QI check list

I am owned by a Springer Spaniel/Retriever mix named Cricket.She has long black fur and is a cutie pie. She is going on 16 yrs old and i'm her constant companion when i am not at work. We do the laundry, dishes, cleaning and sewing together. We love to watch movies together or listen to the radio and go for ice cream cones in the summer with the windows open in the car and the sun roof open. The only thing she doesn't like me to do is vaccuum. She also does not like men. Especially in the house. She tolerates female visitors, but lets all the male family members know who is acceptable or not by selectively growling at chosen ones. They know who they are. Cricket favors the couch and her cushion in my room, and let's me know when it's time for bed each nite. she's getting up there in age, and i'll despirately miss her when the time comes for her to pass on.

amy in CNY

We have cats... varying numbers but some are "ours" and some are the neighborhood, or outside cats. (I am allergic, but DH is a softie and they know it.) Most of our cats moved in with us, just wandered in and decided to stay. Cloud is the oldest of our cats. She is a dark tiger cat. Moved in with kittens several years ago. She is somewhat crotchety, but still a love. She is mostly DH's cat and will often sleep on top of him.

Silver is a grey tabby. She supposedly "belongs" to the people across the street but decided she lives here. And has had her last few litters of kittens here. sigh. When we get the money, she will be visiting the vet for copy protection surgery.

Two of her kittens, from the next to last litter are still with us. This was the litter that almost killed Silver, only 4 kittens and one died. The people across the street came and got them, found a home for one of the kittens then mama brought the other two back home. And they have stayed. Scamper is a male tabby, looks very much like his mother. But he lost the end of his tail as a tiny kitten so it just "stops" instead of tapering off. Scurry is his sister, one that we had to feed by eyedropper for a while to get her to grow any. She is a small, elegant dark ticked love. And she prefers me to DH.

Groucho moved in a while back. He is a black and white "tuxedo" cat, with black at the end of his muzzle. I am also his favorite person. He was copy protected about a month ago, because he was beginning to try to "spray" which neither of us will put up with.

The outside cats include Torty, a tortoiseshell who sneaks inside on occasion. Then is afraid to be let out. But she has let me pet her outside some when I feed her. Ghost is a white longhair with a black end of tail. She is sweet and likes to be petted and even held. She also tries to get in some. The "little grey" is in at the moment, I think. She (he??) is a sort of tabby/tortoiseshell mix in coloring.

There are also several others outside that we don't want in. And most of them know better than to try to wander in, most of the time.

Pati, in Phx

Molly Wills wrote:

I have 2 Jack Russell terriers, Maggie and Starr. We also have an 90 pound Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Holly, who is the biggest baby of the lot.

I came into possession of 3 Venetian carnival masks, the kind that are on sticks. Last night, I was standing in the garage showing one to DH and I held it up to my face. Now all three dogs watched me do this, but as soon as the mask went up, Holly went berserk. Scared her to death. She barked at shadows all night long.

Cindy

That's hilarious! Sounds like a clip for "America's Funniest Home Videos".

Dogs can be so funny sometimes. I love it when they get acting goofy and go galloping around the yard with that special run where they bring their hind legs forward so that they are between their front legs. They are always smiling when they do it!

Checking in on the QI counts- I have three big, happy, sassy dogs- The HairyButt Gang.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Hey Molly, The golden girls or G girls live here. Georgia and Ginger are the 3-4 yo golden retriever pooches. They are a lively pair and a great joy to have around. our 2 inside only kitties, Lily a siberian and Maki a very mixed siamese. We have taken to feeding a little stray cat that has become a window friend. He is pretty wild though and won't let anyone near him. It really feels like we live in a zoo sometimes. Maki is really the chief quilt inspector. His hair seems to end up everywhere cause he tests out all the quilts.

Molly Wills wrote:

My little Starr does that the most. She is so unbelievably fast. She wants the other dogs to chase her so bad. Maggie will do it sometimes, but she is of the belief that why run when you can walk, why walk when you can sit, why sit when you can just lay down. Maggie is rather ... portly. Maggie's favorite game is tug of war. She wins. She's 20 solid pounds. Her other favorite game is chase the shadows on the wall from the bedside light.

