This is going to get a little embarrassing. When I began quilting, I only used solid fabrics and all the quilts were hand quilted. And most of the quilts were given away, so I don't own many of my earlier quilts. "Fishing Cats" is the earliest quilt I still own--it was finished in 1983 and was my seventh quilt.

  

While I still get a kick out of the individual fish, the layout leaves a lot to be desired--like some movement. And clearly the applique plant life at the bottom is struggling to survive.

The quilt is called Fishing Cats for the border of cats quilted along the edge. At the time, the fish in the backyard pond were mysteriously disappearing. The mystery was solved the day my cat came running inside stinky and soaking wet.