Original Mini: A Finish

I started this mini on a visit to AZ way back in 2010 (I think... I had to call my friend bc I honestly couldn't remember). She was taking a sewing class and was going thru her fabric stash. I helped and got to pick put what I liked (which worked out to be things she didn't like, mostly) as a reward. I started hand sewing this mini then and there on her guest bed. 

Here we are 6 years later and I've finished it! This mini was a big inspiration to start quilting again. And it holds a spacial place in my heart

The quilt top is made up a various vintage, reclaimed and found fabrics. The backing is mostly a piece of lizard skin-ish green batik. Both were pieced in Chandler, AZ, at the house of my BFF, where she lived with her parents at the time. I had to add a bit of new black fabric to the backing to make the rolled binding.  

Original mini was basted with a few scraps of vintage poly batting, and quilted with light grey cotton thread in a stripy pattern. I added some black thread as well. The binding is rolled from the back. This mini finishes approximately 27" x 27 1/2" with a very wonky edge. 

I added a new little tag, with the name of the quilt, dates, and my name. This little mini is on my Q1 list for the 2016 Finish Along. I made it just under the wire (last day for links ups!). But I'm feeling good about it!! It was also my OMG finish for April, so that deadline is ahead of schedule!

Original Mini has been hanging around so long, I'm sure all my helpers had a hand in it. So here is Tom on the day I finished. 

Quilts for Baby - On Sale Now!

I don't know about you, but around my circle of friends, it's baby season!! I decided it was time to put my quilts on sale again for those looking for just the right gift!

Mad Cat Quilts has the perfect baby gift with a variety of quilts perfect for the new addition, or any tot who doesn't have a hand made quilt of his/her own!

BOTTOMS UP BUNNY QUILT - Now $180

Baby or lap quilt made entirely by hand using mostly new fabric. I fell in love with the sweet bunny fabric and tracked it down for this quilt especially. Details can be seen here. Bottoms Up Bunny features a simple cross pattern and simple pieced backing, mostly cotton fabric, and new cotton batting. Bottoms Up has a folded binding and is very soft, making it a perfect baby quilt or play mat, or a lap quilt to snuggle under. 

This quilt was pieced in Vermont and Brooklyn, bound and quilted in Brooklyn, NY. It measures about 43 1/2 square. This quilt features diagonal hand quilting and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy.

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, Bottoms Up Bunny Quilt is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

STORMY FRIENDSHIP MINI QUILT - Now $80

Baby or mini quilt made entirely by hand using thrifted and reclaimed, as well as new fabric. Stormy Friendship has a friendship star pattern, mostly cotton fabric, and vintage batting. The back of this quilt features a wonky square and stripe. The quilting on Stormy Friendship uses many different threads, and is very dense. This quilt would be great for a baby, play mat, or wall hanging. Clouds and anchors make this great for a little boy or anyone who enjoys a nautical theme.  

It was pieced, quilted and bound in Brooklyn, NY. Measures  and is almost square. This quilt features diagonal hand quilting and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy.

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, Stormy Friendship Quilt is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

PEACH SIDEWAY CITIES - Now $220

Baby or lap quilt made entirely by hand using thrifted and reclaimed, as well as new fabric. Features Mad Cat Quilts "Sideways Cities" pattern, mostly cotton fabric, and new cotton batting. Most of the fabric was found in thrift shops and quilt shops around Vermont and it was hand pieced there as well. It was basted and bound in Brooklyn, NY.

This quilt measures 40" x 41" and is definitely not square, tapering slightly larger to the bottom. This quilt features diagonal hand quilting and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy.

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, Peach Sideways Cities is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

NOT FOR MARION SIDEWAY CITIES QUILT - Now $220

Baby or lap quilt made entirely by hand using thrifted and reclaimed, as well as new fabric. Features Mad Cat Quilts "Sideways Cities" pattern, mostly cotton fabric, and new cotton batting. The back of this quilt uses vintage small green flowers print and employs a wonky star. The folded binding shows the green fabric on front as well.

It was pieced, quilted and bound in Brooklyn, NY. Measures 36" x 37 1/2" and is almost square. This quilt features diagonal hand quilting and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy.