Holly will chase Starr, but she weighs 80 pounds more than Starr does and she doesn't hesitate to run right over the top of her. I worry.

Holly's favorite thing in the whole world is to sit in a chair and have DH make over her. She'd like to get in his lap and crawl up under his shirt and just live right there. She absolutely adores him. And she has no idea how big she is.

I don't know what we did for entertainment before we had the 3 girls.

Is the Gang doing ok, Les?

Cindy

I currently have my Darius aka old man, big boy or big guy (he's finally down to about 19lbs from 25) - a 10 year old kitty and my Cheetah aka Cheetah cat, cheetah baby or baby cat who is about 9 months. We also have a

Darius is more of a comfort tester than a QI; only involving himself at the very end to make sure the final quilt is good enough for napping. He will occasionally nap in my sewing room will I'm sewing, but that is the extent of his self-appointed QI duties.

Cheetah on the other hand is turning out to be a pretty good QI. She loves to be in my sewing room when I'm in there. If I'm in there most times she is either checking out my projects or napping on something soft. She loves to lay on any fabric, scraps, blocks, finished quilts, doesn't matter. She will also occasionally jump up on my cutting table to check to make sure things are going well (she's not allowed when I'm cutting but can any other time), and will 'help' me with layouts on the floor or bed. She also likes to 'help' me read RCTQ. She doesn't seem to understand that standing in front of my monitor as I read or type or giving mommy lovin' as she tries to read isn't as helpful as she thinks it is.

Both kitties can be seen in my webshots QI album along with our Samson which we had to rehome in Jan.

Bosley specializes in handwork inspection. He's also the primary binding QI, chasing whatever is hanging under the machine. Boots eats pins. Anything that involves pinning has to be done when she's asleep or outside. Frank is totally uninterested. Biskit is involved in every aspect. She also makes sure at least one ear is in every picture I take of the finished product. Yoda is only interested in laying on anything and everything I'm actively working on. He thinks every finished product needs the "mohair look". I spend a fortune on lint rollers.

Sherry

Thanks for starting this thread Molly. I love reading about everyone's QI's and their various quarks and personalities.

Me, too, Kate! Just one QI--Jingles a 10 year old 13lb. poodle who thinks this is his house and we are here for his comfort!!

I guess I should join in here. I've always had cats. I love dogs but lack the patience to train them. When I retired and moved here I had four cats, but now I'm down to one. The others led long, good lives dying at ages 14, 17, and 19. The one who's left, Gray Soufflé, is totally eccentric and suffers from chronic kitty PMS, or something with those symptoms, anyway. She's both the sweetest and the most aggressive cat I've ever had. She definitely is the ruler supreme of anything to do with quilting!!

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

My quilts, crafts, QIs, and more -

Three cats, in order of seniority.

Senior cat - Hodge, aged 11 yrs. says he has retired from work, so no longer inspects.

Mia aged 2 in April - Miss Bossy Boots, and issued her orders which must be obeyed! Very self contained and considers humans rather superfluous apart from when they are performing the aforesaid tasks (opening doors, providing food, etc.

Kiwi, Mia's younger brother by a couple of hours. a fuzzy-wuzzy clown, attired in a very long brownish coat for winter. In the summer he will shrink to about half his present size and be all black (hence his name which Jeanne and Rugby enthusiasts will understand). From day one he appointed himself chief QI and has inspected every quilt thoughly since. He's just a natural. Does not venture into the field of quilt creation - just a critical eye at various stages, but has been known to remove the reel of cotton left on the top spindle of the sewing machine despite the cover being on (it has a cut-out for the handle to stick through.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)

Adding a bit more - I've put pictures of the current Kiwi in the Cats album, together with one of him in August. He did this winter wardrobe Mammoth thing last year too.

DD has his little brother and sister. Jemima does it too, but not Jeremy. Strange.

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)

They are indispensible! We have 3 cats and a dwarf rabbit right now but have had mice and guinea pigs and fish in the past. One cat is very old (18) and diabetic so she doesn't get into too much trouble any more. The middle cat (10) is our 'blonde' cat.....doesn't catch on too quickly to things but can be very loving just the same. The newest addition to the menagerie (

We have 4 QI's and a bird as well.

