Little bit of this and a little bit of that.. and some actual fabric cutting!

Well, my baby girl, Sugar, was feeling better this afternoon, so I took some time out to turn on the Bernina.  Well, actually never used it, but it was on and I actually got some fabric cut, and I know what I'm going to do with it!  :)

I've had this pattern for a bit now.  I love Thimble Blossoms patterns for the most part.  So I thought I'd give it a go! 

Picked out 2 fat quarters and got both of them cut and some white fabric cut.

Two fat quarters that I believe I got at JoAnns.
I love blue and orange together.

Both blocks need the white and you use the big blocks with the opposite color, so the blocks will be orange and blue.
I suppose if you make a big quilt, you could change them around even more if you wanted to.
Anyhow, y'all know how much I love color and strange or odd color matching.  :) 

I have this bunch of fat quarters that I bought last spring.  It's called SummerLove by Art Gallery Fabrics.
I thought they would make a really nice quilt and they too have lots of the oranges and blues in them that I like so much.

Felt good to play with the fabric!

Alrighty, it's time for me to get some zzzz's.   Have a wonderful Friday, and God Bless.    Anne

It's been a day...

Up early and dogs feed early and then Sugar isn't doing well.  She was leaning against my bed, and that's not a Sugar thing.  (Lulu did that all the time, but never Sugar) Next thing I know, she's down and unable to get up. Ok, made sure she was as comfy as possible in that spot and then I had to run a very short errand, so I loved on her and told her I'd be right back.   When I got back, she got up and staggered a few feet and then lay down in a typical greyhound sphinx position.  And then she threw up.  (oh joy) So I cleaned that up and she stayed there.  So I left her and made a phone call to the vet and talked a minute or two and didn't make an appointment yet.   Got a cup of coffee and then turned around and Sugar walked through the kitchen just as nice as you please and went into the living room and sprawled out on the stack of dog beds in there. 
Gave more kisses and hugs and had to go and sew.  By the time I came out of the front room an hour or so later, she was up and about like nothing had happened. 
My little girl is going to give me high blood pressure for sure.  I worry like crazy about her.  She's elderly in Greyhound years and I worry about her all the time. 

Look at that furry thigh!  Sugar has had bald thighs most of her life!  She was on thyroid meds for a long time and then was weaned off of them.  (some vets think that spooky greyhounds will be less spooky on thyroid meds, but it didn't really work for Sugar.
Anyhow, she went out all by herself and pooped and took a stroll around the yard with some good sniffing going on!

Look at her, she's almost the same color as the dirt is here.  I sure do love that old lady!

And she trotted up the ramp!  

Look at that beautiful face.  I remember when there was no white on that face. 












So I got a lot done and some stuff ready to mail.  Sug is feeling better and I'm going to go and do something.  Think good thoughts for my girl.  It's going to be really tough when she leaves me.

Ahhhh Tuesday....

Only 4 more days until we start the Creative Journal!  I can't wait!

Order one and join us, it's going to be fun, and I love to share the fun!!

I got mine at Amazon and it was used and it's in really good shape!


Try it, you might like it!  And you can do every other day if you are pressed for time, or once a week or whatever flips your creative side!






 


It's not quite 10:30 am here in Arizona and already it's been "one of those days."

Woke up tired.  I'm always tired, but was especially tired today.

Did some good things, blew my computer out with canned air.  With the dogs here, I tend to do this about once a month, and today is the 11th, so I'm 11 days late getting it blown out.  I've totaled my share of computers, and it's always been about the fur and dust and dander. 

Went to feed the dogs.  Was getting wet dog food out of the can for Sugar and sliced my finger open.  I said a few words that I will probably have to go to confession for. Finally got it to quit bleeding like it was an artery (I know it's not!) and got some PSO on it and a Band-Aid on it.   Got the dogs fed.  Got Sugar outside, check her bowl and there's 2 melted antibiotics laying on the bottom of her bowl.  Poo. 

Sitting here waiting to get Rudy outside, Sug's already been out and is in my closet in the bedroom snoozing.   AND all of a sudden I can hear here trying to move around in the closet, and it sounds like she's about to go through the wall.  Run into the bedroom and she's got herself  catty corner in the corner and I guess she's stuck.  So I roll her over and get her situated.  Scared the heck out of me and I said more bad words. 

