Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Toby and the TV

Time for a kitty post? I was watching a kids program on PBS this past long weekend, and found a nature show where they built a snowman and watched the animals come to feed in the snow. Here's Toby (who doesn't go outside, and would probably freak out if a fly landed on him) practicing being the great Siamese Hunter. First the cardinals and sparrows caught his eye, eating seed out of the snowman's cap:



Then they showed a hedgehog, there to eat the raisins they'd used for the snowman's eyes, I think. Toby just couldn't stand that little face, paws, and quivering nose on the screen. If it'd been a real hedgehog, he'd have a paw full of prickles:



Finally a herd of deer came to eat the carrots - one nibbled the nose off the snowman, and others ate carrots that were spelling words in the snow.



There were some other cute pix too, esp. the snowshoe rabbit and various other birds flying around, but I thought I'd better limit myself to 3 for the sake of all those quilters who aren't cat people... :) I'd never seen him paying this much attention to TV before. He watched almost the entire hour long show, standing on his hind legs, trying to bat at the things on the screen.


On the quilting front, I'm trying to do some free motion machine fans on the plaid quilt - but my top thread keeps snapping. I think it snags somehow as it goes thru the tension dial. I've tried less tension... and more tension... and even cleaned out the bobbin case thingy, getting more lint than I would have expected from a fairly new machine! Any suggestions? I'm using 100% cotton thread, top and bottom.

21 comments:

Leah Spencer said...

What about your needle? Could there be a burr on it?

I'm not a cat lover, but I was highly amused by the pictures. :)

May Britt said...

This is like seeing my persian cat Frida. She loves to watch tv. Lovely cat you have. Is it a balineese (if this is the right name in english LOL)??

Unknown said...

Many moons ago when I had cats one of them used to sit on top of the tv and try to catch the balls on the snooker or the Formula 1 racing cars whizzing round - brought back lovely memories - thanks

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

I had a heck of a time using metallic thread on my machine this past week. I finally figured out that this particular thread was jamming/snagging inside the machine. Luckily, it was jamming on the very first round tension disk on the top before it entered "into" the tension slots - so I just HELD the thread on the top gently between 2 fingers to give it a bit of guidance and that worked. If I would of had a paperclip with me I would have bent it open and taped it to the back of my machine to guide the thread through to leave my hand free. But still - I was happy to at least find a solution so I could work on my project without the thread snapping every 1/4 - 1/2"!

Cheers!

Evelyn

Melanie said...

Too funny about your cats....

tami said...

You might try a needle with a larger eye. I have been told with finer threads and metallics a topstitching needle might help. I tried it with some metallics and had no problem at all.
I love kitties. They are so funny in an aloof way. They can fall off something and get up and walk away like "I meant to do that". Yours looks like he is having a great time being a big hunter.

quiltpixie said...

one of my cats used to lay on top of the TV and try to catch things on the screen -- it seems to have moved to the computer monitor now and loves trying to catch the mouse as it moves on the screen :-)

Melzie said...

Too cute :) I took some pics last week of my kitten watching "Wonderpets" and then not being a fluke he did it again a few days later! xoxo melzie

Darcie said...

Toby: Now you know what to get him for Christmas!!! That's just too cute...watching Toby...watch TV! Great entertainment.

Tension: Can you *flip* your spool...making the thread come off in the opposite direction that it is now? (Sometimes your thread can get an unwanted twist...and that can cause breakage.) Can you skip that tension disc? Your thread may be dry--some have good luck putting the spool into a plastic bag...closing it up...and refriging or freezing it for awhile. (This has not been successful for me, however...but worth a try.) Hope you find something that works!

Bonnie said...

Looks to me like Toby would like a pet - someone to play with - a bird or fish or another cat?

KC Quilter said...

What a stitch!!!Maybe you should send those photos in to Letterman!!!

Susan said...

I love your cat pictures! That is just the funniest thing!

I don't know much about quilting on a small machine - I hated it is about all I know, and that's why I bought a longarm - which I miss tremendously! And why I send my quilts out to wonderful quilters all around the country. =)

If flipping the spool doesn't help, can you turn it up, if it's sideways, or sideways if it's up? I have both options on my machine and some threads work better one way than the other.

Laurie Ann said...

That is so cute! Like Kittyvision!

Shelina said...

I was going to give you advice on the free motion - mostly to say try a new needle - but looks like you have lots, and should have the quilt done by now. If this stuff doesn't work, maybe your thread is old. You can try putting it in the freezer to get it some moisture.

Ali Honey said...

I hope by now someone else's advice might be working for you. Let us know how it goes.
If the cat doesn't go outside that is good exercise for it, stretching....cat aerobics.

Granny said...

That is hilarious! I believe he liked that show!

You might try some poly/cotton thread just to see what happens. Maxi-Lock is available at chain stores and is a bit stronger and thinner than most cotton thread. Do you know the weight of the cotton thread you're using?

As far as a snag, if the thread doesn't snap when you're sewing, it shouldn't snap when you're quilting.

Did you try loosening the bobbin tension? If the top is snapping, I would guess that the top thread needs less tension. Try slowing down too. Let us know what happens, ok?

Judy L.

Lily Mulholland said...

Love the pussyTV pictures. Very cute.

Are you using the same weight thread top and bottom? My quilting teacher said she had probs with her machine so she always uses quilting thread on top and regular cotton thread in the bobbin. Says it works a treat...

Joanne said...

I love how your plaid quilt came out -- I like using plaids and not worrying about whether they are "straight" (the plaid, not the fabric!).
I like reading about your cats and seeing the pictures, too. We don't have cats because my DD is allergic, but I "used" to have a cat (well, she deemed it okay to live at my house!).

Tracey said...

Too cute! I wish Sadie would pay more attention to tv. That would make it worth sitting in the living room while the blasted box is on! :o)

Finn said...

Hi Jane, what an adorable post! He sure does like THAT program...really interesting what might have prompted his attention.
Don't know what might be causing the snapping, but the lint seems to be a bigger and bigger problem these days. I'm guessing from from all three sources..the fabric, the thread and probably the batt. I'm quite amazed when I change bobbins, at the amount that is in the case and as well as the bobbin housing.

Tazzie said...

Ohhh, that's so cute ... kitty's thinking something tasty is on the TV!
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)

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