Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Foster Kitten Baby

New and temporary addition to our family... what to name her? She has white socks and pink paws and the cutest little white tummy. Weighs 1 pound, all of her fits in my hand. There are 3 more who did not cooperate when I decided they needed to have their photos taken :)

They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription.

I say, 'Can he name a kitten?'

~Samuel Butler

Three Muses. Legs. Kitten Art Quilt.

This is my entry for this week's theme of "legs" at the Three Muses.

For over 8 years now, we have fostered kittens for the Seattle Animal Shelter.  We do not do this all year round, just during kitten season.  I thought I would honor all the four-legged creatures who have passed through our home and blessed us with their presence.

Hand dyed fabric, photo transfer, vintage charms, stitched transparencies, stamping.

It's so much fun to watch the really tiny kittens find their sea legs. Their legs are so tiny that we have to teach them how to use the litter when it is in an old cookie sheet on the floor - they can't handle anything higher. The bottle babies have to practice just walking at first.  And they walk through everything, litter, food, water, it's pretty messy for a while. Pretty soon, though, they figure it out and start tearing around the room we reserve for our fosters, and then it's just crazy fun to watch them slip and slide on the hardwood floors.

Our family came to this choice after losing our 17 year old brown tabby, Alu. She was really my cat - I got her when I was in graduate school. I really did not want another animal, but my children really did want a pet, so we compromised and decided to try fostering, and it has worked out wonderfully well for us. To see one of our foster babies, see this Monday in Seattle post.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Foster Kitten Baby

(one of our foster kittens, named "Baby")

Kittens are angels with whiskers. ~author unknown

Kitten update

I am happy to report that all of our foster kittens have now been adopted. It's one of the great parts of fostering for me, meeting so many good souls who want to love Seattle Animal Shelter's kittens (or as we call them - Mayor Nichols' cats). So many hours spent caring for, playing with, nurturing and adopting out these wee creatures over the last 2 months. Whatever will we do with all the time we have now.... :)

Kittens and pearls and flowers, oh my! part 2...

Time passes, things are the same and yet they change. We are still fostering this litter of kittens, but they have continued to change and grow into even more marvelous kittens...

Pearls continue to be a focus at Bumbershoot Designs, and they are turning into beautiful pieces of jewelry, Marie Antoinette, below, being one example (check out the "vintage pearls" section of the shop)...

And those flower cabochons from 1940's 1950's Japan are turning into all kinds of lovelies. Check it out...

It's a good life around here...

Kittens and pearls and flowers, oh my!

An update on several items...

First, and most importantly, I celebrated 15 years of being a mother on May 13, Emma's 15th birthday. What more can I say?

Second, our kitten foster babies. They are growing like weeds, trying to scale the baby gate blocking them from my office, eating each other's tails, eyes still interesting shades of blue, still completely and totally adorable as only kittens can be! Emma has some GREAT pictures on her blog, the blue sheep knits, here are some links:

Sisters, sisters

Under Pressure, and...

Our one little boy, who is now going by the name Freddie, is so people friendly, he allowed Emma to dress him in a (supposed to be) baby cap she knitted, see his picture here:

The Curse of the Koigu

Third, while I work on preparing my paper arts for prime time, I've introduced to Bumbershoot Designs a new line of jewelry made from vintage faux pearls. Below is a convertible necklace-bracelet, with an optional tie made of vintage French ribbon from - yes it is truly written on the spool- 1943.

Head on over and have a look!

And fourth, flowers. I've just received an order of hand painted, Japanese, acrylic flowers for Bumbershoot Supplies. Vintage 1940's to 1950's. They just don't make 'em like this any more. These will be listed over the coming week, on both Artfire and Etsy, but here's a preview. They are spectacular!

And my current personal favourite, the daisies....

New (temporary) additions to our family

One of the great things about having your own business is that you can juggle tasks as necessary. We foster kittens for Seattle Animal Shelter, and I dashed off this morning, minutes after receiving an email alert, to pick up these 4 munchkins.

They are 3 girls and one boy (the black one is the boy). The two little lynx points have the most brilliant blue eyes. We're working on names for them and will try to get more photos when they have finished sleeping off the excitement of the last 24 hours of their wee lives. Oh, there is nothing like a new little kitten to make for a happy day...