Friends

When we brought Madison home as a pup a little over a year ago, she was all of 4 pounds and tiny compared to Chance and Skeezics - both 13 pound cats.  Skeezics took to her right away, he's our little zen master and dog whisperer.  Chance however was not amused.  He was not going to like that "d-o-g" no matter what.  He wouldn't even walk on the floor if that dog was in the room.  He would walk on the backs of chairs and side tables to avoid the possibility of even coming in contact with that dog.  It was hilarious to watch this huge cat try to tip toe and slink around to avoid the little 4 pound puppy who wasn't all that interested in either of them.  My how times have changed, they've become good friends, they play, he'll rub up against her as cats like to do and last night - we spotted this on the couch (the camera woke them up):

Just proving that no matter how determined you are to avoid someone or how disgusted you are by them, you can come around and be buddies!!

My Latest Creation

Despite the flu, fever, aches and pains and sleeping a lot, I did get another wall hanging done for winter after the holidays.  It was a kit I bought several years ago and the pattern was quite frustrating, I cut everything out and yet the measurements were not right for somethings and in general it was just a weird pattern to follow.  However with all the challenges, I think it turned out - okay.  I love the fabric that is for sure.

The only thing left to do is put a binding on and I'll do that when we're at the beach.

I also wanted to share a couple of great websites.  The first one is Julie Peterson's site, she is a fabulous artist from Moses Lake, WA.  She does some stunning paintings with quilts in them.  I own several of her prints and one of her gicle'e prints.  Check her work out, you won't be disappointed.

Also I stumbled on this cutest website about Iris and Fern - two cats who live in Canada and their Christmas Tree antics.  Oh my gosh, if you are a cat lover, you will get a big kick out of these two sisters.  I really admire their parents for putting up a tree every year, after our Skeezics went after the tree the last 2 years, we've decided it's just not worth it, the temptation is to much for him.

Happy Stitchin!!

Tam

A Painted Bathroom

This weekend my dear sweet hubby decided to paint our small half-bath off of our bedroom.  We'd been meaning to get to it after we put a new piece of vinyl on the floor and a new ADA toilet (which showed the unpainted part of the wall because it was smaller than the last one).  But Spring and Summer arrived and fishing called to us and before we knew it, Fall was here and the bathroom still not painted.  Which in retrospect was a good thing.  In the beginning I was leaning toward totally different colors than I ended up with and I'm super happy with the results.  We painted it a latte color and then I had wanted red accessories (towels, etc).  Well I went shopping around and they had a berry color - to pinkish, they had a wine/merlot color - to dark for such a small space and then they had these towels they called a tomato color - fell in love with the tomato color.  To keep it brighter in the room I selected a slightly off white toilet seat cover and bathmat.  I love the results - and the fact that my "lets paint everything beige, I'm afraid of color husband" went along with some color and liked it too - hooray!!

In case you're wondering that is a bear toilet paper holder.  I'm a bear fanatic and yes, even the bathroom has bear accessories like a soap dish, toothbrush holder, soap dispenser, etc.  I don't think the picture does the paint justice, it looks a bit pinkish in this picture - really, think latte!!

Last month was my birthday, CR was trying to get me some Kretzer Scissors for my birthday, a pair of pinking shears, an 8" pair of sewing scissors and a small pair of embroidery scissors.  Well the company we were told that had them online (couldn't find them locally) really made a mess out of things.  They charged us without sending the product, the wouldn't answer emails or phone calls, in fact you could only get an answering machine no matter the day or the time of day you called.  It was awful.  So I disputed the charges with our credit card company and those charges were removed.  Then I sent an email to Kretzer to let them know of the issue.  I felt they should know that this company was bad news and they might not want their product being associated with them.  To my surprise, Kretzer wanted to know what scissors I had ordered and then they sent them to me free of charge - because they wanted me to be a happy customer and what had happened was just not good business, even though it was not Kretzer the company who did this to me.  I couldn't believe it.  So all you quilters and crafters, take a look at Kretzer Scissors, they are German made and an excellent product as well as an excellent company.  And Kretzer is in the process of pulling their product from the company I complained about.  I hope we start see the Kretzer scissors on the shelves in  our local quilt shops soon, they are certainly worth the money and not really that expensive compared to some scissors out there.

Time to go rest some more, this flu has really kicked me in the behind and I've got no get up and go.

Stay Healthy!

Tam

Remember Felix the Cat?

