Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 31 August 2014

Sunday Selections #187

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

Like River I usually run with a theme.  This week's Sunday Selections is mostly devoted to cats.  Jazz loves having his photo taken, and Jewel (like me) is camera phobic.  I can usually only take her photo when she is asleep or if I sneak up on her.



He is a big boy, but aren't his feet big?  And his claws are too.





Jewel is less than half his size.   That is my clean washing she has made a nest in for the first two photos.




And then some big cats who grace our walls.  Embroideries and a tapestry I completed when my hands and eyes were less recalcitrant.




Moving away from cats, the final photos are of my mother's work.  Quite late in life she decided that she wanted to make bobbin lace - and taught herself.

The first photo is a 'sampler' she did, and the second a picture she designed and made for me.  I treasure them both.




126 comments:

  1. What beautiful handiwork from both you and your Mother EC. Thank you so much for showing us. My cat will sleep on every clean surface given half the chance ~ I am her slave.

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    1. Carol in Cairns: I am certainly the slave of the furry tyrants/overlords which live in this house.

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  2. Heavens, just beautiful, from both of you. I tried bobbin lace, the emphasis on tried, lol! My best wishes to the felines.

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    1. Gillie: Just looking at the complicated patterns and the myriad of bobbins (some of them very beautiful) made my brain hurt. I love the results though.

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  3. Those two wonderful gifts from your mother are truly priceless. I am amazed that she taught herself to make that incredibly beautiful lace. Now I've got to run, I'm in the middle of "The Night Circus" and am enjoying it very much! :-)

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    1. DJan: I LOVE that you are enjoying The Night Circus. Dinahmow found a winner didn't she?
      Not only did mama teach herself lace making she became sufficiently adept that she made the Speaker's lace collar and cuffs for the opening of our new Parliament House.

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    2. Wow - that is amazing, EC - quite the accomplishment!

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    3. jenny_o: My mama was a complicated woman (aren't we all) but when she was good she was very, very good.

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  4. Your Big Cats look lovely.The ones on the wall, I mean.The black ones, lolling about on furniture and laundry are a given. (That reminds me - I must trim Geiger's claws...)

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    1. dinahmow: Thank you. I hope you noticed that you have spread the word about The Night Circus.

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    2. Yes, I did read that Djan is mid-way.:-)

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  5. Your mother was very creative. I don't even know what bobbin lace is! But I love your work more. You are very talented.

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    1. LL Cool Joe: Thank you. A thing of the past. My hands won't allow me to do fine work anymore.

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  6. With puppies, they say the size of their paws determine how big they get. I assume it's the same with cats?

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    1. Stephanie Faris: They do indeed. When Jazz first came to live with us he was all paws and legs. He has grown into both of them now.

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  7. Awww....Jazz and Jewel are lovely. I'm a sucker for cats, as I think you might be already aware. Shama is smaller than Remy, too. They're the same age...brother and sister.

    Wow! That wonderful work you did there, EC. You obviously inherited your mother's talent, too. Lovely!

    I hope you and The Skinny One have a good week. Take care. :)

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    1. Lee: Jazz n Jewel know that they are lovely. And play on it. And as you know I have a weakness (one of many) for all cats. Big and small.

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  8. Your cat is a beautiful animal. Your mother's bobbin lace is outstanding!!! I cannot image teaching myself that craft! Amazing endeavor and resulting beauty !!!

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    1. Bookie: I loved the results, but it was incredibly complicated to watch - never mind to do.

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  9. I've never decided which is more difficult, bobbin lace or tatting. I've never mastered either.

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    1. And I clicked the magic clicker, Froggy, before I added both pieces of work are exquisite.

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    2. Joanne Noragon: She tatted as well. Crocheting was something she insisted she couldn't do.
      She did beautiful work didn't she?

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  10. Oh yes, those painting are special pieces of art. I, I, I, I, I, I love them.

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    1. Bob Bushell: Thank you. My work is really colour by number. Mama's she invented and created as well.

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  11. I would treasure that bobbin lace too. I make needle punch embroidery. At least I do when I'm in the mood. This post reminded me of something I had never realized before: my mom had not one single hobby, and I now find that incredibly odd for some reason.

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    1. lotta joy: I had never heard of needle punch embroidery, and googled it. It looks amazing. I suspect there are a lot of partially finished works around, and some which should never have been finished though. And no, I am not including yours - because I know you are a perfectionist.
      No hobbies? Or interests? Sad.

