. 

For those of you who write blogs, what is your own favorite regular column? 
For all blog makers and readers, who has your favorite column in a blog?

December Plant Update

Not too much mindful plant observing went into this month. But here are some casual observations: 

In early December there were still plenty of roses out. 

They might be struggling, but they are still here. 

This spot looked quite idyllic, despite the unmown grass and bitter cold.  

My Amaryllis budded and bloomed and then bloomed some more. 

I like the xmas color they provide. 

Pictured here, the one that has some white hanging out with some bamboo. 

And of course there are xmas trees everywhere! Manasquan, NJ

Belmar, NJ

Manasquan again, 

Spring Lake, NJ

Tell me, what are the plants doing near you?

On My Mind On Friday Morning

We finally bought a record player!! Now all I think about are all the records I want to buy! One, Two, Three
I thought this was a fascinating article about India devaluing some of it's currency. 
Still mad I missed this light display. 
I'm always thinking I should take up yoga. Maybe I should take up goat yoga. 
I had to take an unexpected break from blogging last week, bc our computer broke!! We got a new one, hooray! Now I can get back to reading quilt blogs. Thank goodness. 

xmas bonus: The Yule Cat is coming. 

Best Nine

I love Instagram and work hard to curate my feed. I'm not sure if it shows!

When I saw people posting their Best Nine, I had to try it out. It was nice to look back and see what people enjoyed on my feed. 

Although I wouldn't post a Best Nine on my Instagram, I wanted to keep it here to refer back to and to let others who might be interested take a look. Here is my Best Nine from 2016 (as of early December):

And since it was an additional option, here's my Best Nine from 2015:

Link up to your Best Nine pics in the comments!

YOTS Check In / Wrap Up for December

Here we are at the end of 2016 and the end of Year Of The Stash. I had a lot of fun participating in this quilt community activity. It definitely helped me be more mindful of what I was bringing in and what I was using up. 

These were some new fabric purchases from a chain fabric store. These were all on sale, of course, so I couldn't resist. 

The year started out with me buying a lot of fabric!! I wasn't feeling too good about it and when I found YOTS from A Quarter Inch From the Edge, I knew it was going to be great for me. I started out by making a Stash Manifesto:

1) Buy as little new fabric as possible. I won't say buy none. I want to be free to get a great new piece here or there, patron indy quilt shops, or buy backing when needed. I'll buy used, reclaimed, and/or vintage fabric when possible. I pride myself on using these fabrics in my quilts, and need to scoop them up when they preset themselves. But I want to be mindful not to add too much to my stash!
2) Use some used, vintage and/or reclaimed fabrics in all quilts. Last year was the first time I used all new fabric for some quilts and it just didn't feel right. As I said above, I pride myself to use these vintage items, and I need to get back to that. I have such a wonderful collection in my stash, it needs to get out into the world!  
3) Organize as I go. When we moved, I started folding and color coordinating my stash and discovered that I have far too much fabric!! I barely made a dent before I filled up the entire space I'd set aside. I'd like to utilize this space better this year. I want to use up, organize, and consolidate during The Year of the Stash!
4) Sew, sew, sew! One of my goals is to have at least one finish per month, I'd also like to make one new block per month. Sourcing from my stash will help me as I have so many wonderful fabrics at my fingertips! 

Here's how it worked out in real life:
1) Once I started YOTS, I went long periods of time without buying anything new. I was even able to go to quilt shops and not come home with anything. I was able to find some great vintage fabric, some fun vintage sheets and such for backing or cut up and some interesting thrifted pieces this year. I designated some old clothes and other items for repurposing as quilting fabric. Overall, I'm happy with what got added to my stash.
2) I'm happy to report that after joining YOTS, everything I made had some used, vintage, or reclaimed fabric in it. 
3) I started out the year pretty strong, but that was all the organizing I did and it was very little.
4) I didn't sew as much as I would have liked this year. When I did, I shopped my stash and was pleasantly surprised and inspired. But very few finishes happened for me and I did not devote enough time to my quilting craft. 

These were purchased from Rock Paper Scissors, a really lovely quilt shop in Montclair NJ. 

Here's what my year end stash report looks like:
Fabric Added Since last Update (in August, yikes!!): approximately 8 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: approximately 29 yards
Fabric Used Since last update: approximately 5 yards (wallets and BOM)
Fabric Used year to Date: approximately 13 yards

That's a total of 16 yards in the plus category for my stash. Not horrible but not great, either. Still, for my first of mindfully adding to my stash, I'm happy!! 

