I used the pleated idea on my shams for the spare bedroom too. Had some Ombre in bright colors and by using 1.25 markings all the way across except right in the middle section, it came out perfectly to fit my pillows. The key is to fold on the mark and stitch 1/4". When I started this project, I'd forgotten how I did the last ones and marked them incorrectly. Luckily I made a test stitch out before working on the actually fabric. Those scraps sure come in handy for things like that.
Thanks all for your kind comments. And yes, I have 3 cats now in my house as I just added a kitten that hs mother dropped off to my sister's garage. He was pretty sickly but hand feeding him, numerous trips to the Vet and so on, he's now considered my "Baby Boy". My old tuxedo is considered my Sweetheart as we moved into this old house together. The middle child showed up at my back door at 5 weeks old, she's considered my Sweet Baby though she's pretty onery most of the time and hasn't accepted the kitten as yet but we're getting there and then of course my Baby Boy, he's about 5 months old now. Love them all equally.