Foster Kitten Friday - Milestones

It was a little over six months ago when the Duck Tales Gang - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - had started out with a good week. They were hitting some milestones like moving into the pop ups and getting big enough for supervised play on the couch. But the fun ended when they were found to have ringworm and had to be isolated for the next several weeks. And I learned all about foster home biosecurity. 

It was also the week I was bragging about my Etsy shop taking off with me having sewn (and sold) 800 vaccination card holders. With my sales now approaching 4,000 I am reminded how much things change. And how much they remain the same.

Mr. Hans Solo/Mr. Milestone, what a guy you are becoming. For those who don't know, when he came into Simply Cats just three weeks ago he was cold, dirty, underweight, dehydrated, with low blood sugar and infected eyes. 

Poor Hans Solo 3 weeks ago.
Photo credit: Simply Cats

Two of his siblings were with me, but despite all our efforts – medications, IVs, tube feedings, glucose, and an incubator - they were so sick they didn’t make it. But by some miracle Hans Solo did.

With him being so much smaller than he should have been, the developmental milestones you would expect from a kitten were a bit off. But boy, the boy is making up for it now. This week was an exciting one for the little fella.

He learned the ways of Spiderman and climbed out of the pop up pens. 

He also learned he has one entire room of the tent devoted to a litter box. Let me tell ya, the boy knows how to use it.  (I'll spare you that picture.)

He got his first crack at supervised play on the couch. He learned how to be a mountain goat, climbing up and down the cushions.

He also practiced being a race horse, running back and forth from end to end. He then, of course, had to strut to show us what a beautiful breed he was.

He even found time to be a flamingo. Or maybe an ostrich?

Wait, this isn't sand?!

This is the week he started transitioning from formula to gruel. It's a mixture of jarred baby food, canned cat food, and kitten formula and gets him ready for real cat food. Gruel needs to be introduced slowly so his system has a chance to get used to the new stuff. But it can sometimes be confusing going back and forth between the two.

What? This was straight formula?
Look at the mess you made me make!

And now you're making me messy with gruel?
I'm so confused!

Fine, I'll use my own tongue to clean it up!

Delayed milestones? No need to worry about this dude!

See my beautiful paws? Don't you just want to take me home?
Can't have me yet. But soon, I promise.

Quick and Easy Mitered Binding - Tutorial Tuesday

For today's Tutorial Tuesday we'll be learning a simple technique for mitering corners when sewing and quilting. Sure, you can purchase a mitering tool like this one, but if you prefer the DIY method, here's the way I've been doing it when doing the fold-over binding method.

Note: For this example, 1" of my backing is showing so I'm marking 1" from the corner. If the backing is 2" I would measure 2", if 3" of the backing was showing I would measure 3" from the corner, etc.

•Measure 1” away from each corner and mark. Draw a straight line to connect the marks. Cut on the line.

•Fold the raw edge corner over the corner of the batting and front fabric. Press. 

•Fold one of the sides so the raw edge of the fabric meets the raw edge of the batting and press. 

•Fold the backing over one more time so it becomes the binding on the front. Press.

•Fold the other side in so the raw edge of the fabric meets the raw edge of the batting and press. 

•Fold the backing fabric over one more time on one side and press. Adjust your corner as needed.

That's it. Easy peasy!