A Warning for All Seamstresses with Cats

If you have read the blog for a while, you may already know that I am a huge animal lover and rescue advocate. I have 5 rescue kitties and 2 rescue dogs. I love all of my animals and do everything I can to keep them safe and healthy. When we came back from the beach Sunday, our Russian Blue cat, Posey, was throwing up all over the place. It kept going on all Sunday evening. We called our vet on Monday and the doctor was out until Tuesday, but they got us down for a morning appointment Tuesday. Posey continued to throw up Monday night. When we got to the vet Tuesday morning, we got news that surprised and terrified us. Wrapped around the base of Posey's tongue was thread. The vet told us this is a life threatening condition for cats. Because of the motion of their tongues and the propulsion action of the intestines, basically the thread was being sucked and tightened throughout her digestive system and essentially having a sawing motion the whole way. This can slice into the walls of the intestines. Also, as the intestines pull, the thread tightens causing the intestines to accordion in on themselves and cutting off blood flow which causes the intestinal tissue to die. Posey was taken back for emergency surgery. We were told to prepare for the fact that her intestines may have been too damaged and she may not make it through. We were horrified, especially me since it was MY thread and MY sewing room. We got a call several hours later that Posey did indeed survive the surgery, thankfully. However, the thread went from the base of her tongue all the way until right before her anus. She required seven intestinal incisions to remove all of the thread. Fortunately, at the post-op recheck this morning, she was looking good. She had a normal temperature, the sutures looked good, and her gum color was good. She was alert and bright. However, we are now looking at a week to ten days of recovery, a huge abdominal incision, a week of antibiotics and pain pills and a modified diet. Not to mention, this was a very expensive surgery. I just wanted to share this with any of you who sew around cats.

This may be a commonly seen type of picture - this can also be deadly for your cat. The vet told me of another cat who came in who had ingested approximately 50 ft of ribbon. That cat didn't make it. Fortunately, my Posey is home and healing tonight. Please share this with anyone you know who sews with cats around them.

This is Posey in a picture before her surgery. And the following are pictures from yesterday.

  

And this is a picture of the thread that came from her intestines.

I pray this advice spares someone out there from going through this with their purry babies. 

Cape San BlasT!

We snuck off for a long (needed) weekend at the beach. We go to a very small, nothing to do there beach where it is all about families, dogs on the beach, smores and campfires on the beach after dark. It isn't crowded. We set up our tent when we get there and leave our chairs and floaties there all week. This beach is Cape San Blas, Florida. It is about an hour east of Panama City Beach or about 45 minutes west of Apalachicola. You don't go there looking for excitement, because all that's there is beach, one restaurant and two gas stations/general stores. I love it. I needed nothing to do. It was wonderful.

How beautiful is this? Emerald waters, sugar white sands - *sigh* I wish I could live there.

While we were there, we photographed something I had been afraid to try as a seamstress. What? As much as I sew I still having sewing Boogeymen? Yep. The swimsuit. So, I decided to try a pattern designer that I have really loved sewing up - Cole's Creations. I used the Bow-a-licious Swimsuit which goes from a size 1/2 to a girls 16. I sewed the 12/14 size. This is the adorable picture from the pattern

It is a modest one piece design that is fun and functional. It has amazing bum coverage, too! We took it out in the Gulf of Mexico so you could really see how it holds up in real action. I have to say, it fit perfectly - no gapping, sagging or pulling and yet she was able to body board and swim around with no problems. I did the full frontal lining option as well for modesty. Check it out!

And what bathing suit photo shoot is complete without the Bo Derek beach running picture?? :)

It held up to sand, surf, multiple washings and it was made like a tank. Amazing pattern, great directions - for my first swimsuit out the gate - I give it a hearty thumbs up AND I would make it again! So, if you have any swimtime left in your summer (we go back to school two weeks from tomorrow *cries*), grab this pattern and an afternoon and you will be able to knock this out. Hancock Fabrics had a great selection of swimsuit fabric if you aren't interested in having to order online. But there are several great online swimsuit fabric suppliers as well.

Hope you are enjoying these last days of summer!!

An update on my mom: They had a meeting about her today and feel like she may get discharged to home to continue therapy on an outpatient basis in about a week! We are crossing our fingers!  She is walking great with a walker and has started taking small independent steps. Her trach tube is out and she is looking great. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

I wanna dance with somebody...

I have really enjoyed getting back on my sewing horse. Sewing is definitely a therapy for me. Today, I want to introduce you to an amazing cute pattern I just tested for Cole's Creations - the Swag Dance Pants. This knit harem style pant is a quick sew with an elastic cased waistband and elastic cased ankles. Once I started testing these, I noticed this same style of pant at Justice (shopjustice.com)

The size range on this is a 1/2-16 - which will keep you in these for a long time. They are also unisex. This is the picture from the pattern 

You can find the pattern here http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/clothing/swag-dance-pants/104650 . Here is my size 14 version of Cole's Creation Swag Dance Pants.

This sews up SO fast. You can use them for fashion, dance, cheerleading, or even comfy pj bottoms. 

For those of you following the story with my mom: She is doing great in rehab and they all seem positive that she will be coming home in just a few weeks. We actually are in Florida right now for a quick getaway. It has been great having a change of pace, adrenaline and scenery. I have a great swim suit I whipped up before we left that I will be getting pics of down here and will feature next week when I get home. 

