Cat Baskets

 Since I have been obsessed with making baskets, I have decided to make baskets for cats.  I cover the rope with fabric as I watch T.V. at night. 

 I then take the rope to my sewing machine and start sewing it all together.  Sometimes I have a tester come by to make sure it works.

I made this one for Maggie's cats.  They are large cats and I asked her if they would fit in this basket. She thought they would.  I decided to make it a little taller.

When Maggie took the basket home to them, one cat took it over and wouldn't let the other one near it.  I decided I had better make another one for her other cat. 

What fun would it be for the basket to get smaller as it got taller so the cat could lay down and hide? Well, they would not lay down in it.  

Maggie sends me photos of her cats and how they struggle to fit in the baskets.

I decided to make one giant basket for them.  Below is Binx helping me gauge the size. He is smaller than Maggie's cats. 

This wasn't easy because as it got bigger, it had to rest  on my head while sewing!  

One time when it was on my head, Mike put a plate of crackers with peanut butter on the table.  I didn't know this, set the basket down, and when I picked it back up to continue sewing, I found this.

When the basket arrived at Maggie's, she sent me photos showing me how the cats fit!! They take turns using it too!

Maude folded the side over a little to see what was going on around her.  Kiki did the same thing to hers.  The cats like to customize their baskets!

I am done making baskets for awhile, unless Manzini wants one. He is Jo and Gary's cat that I will be meeting for the first time in a couple of weeks.  If he does want one, I had better get started.  He is a big cat too and takes over the dog bed!

This Past June, Moving Molly Again!!

 Molly bought a house in Cedar Rapids, closer to her work than where she was renting. Buying a house in this market is not an easy thing  She looked at one house that already had an offer by the time she walked out of the house to her car.  She couldn't believe they wanted a very tiny house for such a high price but later found out it was a very desirable neighborhood because of the schools.  She was constantly monitoring the MLS listing her realtor provided as well as the internet sights.  One popped up on an internet site that she liked so she immediately called her realtor to set up a time to see it, that day!  She liked it, made an offer, they counter offered, and she accepted.  This was all done within 3 hours.  Molly knew she had to be fast and she needed to find something before her lease ran out for her rental.

We couldn't quite figure out why this young couple wanted to move out of this new, beautiful house after only two years. They were the first owners of this newly built house. We still are not sure but it worked out for Molly.   Since her lease didn't run out for over a month where she was renting, Molly was able to take small loads of her stuff every day to the new house, after work.  She was also able to do a few things before moving in.  The previous owners had a large, white dog so she cleaned the carpets. She also mowed with her very first ever mower.

She also had to figure out how to close off the basement so her cat Kiki wouldn't chew on all the wires and eat insulation.  The basement is unfinished and Kiki likes to eat everything she isn't supposed to.  An accordion door was the solution although, after move in day Kiki figured out how to open it.  Molly fixed it where she wouldn't be able to.

That day, we had her first meal in her new house!

Move in weekend came so I headed over to Tiffin on Friday night to help her pack the rest of her things.  Of course Kiki had to help.

Saturday morning we picked up the U-haul and Mike came to help.  We loaded up the truck, drove from Tiffin to Cedar Rapids, unloaded the truck, and drove the truck back to Tiffin, actually Coralville, to turn the truck back in.  We did all of this in less than 6 hours. We were exhausted.

Molly is settling in after two months. She is replacing all of the screens with pet screen.

She stenciled her laundry room and put up shelves.

She fixed her leaky shower head with her helper.

Soon she will be thinking about finishing the basement.

Molly is liking Cedar Rapids and is excited to explore the city.  We climbed Mount Trashmore one day and what a view!!  Yes, it really is a mountain made of trash.