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, Not for Marion is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

BLUE RED YELLOW QUILT - Now $220

Baby or lap quilt made entirely by hand using thrifted and reclaimed, as well as new fabric. Features a mixed matched squares and strips pattern, mostly cotton fabric, and new cotton batting. The back of this quilt is also a squares and strips improve design. The folded binding is wide in blue and yellow.

It was pieced in NY, quilted in VT and bound in Brooklyn, NY. This quilt measures 34" x 49" and is almost perfectly rectangular. This quilt features straight line hand quilting and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy. It's a super soft quilt!

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, Blue Red Yellow is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

"UGLY" FLOWERS LOG CABIN QUILT - Now $220

Lap or throw quilt made entirely by hand using thrifted and reclaimed, as well as new fabric. Features a modified log cabin pattern, mostly cotton fabric, and pieced cotton and poly batting. I used all the flower print and calico fabrics I could find in my stash, most of them vintage and thrifted. Because the front of this quilt is so busy, the back is a simple square design featuring a purple floral corduroy that was purchased new. The folded binding shows this fabric on the front as well.

This quilt was pieced, quilted, and bound by hand in Brooklyn, NY. Measures 41" x 43 1/2" and is almost square. This quilt features straight stripe hand quilting on only certain blocks and has been pre washed so that it's soft and cozy.

Like all Mad Cat Quilts, "Ugly Flowers" is one of a kind, made with love, and comes from a household with cats. Although care has been taken to remove any cat hair, some may linger.

Visit my shop to see what other Mad Cat and Library goodies we have for sale. 

And check out my instagram for instadeals. 

Orange Cat/Grey Cat - A Finished Quilt

When one of my best friends let me know she was pregnant, she also let me know that I would be making her a baby quilt. Luckily, I already knew just what to make her!
Orange Cat/Grey Cat is an ode to two wonderful cats that the family have had. Grey Cat sadly passed away, but Orange Cat is the resident babywatcher and watchercat. 

The top for OC/GC was made using mostly new but some vintage fabrics. Most of the cats are black or white, but please note the orange and grey cat hiding there. I know my friend likes bright colors, but couldn't resist the making the top stark black and white with hints of pattern and color. 

From the very start of this quilt I knew I wanted the back to be as bright a rainbow fabric as I could find. I really liked this wavy new fabric. Bc it was soo busy, I decided that it was enough on it's own and didn't need to be a pieced backing like many of my quilts.

I used a new cotton batting for this quilt. I had a really hard time deciding how to quilt OC/GC. I didn't want the quilting to stand out too much or take away from either side of the quilt. So I tried something new and used a clear poly thread. It was certainly a challenge to work with, but I love the results! I quilted it in a straight line grid pattern avoiding the cat faces when I could. 

I folded over the backing to make the binding (as is my usual style). I really like the way it added to the colors of the front of the quilt and focused the black and white. This quilt finished at approximately 46" x 39 1/2". 

I made a simple label with no stamp, just stating the name of the quilt, my name, and added "For Calvin". I took this quilt out for a walk around my new neighborhood to get some good shots. 

All my cat helpers worked on this quilt. But Pit was the most helpful as I basted and bound Orange Cat/Grey Cat. This quilt is on my Q1 list for the 2016 Finish Along and I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

March in Review

The first quarter of 2016 is over. March saw snow and seedlings. It was a busy month, with lots of waiting, circling, but with some settling down, too. 

1) Ritzy neighborhood #watcherdog. 2) Apartment #watchercat. 3) City dog one... 4) ...and two. 

We did some exploring around where we live. March finally started to feel like a month to be out and about in our new environment, especially when the weather started to get warm. 

1) Bright truck. 2) Bright blooms. 3) Gloomy lobster. 4) Grey bridge. 

A lot of quilting got done this month and for that I am grateful! I am cherishing the time I spend on my work. 

1) A finish. 2) A star. 3) My star. 4) Orange! 

We travelled a very little, ate well, saw friends, missed friends, saw family, and tried to get in the swing of new routines and time changes. 

1) Bedtime. 2) Yard time. 3) Jacket time. 4) Snack time. 

We enjoyed time at home and outside and made many plans for the coming months. 

March's famed lion was pretty tame, but the month sped up quickly. April is rolling in, let's see how well we roll with it.