One thing I've tried to be better about this year is joining in with the quilty community. I've tried to do more challenges (like YOTS, OMG, FAL2016) and more link ups (like Slow Sunday Stitching, Move It Along Monday, etc...).
YOTS was a challenge that I really enjoyed and I plan on making a 2017 manifesto and continuing to track my progress in the new year, but I'm not sure if Quarter Inch From Edge will be hosting another year of YOTS. I found that there wasn't a lot of community activity in this challenge, bc there were very few link ups, very few check ins and a general lack of group encouragement. I totally understand how hard it must be to be the leader for such a community, when even just blogging can be a struggle. I'm not upset or disappointed but I do hope that YOTS continues into the future and it gets more community involvement. I'd be willing to take a swing at leading it, but I couldn't promise I'd do better at regular YOTS activities. I would try, though! Maybe I'll contact Quarter Inch from the Edge... Or maybe I'll concentrate of my own Year Of The Stash!

I hope some of you guys will start a 2017YOTS and share your progress (no matter where that may be). I look forward to seeing your manifestos and stash reports in the new year!

Something New: Cross Stitch

Sometimes my Something New is something old that's new again. This definitely goes for cross stitch. I have always enjoyed embroidery and cross stitch but I haven't done a pattern in probably 15+ years. Inspired mostly buy my husband and friends, as well as our collection of vintage patterns, I decided to try one.

I haven't finished yet and I'm thinking of expanding on the pattern I'm using. Let me tell you something about this piece of work, I've messed up A LOT. Even so, I'm happy with this new attempt and will share it when I'm finished. I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching. 

Anyone out there a fan of cross stitch?

Shelfie 002

How many gems can you name?

Zoo at Home, Zoo Abroad: Johnson Park Zoo

Since moving, I've been searching the state for petting farms, zoos, aquariums, or other animal attractions. We've been to a few in New Jersey and have a pretty long list still to visit. It took some digging to find Johnson Park Zoo but when I did, we headed out right away. 

Johnson Park, named for the Johnson & Johnson family who donated the land, is in Piscataway, NJ, right across the river from New Brunswick and Rutgers College. This is a large park with many fields and playgrounds. The Zoo, sometimes referred to as haven, is a smallish square of fenced in area that visitors can walk around to observe the animals. 

It's quite cold now, and some of the enclosures were empty and it seemed that not all the animals were on view. It was very hard to tell though, because there was zero information about this animal sanctuary on premises. There's very little information online, either, but from what I could find, it's possible that more goes on here in warmer weather. I was very disappointed that there was no history or explanation on why this zoo exists or how it works.  

Chainlink fencing and double fencing seems to be the preferred method of zoos in NJ. Why? I'm not sure. It does have the effect of one feeling like they are quite close to the animals, but it also give a slipshod appearance. I enjoyed being able to walk around the whole animal area at Johnson Park Zoo. The enclosures were big and the animals seemed happy and well kept.  

The animals were mostly farm animals, and there seemed to be private horse boarding on the grounds. There were a few wild creatures also, and possibly there are more in the Spring and Summer. I appreciated that this zoo was free and open to all. I will check back here at other times in the year to see if there are other creatures or any rangers to talk to. Over all, I'd say if you're passing this park, stop in for sure. If it's not on your way somewhere, I wouldn't make a special trip.

November in Review

November went quickly and now it's gone. 

The weather changed this month, and the time changed. Life changed for our family, too, as we lost someone very close to us. To say that November was a blur is stating it lightly. There were bad times, but there were good times, too. 

And now December is upon us, and another year is almost over. But life moves ever forward, and we must step into the future once again. 

December OMG

Well, November was another month I didn't finish my One Monthly Goal. So I'm rolling that goal over to December. For the last month of the year, I'd Like to finish the mostly blue mat i've been working on. 

I've got to get this one finished bc it needs a wash! Look at all that cat hair!

OMG is now hosted over at Elm Street Quilts and I certainly hope that it will continue into 2017. 

New Block: Inspiration from Instagram

I saw this block on Johanna Weider's instagram. I liked this block, which Johanna quadrupled on her post. She has a ton of great work. My block is not quite the same. 

This was a fun block to make, and makes a good addition to my MadCatQuiltsBOM. I'm excited that this is the 11th block! I'm running out of space to take the group picture, 

November Plant Update

November is here and Winter is well on it's way. So far the month has been colder, and rainy, but there's still plenty of plants to observe. 

Early in the month, the moonflowers were blooming like mad. 

My christmas cactus blew up, too. 

We bought a record player, but the house plants still the show. 

The trees turned so fast. 

Ringworld

One of my goals in 2016 is to read more. This kinda counts. See other books I've read or listened to here.

This reading of Ringworld By Larry Nevin was a free audio book with one of my internet subscriptions. It is read by Grover Gardner.

Ringworld is one of my husbands all time favorite books and was also recommended by my father, as well as almost every sci fi lover I know. I have read this book before, but when I saw the free reading, I was happy to revisit this book. 