Here's my girl in the closet.  She's used my closet as her "home" since we moved here.  She's a bad spook and this closet makes her comfy... most of the time.  I keep some clothes hanging way up (the person who owned this house before me must of been very tall as I cannot reach the top bar without standing on something, make it hard to hang clothes on!) but they are kept covered since Sug makes for a lot of dust and dander and hair flying in there!








I planted some chives in a pot in the house, hoping I get some to grow.  A friend gave me some, but they are BIG and I've never seen chives like that.  I'm sure they'll be very good when I use them though.  :)
Also bought some Rosemary seeds.  Rosemary will grow outside here all year round.  I love the way it smells and it's always nice to have some fresh herbs to use when cooking.

I bought this yesterday at Walmart.  I went with a friend and we did some shopping and then went out to eat.
I really thought this was cool, and I've never had one.  I'm not taking bets on how long it will last, time will tell!!



I have to make a harness today and then I hope to work on something quilty for a while!!  ;)

So, I'm out of here, got to get Rudy outside and then get sewing!

Have a great day and God Bless.    Anne

Sunday sewing and sewing...

I've been sewing since early this morning.  Got some stuff ready to ship.  Then I decided that I had to create something.  I had started a pillowcase last week, so I thought I'd finish it today.

I used strips of 2.5" fabric for one side of the cuff.  If you recall, the last time I made something like this it didn't dawn on me that I would only need 3 strips for the outside and that the other side would be INSIDE of the pillowcase.
So this time I got it right.  :)
I also put a strip on the bottom and I wanted it to go towards the body of the pillowcase and it did!  :) 

Here's the inside of the cuff, see, not strips of fabric there now, just a 5" interior.  I'd make it 5.5" next time I think maybe.  :)

I do have to admit that I love the wild and wacky colors.  :)

The body of the pillowcase is Moda Marbles, the strips, I have no idea!!  :)

Had to throw in a picture of my sweet Rudy.  He does so love to chase and retrieve things.  He'll chase any toy I throw and most balls!
Look at that long tail of his!  You rarely see a long tail on a poodle or a cocker spaniel.  So since he's a cockapoo, I think maybe his tail should have been docked, but I'm good with it long too! And when he's wagging that tail, it can HURT and is considered a weapon!!  :)

I'm such a doofus.  I ordered this book THREE MONTHS ago and totally forgot about it.  I love this quilt and want to make one like it.  :)

I don't think it's as difficult as it looks, but time will tell I suppose.

I was looking for my pile of quilt patterns I've printed off, and do you think I can find even one?  Oh no, not even one.  I have no idea where I put them, and since I'm stingy about my ink, I sure hate to print off more of them.  ARGH!

I"ve been listening to some music.  One of my favorite all time songs is Amazing Grace, and nobody does it like Il Divo.  Il Divo is 4 men who sing, and sing very very well.  Anyhow, take a look and a listen...

It's almost time to feed the dogs.  Have a great week, and God Bless,   Anne

The weekend has arrived!

And I'm praying for the electricity to NOT go out this weekend.  :)

I was outside with Rudy this afternoon.  He's a smart boy.  I had some water with me.  Now, Rudy had a huge drink of water in the house before we came out.  But he wanted my water.  So I held the bottle down to him and tilted it a little bit and the little stinker drank it right out of the water bottle.  No bowl needed for him!  I was quite impressed.

I've been telling him all day how cute he looks!  And look at that long tail of his, it's lethal when he's excited.  :)

He's on antibiotics, he's got an ear infection.  Hope it will be less tender tomorrow so I can clean it out.  He's just no into pain, so I'm leaving it along for the moment!







I posted a picture of a Stapilia that I have, it's a succulent plant and I love it, but there were about 9 buds on it, and now they are starting to open.  :) 

The first one to open this week.  I love the stars in the center of them.  And the little fuzzy sstuff on the petals.  

Two of them have opened and there's one right below the one on the right that's going to burst open shortly too.  This plant is actually in the pot to the left of the orange pot.  The orange pot behind the flowers has my spider plant in it.  the pot to the right of the flowers has more Stapelia in it but they just took root this spring and probably won't bloom until next year. 

The Stapelia on the left also has this clover looking plant growing in it.  I've never had this plant in my house before, and when I got this plant about 5 years ago, there was nothing like this in the pot.  Go figure.  But it lets me know when the soil is dry because it wilts.  So far it's been a good indicator!

