miracle : an event that seems impossibleto explain by natural laws and so is regarded as supernatural in origin or as an act of God.

  Believing in miracles also require a certain amount of faith. Faith that I was terribly lacking last week. To explain – one of my beloved rescue cats, Brutus, disappeared without a trace last Wednesday. Brutus has lived at my house for 13 years, and was an adult when he came to me.  Brutus hates the cold and loves his pampered life with regular meals of freshly cooked chicken breast and salmon. In all these 13 years, Brutus has never strayed. Hard to believe for a male cat that once roamed the streets.

   Contractors have been at my home, inside and out,  off and on for the last 3 weeks, doing long needed reburbishing. Brutus has been around for all the work and had gotten used to the workers, so there was no need for concern. then wednesday, the last day of work, he disappeared. He was healthy and strong, no reason to believe he had wondered off to die.

   I was beside myself with worry. The cold has set in here in NH, hard frosts, freezing wind and rain – almost snow. I dreaded to think where he might be and what might have happened. He didn’t show for dinner- this has never happened. He didn’t show for breakfast. I left work as often as I could during the day Thursday to check for his return – nothing. Friday came and went with no trace. I was convinced he was never returning. Everyone at work told me stories of aniamals returning after weeks, and I just couldn’t believe Brutus would return. Sluggo, my other rescue cat of 13 years, wouldn’t go outside all this time- and he is the wanderer of the two. He was mopy, and stuck very close to me. I figured he was in mourning as well. 

    All day Saturday, I cried for Brutus. I threw myself  into work to keep my mind occupied. throughout the day there were constant yard checks – nothing. Then, about nine o’clock in the evening, I was in the kitchen and thought I heard a cat crying. I went to the back door, and there was my miracle. Brutus wanted in!

  I  have no idea where he was. He looked no worse for the wear, and wasn’t particularly hungry. He came in and has been as if he had never gone away. Miracles do happen, and I am so glad they do.

  The experience left me with some pretty good work though.

This is a close-up of the quilt I worked on yesterday. The quilt belongs to my good friend Kate, and will be used as a display at Quitled Threads. The pictures don’t do the quilt justice, as it is beautiful. It was a little difficult getting a good visual to decide on a quilt design. The quilt has dramatic contrast in color, making it hard to decide thread color, and the design is busy. So, I ended up with two colors – an off white in the blocks to blend with the pniwheels, and a deep red in the border- white would have hurt my eyes. 

The red got a little washed out in this photo, it is almost burgundy. The border design is actually a pantograph, but it works well in the border here. I like that it is not perfectly square and moves up and down along the quilt’s edge -much more interesting than a traditional border.

This is a larger view – beautiful isn’t it? I like to keep things clean and simple and have the quilting enhance the quilt, not be the showcase. The inner white border just has a simple stitch in the ditch on both sides. Too much stitching gets distracting to me, particularly when the fabric is what makes the quilt.

   Now, to the next project…

Saturday afternoon was a blast! The ladies at Wingdoodle held a tiara making party with the Artgirlz. Imagine, THE Artgirlz. They have some of the most fun and unique art supplies around. And imagine my surprise when my fellow Squammie, Carol B walked in. Does it get any better than this? Just wait.

Artgirl Extraordinaire and Carol B

Wingdoodle's Kay working diligently on her tiara

Wingdoodle's Sandy sporting a new tiara

  Wingdoodle and the Artgirlz  provided all the supplies at no charge – this is getting better and better.  There was an array of tasty food for everyone to nibble on, and then the tiara making began.

My very first tiara!

Ready-to-Wear!

     And here it is, my creation, all ready to put on and wear proudly. There is still a little tweeking to do, but this one is almost done. Of course, it doesn’t stop here. After leaving the party, I headed off to Quilted Threads to pick up supplies for a fabric tiara. The unveiling will be soon, so check back for more photos. This sounds like the making of a new class, doesn’t it?

   Backtracking a little, I promised a photo of my Squam necklace, so here it is. The lampwork vessel from Ellen didn’t photograph as well as I’d like, but trust me, it’s beautiful.

     I felt very proud of this necklace since it was only my second attempt at jewelry. Nnumerous compliments have come my way while wearing it, and that makes it even sweeter.

   So, now to the big question.  Spending time in a creative way makes my world sing. What makes your world sing? Write a comment to this question, and win a handmade creation. Next week, I will post photos of the giveaway and hold a random drawing.

    Check back soon….

“Time, time, time, see what’s become of me.

While I look around for my possibilities.

I was so hard to please.

Look around, leaves are brown, and the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Hang on to your hopes, my friend.

That’s an easy thing to say.

But if your hopes should pass away, simply pretend that you can build them again.

Look around, the grass is high, the fields are ripe, it’s the springtime of my life.

Seasons change with the scenery; Weaving time in a tapestry.

Won’t you stop and remember me at any convenient time?

Funny how my memory skips looking over manuscripts of unpublished rhyme.

Drinking my vodka and lime.

I look around, leaves are brown.

And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.”

Classic Simon and Garfunkel.

    This little tune keeps playing over and over in my head today. Don’t know why, I haven’t listened to it in ages. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s just my mood today. At any rate, the next 9 days hold endless possibilites for me. I’m officially on a vacation from my day job. YAY!!!!

   There are no definite plans, save a Friday spent shopping and dining in Portsmouth, NH with good friends.

   My fur baby family (Queen, Bosley, Barnie, Brutus & Sluggo), is thrilled to have me home. They ask for so little, food and love, which I lavish on them in exchange for hugs and kisses.

  My mind is a swirl with ideas and projects to work on. The first to tackle, is getting Toots LaRue, my alter ego, on the road. Toots is taking a tour, visiting sister Squammies in a Flat Stanley-like project. BTW, this is another leap of faith, letting-go kind of  endeavor.

Toots LaRue

I’ll keep you posted…