OMG April Goal

My OMG (one monthy goal) for April is another finish for my 2016 Finish Along. This month I want to finish a very old WIP. I call it the Original Mini. 

Here's hoping I can finish this one soon, and also add it to my Q1 completed list! I will be linking up with Red Letter Quilts for OMG April!

Fabric Pull

I haven't started many new projects so far in 2016 (besides my MadCatBOM). I'm still working thru my Q1 list for the 2016 Finish Along. But inspiration has struck for an new project. Here is the fabric pull:

This one will have to wait a little longer to really get started, but I'm excited!

Baby, Birds & Stars: A Finished Quilt

Last year I was commissioned to make two baby quilts for coworkers. Baby Blue was the first that I designed and completed at the end of 2016. I was inspired by it's simple, modern design and some of it's fabrics to make Baby, Birds & Stars. 

I used some scraps from Baby Blue plus more new fabric to make a simple but bright, large squared quilt top. These two tops are the first ever quilts I've made using no reclaimed or vintage fabric. I really like how both of them came out, but I will also be glad to get back to using vintage, thrifted, or reclaimed matierials as that makes me feel more at home. 

For the back, I had found a really inspiring yard and wanted to make that the focus. I also wanted mitered edges, and stripes. I incorporated light grey striped cotton as well as a strip of baby blue striped flannel. 

For Baby, Birds & Stars, I used a new cotton batting to make it really soft and snuggly. 

Although, the quilt top and back were of a very simple geometric design, I wanted this quilt to be whimsical and fun! I quilted the center squares with free hand stars, boxes in boxes, and stars in boxes. Then I made a star boarder on the outer boxes, and a few straight lines around the parimeter of the quilt. I used vintage yellow pearl cotton, bright blue cotton thread and grey cotton thread for the quilting. The quilting is a bit spread out making this quilt puffy, fluffy and soft. 

I used my fold over method to bind this quilt, so that the grey stripes bordered the front. I used a light grey thread to bind the edges. This quilt measure approximately 46" x 39 1/2". 

I have been making very simple labels for this quilts this year so far. I like to put the name of the quilt, my name (Mad Cat Quilts), and the year it was completed. This label also has a message from our workplace to make it extra special for baby and family. With some labels I also include the month it was completed or add a special Mad Cat stamp.

Almost all my helpers worked on this quilt, but Tom was especially helpful when basting and quilting Baby, Birds & Stars.    

This quilt was my March goal for OMG (One Monthly Goal), so I'm linking up with Red letter Quilts. And It's also on my Q1 list for the 2016 Finish Along. 

I'm also linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, as this quilt was completely hand sewn. 

On My Mind On Friday Morning

It's time we got a fire pit for the back yard (1, 2, 3).
MUSHROOMS!
Sunny's is a special place. 
Some interesting facts about common board games. 
One of my favorite juice recipes lately had been apple, spinach, red pepper, and lime. 

Speaking of Sunny's, soon after I saw the above article, I saw this one. 
I never met the man Sunny, but he was a Brooklyn legend, for sure. And his bar was a weird and wonderful place. I worry about it's fate now. 

The Magic Art of Tidying Up

One of my goals in 2016 is to read more. See other books I've read here. 

I've been hearing about Marie Kondo's The Life-changing Magic Of Tidying Up for a while now. I finally picked up a copy and read it over two days. 

Have you ever wished your house was neater, and you life was more organized? Marie Kondo's Konmari method will give you the secrets to put your house in order once and for all. By using her methods, she swears your life will improve. 

After much trial and error, and devoting almost her entire life to tidying up, Kondo claims her method will help you organize your house and life. Part self help book, part instruction manual, part semi mystic guru advice, I found this book quite strange. But inspiring!

I don't want to give away the processes in the book, as it's far more interesting to read them from Kondo than from me, but one of her principals is to touch every single thing in your home. This helps you decide if you need to keep it, or it can be let go. There are many ideas in the book that I took away, but what I found most inspiring was the idea of treating every item in your home with love and reverence. If there is an item for which you cannot do this, it's time to let it go and thank it for the use and joy you did once get from it. I love the idea of every little thing in your house being special and cared for and important, even if it's just to you. Marie Kondo is much more practical in what she loves in her house than I am, but that's ok! 