It's Louie Woo's 200th birthday and he's pretty bored. He could go on another deep space sabbatical, find some interesting aliens, meet some exotic women, but he's already done that many times. Much to his surprise, an exotic alien finds him instead. Nessus, a cautious Pierson's Puppeteer, offers Louie a dangerous, mysterious, adventure he can't refuse; Just what Louie was looking for.

First off, this reading was amazing. It made me like Ringworld even better than I already did. Gardner's clear, precise reading make Nevin's scientific (sometimes slightly dated) writing easy to understand. I can't wait to find more books that he has read. I knew that I liked this book, but on second reading, I found it even more interesting. It has all the great hopes, dilemmas, and predictions that many great sci-fi novels have. This book has many themes of tolerance, and fear, and hopes for meeting alien life. It has a very interesting take of xenophobia/xenophilia. Ringworld also plays with the traditional 1970s sci-fi sex and sexuality themes, without being too crude. This is a classic sci-fi book and if you're a fan of this genre, you must read it! I would also suggest this book for people who like exploration novels, books about voyages, and anyone interested in interpersonal relationships between a variety of peoples. 

What are your favorite sci-fi novels?

Shelfie 001

We've been moving things around at home, hoping to display more of our collections.  

Zoo at Home, Zoo Abroad: Popcorn Park Zoo

I had distinct memories of The Popcorn Park Zoo from my childhood. I remember a range of animals from exotics, to farm animals, to wild creatures; Lions, lizards, deer. But mostly I remember them being rescued. I remember deer who had been saved from traps, aging lions saved from zoos, snakes rescued from small cages. In my mind it was all very dramatic.

I had been telling my husband and neighbors who have children about it ever since we moved back to NJ. Just after Summer, I got to go with my friends. 

It was not as dramatic as I remembered, not as tragic as I had pitched it. But the rescued animals were still there, with stories of where they had come from and how their lives had changed since coming to the Popcorn Zoo. 

Nestled in the Pine Barrens, this zoo isn't huge but it does have some interesting and exciting animals.  It is considered one of the largest shelters of it's kind. 

As the name might suggest, one of the main attractions here is the popcorn you can buy to feed the animals with. Some like it more than others, so our popcorn mostly went to deer, pigs, goats and ducks. It was very nice to see bears, lions and other big cats, and a steer that is, no lie, around 7 feet tall, even if they weren't craving popcorn.  

I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Popcorn Park Zoo again and would recommend it for zoo lovers in the NJ area. I really like that this zoo isn't price prohibitive and the proceeds go towards maintaining the zoo and it's animals. 

What are your favorite local zoos?

New Block: Economy Block Variation

Many of the goals I had for October were finished, but not all of them were recorded in a timely fashion. I got my MadCatBOM done early on in the month but never found the time to photograph and blog it. Well, here it is. 
For October's block, I modified a block I saw on Cluck Cluck Sew and now can't find. It seems like an economy block variation. I made it quite a bit large, so I plan on cutting off the corners in the finished quilt.  

I made it quite a bit large, so I plan on cutting off the corners in the finished quilt.  

Linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching. 

October in Review

As I've said before, October is edging up to become my favorite month. Especially since we've moved Down the Shore. So much happened this month, it feels a bit like a rollercoaster. 

We visited a lot of vets this month, as one of our little family members is gravely ill. But we also took time to spend with her and give her our energy when possible. We did the same for our other furred family members. 

There were plenty of warm days in October and the water stayed warm right up until the last week, so we spent a lot of time at the beach, combing, and exploring new places, creating new rituals. Towards the end I headed out in sweats, hats, and scarves. I'm hoping I can hold off on the gloves until December. 

Plants and critters were out in full force this month, no doubt trying to take advantage of the last warm days, just like me! I saw so many bugs, spiders, and furry creatures this month. Never a bad thing. 

Speaking of furry creatures, October may have been the best month for #watchercats and #watcherdogs!

October wasn't the catch up month I thought it will be. Let's see if I can hang on to November. 

November OMG Goal

For my November One Monthly Goal, I'm hoping to finish this little blanket I've been working on for an elderly friend. 

I'm linking up with OMG at it's new home, Elm Street Quilts! Thanks so much to Red Letter Quilts for starting OMG and for passing it off when needed. 

October Plant Update

October is fast becoming my favorite month of the year. It was a great one for observing plants around our new home. It was also a very busy month, so I'm sending out my observations a little on the late side. 

American Beauty Berries are busting out the extreme purple. 

Roses keep on making late game appearances. 

The last of the echinacea. 

Milkweeds are weeping their seeds for next years monarchs. 

The morning glories are still reaching for the sun. 

What are the plants doing in your neck of the woods?