Tough being the only dog!!!

Being the only dog now the claiming ownership of all furniture is a serious responsibility for Morris.  Years ago we had the perfect sectional where we both had a section to stretch out and relax,  But after about 35 years it just gave out.  We had it recovered once but it was too far gone to do that again.  But styles had changed and the big overstuffed styles just wouldn't work in our house.  We did find a nice leather couch on Craigslist and in the house where we bought it  it seems the right size.  But when we got it home in our house it was the size of a small bus.  BUT it was the most comfortable couch ever... So comfortable in fact that both of us were always vying for it and occasionally Morris  shared it with us.

So in the new house I will have room for a second couch.  Not wanting to try to match the leather couch I found a GREAT deal online at Home Depot for a wicker sofa and it was closeout and free shipping.  Actually being a patio piece the cushions are easy to wipe down and I didn't think Morris would want it anyway over the comfy leather one.  But it was in his space and he had to declare ownership at least part of the day.  So I put a towel on it and hoping in a week or so he will tire of it as it is not nearly as comfy as the leather couch. 

It's in the bags!!

Tuesday was senior day(30% discount) at my favorite thrift stores and my thriftin' friend and I made our rounds of our favorite stores and finished with lunch...

As usual I had a list and did pretty well.  High on the list were two-part frames in  the smaller 3X5" size.  These are not that easy to find so finding two was great... Didn't find a medium sized bread board in good condition.

A new bag for winter was high on the list... As long as I can remember I have ALWAYS carried a purse and a sewing bag,  Any overflow from the purse went into the sewing bag.  Since I don't carry a sewing bag anymore, I've had a terrible time finding the perfect purse. If everything fit the bag it is too large  and heavy.


I found this brand-new one for $3.99 and the retail tags were still on it.  This is not uncommon at a change of season when retailers clean out before the new stock.
When Coldwater Creek had its catalog store just north of us we'd see a lot of their unsold stock in thrift stores at the change of season.  Unfortunately they are no longer there and it was my favorite brand.








But this one has all the things I like..at least three interior sections and two outside pockets.  I should be able to keep everything organized which I love. 









I definitely wasn't looking for a purse for next summer but found this which was also new and too good to pass up.









It also has three middle sections and three outside pockets as well.  I had one very similar cloth purse that I carried this summer.  I loved it but it was just too small.  This one will be perfect.  So I can take "purse" off my list for a good long while.




What I did also buy that I absolutely did not need (and was NOT on my list) was this tote that is totally encrusted with beads.  I have a granddaughter who will love it though...

A word or two about my dear  Morris who is now approaching 9 years of age.  Besides being a foodie, his  goal is to get as many tummy rubs as possible into every day.  As I type he assumes this "tarty" pose across my feet.. He then makes a squeaky noise just in case I hadn't noticed him.  He spends a good part of the day in this position where anyone moving from room to room can stop for a tummy rub or two...and we do!!! It is possible to type with one hand and rub his tummy with the other hand.

This plant made my day,week,month etc.

I haven't been able to get down the path along the greenhouse because a large tree fell on it early spring.  Dh got the tree cut up and cleared away so I was able to spray the path this am  and see what was still surviving..  Seeing a mass of butterflies I knew one of my favorite plants had reappeared -  Eupatoriaum purpureum. I was sure I had lost it.  I have tried to move it by the house twice and failed.  I even bought a plant online and it too didn't survive. It's common name is Purple Joe Pye Weed and is a butterfly magnet.   I have marked it with a red ribbon and will hand water it through the up coming drought and will get it by the house this fall if it is the  very last thing I do..   Plus give a start to my best gardening friend.  A great cut flower also..

Another superb unusual cut flower surviving
 is "giant scabiosa" (Cephalaria Giantea) and it is indeed a giant at 7' tall and makes a huge clump.  I do not have space for it by the house... but it is happy in the wild garden.





A little self-seeder I never see in gardens (but should) is a delightful 18" perennial pincushion "Knautia Macedonia" It is not long-lived but seeds politely and is not the least invasive.  It is darker maroon than this photo... Love it. I once posted a bouquet of unusual perennials and this one stumped everybody.


I used to remember both botanical an common names of all my plants and now I'm lucky if I can remember either... But any name for this plant escapes me this morning.

Could see about a half dozen huge clumps of this salvia in the deepest weeds (where I seldom venture  often because these particular weeds which have nasty little burrs.) But it will be worth it to get a clump or two next spring.  The yellow flower you see is a small flowered verbascum which is spectacular in bouquets.  Again not long-lived but is a polite self seeder.

I speak from experience that if you venture into these weeds in sweat pants you might as well throw them away because you will NEVER get all the burrs out.. Definitely jean territory.

Last but not least the lavender everywhere is in full bloom.  I mentioned recently that years ago every time I planted a rose I surrounded it with lavender but most of the roses are long gone and mega clumps of lavender are throughout the wild part of the garden.  It is a super dark variety Hicote.  If it is a moist spring I can lift long branches  and find new plants growing underneath.  I haven't done that for 4 or 5 years so must mark the calendar and do it in the spring for plants to put by the  peony garden.  Some elderly ladies from a church used to come and pick carloads of it and dry it to sell at their bazaar. 

Our resident hummers are calliopes and black-chinned but this week we were treated to a visit by colorful rufous passing through.

And  large batches of baby quail are finally  emerging from the safety of the juniper and mahonia.  Here they are basking in a warm patch of sunlight.  It will be nonstop parade from now until fall.

Must let you know that Morris is not one be denied his creature comforts.  In fact I believe he invented the term "creature comfort"  Every dog deserves a pillow for his bum and two pillows for his head... so civilized...

Prep for the trip!

Morris's  duffel bag was the first thing packed as well it should be.. All  his stuff plus extra towels as I'm sure they will be needed if he is running on the sandy beach.  His favorite bed is already in the car.









Next was the necessities for the spider bag. My favorite travel magnifying light by Brightech and an extension cord... I highly recommend this jewel of a lamp ...only $29.99 at Amazon and one of the best buys ever.  It rolls right up and fits in my sewing tote.   Then my chatelaine and needle book.

Then my ribbonwork book, the gorgeous ribbons Shirlee sent me and a bag of ribbons from my stash,  I have been waiting patiently to get to this stage of this project.  It's like the icing on the cake...  I was a very good girl and got all the greenery base done and now doing the flowers is my reward.  And doing them in a condo with an ocean view is even more special... If doing ribbonwork is too exhausting I can go to the hot tub in the club house while DH is walking Morris

My flowers are all going to be worked off the bag and attached in clusters... similar to these which are  used for millinery trade.

At this point my plan is to use some of my special buttons for the centers of some of the flowers.  I have some really cool buttons that I treasure... These are a good example.  They are very small (3/8") turn-of-the century shoe buttons and they are dyed bone...   I found them in a button shop in Portobello Market  when we went to London in 2015. After I hauled these buttons halfway around the world, it would be a sin not to use them on something special. I did use some on the suffrage crazy quilt.

Spider Bag and Morris's Vacation

Although I took the spider bag along, Mexico was not conducive to stitching.  If I had the time there was inadequate light.  But I did make some progress with ribbon leaves.  After all the leaves are finished I plan to go over them in spots with alcohol ink to add more definition.

Also after the greenery is all done I will go back in and enhance most of the webs.  (see pink lines).

When I was doing a lot of round robins I always made extra blocks so I would have one available if I decided to join at the last minute.  I found a black one that will be perfect for the pocket on the back of the spider bag.


For the last five years we have gone to Seaside Oregon in October with some friends and stayed right on the beach...no dogs allowed in our condo.... and every year we abandoned Morris with a sitter.  We would watch all the dogs cavorting on the beach and many times each day we would say "Oh Morris would just love this."

So next week Morris gets his own vacation on the beach with our full undivided attention.. Lots of walks, belly rubs, cuddling, meals on time and treats galore. 

We are going to Westport, WA for 5 days while the cheap winter rates are still on.  I plan on doing no cooking, lots of stitching on the bag and watch the waves roll in and out from dawn to dusk.

I'm also leaving the laptop at home so don't expect any posts for awhile.