Since reading about the Konmari method last month, I haven't done too much tidying, I must admit. I certainly haven't followed the method in any real way. But I have been thinking more about what I own, what I use, and what brings me joy. It certainly has made me think of many items in a different light. 

I really enjoyed this book, and can see myself going back and rereading it at a time I might be ready to actually put this method into practice. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for more tidy in their lives, people who like instructional books, and people who love inanimate objects. 

The Life-changing Magic Of Tidying Up caused quite a stir when it first hit the blogverse, have any of my readers read it? Care to share your opinions? 

2016 Blog Goals

Since we are well into March, it seems like a good time to check in on how my some of goals for 2016 are shaping up. Specifically my goals concerning this blog. 

My workspace in all it's messy glory. Please note TMNT, Destro, tauntaun, sand, thread, coffee, tattoo ink, scissors, scissors, scissors, British comedy, Library Card boxes, curio cabinet, Bossk, Captain Picard, sea glass, and more.... 

Post Regularly
I want to be sure to post pretty regularly. Not every day, but 3-4 times a week at least. For the first few months, I think I've done pretty well on this front with only a few major gaps. But I can always be better about consistency. In the beginning of the year, I've been a bit loose about which days I post, going forward I'd like top achieve set days.  

Continue regular series, create more
I feel like I've touched on most of my favorite regular series (Something New, New Block, Art and Nature, Zoo at Home..., On My Mind..., Book Review). I haven't come up with too many new series... Yet. 

Tag and categorize
At the beginning of the year, I tried to go thruogh and add tags & categories to all my posts. For some reason I have a hard time doing this at the time of writing the posts. I'd like to get better at this. 

Giveaways/Trades
I had my first giveaway last year, and my second in February. I enjoy these, but I need practice. The turnout was not as big as I would like.... One thing I haven't done are any trades. I'd really like to pursue this. 

August off
Although I really want to get better at posting consistently, I also know I'll need a break. Traditionally July and August have been the months when my posting falls off. I think this year will be a good time to experiment with a controlled break. I plan on taking August off of blogging. 

Reader's input
What would you like to see? What aspects of this blog do you enjoy? 

A close up of this section. These tiny TMNT figures are fun and distracting!

WIP 3/20/16

Happy first day of Spring, everyone! I'm glad it's not snowing where I am. Let's hope that's all over with!

I'm putting the last Slow Sunday Stitches in to this quilt before it heads out. Linking up with Kathy's Quilts. 

Zoo at Home, Zoo Abroad: Jenkinson's Aquarium

In January, while my BFF was in town, we visited Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant, NJ. This aquarium is right on the beach and quite small, but offers a nice variety of wildlife. 

Jenks has a ton of local exhibits, showing all kinds of fish and creatures found in NJ. I haven't been to this aquarium in years and it was great to see the exhibits were well maintained and updated. 

There are a few of my favorite things, like frogs, sharks, etc... But this aquarium is sadly lacking in jellyfish. 

There are a few surprises, like these creepy looking nautiluses. 

Jenkinson's has good sized touch tank, seal shows, and a lot of fun activity days and nights. Behind the scenes tours, night visits, and "seal-abrations" are just some of the fun activities guests can join. But be warned, their website's is pretty hard to navigate.  The staff is friendly and I'm sure calling will yield better results for actual information.  

In the Summer, Jenkinson's rules pretty much the whole Point Pleasant boardwalk, with amusements, restaurants, and arcades. But the aquarium is is still the jewel in my opinion. 

Out Stealing Horses

One of my goals in 2016 is to read more. See other books I've read here. 

Out Stealing Horses is the second book I've read from Per Petterson. I found this copy quite luckily in a little used book shop in Brooklyn. 

When I read Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes last year, I really enjoyed the pacing and textured nature of Petterson's writing. It's hard to tell if that's all his style, or aided by the translation to English. 

Trond is an old man. Three years after his wife's death, he's moved out to a remote island to live out the rest of his days in a purposeful, slow and quiet way.  But living on the river reminds him of his childhood, his father's abandonment, and events of a certain Summer that changed his life forever. When storms strike, family visits, and the past resurfaces, Trond starts to realize he might need to rethink the quiet life. 