A Summer in Tobago

With my current schedule, sewing has definitely taken a back burner, but when I got offered the chance to test an amazing pattern for an amazing pattern maker, how could I say no? Sis Boom makes some of the best written, best fitting patterns on the PDF market today. With so many instructions for a personalized fit and instructions written so that even beginning seamstresses can make amazing garments, how can you go wrong? I tested the new pattern, the Tobago top or dress. With my limited time, I made the top version. Here is the pattern picture 

The pattern sizing on this is amazing - 3/6 m - 13/14. I tested the 13/14. What is awesome about this pattern is that it fit a wide range of body types. It was flattering on the tall and narrows and on the curvier gals like my tween miss. The Tobago top and dress is currently on sale for $5.00 in Sis Boom's Etsy shop, which with a size range like that is a must buy in my book. You can get it here https://www.etsy.com/listing/196321536/sis-boom-tobago-tank-girls-top-or-dress?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=sis+boom+tobago&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery. And if you just love it and wish YOU could wear it, well let me introduce you to Tortola, Tobago's big sister. Right now, you can only get this through the Road Trip Pattern Club which gives you an adult pattern a month for five months from some amazing designers. Look at Jenny from http://sewprettydresses.blogspot.com/ and her version. She looks just lovely. 

I haven't had a chance to make one up for me yet, but when life settles down some, it is definitely on my selfish sewing list. You can join the Road Trip Pattern Club here and get all of the patterns that have been released and everything else coming out.

Here is our 13/14 tween version of the Tobago top.

Again, for a limited time, this pattern is only $5! Grab it while its hot!https://www.etsy.com/listing/196321536/sis-boom-tobago-tank-girls-top-or-dress?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=sis+boom+tobago&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery.

An update on my mom:

My mom moved to rehab Friday afternoon. She had been doing really well but had a really bad afternoon/evening yesterday. It is so very hard to go through this. Please keep her in your prayers.

4th of July Tween Sewing Pattern Round Up and an Update

Wow - it has been a long time since I blogged. I barely remember how. For the most part, I feel like I am caught in that Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day' where you basically live the same day over and over again. If you are new or don't remember, my mother went to the hospital on Mother's Day - 8 weeks ago. She was admitted into ICU in full septic shock and given a very small chance to live. After 2 weeks in ICU, she was transferred to a Long Term Acute Care hospital. She has now been there for 6 weeks. They took her off of the ventilator this past Monday and had her breathing on a t-piece. Yesterday, they capped her tracheotomy tube and for the first time in 8 weeks, I heard my mother speak. She still has a long way to go. However, if she can stay capped and breathing on her own, her next stop will be a physical rehab facility. This has been a terrible, long road and I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Through this, I have had some amazing people in my life to support me and my family. However, with faith, love and support, my family will endure this and we are continually prayerful that my mom will make her way back home again.

Through this, I haven't been able to sew very much. In the beginning, when she was in ICU, we pretty much lived at the hospital. Now, we go twice a day for a couple of hours at a time. It is weird because I went to sewing pretty much EVERY day to hardly sewing at all. I did, however, make some time to sew up some outfits for the 4th of July and I would love to give you pattern reviews on them. So, here we go!

Our first item is the Boo Designs Skater Skirt. I think this is an amazing pattern. If I had this pattern during the school year, you would have seen a ton of these. You can cut and sew this in less than an hour if you use the elastic waist option. This is the pattern picture of the elastic waist version.

The pattern actually comes with several options, including some super cute suspenders. Here is our 4th of July version.

You can find the Boo Designs Design Your Own Skater Skirt here https://www.etsy.com/listing/185379804/pattern-design-your-own-skater-skirt-pdf?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_query=boo+skirt+pattern&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_view_type=gallery. The size range is 2-14. The shirt and arm warmers are from Justice.

Our next stop on the Patriotic Parade is the Little Lizard King Blue Ribbon Dress. The size range on this is 12 mo - girls 14. It is a super cute pairing of a knit bodice with woven skirt. Here is the pattern picture.

and here is our Patriotic interpretation

You can find this pattern here https://www.etsy.com/listing/185384149/knit-woven-dress-pattern-girls-dress?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Our next stop is in Hailey Bugs Closet for a fun 4th knit upcycle using the Perfect Puzzle Set Dress. The size range for this pattern is 12m-girls sz 12. Here is the pattern picture

And here is our upcycled 4th of July version

You can find this fun to mix and match pattern here https://www.etsy.com/listing/187283806/the-perfect-puzzle-set-pdf-pattern-knit?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=perfect+puzzle+dress&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

Our final stop was a super cute, super easy sew from Cole's Creations. It is the Katy Panda Knit Dress. Since this was my first time sewing this one up, I just used two basic fabrics and I just love the fit. It also comes with the option to make panda, kitty and several other "faces" on the dress. The size range is pretty impressive too 1/2- girls 16. Here is the pattern picture

And here is our "Fireworks" version

Super fast sew that was super cute. I have been having to take the kids to stay at my husband's work in the mornings while my dad and I visit my mom at the hospital and she got several compliments on this one. There are several piles on my knit stack designated to make more of these with. You can find this fast and cute sew here https://www.etsy.com/listing/193576830/katy-panda-knit-dress-pdf-sewing-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_6

I hope you have enjoyed our patriotic tour of tween patterns and thank you for coming by. And I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive as we go through this journey with my mom. 

Hopefully, I will be seeing more of you!