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  12. Love your mom's lace and embroidery creations. What treasures!

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    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: They are.

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  13. Is Jazz really asleep? He seems to be keeping a watchful eye. I really like the first work, the blue one.

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    1. Andrew: No, he wasn't asleep at all. Lying catto.
      The smoky mountain cats set me an unexpected challenge. One of our then cats resenting the attention I paid to it, piddled on it when it was about half done.
      I was afraid to wash it for fear of losing the pattern - so completed a very, very smelly tapestry. It was a huge relief (on many levels) to complete it and wash it.

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  14. Such beautiful things! The cats of course, but the hand-crafted treasures too - I love your big cats, and the blue fellows. Your mother's work is lovely - how fantastic to have them both. Lace-making is mind-boggling!

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    1. Alexia: Lace-making is incredible isn't it? So much patience, so much precision, so much room for error.

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  15. I love that hanging with the blue cats....absolutely gorgeous. Of course, the big boy with the big feet is gorgeous too.

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    1. Delores: Jazz would tell you that he is much more gorgeous than anything else in the house.

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  16. Your big boy looks like a character. I don't blame Jewel for being camera shy though. I know the feeling.

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: Jazz has a heap of personality. Sometimes poisonality. And both of them are beautiful.

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  17. Your cats are so beautiful and shiny!

    And clearly you have (many) hidden talents. Those tapestries of yours are quite magnificent!l. As are your mothers lace-work, which goes without saying. What treasures.

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  18. Love seeing what's hanging on your walls, I am such a sticky-beak!

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    1. librarygirl: My walls, like the rest of the house, are crowded. And I am a sticky beak too. Big time.

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  19. I quite like meeting your companions so closely and sweetly. Your art would be right at home on our wall! So lovely visiting with you, my simpatico pal



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= . <3 . >< } } (°>

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    1. Cloudia: Neither of the cats does very well with strangers in real life. Both are rescue cats, and it shows. They are very, very comfortable here though - which is a win for them, and even more for me.

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  20. Now I know why I love Jazz so much! He is such a big cat with big paws, just like our old Scuba. Black and shiny, and adventurous.

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    1. Susan Kane: I have always had at least one black cat. And they have immense charm. I am sure that Scuba retains his spot in your heart.

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  21. Replies
    1. Linda Starr: I actually love all of him. Paws, claws, teeth and all.

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  22. I always love photos of your beautiful black and glossy cats, and yes those are some HUGE claws ... and I know you have been on the receiving end of them often. Naughty Jazz. How lovely that you have some of your Mum's hand made lace to treasure not to mention her embroidery just for you.

    Hoping you are having a wonderful Sunday xxx

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    1. Kakka: Both of my mother's art-works are lace. She entered the second in a show and was disqualified because it was 'coloured'. Colour prejudice in lace making blew me away. And I love it anyway.
      My Sunday is pretty good - how about yours?

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  23. You do take a gorgeous cat photo! I used to live with a handsome black cat, and whenever I trained the camera on him, he turned into a light-sucking time lord who would appear on film as a smudgy shadow.

    Stunning embroidery!

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    1. Alexis, Baron von Harlot: They are challenging to photograph - even those who like to pose for the camera.

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  24. stunning kitty.....those paws are so kissable.
    like a puppy's nose:)
    love to you and your beauty,
    Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer Richardson: Jazz is kissable, but it is fraught with danger. Those claws are very, very fast. Mind you, he purrs the whole time.

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  25. Your mother's work is so beautiful!
    I love how sleek and glossy Jazz and Jewel are!
    What do you feed them to get that shine?

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    1. River: Mama's work was amazing. I am proud of mine too.
      Jazz n Jewel get a varied diet. Some Dine dry cat food, Fussy Cat mince and Fancy Feast cans (though they are very fussy about which ones they will deign to eat). At the moment fillet of chicken or tuna or salmon are considered acceptable.

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    2. Forgot to mention how much I like that tapestry of the four big cats heads. my mum did tapestries, mostly cottages by rivers and surrounded by trees, I have one somewhere in a cupboard, but nowhere to hang it.
      Laundry doesn't stay in my basket long enough for Angel to get in there. I'm like my mum with laundry, it comes off the line and gets folded away into drawers straight away.

