Lyn Briggs Designs

My beautiful cat Milly has been living with me since early September 2025.  She was twelve months old when she arrived and is playful, kid-friendly (puts up with the grandkids), and cuddly. Her bowls live in the laundry and to protect the floor from any potential mess I’ve been standing them on a tea towel.  A good option but I think I can do better.

Robin and I had two cats who lived to a ripe old age, and for them I made a simple mat for their food bowls and I’m going to make one for Milly in the same way – with 5” charm squares.

Scrap Fabrics …

Inspired by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet YouTube channel, I started organising my fabric scraps into sizes I most commonly use: 2 ½”, 3 ½”, and 5” squares.

When I have smallish pieces of fabric left after cutting out a project; those pieces that are too big to throw away but a nuisance in the stash, I cut them into the three sizes and store them in separate containers. It’s worked well for me, and it has also tidied up my stash.

For Milly’s Mat, I chose 24 pieces from the container of 5” squares and sewed them together into 4 rows of 6 squares. 

.  I then prepared it for quilting using more stash fabric for the backing and scraps of batting and machine quilted in the ditch of the seams.

Finishing…

The binding was cut 3” wide and sewn onto the wrong side; turned over to the front to form a small border and top-stitched close to the edge around the outside.

The finished mat – much better than a tea towel

Milly likes the improvement in her dining experience, but I think she would like it better if the plate was full!

Now I will have to make another one for washing days.

Carrying the Load …

Lately I’ve been watching episodes of the TV show Touched by An Angel in the afternoons while I’ve been sewing.  It’s an old show that was on TV years ago and it features angels who help people through challenging times in their lives.

 In one episode, a young woman follows her dog into a disused mine that starts to collapse, injuring her and trapping her inside. A passing motorist tries to save her but there are more cave-ins and the only way to save her is to hold a up a heavy beam to prevent more of the roof collapsing. As he starts to hold it up, he cries out “Help me God”. An angel appears behind him and rests the beam on his shoulder telling the man that he can let it go now but he didn’t believe the angel and wouldn’t let it go.  He stood there holding the heavy beam with all his strength for hours while the angel calmly stood behind him holding it on his shoulder.

What an image! It stayed with me the next day as I contemplated how many times, I’ve asked God for help and then haven’t received the help He sent but kept holding onto whatever heavy load is weighing me down. It may be, for example: worry about a family member; concerns about my health; anxiety about my future; or a decision I need to make.

The Bible says: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1Pe 5:7)

 ‘Cast’ doesn’t mean to gently give something away, but it means to’ throw off, get rid of, and lose’. (Oxford Dictionary). Picture yourself standing on the edge of ditch and picking up some rubbish and throwing it away as far as you can, not wanting to see it again; that’s what you need to do when you give your burdens to God. Trust Him to work in them for your good and don’t pick them up again.

Until next time,

Lyn