Button Giveaway - Post # 1498

I wanted to do something to celebrate the upcoming #1500 post and decided to do a special button for a giveaway.... I now am using my new magnifying lamp which I love.  It is like stepping through a looking glass into a world I can really see.  After I've painted a while I am hesitant to come back into my blurry world.

I have been experimenting with painting baskets and have several others done as well.  These buttons are barely larger then 1"....

There are going to be 4 winners so leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win.  I will do a drawing one day next week...

 Our orphaned fawn is staying close and fattening up for winter.  Morris loves to watch the fawn gobble up sunflower seeds.  He never barks or makes a sound that would frighten the fawn away...  The fawn is only about 3' from the house.

And Molly who   likes sunflower seeds as well has become "friends of sorts" with the wild turkeys who come for snacks also..  We love our wildlife.. 


So leave a comment and help me celebrate this milestone!!!  You might just be a winner.!!!

Progress, my plan and Morris

I can see the end of  critters in sight and hope to have the majority of them  done next week and I do have a plan...  All the critters are done with single thread DMC floss.  I always have two critters going at once.. I just love the woodpecker.    All get their feet and beaks when appliqued.  When I started using single threads it seemed like it would take forever but now I love it...  In fact when I use two threads for seams it feels so bulky...

Plan:  I will start in earnest on the seams on the beck panel..  and it has a LOT of seams and will probably take most of September to finish...  Then I will have most of October to do the beading, extra stitching, and assembly...  I will probably be stitching right up until I leave.

 

No matter where I'm working Morris is beside me...  He barely raises his head when I go to get coffee or food, but if I pick up my little jambox speaker (for Pandora) he hops right up because he knows we are changing work sites.  I adore my dog...

 

 

 

Remember the beaded fans?

Whether it is a large or small project it brings a cohesive quality to a design if it has repeated (echoed) elements......whether it is shape, color, image etc.  On the suffrage quilt I used a variety of beaded fans  along with lace and metal fans... 

On this jacket repeated elements will be insects..... ants, bees, dragonflies, spiders, and especially butterflies.   Hopefully the birds will be the big drama but the bugs will fill in
the awkward spots.

I did this "flower" butterfly as a test and I like it...

So I sketched a bunch on a piece of muslin backed with fusible tricot interfacing trying to get as many different shapes as I can...

When I'm at a thread shop I fall in love with every skein of variegated thread and have bought a lot ... But I seldom use it as  most times the length of the color change is so long that it is ineffective... But all those unused skeins will be perfect for these butterflies.  AND by having them all on one hoop I will not have to change thread so often...


And the new sweatshirt dog bed is a big hit... The stuffed sleeves make a great pillow for Morris to rest his head... He thinks it is only civilized to have a pillow and takes mine every chance he gets...  I throw a treat to the foot of the bed and while he is fetching it, I claim my pillows.  This bed is right by my computer and he is patiently waiting for me to finish so we can take a proper nap (with cuddle)......!!!!!

Fancy fans

Here are the last four fans.  I had problems with both paddle fans keeping their shape but I can adjust that when I attach them to the quilt.

And here are all twelve together

And here's the list of tips:
1.  Use a double thread as it attaches the beads more securely.
2. After you attach a row of seed beads  run your thread back and forth through it a couple times to aline the beads.
3. When adding a row of irregular beads such as flowers, sequins, spacers etc., start in the center and work to either side. (See example on left)  That way if it doesn't quite come out even you have the same odd space on each end to fiddle with.
4. Insert you initial knot about 1/2" toward the center and weave your thread to the edge.  It is easy to snip a knot near the edge when cutting you fan out.
5. Every few beads secure on the back side with a knot. The more often you knot, the more even and secure your bead design will be...
6. Size 15 beads are the best for filling in difficult areas.

Morris really prefers 5 pillows and one blanket.  Friday will be moving day for my mother... from the nursing facility back to assisted living.  I'm holding my breath that she can handle it... I will probably spend the nights with her  to help with the transition.  Lots of stitching time.

I'm hopeless

I promised myself resolutely, irrevocably, that I would not start another project OR even think about another project, until the suffrage quilt was done.  But alas I have failed again and am a wimp of major proportion (literally).