I love to watch movies while I sew collars and such.  I finally broke down and ordered the entire 11 season series of M*A*S*H.  I loved M*A*S*H and have really missed seeing it on occasion since I no longer watch TV.
The series is great, but the way it's packaged really is horrible.  The slots for the DVDs are torn and some of the DVDs are out of the plastic that supposed to protect them, and some of them looked like they were teeth on by a puppy!

Where I ordered them from on Ebay is replacing the discs that are bad and ruined and she gave me a partial refund which was greatly appreciated.

I have really enjoyed watching some of them and am really glad I purchased them!

Ok, that's pretty much it for today!  Nothing done quilting or creatively. 
Have a great weekend folks, and God Bless,   Anne

And he's home!

Rudy's groomer brought him home a bit ago.  He looks like a different dog, truly he does!  He was good for her for the most part.  She said he kept trying to bite the clippers cord! 
Anyhow, he looks like he's about 10 pounds lighter today than he was yesterday.

He barely looks like Rudy!  He's all grown up now. 

Rudy was happy to see me, but he wasn't happy when Mariah and Trinity left him. 
Mariah said she had a little girl there who was about Rudy's size and the two of them  had a lot of fun playing together!  It's good that he's learning to socialize with other dogs too.

Look how white he is!  He's going to be so much happier in this hot weather without all that fur!

So we are going to have Mariah groom him once a month for the next 6 months or so and that should get him used to being groomed.

Yes, he might look a little ragged around the edges, but considering he's never been groomed before and this was all very new to him, I think he looks great!

And it's very good that he's laying here next to me where he belongs, the house didn't feel quite right last night with him gone!

Mr. Rudy's first overnight....

Sounds like he's a skin child doesn't it?  *grin*  But alas, my little boy is spending the night away from home.
And he's not sick, this was planned.
My sweet boy has run off to spend the night with the Lovely Mariah and her daughter Trinity.  Mariah is his groomer, or rather I should say that she was Magick's groomer.  This is Rudy's first time to the groomer and boy oh boy was it ever time!  He kind of looks like a bear!
Mariah is wonderful with dogs, well, really any animal alive!  She put up with my Magick who could be a real pain, but I think Rudy's going to be a bigger pain.   I would have sent Rudy to see Mariah a lot sooner, but we had a complication with me getting in touch with her.  So I was thrilled to get a hold of her last Friday.  Anyhow, since Sugar can't/won't stay alone in the house, Mariah came and picked up my boy.  And Trinity came with her.  I met Mariah about 6 or 7 years ago when she found a greyhound.  And she's the best darn groomer I have ever met. 
Anyhow, she's going to get rid of Rudy's hair.  He'll probably be scalped because he should have been groomed a couple of months ago.  But hey, we don't have groomers on every corner out here. 
Anyhow, here's some pics of Rudy and his groomers!

Mariah and Mr. Pepper with Mr. Rudy.  LOOK at that fur on his body!

Trinity and Mr. Rudy.
Rudy was a very good boy and loved them both.  They are simply dog people and he knew it.  He'll probably be good as gold for Mariah.  (please God, let him be a very good boy!)

I miss his little self, the house feels quite empty. 

A sewing kind of day...

I even got to turn on the Bernina for a bit!  I felt the urge to create something so I made a pillow case!  hehehehhe I know folks are tired of seeing them, but they work when I have that URGE that I cannot ignore and I must do something creative!

So my day in pictures, cause what would a blog post be without pictures??  (boring I bet!)

 One of the many things I made today is this harness.  Cute isn't it?
You can see that I have my machine set up on a plain wooden board, it's across 4 sets of plastic drawers.  Works well, it's been like that for more than 8 years!  It was supposed to be temporary, but I believe that it's permanent!  :)  I love that measuring tape there, it is really tape, and it's so handy to have that there, I use it many times a day when I'm sewing dog stuff!

Part of the wall in front of me.  some collars that are prototypes, a business card with my Frasier's pic on it, a note card with Sugars picture on it and to the very left, you can't see it, but it's another note card with Lynch's picture on it, and a check that bounced!  That check bounced MANY years ago, but it's there as a reminder that it happens!




After I finished sewing for the dogs, I got this terrific urge to be creative.  I went over to my quilting area and looked around and thought about a few things and then decided I'd finish this fabric off and make one more pillow case from it!  I gave my friend Linda the two I made from this fabric last week and I think she liked them.  She's quite the gardener and loves flowers and all kinds of garden things!
 

 Ok, so when I turned my "burrito roll" out, this is what I saw.  ARGH!  Well, under that green strip of fabric is a yellow strip.  I tried to do a double one! 
Ok, I told myself that they has to be a way to make them go the other way.....