I loved the atmosphere and emotional tone that Petterson sets with Out Stealing Horses. It's a little bit lonely, a little bit bleak, but reminiscent, nostalgic  and calm. The flashbacks to a Summer when the old man was a boy, in addition to the trials of his current cold winter, add a sort of double coming of age tale. I recommend this book to anyone one who likes coming of age stories, Scadinavian lifestyles, or tales of man and man's best friend. 

New Block: Basket Weave

For March, I really couldn't decide what block to do for the MadCatBOM. I scoured my books, and decided that this variation of a basket weave would do nicely. 

This block came together very quickly. I've done a few blocks that were similar, but never quite this one. I could see using this block in some ways in the future. 

I've been trying to build a bit of a theme with the fabrics, but the bits I have of them is already dwindling. I'll try to incorporate some more of my stash in the blocks going forward. Here's what all my blocks look like together:

I'm not sure what I'll do with these blocks when I'm done with all twelve. But for now, I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching. 

On My Mind On Friday Morning

I've really been wanting a Himalayan Salt Lamp to add to my crystal collection. Some people say the work wonders, some say they're bunk. I've been looking at these for positive energy and beauty (one, two, three).
Love these gorgeous portraits of endangered species. So beautiful and so sad. 
Have you heard of Hairy Panic? It's devouring a town in Australia. Although the town is suffering, the articles and pictures are fascinating. 
I Love Dumplings!!
We planted some cat grass. All the cats love it... but keep throwing up. (We've moved it outside). 

Recipe Recap: Cauliflower Casserole
I saw a recipe on instagram that looked tasty, then promptly lost the profile (I think it's gone down, actually). so I scoured instagram then the internet for one that was similarly easy. I found this one which was pretty close. I had a cauliflower going brown, some green beans going limp and a few sunchokes that needed cooking. I put everything together, added a bit more liquid and a bit more cheese, and it turned out pretty good!! I am still battling my oven over listed temp versus actual temp so the bottom got a little brown. Next time, I won't pre cook the cauliflower (as was called for) and I will pre cook the sunchokes a bit more.  

Anyone out there have an tried and true recipes to use up veggies?

March OMG Goal

My One Monthly Goal (OMG) for March is also on my Q1 Finish Along List. 

Baby Quilt Commission #2 needs the quilting completed, bound, labeled, and delivered! I happily finished my February OMG, so I plan to keep up the good work!

Linking up with Red Letter Quilts OMG March Goal and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching as I get down to work.  

Something New: Juicing at Home

As a house warming gift, my friend gave me a juicer. It took about seven months, but I finally started using it in February! And I love it! 

Here are some things I've learned:

1. It's not fun to clean.
My friend actually gave it to me bc he had bought it for himself, but hated the cleanup. It is a pain, that's true. But I find the benefits outweigh the annoyance. My technique is to clean it immediately after I drink my juice. 

2. Mostly clean is clean enough. 
I make sure to clean the screen and blade well after every use. I dump the fruit and veggie pulp into the compost. I clean the rest of the pieces and the base of the machine. But I don't worry too hard about getting every scrap off the outer parts. Since I use the juicer every day, I feel it's ok to have a tiny bit of pulp hanging around as long as it's not in the screen. For times when I know I won't be using it for a few days, I make sure to do a deep clean so the machine won't to start to smell. 

3. A little goes a long way.
Be it sweet, green, citrus, or ginger (or any other flavor you can think of), remember to balance it out. The first juice I made had a ton of citrus with the rinds included. It made my mouth numb, and killed my taste buds for about 8 hours. It was totally worth it, but I learned my lesson. I suggest tempering your favorite flavors with their balance. 

4. Use your scraps. 
I've found that the kale stalks are better than the leaves for juicing; they produce more juice! I love to use all my green bottoms or tops, fruit on the turn, wrinkly peppers, dry carrots, etc... they work great and don't get wasted! And don't forget to mix it up! The different fruit juices have different weights and will not mix on their own.

5. Limit your intake. 
I know there are many people who drink almost nothing but juice (this controversial article was recently the topic of a lot conversation and ridicule). I recently started this juice quest, and I'm still eating my same intake of whole fruits and veggies. I've found one to two juices a day is plenty. Any more and I get a tummy ache. 

