The Stitch Book: Week 25 (June 16-22)

Welcome to the 500th post of An Embroidery a Day! I launched this blog in 2021 to support my first 365 day project and didn't know if I'd make it through that first year. I posted daily, which in hindsight, is insane. I know that now and have since adjusted my schedule to make these daily projects more sustainable. I love writing this blog and creating these stitch journals and appreciate everyone who has stuck with me over each project.

This week is also week 25 of this year's project and Keely's 6th year adoption anniversary. I decided to focus this week's post on him. Behind every artist is a cat actively working to make their human's life a bit more difficult, and Keely is no exception.

When I went to the shelter on that June day in 2018, I didn't know about Keely. I went to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria to see if any of the kittens they had posted about were still available. If they weren't, I see what other cats were available and see if any of them wanted to hang out with me. The kittens were all claimed. I met a few other cats, but none of them were my cat. I walked around the room one more time, and there he was. A big sign on his enclosure said "Junk Diet," so I figured this was my dude. Junk diet means he'll eat any food - he preferred Purina to the super fancy food the shelter fed the other cats. (This is basically the cat equivalent of growing up in the suburbs and being excited about going to Chili's or the Olive Garden.)

Keely in his enclosure at the shelter.

Keely fell asleep on my hand. That was the moment I knew he was my cat. I put down a hold deposit and scheduled time to come back the next day to get him. He was cool during the car ride home. He sat by me on the couch most of the day. He hid under the bed. We had a really nice first day together.

He's not an easy cat. His first family surrendered him to the shelter for "temperament issues." The shelter didn't have any specifics, but noted that he didn't show any signs of that in the month he'd been with them. My guess is the first family either had never had a cat or had other pets or kids and didn't know how to take care of a kitten. The result? A surly chonk who has a sticker on his folder that is the equivalent of saying "this cat is a jerk." The first three months were rough given his aggression. But then, something clicked with him, and he realized I wasn't going to hurt him or abandon him. He slowly became more affectionate (in his own way) and settled down. He started playing with toys. He decided my brother is the best person in the world. He trained me to sit on the couch in a specific way and then he would sit on my lap for a few minutes. We figured it out.

When the pandemic started, I was home all the time. Being around him 24 hours a day changed him for the better. He became even more affectionate and started 4 pm snuggles. He has given into being a lap cat. He's still a jerk sometimes, but he's a cat and that's part of their nature. He poses for pictures. He razzle dazzles. He's my weirdo.

This week's piece is inspired by this TikTok video, which features one of the verses of the song "Down Under" by Men at Work. I'm 100% certain this is what Keely thought of me those first weeks. I used the same design I drew for his birthday post in 2021, but rendered him in felt instead of thread. Needle felting is incredibly fun - it involves stabbing felt into shapes. Very therapeutic.

Here's this week's piece: