Patti Mahoney

Learning how to quilt has been a life saver for me. I'm so blessed to have the people in my life that I've met, during this past year, all, through one aspect or another of quilting or another. I had wantedto learn how to quilt but in the past, when my son was younger, we were always running out to a boy scout meeting or assisting with my son's lacrosse teams or coaching little league, he was on a bowling league for several years, it was one thing after another.

Now, since my son is older, he's 27 now, I lost alot of the activities I used to do as I followed him from activity to activity. I started quilting just last year when I took an Applique class with Mimi Dietrich. I had always wanted to learn how to quilt but I just didn't have the time to stay at home to sit, for any length of time, in front of a sewing machine. My son was into soooo many activities as a youngster, we volunteered, I have a full time job, etc etc etc.

Now, at this time in my life, I find that I've slowed down a lot as far as outside activites. My son is 27 years old and has a life of his own now, no more boyscouts, no more little league, no more lacrosse, etc. I'm a stay at home kinda gal, I'm not a party gal at all. I go to friends homes socially for an occasional party or football get together, "Go Ravens", lol, but other than that, I don't go out very often. I used to crochet alot and do cross stitch which I love because they were pretty portable crafts that I could take along with me but I was getting bored with the same old stitches and the same old patterns, I love to make doilies.

So, I decided to finally take a quilting class. I searched the internet and found a Baltimore Album Quilt that I immediately fell in love with. I called a quilt shop and found a class that was being taught by Mimi Dietrich. I didn't know Mimi at the time but I had seen her mentioned quite often on the Applique sites I visited so I signed up for the class. That was June/July 2011.

Now, to fast forward a few months. In October 2011 I had my annual mammogram, received a letter in the mail saying it needed to be repeated due to a suspicious area on the left. To make a long story short, I've had biopsies on both breasts, MRI's, numerous mammograms, Xrays, blood word drawn, bone scans, guide wires placed before my surgery, Radioactive 'stuff' injected in my left breast before surgery on Dec 21st for a diagnosis of DCIS which is the very early stages of breast cancer. It all sounds horrible and some of it is but everytime I start to feel down or when I start to feel that life is hopeless, the mind plays a terrible trick on you when your diagnosed with a serious disease, I would turn to my quilting projects. I've found that I can relax, I enjoy working on my quilting projects and it takes my mind off of any horrible things that happened during the day. Not only was I diagnosed with cancer but 2 months before my cancer diagnosis I found out my husband was cheating on me and we were in the middle of separating and will divorce at some point later on, after my cancer is treated and I'm cancer free, which is my treatment plan right now. The separation/divorce has been put on hold, I have to make me well before I can deal with any of that ridiculous stuff.

Now, here comes the part about Ms. Kitty. We had two large dogs, Brutus a choco lab and Buster a lab-shepherd mix. We lost Brutus 3 years ago to cancer and Buster just last spring to old age. I didn't want another pet because I didn't want to be responsible for taking care of a pet. I want to be able to go when I want to and come back when I want to without having any responsibilities at home, especially since I'm headed to divorce court in the future. I'm a free woman, lol...Well, that was until two nights ago. I was walking home from my friends home, one block away, I use my back entrance alot, easier access and no steps, and as I started down the alley to home there was a cat sitting in the middle of the alley just fussing so loudly. I said to her, "Awww, poor little kitty, who let you outside? Who do you belong to?" It was about 35 degrees outside and I'm sure she was asking someone to take her in. Well, as I walked past her she started following me. I opened my gate to enter the yard and she came in the yard, I walked onto my porch, well, here come Ms. Kitty, I opened my back door and here comes Ms. Kitty. I've never had a cat and didn't know what to do with her and I didn't have the heart to make her go back outside because it was soooo cold. I checked with my neighbor to make sure it wasn't one of her cats and no, Ms. Kitty didn't belong to her. I waited outside for almost a half an hour to see if one of my neighbors would come looking for her, nope, no one did. My next door neighbor offered me the use of a litter pan so off to the Farm Store, a convenience store in Maryland like a Seven 11 store, to purchase kitty litter and cat food. By this time it was almost midnight, lol...

I had given her a can of tuna and some fresh water when she first came in. This happened late late Tuesday night and Ms. Kitty is still here, I can't find out who she belongs to. So, now I may be a cat owner if no one claims her. I called my local SPCA and put up signs.

Now, here's my point. For some reason, I believe I was meant to take a quilting class last year. My quilting projects have helped me when I am depressed over life and all the other stuff I've had to tolerate lately. Was it meant for me to just happened to be walking home through the alley just when Ms. Kitty needed a warm place to stay??? elieve God doesn't give us what we want but He gives us what we need. I have met so many wonderful people through my quilting class, I am still friends with a few of them, I got to meet Mimi Dietrich who is a fabulous lady, and now I have Ms. Kitty. What a blessing to have quilting and Ms. Kitty in my life.

It's only been a little over 24 hours since she, Ms. Kitty, invited herself into my house but she has been an absolute joy to have around. I've never had a cat before but she is so lovable. She crawled up on my lap and fell asleep almost as soon as she came into the house, she purrs all the time so I think she's happy here. She's the sweetest little cat that I've ever seen. I know I have to give her back if someone comes to claim her.

As terrible as things sound right now, I believe I am so blessed to have met so many wonderful and now, even if it's just for a short period of time, I have all the joy that Ms. Kitty can give.