So far, I've tried juicing just about every fruit or veggie in my kitchen. (Well, I have half a watermelon radish that I keep pulling out, but not being brave enough to throw in the mix). My favorite things to use are kale stalks, apples, ginger, whole lemons, whole tangerines/setsumas/clementines with their peels, oranges/grapefruit without the peels. I juiced an aging head of romaine that I did NOT enjoy. I tried to juice a banana. Turns out, you can't juice bananas. 

I hope anyone who juices, or is thinking of juicing shares their experiences, recipes, and advice here!

February in Review

For such a short month, February sure was busy!

We had some visitors, some celebrations, saw family, worked, but also put some things on hold. A fairly typical month, with ups and downs.  

1) Elvis. 2) the Fab Four. 3) Tom. 4). Elvis again. 

We had several guests, but one notable one came to stay for a long while. Elvis will be with us for several months, and he's causing quite a stir among our cat family. He's a great guest though, and we adore him!

1) snowy back view. 2) Cloudy train view. 3) Sunny beach view. 4) Blizzard rose view.  

This month the weather was better than usual for February. But much like all of the Februarys I've experienced, it was mostly consumed by wishing the weather was better. 

1) New tattoo! 2) New block. 3) Juice and work. 4) a faux watercolor. 

Many new projects were started in Feb, which was very invigorating (more on all that, soon). Quilting was a prominent feature of the month, which it should be. My MadCatBOM went into it's second month. I hope to keep it up all year.  
Even though some great things were started or continued, some things were postponed. We put our annual anniversary trip on hold. But hopefully that will be rescheduled soon. 

1) Pick a winner. 2) Get a prize. 3) An auspicious address. 4) An attentive #watherdog.

We had a book giveaway at the end of the month. I got some reading in for the month, which will be posted soon! I'm finding giveaways to be interesting and fun!

We got to see family several times this month, we may have even started a game night tradition! Our first (or second if you count  my family's obsession with 500 rummy) game selection was Machi Kori. It was quite fun!  

1) Wake up! 2) Eat up! 3) Bun up! 4) Bundle up!

February was a bit more hectic, a bit more stressful, but on the whole, there were more ups than downs. March, you're supposed to come in like a lion....I'll be interested if you'll be friendly or fierce. 

OMG February Goal Finish

My February OMG goal is a gift, so I can't reveal the whole thing until it's been given. But I'm happy to announce it's finished!!

I'm posting this to the OMG February Finish Link Up. Head over to Red Letter Quilts to check out all the amazing February finishes. 

I'm also linking up with Kathy's Quilts and Slow Sunday Stitching, as I put the finishing touches on this quilt. Keep you eye out for the reveal post soon!

On My Mind On Friday Morning

Some more quilt blocks I'm looking into for my madcatBOM (one, two, three for the woven block). 
I'm not a ruler user, but I thought this method for making hexagon 3D blocks with no y-seam was pretty awesome. So much so it gets it's own link.  
Did you know turning off Niagara Falls is a thing?? Here's an interesting little video here. 
I love coffee, pretty much any way you slice it, so this article has a ton of facts that interest me. 
Check out our tree! The new growth from a few weeks ago has at least doubled in size!

Recently Researching:
We have a rose bush which we have really put the ringer. We got it last year and it has not had a very good Winter. We got it late in the season, it's from home depot and is a tall plant with a round top, like a little tree. We had it outside but it kept falling over in high winds and being battered by rain. When it started getting really cold in January, we brought it inside bc it was starting to look very beaten up. It certainly liked being inside, although it was a bit confused. It started flowering again! We liked having it inside, even if we sometimes snagged our clothes or skin on it. We did start to notice that it had aphids. Soon there were millions of them!! We put it back outside after the big storm. But it snowed again, and the rose tree got bent far over, so we laid it down on the ground. We intended to get it back inside pretty quickly, thinking that now the aphids would be gone. Unfortunately, we waited a bit too long, and when we brought it in, the leaves were quite black and it looked very terrible. We're worried that it won't recover.    

I was hoping some of my readers might have some experience with roses? We really want to save it, but I'm having trouble finding out any info, as it's hard to boil down the problem. Can anyone help?