bye, bye, 2019. hello 2020

i will not miss you in the saddest fashion (unlike li'l sebastian, that is)
2019 was exhausting, emotion, and all around rough.
i know i briefly mentioned it in the TMNT baby quilt post that our grandma passed away in late september and the whole year leading up just made it one long blur.  she fell in march, and her health declined the rest of the year which made it feel like it was a never ending.
know that once she passed on, we all as an extended family felt a sense of peace and relief as she has been ready to go for years now, especially with granddad and aunt donna passing the year prior.
the day before grandma passed, my mom texted me saying elroy wasn't doing well, and he very well might be going to the vet and not coming home the next day.
the day after grandma's passing, elroy crossed the rainbow bridge after almost 15 years of grumping around.
earlier on in the year, we also lost 2 of his brothers from both litters prior, Murphy and Rufus.
Velcro still is with us, but also giving us some scares recently that are truly showing his age as well.
safe to say, blogging really fell to the wayside with all these losses.  well, crafting and sewing in general really fell off the radar for the most part as well.
i felt like i was starting to sew when i had to, and not when i wanted to.
my maker monday sewing group was dissolved and then ultimately cancelled, so there went that outside sewing group.  i have a new roommate who doesn't sew, so now we're just back to pre-maker monday sewing talk with lisa via text and marco polo.
BUT
here's to trying to make that change.
turn those HAVE to craft back in to WANT to crafts
an acquaintance from high school started a local crafting group on facebook with hopes to get together and craft and chat.
i stumbled across a posting on nextdoor about a monthly crafting get together group (which is surprising, because most of my notifications are about found cats)
i joined another facebook group about a yearly UFO sew along to get work in progresses finished.  this month is a christmas quilt that i purchased the pattern and stuff for probably 2 years ago now and have tried to convince myself to do.
craftster.org is gone, but it is now lettucecraft.com which has helped revitalize my sharing online as well.  hopefully that will kick blogging in to gear.
2019 had about a third of the blog posts that years prior did... so it is time to make that change!
i've got about 8 posts of projects currently that are photographed and needing to be blogged, so buckle up!  things will soon be coming your way.
here's to 2020.
fresh start.
new adventures (quiltcon in februrary!)

the official pudge catvent post

here it is, friends...
the moment you've all been waiting for.
in reality, it's more than likely primarily the moment i've been waiting for, because it means that this beast is DONE.  alas.  no more wip photos here, there and everywhere in between.  but that's all groovy.  because....
taa-daa!
100 pudge cats, all buddy buddy like on a quilt just for me.
only took about 5 months in to the new year to get it done, but better late than never, right?  i have to say, despite the one crooked side that really doesn't show in these pictures (yep.  i'll state flaws in my quilts.  adds in some uniqueness to each one), i am very pleased with this quilt.  everything came together rather well, and the pink noses are probably my favorite part.  but i'm also a little biased to my pink nose grump cat.
this one here is the most elroy-esque in layout and such, and i still have YET to test out the glowing bits all over this quilt. should have done it right after i took all these pictures. oops.
so since the back is one solid piece, i decided to forgo the entire photo of it, and show off more kitties!  the thread is variegated black, white and gray, which blended in well with the front and back without being too "in your face" in contrast to the kitties.  this was round 2 with my walking foot, and it went a million times better.  though, i opted for chalk lining everything instead of using the guide, so that will take some practice.
i love this little yarn ball looking gray.  when i saw it initially, i bought yards and yards of it for this quilt.  good thing i did at the time, because when i was it the store last weekend, i saw none of it at all!
i attempted to lint roll this quilt, but there was no use. it took one layer off, but then i think it attracted even more as it hung there. my kitties became more realistic. look at that fur texture! amazing!
i'll wrap things up with this almost calm looking elroy.
you'd think he'd be a little bit happy that he has a gang of 100 friends now.
whatever elroy.  i'll just keep loving you, and you'll just keep being grumpy about it.
punk.
to the rest of you, happy friday!

day 27:30 - 30 day challenge

day 27: pets
well, here is just one of the clan at the house. my ever so snuggly (haha not) mr. grumpy gills elroy.
i know, he looks so relaxed and chill in this picture... you'd think that i had drugged him up or something.  nope.  not at all.
i've had elroy since 2004.  born at the end of october, he was my "garage christmas present" for the year.  (garage christmas present = the big present of the year.  in other years, i've gotten my holga camera & backpack, current computer desk, and savion glover tickets)  his three other siblings went to homes for christmas eve gifts, and apparently he was supposed to go to someone, but i guess they changed their mind and never came.  oh well.  lucky me to get the grumpy one!  i'm not sure why i chose the name of the character from the jetson's for him...  but it is what it is.  if i ever get him a kitty friend, it might just be necessary to name it "astro" just to keep with the theme :)
in recent months, he's become pretty mellow.  well, still hissing and growling at me, but he makes more appearances out to the living room during the daytime, sitting on my mom's lap when i come home from work or bryan's, and flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water.  trap him in the bathroom, and he's even been known to purr and act all cutesy.  very strange.
yes, he's known as the resident devil cat, and i've already been informed that the day i move out, my parents are gladly paying the pet deposit to take him with me.  it will be interesting to see if he remains an under the bed monster when it's just me that he has to deal with, or if he will change his ways.  i guess we'll find out in a matter of time.
other cats in this house: buzz, murphy, velcro & mushu.  outside cat: rufus & buster
fun cat fact: murphy, velcro, elroy & rufus all came from the same mommy cat who used to hang around.  we called her bootsie.  pretty sure elroy & rufus were from the same daddy cat.  we called him daddy cat.  creative, i know.

introductions

have you met my cat? no? well today is your lucky day.
the "orange cat" is not the only one roaming the house here (and oddly enough hasn't been shown in any photos) but there are 5. 5 cats of varying chubby-ness, and this one here is mine. the fact of him being "mine" should actually be hypothetical, because i'm sure the last time he liked me was in 2004, when i got him as a christmas gift. ready? let's meet elroy.aww... so cute, right?sure, he appears as he is hissing... but i'm sure it's because he is just saying "HIIIIIIIIIIII"alright. so truth is, the "soft kitty" song was not written about elroy, thats's for sure. i'm sure he hates me even more today for making him go outside... his under the chair bat cave is so not photo worthy. but there you have it. my "el diablo" panda cat in all his grumpy glory. and i was so pleased to find this sketch of the two of us on my pinterest account. yes, it has currently become my facebook cover photo for the time being ;)