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July 5, 2026
Pitty Party from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Hopefully, nobody lost any fingers in yesterday's Fourth of July festivities. True story:  My brother once tried to put out a Roman candle by sticking it into the sand. Just one problem: He had the burning end in his hand and stuck the unlit end in the sand. Meanwhile, the thing shot a fireball right into the palm of his hand. It was a serious injury that had his hand out of commission for quite some time. So...hopefully, none of you did anything like that yesterday. 

We had a quiet day. No plans, and ...

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Pitty Party from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Hopefully, nobody lost any fingers in yesterday's Fourth of July festivities. True story:  My brother once tried to put out a Roman candle by sticking it into the sand. Just one problem: He had the burning end in his hand and stuck the unlit end in the sand. Meanwhile, the thing shot a fireball right into the palm of his hand. It was a serious injury that had his hand out of commission for quite some time. So...hopefully, none of you did anything like that yesterday. 

We had a quiet day. No plans, and ...

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July 4, 2026
halfway through… from Count it *all* JOY!

How is it July already?!
But here it is, four days in, celebrating Independence Day, here in the good ol’ USA! Weather permitting, we (as in me and the Merkel crew) plan on taking the boat out for an afternoon of swimming and an evening of fireworks on the lake. Boom!

I’ve done some fun things this year. After signing on to be the 2nd VP of Programs for my guild, I decided it wasn’t as bad as I’d worried it would be. In fact, I really enjoyed getting speakers, managing programs, and writing blurbs for the ...

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Cherry Pickers from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. And so it begins. The cherries are ready to become pie filling or else cherries in simple syrup. We'll start with pie filling today. Here's how we harvest cherries at the Three Cats Ranch. 


My job was to sit in the tractor seat and raise the bucket up and down. It can also be tipped up and down, giving Mike a level and flat surface on which to stand. It’s safer than using a ladder by a long shot.


After I while I hopped off the tractor and picked whatever I could reach ...

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Cherry Pickers from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. And so it begins. The cherries are ready to become pie filling or else cherries in simple syrup. We'll start with pie filling today. Here's how we harvest cherries at the Three Cats Ranch. 


My job was to sit in the tractor seat and raise the bucket up and down. It can also be tipped up and down, giving Mike a level and flat surface on which to stand. It’s safer than using a ladder by a long shot.


After I while I hopped off the tractor and picked whatever I could reach ...

read more
July 2, 2026
Halloween and Cats free patterns from Pieced Brain

Halloween and Cats free patterns

Download these Halloween and Cats free patterns now, get the fabrics, and make two beautiful quilts for your home!

Meow Neighborhood Quilt – click here to download the pattern

By now, you must have all your summer quilts done, so here are two projects for Halloween. I designed them for the whimsical collection Cat House by Mayo Moreno for Henry Glass Fabrics. Toadstools galore!

The first one is Meow Neighborhood. It measures 52″ x 60″ and features a super-cute panel surrounded by my favorite prints from the collection. Bugs, brooms, candy corn, funny pumpkins, and leaves – all depicted with gorgeous colors ...

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Heartbreak Cake from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a mixed bag of a day. Some things went as expected, and others...not so much. It was time to fill the bird feeders. In summer, that seems to be my most important job. While I was out, I marveled at the flowers on the purple hydrangea.


When I've been outside the past couple of days, I've noted with alarm a few cherry pits lying on the ground. After seeing a crow fly off with one a few days ago, I suspect crows are the culprits. It doesn't matter, though. I ...

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Heartbreak Cake from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a mixed bag of a day. Some things went as expected, and others...not so much. It was time to fill the bird feeders. In summer, that seems to be my most important job. While I was out, I marveled at the flowers on the purple hydrangea.


When I've been outside the past couple of days, I've noted with alarm a few cherry pits lying on the ground. After seeing a crow fly off with one a few days ago, I suspect crows are the culprits. It doesn't matter, though. I ...

read more
July 1, 2026
Overcoming Inertia from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. My day was a little mixed up yesterday. There was a pedicure scheduled around lunch time, and so the hours I could work with came both before and after. The garden got a good hoeing, and there was some time after that to work on my quilting. I quilted two more blocks on Ruth's Legacy, and then finished the third after I got home.


It’s going pretty well, and I’m happy with that filler motif I’m using. Here’s a little peek at the back.


Now, I’ve turned the quilt upside-down ...

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Overcoming Inertia from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. My day was a little mixed up yesterday. There was a pedicure scheduled around lunch time, and so the hours I could work with came both before and after. The garden got a good hoeing, and there was some time after that to work on my quilting. I quilted two more blocks on Ruth's Legacy, and then finished the third after I got home.


It’s going pretty well, and I’m happy with that filler motif I’m using. Here’s a little peek at the back.