Number one QI is Leo, the buff tabby, a big boy who must join me when I open up the door to the sewing room. He would like to sit on the sewing table, but since that is is not allowed, he finds another good spot to observe and supervise. My quilting tote bag is a favorite spot. Other kitty is Abby, an 11 year old brown tabby. She sometimes joins us in the sewing room but is very stubborn and set in her ways, so it depends on her mood.

We also have two Golden Retrievers, Tucker, 4 yrs old, and Daisy, a very goofy 2 yr old. They aren't allowed upstairs in the sewing room but when I bring handwork downstairs, are stuck like glue to me to warm my feet while I work. I also need to keep a close eye on Daisy, she would love to get her teeth on a ball of yarn when I am crocheting, or anything else soft she can carry around and moan over.

The bird is a noisy cockatiel who was very friendly at the bird store and has wanted nothing to do with me since I got him home.

Heidi

Heidi, aren't Goldens just the bestest dogs? Taria has two and I have one Golden plus a Golden/Chow cross. Taria mentioned something curious- one or both?- of her Goldens gets a 'hot head' when you stroke it. Missy (my darling Golden- she was 13 when she departed for Rainbow Bridge last month) was the same way and Hoover (another goofy but darling 2 y.o. Golden) only gets slightly warmer on the head. I wonder if he'll get hotter as he gets older? VBG Any way, have you noticed either of your Goldens' heads get warmer as you stroke them over and over? Just a little survey here!

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

We have 4 QI's and a bird as well.

Number one QI is Leo, the buff tabby, a big boy who must join me when I open up the door to the sewing room. He would like to sit on the sewing table, but since that is is not allowed, he finds another good spot to observe and supervise. My quilting tote bag is a favorite spot. Other kitty is Abby, an 11 year old brown tabby. She sometimes joins us in the sewing room but is very stubborn and set in her ways, so it depends on her mood.

We also have two Golden Retrievers, Tucker, 4 yrs old, and Daisy, a very goofy 2 yr old. They aren't allowed upstairs in the sewing room but when I bring handwork downstairs, are stuck like glue to me to warm my feet while I work. I also need to keep a close eye on Daisy, she would love to get her teeth on a ball of yarn when I am crocheting, or anything else soft she can carry around and moan over.

The bird is a noisy cockatiel who was very friendly at the bird store and has wanted nothing to do with me since I got him home.

Heidi

OMG, Leslie!! {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Leslie}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I am so sorry, Leslie!!!

I know mere words are meaningless, Leslie, but I am so sorry!!! FWIW, she's at the Rainbow Bridge, playing with the other puppies and kitties ... waiting to see you again. She's not in pain, she's happy (though missing you) and she's with four-footers who love her and care for her while you're still here.

Again, Leslie, I am so very, very, very sorry!!! :( {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Leslie}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Warm, comforting, quilty hugs, Connie :-)

Our QI state has been influx this last year. My beloved Blackbean (half oriental-half cat) crossed the Rainbow Bridge in May and left a big hole in our house. Later that month DH and I wnet away on business for ONE night, leaving the boys safely with his parents, by the time we got back they had found a stray kitten (about 5 months old) in the woodpile! We took him in and next day took him to the vets to scan for a chip - no chip. 4 weeks later nobody had claimed him so back to the vets for the snip, and Smokey joined us full time. Smokey loves "helping" me pin baste and I have to keep the lid very firmly shut on the tupperware tub of safety pins. I know it is advised not to close the pins until they are all in place, but with Smokey's help I would never finish the job.

Smokey is now top cat in the household as over the Christmas holidays we acquired Rocky & Mally. Rocky is pure black and now about 7 months old. He is very shy having spent too much time in an unscrupulous pet shop before finding his home, via another newsgroup, with us. So far he hasn't shown much interest in the construction of quilts, but he thinks they are great to sleep on.

Mally is ginger and white and she came to us via the same route as Rocky, but is about one month younger. When I am sewing Mally likes to catch the thread as it makes it way from the spool to the tension discs. Mally too enjoys sleeping on quilts, preferably dark ones where all her stray fur will show up.

So we are running at 2 full grown humans, 2 small humans and 3 cats, and as they are all indoor only cats we are currently at full capacity.

Lizzy