Today I finished my Old Grey Cat and the Calico Cat. The Calico Cat went fast as I could sew many of the seams on the sewing machine. But the Old Grey Cat is made of real fur and I had forgotten how hard that is to work with. 
My first problem came when I tried to use the sewing machine to sew the long seam down her back. I used a short stitch and found that that was the same as cutting the pelt. So I had to sew it a little smaller by hand. I had to sew all the seams by hand using a whip stitch and being careful not to make them too close together as that tore the pelt. Then when I tried to stuff the cat I tore the head off. If I stuff her too full it rips the seam right long the stitch line. After I sewed the head back on I took more care stuffing her and finally got it done. Now when I use her to act out a story I will be very careful who I hand the fur animals to. If they play hard with any of the real fur animals the seams tear and they will lose a head or leg etc. Most of the animals are made with a heavy fleece so those will stand up to a child just fine. 
You can see the Calico Cat is smaller than the Old Grey Cat. That is because it is impossible to cut the pieces as like you can do with a cloth.
I think the fur makes a much nicer cat but I can’t use a fur cat for the poem The Duel as that calls for a Calico Cat and a Gingham Dog. 
This is the duck for The Little Red Hen story. His body and wings are made from a square. Then by gathering a running stitch along lines of the pattern the wings and tail appear. I was very disappointed at first as I just could not see how it could work but now I am happy with her. She isn’t quite finished, her feet are not folded or sewed on yet but I do that this afternoon. 
You can see the tail feathers, which I liked very much. So I am happy with it. I will use a different pattern to make the goose.
The fur I used for the cat is some of the new fur that Shirley sent to me. She also sent me some yarn so today I am going to start a sweater with some of the yarn. I want to make a sweater for each of the small great grand children so I need to get started now. I do like to knit so will use the knitting to just relax at night while we watch TV.
Summer is here so we are now under air. I guess the AC will be working now until fall. It is nice in the morning so I get in a walk before breakfast and afternoons will be spent in side with the AC. We run the AC at 80 degrees but even that feels very cool compared to outside. Right now it is 92 outside and very humid. With the AC it is not humid so it feels nice. Have a great day.
Oumapetts's Blog 
Hello, Carol, It was 72 degrees here this afternoon. It was so cold in the house I had to keep a small furnace fire to take the chill off. We are suppose to have a cool summer because of the melting icebergs. No one has any gardens planted yet but the time will come. I love that duck!!
Rosemary
We were 94 for the high this afternoon. We get the high about 4:30 or 5 PM and in the sun it is even higher. I don’t see how people work outside but they do. When we lived here 17 years ago we both worked but not outside in the summer!! We love it when it is in the low 70’s but our grand daughter Becca, who grew up here in Florida freezes and complains of the cold when it is in the 70’s and when the nights get down into the low 50’s in the winter she acts like it is below zero. I finished the duck and will post a picture of her as I don’t know how to get a picture on this page I found out what I was doing wrong with her feet so she really looks much better.
Carol