Now, I’ve turned the quilt upside-down ...

read more
June 30, 2026
A Little Sewing from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a rather unproductive day yesterday. A lot of my morning was spent sitting on the couch. My treadmill and Bow-flex workouts have been completely abandoned over the past month. I tried unsuccessfully to talk myself into a Bow-flex workout yesterday morning. Even when I speak sternly to myself, it’s hard to overcome my level of stubbornness. After more than 50 years of cat ownership, it’s completely understandable that I would adopt their attitudes in my daily life. 

Instead, the bird feeders needed filling, and I wanted to check on the vegetable garden ...

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A Little Sewing from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was a rather unproductive day yesterday. A lot of my morning was spent sitting on the couch. My treadmill and Bow-flex workouts have been completely abandoned over the past month. I tried unsuccessfully to talk myself into a Bow-flex workout yesterday morning. Even when I speak sternly to myself, it’s hard to overcome my level of stubbornness. After more than 50 years of cat ownership, it’s completely understandable that I would adopt their attitudes in my daily life. 

Instead, the bird feeders needed filling, and I wanted to check on the vegetable garden ...

read more
June 28, 2026
Big Finish, Little Finish from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was an all slow-stitching day yesterday, and I was able to finish off two quilts. Yay me! Before any sewing could be done, though, I wanted to do some things outside. Thunder and lightning were in our forecast, and so there was no time to waste. The lightning never materialized, as far as I could tell. Later in the afternoon, we had one big thunder clap, and that was all. It rained off and on, but really, nothing to write home about weather-wise. (You'll note that I am writing about it, however.)

Outside, I ...

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Big Finish, Little Finish from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It was an all slow-stitching day yesterday, and I was able to finish off two quilts. Yay me! Before any sewing could be done, though, I wanted to do some things outside. Thunder and lightning were in our forecast, and so there was no time to waste. The lightning never materialized, as far as I could tell. Later in the afternoon, we had one big thunder clap, and that was all. It rained off and on, but really, nothing to write home about weather-wise. (You'll note that I am writing about it, however.)

Outside, I ...

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June 27, 2026
Slow Stitching Ahead from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It turned into a pretty good day yesterday. We were expecting quite a bit of rain. It was gray and cloudy when we left home, but dry. We had our breakfast, ran our errands, did our grocery shopping, and had it all put away before noon. And then, it turned into a pretty nice afternoon with sunshine for most of the day. Today we're expecting more rain. If the forecast is to be believed, we'll have thunder and lightning by this afternoon. We're keeping our fingers crossed we won't lose power. A ...

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Slow Stitching Ahead from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. It turned into a pretty good day yesterday. We were expecting quite a bit of rain. It was gray and cloudy when we left home, but dry. We had our breakfast, ran our errands, did our grocery shopping, and had it all put away before noon. And then, it turned into a pretty nice afternoon with sunshine for most of the day. Today we're expecting more rain. If the forecast is to be believed, we'll have thunder and lightning by this afternoon. We're keeping our fingers crossed we won't lose power. A ...

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June 26, 2026
Picking Up the Pace from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Its been nice to indulge in the peace of some slow days over the past week. With Mike’s cataract surgeries, and my asthma attack of the previous week, it was good to have a breather. (Pun totally intended.) Yesterday morning, I started on a new embroidery piece. This is Block 8 of 9 for the Le Jardin project. Not much color so far, but it’s coming.


From there, I took a short break and filled the bird feeders. Then I returned to the same chair as before and went to work on my quilt ...

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Picking Up the Pace from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. Its been nice to indulge in the peace of some slow days over the past week. With Mike’s cataract surgeries, and my asthma attack of the previous week, it was good to have a breather. (Pun totally intended.) Yesterday morning, I started on a new embroidery piece. This is Block 8 of 9 for the Le Jardin project. Not much color so far, but it’s coming.


From there, I took a short break and filled the bird feeders. Then I returned to the same chair as before and went to work on my quilt ...

read more
June 25, 2026
Slow Ahead from ... Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. The past several days have been luxuriously slow. Somehow I ended up without a single to-do on my calendar unless I put it there voluntarily. I've added a few things, but mainly, things I've wanted to do anyway. Today will be such a day. Tomorrow will be a little busier. Still, with several days of leisure, I feel ready to pick up the pace again.

We had another pretty sunrise this morning. 

It's been hot the past couple of days, and we've been running our A/C during the day. It's ...

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Slow Ahead from Cat Patches

Good morning, my friends. The past several days have been luxuriously slow. Somehow I ended up without a single to-do on my calendar unless I put it there voluntarily. I've added a few things, but mainly, things I've wanted to do anyway. Today will be such a day. Tomorrow will be a little busier. Still, with several days of leisure, I feel ready to pick up the pace again.

We had another pretty sunrise this morning. 

It's been hot the past couple of days, and we've been running our A/C during the day. It's ...

read more