"Cat Bowl" Quilting
07-13-2020, 02:36 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Gainesville, Missouri
Posts: 520
This was such a funny way to start my Monday, to read this was pure joy, thank you for sharing that!
My Puddin' girl (God rest her soul, lost her six years ago), loved laying on my ironing board and/or the TV tray I had set up with a towel to do my ironing. I'm not one to 'always' press my seams open, so sometimes she was able to get a pretty good catnap in before I'd have to wake her up and use the iron, but the second I was done, she'd jump right back up there and re-assume her position because of the warmth. One morning, my best friend came into my sewing room and watched us for about thirty minutes before she started to laugh and say it was like we were in sync with each other because the second my chair would roll even 1/32 of an inch, Puddin' would jump down, wait for me to do my pressing sitting right next to my foot watching me, then she'd jump right back up. So me wanting to see just how far this would go, I decided to press all my seams open.
It went on for about thirty minutes, but the look of indignation and pure disappointment that came out of that cat's eyes was epic! She wasn't happy with me in the least when she finally cottoned onto what I was doing to her and I laughed so hard that I had tears running down my face, I had to stop piecing because I couldn't see. Several treats, some petting and saying I'm sorry about a million times later, she finally stopped throwing me the dirty looks and we went back to our usual routine, although after that if I was pressing too many seams open, she'd lightly tap my hand (no claws) before she'd jump down. I got one of those finger pressers from Clover, just to make my cat happy!
I miss my girl something fierce and when I picked quilting back up, I felt like I was missing a vital piece of myself. I still do to some degree. Her picture is right next to me when I'm quilting, though. Now I have this three-year old boy dog who is the sweetest thing on four paws that's my quilting buddy. Have to work with him just a little more, he's got a habit of lying right behind me and when I roll back, I always seem to catch his paw or his tail under my wheel and he yelps.
My Puddin' girl (God rest her soul, lost her six years ago), loved laying on my ironing board and/or the TV tray I had set up with a towel to do my ironing. I'm not one to 'always' press my seams open, so sometimes she was able to get a pretty good catnap in before I'd have to wake her up and use the iron, but the second I was done, she'd jump right back up there and re-assume her position because of the warmth. One morning, my best friend came into my sewing room and watched us for about thirty minutes before she started to laugh and say it was like we were in sync with each other because the second my chair would roll even 1/32 of an inch, Puddin' would jump down, wait for me to do my pressing sitting right next to my foot watching me, then she'd jump right back up. So me wanting to see just how far this would go, I decided to press all my seams open.
It went on for about thirty minutes, but the look of indignation and pure disappointment that came out of that cat's eyes was epic! She wasn't happy with me in the least when she finally cottoned onto what I was doing to her and I laughed so hard that I had tears running down my face, I had to stop piecing because I couldn't see. Several treats, some petting and saying I'm sorry about a million times later, she finally stopped throwing me the dirty looks and we went back to our usual routine, although after that if I was pressing too many seams open, she'd lightly tap my hand (no claws) before she'd jump down. I got one of those finger pressers from Clover, just to make my cat happy!
I miss my girl something fierce and when I picked quilting back up, I felt like I was missing a vital piece of myself. I still do to some degree. Her picture is right next to me when I'm quilting, though. Now I have this three-year old boy dog who is the sweetest thing on four paws that's my quilting buddy. Have to work with him just a little more, he's got a habit of lying right behind me and when I roll back, I always seem to catch his paw or his tail under my wheel and he yelps.
07-13-2020, 04:02 PM
#14
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 1,398
My sewing machine sits next to my cat's feeding station. He loves it, because he can come up there, grab a quick snack and get some pets too. 
Over the years, I've become lazy. Instead of getting up and pressing something with the iron, I just dip my fingers in to his (very fresh) water bowl and use the moisture to finger press my quilt pieces as I sew. If there is a seam that won't lie flat, or a piece needs just a tad of stretching to fit, my fingers aim for the bowl. I don't even have to look anymore. My cat, "Bondo," doesn't really mind. I think that now, I need to come up with a quilt pattern that looks like cat bowls.
~ C
Over the years, I've become lazy. Instead of getting up and pressing something with the iron, I just dip my fingers in to his (very fresh) water bowl and use the moisture to finger press my quilt pieces as I sew. If there is a seam that won't lie flat, or a piece needs just a tad of stretching to fit, my fingers aim for the bowl. I don't even have to look anymore. My cat, "Bondo," doesn't really mind. I think that now, I need to come up with a quilt pattern that looks like cat bowls.~ C