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    3. River: I have many more things to hang than walls as well. The skinny one had brought that load of washing in, and Jewel leapt into it as it came through the door. His soft heart allowed her to stay - and he isn't big about folding washing.

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  26. Love those two cats and must show Phil as they will remind him of our beloved Soot (of some years ago), a cat he was so very fond of and he was soooo black too.
    Your embroidery is fantastic and I too can no longer do cross stitch as my hands can't hold the needle but I never did work as beautiful as yours.
    The lace (fancy teaching herself to do that work) and embroidery of your mother's are so beautiful and I can imagine how you must treasure them. I have a few doilies my mum had embroidered but nothing like the work your mum did....still precious to me though.

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    1. Mimsie: I can't see to do embroidery any longer and my hands won't hold the needle either. Frustrating, but I enjoyed doing it.
      My mother's lace work blew me away. The second is also made of lace.
      And yes, I do treasure it, just as you do your mama's doilies - and for the same reason.

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  27. Both you and your mother did some wonderful pieces! All so beautiful! Jazz and Jewel are beautiful also. They are so shiny and healthy looking.

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    1. Teresa: Both of our black babies are healthy - and happy. And beautiful.

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  28. Your cats are so cute, and a tad spoiled I think! Merfy loves to curl up in warm laundry.
    Beautiful embroideries, I used to paint before......
    Lovely mementos from your mom. I have just taken up knitting (quite late in life).

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    1. Karen: Spoilt? How can you say that. The cats tell me that they are seriously underprivileged. And lie.
      Painting? I admire it - but it is beyond me. What are you knitting at the moment?

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  29. It's been a long time since we've had cats of our own and I am enriched by seeing your fur-bearing liquid seek the shape of its container. We do have a couple neighbor cats with hunting rights in our yard and I enjoy their visits --they and I ostentatiously and affectionately ignore each other. The artwork you display is exceptional. My compliments and admiration.

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    1. Geo.: I have a lovely image of you and the neighbouring cats ignoring each other - with smiles on your respective faces. Thank you.

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  30. Put something down, and a cat will sit on it. Mine also like the laundry basket.

    What wonderful treasures your mother left you.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: She did incredible work didn't she?

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  31. I love cat posts. Keep them coming!

    Your mom's work is so exquisite. What treasures.

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    1. ditchingthedog: If I get lucky Jewel will pose for me as well. She too is a shiny beauty.

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  32. I am in great danger of falling in love with my cats. Always having outdoor barn cats since we have been here, I haven't really gotten attached but this batch has captured my heart to the point of considering letting a couple in the house. God protect me from these foolish thoughts!!!

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    1. Granny Annie: I am in love with my cats. And everyone elses (yours included). And letting them into the house might be the first step to ruin - but I don't regret it at all. Mostly.

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  33. It's always a pleasure to see Jazz and Jewel as they allow you to invade their habitat. :)
    The embroideries and tapestry are gorgeous! I can't imagine the trials of working on black fabric. Very beautiful! Your mother certainly had a flair for needlework, teaching herself lacework like that.

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    1. River Fairchild: Jazz n Jewel remind me often how generous they are in letting me share their domain.
      Working on black fabric was indeed testing. And doesn't have a fraction of the degree of difficulty that lace making claims.

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  34. Love those big spongy panther paws.
    Love your cat pictures.
    Love Jewel curled up in your laundry basket.
    Love your mothers lace creations.
    Love you.
    xx

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    1. My Inner Chick: Those big paws are powerful too. Even when he doesn't have his claws out (rare) I have been bruised when he has thumped me.
      Hugs to you. Always.

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  35. What a lovely theme today, but then I am a cat lover ... Your handwork of blue and black cats is wonderful. I did chuckle/wince at your reply to a commenter that one of your cats peed on it while it was a work in progress. I am currently cleaning/recleaning/re-recleaning a spot on the carpet in one room where one of our cats had an emergency voiding when I forgot to provide a litter box after moving him from another room (some of our cats are kept separate from others). I feel at least a bit of your pain. Or smell it, might be more apt. We have a black cat, too, as well as a white one, a grey one, and a multi-coloured one. It is impossible to escape the house without cat hair of some shade showing up on our clothing, sticky roller notwithstanding. I hope your week is a good one, EC. Hugs.

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    1. jenny_o: Everything in this house (and everything that leaves it) has a patina of fur. Sticky rollers just aren't up to it.
      Jazz resents visitors and defiles the floor when someone de doesn't accept (which is almost everyone) comes to the house. Sigh.
      Hugs back to you. The smaller portion is agitating for another white cat - so I suspect that is in our future too.

