Quilted cats...

Years ago, when I was a temporary California girl, I discovered the tiny mission town of San Juan Bautista. My roommate and I were on our way to Monterey, and we never made it there. Instead, we explored the town and its shops.

I made a lot of discoveries that day: that the town was founded in 1869, California's largest Spanish mission, a shop devoted entirely to Limoges china, and the most wonderful shop filled with all sorts of cottage crafts made from vintage and antique materials.

A friend back home had just introduced me to collecting antique quilts, and in this small shop I found examples of what talented people were doing with cutter quilts: those badly damaged quilts that couldn't be used for bedding. The thought of cutting up a quilt to use for crafts made me a bit squeamish, but I still couldn't resist going home with a teddy bear made from a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, a fleece-bottomed goose, and a tiny cat made from a scrap of antique quilt too small to make out the pattern. Louise went home with a table runner made from a quilt.

Over the years I've made more small cats based on this one, drafting a pattern and changing it to suit my own style. The calico cat is made from a leftover bit of fabric from a Gunne Sax dress I made, hand quilted first then cut out and sewn together. It was always one of my favorite dresses, and I love having the reminder of it.

But I've yet to cut up a tattered antique quilt to make something else from it. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough.

My still Sunday...

This is a weekly collection of still life photography, hosted by Kim Klassen (who also gathers together photographs for Texture Tuesday and Friday Finds). It's the first time I've played along with this Instagram-only collection, so I thought for this week, I'd also include my photograph here.

I included more of the gorgeous pink roses that I've been photographing lately, plus a favorite sugar spoon, encrusted with roses. The sheet music belonged to my mother, and the Kodak pocket camera was my dad's. Since he was the one who taught me to love photography, I thought it fitting to included a bit of him here.

Still life photography isn't my strong suit, and that's one reason I'm doing this. I'll learn a lot about composition, and I'll learn a lot about my camera in the process.

You can find the entire collection of My still Sunday photographs on Instagram, under #mystillsundaycompetition.