A Quilt Of Cats

Day 311: Yeah, yeah, you're getting tired of quilt pictures, but in case you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a pandemic and I'm not going anywhere. Besides, this merits celebrating. I began cutting the pieces for this Cathedral Window "Kitty Quilt" on July 20, and finished tying it (tacking at the "meets" to secure the top to the backing and batting) just after dinner last night, a mere 30 days from start to finish. It was not the only project on my agenda, either. In between bouts of hand-stitching kitties into their frames, I was also hand-quilting my friend Mousie's heirloom quilt as well as cutting and piecing the hexagons I posted yesterday.

I am no stranger to social isolation. I spent most of my married life at home, doing much the same as I am doing in COVID times, i.e., needlework, reading, gardening, walking, bicycling. I did not "neighbour" or go visiting, and no one expected it of me because I did not drive, an excuse I found quite handy to justify my naturally anti-social attitude. In fact, since my husband worked nights, our paths generally crossed for no more than an hour or two each day, a situation which suited me just fine. He had a television set in his den; I never watched it, preferring the sounds of birds, rain and wind outside our prairie home to the gabble of nonsense the annoying box seemed to emit. The merits of isolation far outweigh its bad points, to my way of thinking. I amuse myself with the hand-work I love doing, and select friends benefit from the results. I keep very little of it for myself, but the Kitty Quilt will be an exception. It's mine, all mine...well, and Tippy's, because he helped.