Friday, August 19, 2011

Pets on Quilts Show

The 2011 Pets on Quilts Show is underway and hosted by Sewcalgal. I have not entered the show in the past, but decided to this year since I have plenty of both pets and quilts lol. So here is my entry.


I am currently owned by three fun, feisty felines that love to "assist" with my quilting.  All three were rescued from shelters here in Phoenix.  Echo and Sassy came home with me on the same day in October 2009 from the Arizona Humane Society and Tyrone was adopted in November 2005 from Sun Valley Animal Shelter.

Echo is by far my most reliable helper and can be counted on to be around nearly every time there is some quilting activity going on. 

He has a rather unhealthy obsession with cardboard boxes, so he is generally the first to show up to inspect a new box of fabric that has come in the mail.

He also loves to supervise the cutting and pinning of blocks.
 

He helps squish the fabric down so the lid fits on the container.

 
He rearranges blocks when the layout is not to his liking.
 

He makes sure that the quilting is "just right".


He checks finished tops to make sure they are soft and cuddly.

 
He supervises the basting, although he can't be left unattended with the pins as he has an unhealthy obsession with those too *sigh*.
 
 
And finally, he checks the finished quilts to make sure they are all ready to go.
 
 
Sassy is also a pretty good helper, although she is more selective about the activities in which she participates. 
 
One of her obsessions is the iron and she will get as close as she possibly can without getting burned.  She will often lay on one end of the ironing board while I am pressing on the other.  Goofy cat.
 
 
She also really likes to help me prewash and dry fabric.
 

Then she checks it again once it's dry to make sure it will be acceptable for our quilts.

 
On occasion, she will also supervise the actual sewing.
 

And sometimes she is just too exhausted to be any help at all!


Tyrone is my oldest assistant and now that there are younger workers available, he tends to take it easy and generally doesn't show up for work most days lol.  But here is in his glory days helping me to attach the binding to a king size quilt.
 

He also helped sew on a label one time.


As I said, Tyrone is pretty much retired these days from his quilting helping, at the ripe old age of 6!  What a life!  But no worries, as you can see, I've got two other helpers that are more than willing to pick up his slack lol.

36 comments:

Denise in PA said...

I understand feline quilt assistants take their jobs very seriously! They are beautiful! o:)

QuiltSue said...

Well the two younger ones have obviously been very weell trained by Tyrone so he can start to take it easy.

Wacky Woman said...

It looks like they are taking their jobs quite seriously.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Just wonderful assistants - young and old. My back aches just seeing some of the kitty sleeping postitions.

Joanna said...

Those pictures are a riot. They obviously love the sewing room. Beautiful cats.

Anne-Lise at Rag, Tag, Bobtail said...

Lovely photos - lovely cats :-)

Nanbon44 said...

Your helpers are so cute,,,

Gladys said...

Your cats are very sweet! And love your photos! A hug!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Boy with all that help you should get tons of quilting done! They are all so beautiful!

Staci said...

You have some of the most adorable cat photos I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

marina said...

they are just gorgeous. Love your calico cat all stretched out. Cat's sure know how to relax.

hetty said...

Your helpers are adorable! They certainly take their jobs seriously! I love Sassy on the ironing board. My verification word is paticat. That's what my daughter calls her cat, who came from a shelter and had been named after the Peanut's character, Peppermint Patty.

Thearica said...

Your babies are so cute!!

Dana Gaffney said...

With that much help it's amazing that you're getting anything done. You must spend a lot of your time laughing. They are wonderful. Thanks.

Char said...

Great post! I just love that Sassy!

Miss Hillbilly said...

I think all that help would stress me! But gotta love 'em don't ya? My help is a 1 1/2 yr old boy. He has slowed my sewing waaayyyy down.

Lesly said...

How lucky for you to have so much help. In fact, I have seen so many cat helpers doing the same thing in this quilt show that I am wondering if there is a Quilting Cats Union!

Jan said...

What gorgeous kitties and quilts you have. I am always especially drawn to calicos. Glad you have such ambitious helpers. They certainly make life more interesting.

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

What great helpers!!

Pat V. said...

Your kitties certainly seem to take their duties as assistants seriously! Great pix!

andsewon said...

So nice when the young ones step up and allow their elder to retire! Hahaha! They are all pretty!

Becky said...

Great assistants!

Jocelyn said...

Great pictures. They look serious about their jobs.

paulette said...

AAAAHHHHHH it's a cat's life over at your house!! haha
Paulette

Melissa ;-) said...

Thanks for sharing your great kitties!

Snoodles said...

Wonderful helpers! I was giggling at the one where the kitty was "coming through" the machine! LOL

Talin's Corner said...

Well, what wonderful helpers you have. Love all of your quilts. I love scrappy! Your string quilt is gorgeous.

The Vegetarian Hunter said...

Those looke like the cutest little helpers ever. Thank goodness for our kitty inspectors or we would never get anything done, right? HA HA

Janet said...

I think Sassy just likes the heat - irons, fabric just out of the dryer and sunlight :) They are all so cute!

Sand and Sunshine said...

What a divine group of cats you have. The love radiates right of the page and makes me want to pet them all.

Lynette said...

Sassy laying IN the sewing machine cracks me up!! lol :D

LethargicLass said...

Sassy has the best colouring ever! Love all of them :)

QueenB said...

Cats and ironing boards. If I leave mine up for 5 minutes I get a helper on it too. I have made sure I leave the hot iron on the ground after I iron now. You have beautiful helpers.

QueenB said...

Love the photo of Echo helping to squish the fabric so the box will close, he looks so dedicated. All of them look lovely

Frog Quilter said...

Your Echo is just like my Blackie. Always ready to help. I enjoyed all the kitty/quilt pictures.

Allyson said...

Your cats kill me! I love all the crazy positions they get into, and not to mention the mischief!