And there was, but it involved turning the hem towards the bottom and taking up a bit more of the 10" cuff. 

And I realized that I'd have to sew it down to make it stay put... not the little strips of fabric, but the seam, because it kept trying to flip over again!

So, I looked at it and decided how to proceed and then sewed it down. 

It's not perfect, but there are two decorative pieces of striping and they are pointed towards the cuff!

And then finished off the side and bottom seams with a French seam. 

I love it!

I will be sewing dog stuff all week long most likely but hope to sneak in some quilting or fun sewing time each day!


Ok, it's time to eat and I'm starving!  Have a great evening and God Bless.  Anne

Happy Monday.  :)

It's hot, 94 degrees when I was out a bit ago.  Yesterday it got up to 106 on my deck in the shade.  And of course, yesterday the electricity was off again... about the same time it went off on Saturday.  It was off for almost the same amount of time as well. 
Thankfully today, the electric has not gone off.   It gets old very quickly.  :)

Do y'all use Miracle Grow for your plants inside and out?  I have never used it before, but I have a friend who SWEARS by it.  So I bought some, actually, probably enough to last the rest of my life!  And I've been using it on my succulents and my baby spider plant.  And IT WORKS! 

These are my succulents and my spider plant!  The succulents bloom and in past years I get one or two blooms a season, so maybe 5 a year. 
This plant has one in full bloom and 8 more buds, some very large and some smaller ones.  It's going to bloom all summer.  the one to the right is brand new cuttings planted this year and it's growing like a weed.  That spider plant in the center there gets bigger every day.  These plants are in a west window and are thriving.  I've had the succulents for about 7 years now and it's doing very well.  The spider is only about 3 months old and really took a long time to root and get planted.
I'm longing for an African Violet to put in my window.  My Mom raised beautiful violets in her day, all kinds and she propagated them and was always giving them away.  So it would kind of be a bit of my childhood in the window.  :)   I'm going to buy one soon and see if I can keep it alive.  Back in Ohio my Mom always said that they needed a north window and I don't have one, so I wonder if a west window will work. 

It's been a typical busy Monday morning here.  I'm getting ready to sew some stuff in my front room and would love to be able to turn on my bernina for a bit today!!

Have a good one,   God Bless, Anne

Hoping for a quiet day today....

But it probably won't happen.  I'm almost finished with my first cup of coffee, so I'm almost human.   I have to sew sew sew today and not in a quilting way.  I'm going to try to take an hour or so to do something quilty this afternoon but I can't guarantee that I'll do it.

I'm so SO SO looking forward to the 365 challenge!  I sure do hope some folks join us, it would be sooooo much more fun and interesting with more people.

I got my book the other day and have done a little bit of looking through it, and it's going to be so much fun.  I'm going to do most of the challenges in fabric and hope to work on creating art quilts and wall hangings etc.  I want to incorporate as much applique as possible in it as this is something I'm not terribly comfortable with or good at.  Thread painting too!  And SW motifs will be high on my list as well as will Greyhounds and other dogs!  :)
I'm going to do my best to do something with it EVERY day!! And take at least 1 picture every day and blog about it every day.

So consider going to Amazon, or your local book store, and picking up this book.  Even if you don't do it every day, we'd love to have you join us! Maybe just every Saturday and Sunday or every other day etc. 

It's going to make a  huge difference in our creativeness and that's a good thing AND our goal.  :)

Glen has more about it on her blog, check it out....

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!  God Bless, Anne

What a day!

Wasn't too bad until about 10:30 this morning.  That's when the electric went off.  Not a big deal for most I suppose, but I do live in the middle of nowhere and when there's a problem it usually takes quite a bit of time to get it fixed. Normally, not a huge deal.  However, it's supposed to be HOT HOT HOT today.  So I was a bit nervous.  I headed to the bedroom for a little reading and maybe a short nap!  :)  You know that wonderful moment as you start to fall asleep, that blissful feeling as you are drifting towards unconsciousness that feels so great.  Well, got there and then RINGGGGGGGG goes the phone!   And get the questions: "do I know the electric is out, how long will it be out, why is it out, and what are you going to do about it"  HELLO? Yes, I have noticed that the electric is out!  I don't work for SSVEC, I have no idea what happened or how long it will be before it's back on, and nope, not going to do a thing but wait and try to get that nap in!  Ok, back to that sweet spot of napping and RINGGGGGG  ... THREE times this happened!  Finally got about a 2 minute nap in when I heard the hot water tank filling up, yup, the electric was back on.  1hour and about 40 minutes.
Oh, and here's why I am so happy that it has been fixed:

 
Yup, that's 112 degrees there folks.  On my deck, no sun shining on the thermometer.  That was at 3pm, it may be even hotter by about 5pm. 