Do you remember Felix the Cat, I have always loved him and one day while browsing around on Amazon I found a place that carried Felix Clocks.  I had to have one, his eyes move, his tail swings and he would be perfect for my sewing room.  So CR ordered him for my birthday and he finally arrived today, HOORAY.  Isn't he too cute!!

Christmas Wall Hanging and Table Topper

All my bindings are done, hooray, it's very hard to hand sew with the arthritis I have, so I'm always glad when I get it done.  Thank goodness for my clover needle threader, or I would still be trying to thread the darn needle.
My Christmas wall hanging is the pattern from the current issue of Quilt Maker, it's not only a festive wall hanging but it's a card holder as well.  My table topper for our coffee table is an Anka's Treasures pattern - I just love her patterns, they're so easy to follow and they look so great when you finish.

Now it's time to get back to the quilt for our bed and also start doing things to get us ready to head to Cannon Beach, OR for Thanksgiving.  We've spent every Thanksgiving in Cannon Beach for 25+ years now.  We'll haul the 5th wheel down and the kids (dog and cats) will go with us, it's our last trip for the year and I think our favorite trip too. 

Hopefully I'll have some progress to show or report on the quilt before we leave.

Turkey Wall Hanging

Finally have my Turkey wall hanging done and out for November.  I call him Tom the Turkey.  I messed up a bit on the size of the blocks on the sides, and decided that it would have to do, perhaps next year I will make him again and do it right the next time.  Until then, here is Tom:

It's a Rasmatazz Designs Pattern called Turkey Feathers.  Mistakes and all - I like him a lot.

Been Busy Sewing......

Happy Halloween a bit late.  I've been a busy girl in my sewing room of late and had wanted to post a picture of my Happy Jack wall hanging a couple days ago, but blogger wouldn't let me do much of anything and absolutely wouldn't let me upload a picture.  Don't know what was up with that, but glad I could finally get a picture up today.  I've also made a Christmas wall hanging, a table topper for our coffee table and I almost have my turkey wall hanging finished.  Then I'll just need to sit and hand sew those bindings down and I can share them with you as well.  I can't believe it's the first day of November already - where has the time gone.  Well I was busy much of October making 12 purses, and only 3 were for me and I must say I don't want to make a purse for a long while.  Once the turkey is done I'll get back to the quilt for our bed which I'm anxious to get back into.  Did you all get little goblins ringing your door bells??  I didn't get a one, and I had candy ready and waiting too.  It was extremely windy around here, so I wonder if that kept them home.  Now I'll have to eat that candy - oy vey!!  What do you do with your left over candy - eat it or find a way to get rid of it??

Birthday's

In just a couple short hours I will be ushering in my last year of my 4th decade.  Yep, I'll be 49 on October 19th.  What a difference a year makes, last year as I turned 48, I was recovering from hip replacement, my husband was waiting to find out if his cancer has spread and what his course of treatment would be and our little puppy had just survived parvo.  I really could have cared less about my birthday last year.  This year is a different story.  I am so grateful that my husband beat his cancer, my little puppy has grown into an adult dog who brings both of us so much joy every single day, my hip is a year old and I wake up every day grateful for it.  It's hard to believe this is the last year of my forties, seems like just yesterday I turned 40 and now the decade is almost gone.  Can't say that I'd want to turn back the clock, if my fifties are as good as my forties, then bring them on.  I know that this decade of my life taught me to be comfortable in my own skin, I learned to like myself faults and all and to embrace it all because I am uniquely me.  I've also learned that you can survive hot flashes and that even though you feel like you're losing your mind during the worst of menopause, it does come back to you and most of the sweating does stop over time.  Which is not to say that I'm not hotter than I used to be (hot in the sweaty sense that is, haha), or that I don't on occasion get drippy with sweat for no apparent reason, it's just not an every day thing and it's just not as intense as it used to be.  I remember when I turned 30, boy was I depressed, thought it was all over with, old age and misery and grey hair were just a heart beat away.  When I turned 40 I made a list of 40 things to do leading up to the big day - wow, was that fun and the depression I was worried about didn't happen with turning 40.  This year I don't even think I need a list to make turning 50 fun, nor do I feel worried about old age, and I've been covering my grey hairs for several years now.  I guess I'm looking forward to 50, to my 5th decade of life and all it has to bring, I know myself and what I'm capable of and I'm sure that happiness and/or sorrow, I will survive and go on.  After all that which does not kill you makes you stronger.