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  36. I think you love your cats like I do my dogs :O)

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    1. Author R. Mac Wheeler: I do. And other people's cats and dogs too. There is room for all of them in my heart.

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  37. Those are some nice pictures you've made for your walls!! And very pretty cats. If there wasn't a big size difference, people might mistake them for twins? :)

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    1. mail4rosey: Jazz certainly considers himself king of this jungle. With some justification.

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  38. That embroidered one in blue looks great.

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  39. Love those blue pussy cats! I do miss my black oriental, she was a real beauty. I used to do a lot of needlework before one of the three necessary "p's", patience, perseverance and precision, left me due to the same reasons as yours. My mother-in-law, in her late 80's, took up tatting and made some pretty collars.

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    1. Arija: Patience and perseverance I can still (sometimes) muster. Precison? Not any longer.
      We had a black oriental as well. Her mother was a pure bred Siamese who 'did wrong'. And M'lady graced our home for over twenty years. Another of the cats I still miss.

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  40. Beautiful cats...and your mom's handiwork is gorgeous.

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    1. Donna@Gardens Eye View: The cats tell me that they are more beautiful than any art work.

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  41. I'd like to trade my life with Jewel's LOL. HOpe you hare having a great weekend.

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    1. totallycaroline: I have long said that in my next life I want to be a cat. Preferably one of ours so I can be suitably indulged (which will be difficult).

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  42. So sweet and I love your beautiful artwork.

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    1. DeniseinVA: It is nice to have some of mama's best work to admire.

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  43. I love to see your beautiful ebony babies.
    Jazz is certainly a biiiig boy - an undersized panther pads your halls.
    Jewel is certainly a petite wee girl, she curls into the washing basket wonderfully. There is something delicious about a basket load of clean fluffy towels, Jewel, I get it ;)

    I remember these needlework photos... when I first came to your blog. I recall being stunned by your work, especially that of the big cats heads - jaw dropping gorgeous!

    Talented needlework, and love of fine detail, run strong in your and your mother's blood. These are exquisite.
    I have much respect for people who create such delicate work.
    I tried years ago, and I don't have the knack with a needle - I think my hands are too clumsy, or I'm too impatient :)

    Such lovely hand crafted art in the home - an enduring, heartfelt connection.
    Thank you for showing them :)


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    1. Vicki: I am in awe at your creativity. And know just how much patience (and work) is involved. My needlework days are over I think. I can no longer hold or thread a needle (even with a needle threader). Fun while it lasted.
      I do cherish the lace mama made though. So intricate. And all original too, which my cross-stitches are not.

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  44. A great treat, as usual, EC! Beautiful cats, your lovely work and your mother's lace make a great combination. The lace is exquisite!

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    1. Carol: Thank you. They belong together in my head, and I am glad you could see the connection. A connection? Not at all sure whether a connection or the connection is the phrase I want - so I will leave both up.

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  45. Blimey my comment, which looked like it had posted has not posted itself. Unless it's above and I've just missed it twice! I'm going back to check again actually, hang on....nope, it ain't there guv :/ damn. Well it said Jazz had daemon eyes and Jewel is a lady, and that you are awesomely awesome with your creativity streak, (which you have hidden under a large bushel I might add ) and the lace and needlework by your mum is beautiful, but said it more eloquently and 'betterer' than that. Anyway,nots all true, I hope this one gets through the aether. x

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    1. All Consuming: This comment certainly landed. Thank you. Jazz IS a demon. And Jewel is a lady - but a lady with teeth which I think is the best kind.
      Creative I am not. An appreciator, and a colourer by number. It is original work like yours, and Vicki's and Dana's which deserves the title. And my mama's.

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  46. Beautiful handwork, embroidery and images. I do some cross-stitch and embroidery. I've been slack of late, but am making younger daughter a memory quilt, older one has one I did years ago. Love that bobbin lace, that sort of skill is waning with new generations.

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    1. D.G. Hudson: Bobbin lace will be a forgotten skill soon I think. Which is sad - but I won't/can't pick it up either.
      A memory quilt? A wonderful thing. I loved the one I had. Your girls are very lucky.
      How is your husband doing?

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  47. Those are beautiful - I imagine a lot of work went into them. And your boy is Vasil's twin!