It's HOT outside and I'd be dead without my air and so would my poor doggies! 

I'm off to see if I can get that nap in now!

TGIF Or even better, thank goodness it's over!

Busy week.  But I actually got lots done!

On Wednesday I mentioned that my TrueCut Sharpener worked well, but that the button on it that you push to make it go was loose.  And there was no way to tighten it.  So I called the company.
And today a mere 2 days later, I got my new sharpener delivered via UPS.  Now, that is FANTASTIC customer service! 

 See, that button is nice and snug!

Yesterday I went out for lunch with a good friend.  We ate at Palatiamos's in Benson.  I had a greek salad (LOVE LOVE LOVE those stuffed grape leaves!) and a sirloin steak (was craving meat) and a yummy triple chocolate cake for dessert.  I brought more than half my food home and it was dinner last night and breakfast this morning!
We stopped at Walmart and did some shopping.  I needed some bird food and dog food, you know, the usual.  But when I saw these beautiful strawberries, I could not resist.  I bought 2 - 3 pound boxes of them.  They are so sweet and so tasty!  I love strawberries and now I'll be eating them every day for a week!!  Yummy. 

My friend Glen, at Quilts and Dogs bought this really cool book.  And after looking at it online, I bought one as well.  It's all about being creative. 

I got a used copy via Amazon.  I ordered yesterday and it arrived today!
It gives you an idea every day for 365 days of something to do that is creative. 
I want to, of course, try to use sewing and quilting as often as possible.  But I will venture out and do things that aren't sewing and quilting as well!
For example:  On day is says "Make something with your breakfast before you eat it."  Now think on that!  Eggs and toast, or cereal or coffee and a biscotti, or even a grapefruit! 
Doesn't have to take long, and it doesn't have to be elaborate.  But it will be fun.

Won't you join Glen and myself and get creative? 

You can get the book at Amazon for less than 14$ new and from about a $1.50 used! 
I bought a used copy and it's in perfect shape.  I paid less than 10$.  :)
Another day the idea is this:  "Make a unique bookmark.   The author of the book made skulls. 
Check out Glen's blog for more details, she's said a lot about it! 

Well, at least think about joining us, even for a couple of days a week! 
My bed is yelling for me to come and sleep in it!  So I'm off to dreamland!  Have a great weekend!  God Bless, Anne

It's been way too long!

I'm tired and can't wait to get into bed!  Need sleep.  :)
Ok, been sewing dog stuff like a mad woman.   Got in some pillowcase sewing today. 

I'm going out to eat with a friend soon and it's been a while.  I missed her Birthday, so I made her a couple of pillow cases.  :)  

I have a ton of pictures to show, and not all pillow cases either!

 I don't know what color her bedroom is, and I think these won't match, but they'll be fun!!  She loves to garden in the summer and I think she's raised sun flowers before.  :)

They are made just opposite of each other!

This one is actually my favorite!


I have enough of this fabric to make one more for myself!  hehehehe

I bought this a couple of weeks ago, and just have not had time until today to open it and give it a shot!

It really seems to work!  

 But then I noticed that the piece with the button you push to make it grind the blade is not really attached to anything.  I had only used it for one side of one blade when I noticed it, so it's not from something I've done to it...

It doesn't fit into the place where it's supposed to be snug.  It's always up about 1/2 inch.
Poo!
So I called the folks who made it.  They are going to ship me out a new one and provide a label to get this one back to them.  Now if it works out the way he said it would, it will be fantabulous  customer service.  I'll let you know what happens!  I still have time to send it back to Amazon if they don't follow through.

And after sharpening 4 blades, I still have this stack of used blades to sharpen.  :)

I made these collars for the greyhound group in Sierra Vista.  Hope Dave likes them!

 And more collars for them!!

They are having a big fund raiser so I  know that they can auction these off and make money.  Or do a raffle.

The red one on the right is also going.

And this one too.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!





Ok, I have a few more fun pics, but I'll save them for tomorrow or Friday!  Have a great 'rest of the week!'
God Bless,    Anne