 Last Saturday my CQ stitchers met here and brought their collections of hankies which were amazing.  I had wanted to save mine until after the suffrage quilt and use that fabulous table cover which is good sized... But then I thought "maybe just a little piece".............. but then again how many hanky quilt will I do.  I had better do the table cover to begin with... Sooooooooooo  I got it out, pressed it, and added the fusible tricot to the back of the linen...

I placed hoop there to get a feel for the size of center motif I want to do... This is really an incredible piece of vintage linen and I love being able to get it out of the bin.

Last spring I painted some buttons for Valentine's Day which had a heart of forget-me-knots.  At the time I thought would be fun to do something similar in embroidery and ribbon work.  It would make a great focal point for the hankies and wouldn't take long... And of course I have been wanting to do bluebirds and I can do them off block and add after my suffrage quilt is really done.... Cathy K posted some ribbon bluebirds on Pinterest that made me want to do them.  In fact I may add 4-5 bluebirds

When I sorted my hankies I had a LOT of hearts and roses.  I don't really want a Valentine quilt but I do want to aim for romantic.

So since a central focal point will be on a vintage damask napkin, it will be easy to tote about and the actually attaching the hankies can wait until after the suffrage quilt.

This piece of counted cross-stitch which I stitched almost 40 years ago will definitely be my inspiration.  And I'm off and running AGAIN!!!

Most dogs would  be grateful just to be allowed on the couch... But Morris has to rearrange all the pillows and blankets on the couch every time he wants to nap there.

Fabric Book/Journal Tutorial

First I need to clarify definitions:
One BLOCK = the 6" CQJP square as I finished it...
One PAGE  = two (2) blocks back-to-back.
One SECTION = two pages sewn together..

I ended the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012 with 16 blocks... I wasn't as careful as I should have been and there was considerable size difference between the largest and smallest blocks...  Rather than cut them all down to the size of the smallest block (which was certainly a viable option) I chose to add a border to all the blocks and then trim them to  common size...

I then cut a light piece of felt to the common size of the blocks ... A piece of lightweight cotton batting would have worked just as well.  I wanted this filler between the blocks to give the page some body... no limp pages for me....  At the same time I cut two pieces of heavy interfacing for the covers...  They need to cut about 1/2" larger on the outside edges....not on the side facing the spine of the book.

Then I sewed a strip of 2 1/2" binding around each page (2 blocks back-to-back) by machine...  I made the binding out of material to coordinate with the blocks... I highly recommend making a BIAS binding.... it is much more pliable and forgiving than binding cut on grain. There are numerous sites (and even videos) which show how to do this but I really liked this site... http://cynthiashaffer.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/turning-a-corner-making-a-point-binding-tutorial.html.  She did a much better job of explaining this step than I every could.

And then I neatly turned the binding to the back, pressed it, and sewed it by hand..

When all the pages were bound I sewed two pages together to make a SECTION!

Then I cut the spine a little wider than I thought I would need from the same heavy duty interfacing.  I marked lines about 1/2" apart... I cover one side with coordinating fabric by using double sided interfacing...

 I then sewed down the lines with a bobbin thread that would show easily on the fabric.

Then by hand, I sewed each section to a line....in order of course..

When open you can see that the sections are about 1/2" apart on the spine but because the pages are so thick that is necessary for the book to open properly and lay flat.

At this point (without covers) you can see how it looks...  There are 3 SECTIONS of two PAGES each.   So there are 12 blocks for the inside to the book,

I trimmed the spine to just leave enough seam allowance to add the covers and covered it with a piece of felt...  I then assembled the covers exactly like I did the pages except I added both the felt and the interfacing.

I then sewed the covers to the spine by hand.  This was the hardest part due to the thickness of the layers...  So I used a very long sturdy needle, extra heavy thread and a pair of pliers to make the task go easier..

Then I covered the black felt on the spine with the dog paw ribbon using again double sided interfacing.

Done....  I struggle with writing tutorials as it is easier to do something than write directions on how to do it... I strive it to make the process easily understood.  If there is any point that needs more clarification, please write me and I will update it....