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    1. Riot Kitty: Vasil and Jazz are beautiful boys. And they need to be. Jazz at least is often evil personified. (Catified?).

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  48. Can never get enough of kitties! Especially black kitties! (And, yes, Jazz has very big claws, and he isn't afraid to use them…ehm.)

    And I love your feline-themed embroideries and tapestry! Gorgeous, truly.

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    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): Definitely not afraid to use them, and sharpen them.

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  49. Adorable kitty shots.

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    1. ladyfi: They tell me that they are adorable, so naturally their photos are as well.

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  50. Your and your Mom's works are beautifully detailed, EC.

    Regarding Jewel, it looks like you snuck into my place and took some shots of Mojo. He's another black feline beauty, who was posed in all sorts of funny, awkward looking positions today (and nearly every day).

    Be well, friend.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: Black cats have had a huge spot in my heart all my life. Even evil black cats (which means Jazz). Jewel is usually a charmer. She doesn't like having her photo taken so has asked that Mojo stands in for her next time. Turn and turn about.

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  51. Your two cats are beautiful - I love black cats. The picture of the claws is my favorite for sure!

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  52. Jazz could have a lucrative career as a hand model. :-) And of course Jewel nests in your clean laundry; what self-respecting cat would make her bed in the unwashed stuff??

    You clearly take after your mother in the needlework talent department - what lovely pieces!! I can't imagine teaching myself how to tat lace. And I have little patience (or skill) for doing embroidery, but I sure love how it looks.

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    1. Laloofah: You are right. Jewel is a lady, she wouldn't dream of settling in the dirty laundry.
      Thank you on the handicraft front. Mama's was artistry, and I am still awed at it.

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  53. I envy you your cats. Cats were always my friends; they loved me and I loved them... and then I developed an allergy to them of the 'I can't breathe!' kind. :-(

    Your mother's lace is exquisite!

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    1. Jacquelineand...: I feel for you. Of the ten most common allergens here cat and dog hair are the only ones I am not allergic to. And yes, exquisite is a good description of her lace.

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  54. Our Siamese loved clean laundry and my husband's placemat :) Her two favorite spots. Jazz and Jewel are gorgeous, as is your mother's lace.

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    1. Carol Kilgore: Cats are like that. Their comfort rules. Your requirements? Meh.

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  55. I've been away. So glad I came back for this one. I love the cats, your work, and am thrilled to see your mother's talent. I can see why you treasure her gifts. Thanks for these pictures. I really enjoy the glimpses of your world.

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    1. Myrna R.: Thank you - what a generous thing to say.

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  56. I'm impressed by your tapestry work and your mom's lace is exquisite. And of course, your kitties are exquisite, too. They are beauties. So funny how cats love to sleep on laundry. My late cat Cleo (a beautiful Calico) went through an "acting out" phase for a bit and one morning came in the laundry room, climbed into the laundry basket and peed in it! Right in front of me - I never got to the bottom of that, but she also peed on the sofa cushions before that period was done. :) (Sofa long gone.)

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    1. Lynn: We have had cats who defile the floor, and the laundry as well. The late lamented Medlyn used to march down to the bathroom, drag the towels down and piddle on them if he felt slighted. If he felt we were talking on the phone for too long for example.
      And it was Medlyn who peed on the Smoky Mountains Cat tapestry before I finished it.

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  57. Dear Sue, I'd forgotten about bobbin lace. Several of the older nuns created lovely pieces of it in a room above the carriage house. I don't know what the convent did with these creations, but they were works of art as is the one your mom did. Peace.

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    1. Dee: It is incredible to watch it being made isn't it? Incredible - and to me at least - incomprehensible. I really couldn't understand how it worked.

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    2. Dear EC, I, too, couldn't understand and just stood amazed as the nuns' fingers moved in and out and back and forth. And so fast! Peace.

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    3. Dee: My mother too. Flying fingers. Going much, much faster than my mind could follow.

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  58. Wow, what beautiful embroidery! It makes me want to start again. In fact, that's more than beautiful, it's stunning.

    A student of mine gave me a huuuuuuuuuuge magnifying glass to give my mother, it has a handle that you put on the back of your neck [it's quite comfortable], and it has a lightbulb too.

    Those two cats are quite the king and queen, aren't they? Purrr.

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    1. Guyana-Gyal: Both Jazz n Jewel consider themselves underprivileged. They lie.

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