Wait. What? July 7th

Already? The last week has flown by. I'm not really sure when I slept. 

I'm kidding, of course.  There has just been so much going on. First, my very sad news is that our sweet little Cottontop, who has been my constant companion for over 17 years, went to puppy heaven last Wednesday. It's extremely sad to miss him so much, but he was getting in pretty bad shape, blindness from glaucoma, painful hips, confusion. I am happy that he is no longer suffering. Seventeen years is old and we have been expecting it for a long while now. Richard took care of burying him in our backyard. He had made a small wooden coffin a couple of years ago. 

At the time that he was dealing with my little Maltese, I was tutoring English. My student spent several days completing his assignments, testing and learning test-taking skills. I kept him pretty busy, poor kid. Today was his final and I'm anxiously awaiting the results.

Thursday I left for my modern guild quilt retreat. What fun! I had such a great time. I completed one top and almost finished another. Plus, I completed my "mow the lawn" strip for the Sugaridoo BOM. (I'll be so happy when it's complete.) And I made a couple of postcards for a sister, which I can't find at the moment.  The retreat took me all the way to Sunday. 

Monday, I went to a guild meeting and gave a presentation on thread-painting. That went badly. It also happened to be Will, our oldest son's birthday. They invited us to their home for supper and cake. Their kids and grandies were also there and we were reminded how noisy a house full of kids and teens can be. And be grateful to return to the quiet of home.

But aren't they cute?

A new romper and an old monkey

Last week I made a little romper for Milly that turned out much too big. So I went back to the worktable and created a new pattern from the old. This one fits much better; however, I didn't adjust the armseye opening which is still too deep, but Milly seems quite happy.  

I am over it, though. I have too many other things going on, especially this week. Our church is celebrating it's 90th Anniversary and we are planning several events to mark the occasion. One of those events is to create a directory with photographs of the parishioners. 

I'm the gal in charge, so to speak, and this week LifeTouch
photographers are in house. I've scheduled people for three days of portraits. That's all well and good, until the day arrives.  But no more complaining. Tomorrow is the last day of photographers. 

Besides there's good news in the house: the kids have moved to their own (new) house and we have spent a night in our own home. The last night we slept in the camper, Cotton found Milly's stuffed monkey. It's quite old and beginning to shed and leave crumbles.

But apparently Cotton finds it just right for napping. Now that we're back in the house, Milly has access to most of her toys, so Cotton has gained a hand-me-down monkey. He's quite protective of it. Just getting a couple of pictures of him was a little difficult: I was not allowed to touch his new toy. 

Pin It Weekly #224

Baby animals to the rescue, because when you need to get out of your funk what could be more efficient? Or cuter? Baby people, sure, but these are some pretty darling little ones. Enjoy and pin to your heart's desire!

Find these on my "animal, babies" Pinterest board.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Houston IQA {6} Animals

I thought that you might like to see a few more of the quilts from the Houston show. These are all quilts that depict animals in some form. Pets, farm, and wild animals are all present. Enjoy!

As usual, you can find these on my "heart, quilts" Pinterest board. 

Have a wonderful week!

Puppy Update on Cottontop

Hey, leave me alone

My sweet little Cottontop was only three months old when I got him for my birthday. Now he is well over 13 and is getting old and cranky. It's a bit like living with a 90-year-old man. He eats, sleeps, and waits for me to get home. 

Last night when I got up from my chair, I accidentally tossed my lap blanket over  him. When I returned several minutes later, he was exactly as I'd left him--a little black nose peaking out. 

Really? You had to move the blankey?

Of course, I decided he was too cute to miss the shot. 

And that lead me to consider that since I haven't posted anything about the puppies in a while, it would be about time.

You may notice that in some of these "portraits" he has what looks like a pink bow. It's actually a pink heart that Marley gave him for Valentine's Day. I stuck it in his hair thinking that it would soon fall out. Boy was I wrong! That adhesive is meant to stick.

After a bath

It's going to take a bath and some growling to get it out. I've tried a few times, but he does not appreciate it one bit. Snarls, growls, and snapping ensues. I've let go every time.

Newspaper is always fun

This picture is one I took after he had a field day with the newspaper, a toy and the pages of a children's book. Marley was not happy about her toy or her book. It didn't seem to matter that she'd already written in the book or that the toy had come from McDonalds. 

Don't move the toy...

this is where it belongs

These last two pictures are meant to show how smart he is, but it way work against him. He decided one afternoon that his toy belong in this place on the edge of his bed. I threw it several times. He would not return it to me. Instead he returned it to this place everytime. 
After a few times I gave up and stopped throwing the toy. He promptly climbed in the bed and took a nap leaving the toy perched on the edge. He has never done this since. 


On that note, he will not play with just any toy. He chooses the toy and will fetch or squeak it. Throw a different toy and he ignores it. It annoys the grands to no end, but they annoy him, so it's an even game. 

I hope you enjoyed the update on my sweet, cranky old man. Do you have a pet who's been with you for a long time? How long has it been?

Cotton's Studio Bed

I am on a roll! I've been going into the studio to do a bit of cleaning. By a bit, I mean a little bit 
(I don't like cleaning), then I do a bit of sewing. 


I moved some fabrics to their respective places, cleared out and put away a plastic bag of stuff, and salvaged some old lace. 

Then I happened upon an old pillow of Cotton's that I'd made several years ago. It was badly torn, but I had washed it by pining the opening closed, so the stuffing was clean. 

Did you know that pillow stuffing can be reused? The trick is to wash it in hot water with a little bleach and let it dry well. Then pull the stuffing out and, using very sharp scissors, chop the stuffing into small pieces. 

The fibers tend to clump up and adhere to each other over time, but cutting the pieces apart allows air to fluff it up. It's a good way to save money making pet pillows.  

I dug around in the stash and found some cute animal fabric that I'd used to make scrubs. Apparently I'd cut sleeves out and there was a problem, because the only fabric in the stash had been cut in the perfect shape of sleeves. 

The sleeves seemed like a good match for my needs--I left the shape as it was. I sewed the two sleeves together (RST) around all four sides making sure to leave an opening on the wrist edge so I could turn the pillow and stuff it. 

Cotton likes to rest his sweet little head on something separate from the bed, so I decided to make a pillow on his pillow. First I stuffed the bottom (or large part) of the pillow, and sewed a seam about three inches from the wrist opening. 

Next I stuffed the small section and sewed it closed on the machine. I rolled the small section over on the pillow and hand-stitched the two pieces together. Voila! Perfect little bed for my little boy.

This pillow will be somewhere near the sewing machine so that Cotton can be nearby while I sew. He prefers to be very close to me at all times. As a baby, he sat in my lap while I sewed. How much sewing do you think I got done that way? 

What are you doing this week to get your sewing space in shape?