I got my two quilts back from the Manquilter. I’m pleased with how they turned out. The blue floral quilt had a lot of detail quilting whereas the Asian quilt just had an overall design done. Last weekend I took a longarm quilting class from Matt. I am hoping that in the near future, with a little more experience/practice, I will be able to do all the longarm work on my own quilts. To see more pictures and read about them click on the appropriate link:
Filed under Quilting
We got up this morning and took our ‘kids’ for a walk and then gave them their special Christmas breakfast…kibble smoothered in tuna. They snarfed it up and then cleaned each other’s bowls. After we opened our presents, Don and I headed off to the Humane Society to spend some time with the puppies there. I am a regular volunteer dog walker but today, since the shelter is closed, I was allowed to bring a guest for a tour and visit. Our Humane Society has won awards for their innovative shelter and companion animal adoption programs. We did some walking and lots of smooching and chin scratching. We were thrilled when we got to see Esperanza (see her full story below) and her fat, healthy puppies. It was encouraging to see her putting a little weight on her injured leg. It was a wonderful way to spend our Christmas morning.
Filed under Volunteering
..and all through the house not a creature was stirring…not even the dogs.
Wally and Tilly curled up by the fireplace waiting for Santa to arrive
Here’s a cartoon from DrawTheDog.com. It reminds me of my ‘kids’….they are always shoving their big heads into all parcels and bags to check out what goodies are inside.
This story is perfect for this time of year. Once again a dog shows us the true meaning of love, hope and giving.
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It is hard to believe that our little girl turns 1 today. She has brought such joy and laughter to our home. There is something about having a small, cuddly dog that you can pick up and smooch. She has taken over our bed and makes sure that she has the best real estate..between the two of us and under the covers of course. Her birthday present was a big, juicy prime rib bone.
Filed under Tilly
I’m so excited I feel like a kid in a candy store. I have had a quilt top sitting in my sewing room for a year now It is actually the very first quilt I ever made. In fact I worked on it at the same time as I took my intro to quilting class and had it finished before the final class (ironically, I still haven’t finished the sampler quilt I made in my intro class). I didn’t want to free motion quilt it myself because I loved the finished product and I didn’t want my lack of experience with free motion quilting to wreck it. It has taken me a year to find someone who I trusted to add the magic to it for me. That man…yes it is a man…..is Matt Sparrow from ManQuilter.com.
As I type this post he is working on it live on USTREAM. Here is the link to watch it live….ManQuilter
Matt was kind enough to create a video clip for me so that I could include it in my blog. When he finishes this quilt he has another blue/gold oriental themed quilt he is going to work on. I think it was the 4th quilt I made. He said he should be done both of them in the next 3-4 days. I can hardly wait to get a look at them. I will post pictures when I get them home.
Although I don’t agree with some of the things that Cesar Millan does, I believe that he is definitely on target when he talks about how he “rehabilitates dogs and trains people” and how dogs live in the now and move forward. I’ve written about Hope before. She was a puppy that my friend Susan and I co-fostered. When she came to live with us, she had 2 previous foster homes that were not ideal for her. She was covered in stress dandruff, had continuous eye and ear infections and she was very anxious and vocal. In fact, the day I picked her up she put her mouth on my arm and began squeezing it with increasing pressure until she left visible teeth marks. It was like she was saying I don’t want to do this but I don’t know what else to do to relieve the tension that I am feeling. At that moment I knew that she was coming home with me. I couldn’t leave her to suffer another day. We weren’t sure if we could help her but we were willing to try. In just a few weeks, her skin condition improved dramatically and we could see the beginnings of a very beautiful, gentle personality emerging. Six or seven months later she was healthy enough to be moved on to her wonderful adult foster home with Patty. Eventually Hope’s entire litter was rejected by the guide/service dog school and Susan was given the opportunity to adopt her and give her a forever home. I cannot think of a better place to be if I was a dog. Under Susan’s loving care, Hope has blossomed into an amazing, gentle soul. Patty and I still get our regular dose of “Hope love” when she comes to our houses for sleep overs and puppy-sitting.
Susan has two active, energetic grand daughters and a 6 month old kitten. Hope puts up with all the activity and excitement and shows no sign of stress or anxiety. Susan shared these wonderful pictures of Hope, Copper (kitten), Petra and Gwen playing together and thoroughly enjoying each others company. The girls just love crawling into Hope’s kennel and Copper likes to hang out on top. It just brings tears of joy to see how Hope is living in the present and not letting her past affect her future. We two-legged creatures could learn a lot from our four-legged friends.
Filed under Foster Puppies
Life In The Dog House 