Twister Puppy Updates

Here are a couple of pictures of Twister's puppies. They will be 4 weeks old on Mon. I'm late posting but hope to get back on track by next week.  They're starting to play with each other and walk around a bit. By next week they will probably running around the kitchen. 

Clyde

He wasn't born here,  his ancestry was uncertain and always a curiosity.  His time with us was short. But some things were certain and unquestionable, his ever present smile, his happily wagging tail, his love of keeping the yard bunny free,  his unending loyalty to his buddies and us.   Most of all he had heart. He loved going to McDonald's drive thru every morning when we went to pick up mail. He was my traveling buddy on long trips. The passenger seat was his. We lost him Sat, a short time after his lymphoma diagnosis.   

Twister Puppy Updates

I'm late posting updated pictures this week. Here are a few. They now have their eyes open, are getting around and starting to play with each other. The curly little adult you see peaking over the edge is Mr. Big. Twister was outside with Clyde so Mr. Big decided he would see what his competition for attention was. He jumped in the box, was sniffing and licking the puppies till one decided it was hungry..... out he came just as quick as he went in. You can see him standing just outside the box still cleaning the puppies. 

I hope to get back on schedule posting the updates on a weekly basis. 

Liz and Macy Do It Again!

Congratulations to Liz and Macy on their second place in Rally this Spring. Liz and Macy are quite a team.  They've gone on to the next level already and are having a blast! 

More Have It Your Way

I caught up to the current mystery step today with my 6" blocks.  The colors are coming together nicely. I think the 9 patch was the right block for me to work with. The 3" blocks are next. 

Twister Puppies

Here's an update on Twister puppies. You can see how they are growing and are very well taken care of by Mom, Twister. 

Have It Your Way Mystery Quilt

This is the Friendship Block I was considering for the Mystery Quilt. I made a 3" block for the middle of this one to see how difficult it would be. It takes a while and you need to be very accurate. That's why I went with the 9 patch. But, I really like how this block turned out. I have some time to decide.............maybe I can find some time today to try it. 

Stashbusters Mystery

So far these are the blocks I'm using for the "Have It Your Way" mystery quilt.  The blocks will be made as small as 3" finished.  I'm still not sure if this will be my block. I really like the Friendship Star. 

A Sad Day

For about the last 7 months Clyde has been having some odd health problems. It started with him limping on his rear leg for unexplained reasons. Xrays showed the hip was dysplastic.  He pretty much lost the use of the leg.  Shortly after that he was having trouble with a painful back.  He is long and low, so we thought it was the bigger dogs pushing him around. We also don't really know how old he is.  He came here as an adult rescue, but just how adult we don't know.  We put the ailments off to old age catching up with him all at once.  He was put on medication for his back and hip pain and once we got the dosage right, he seemed to feel much better but did a lot of sleeping.  Old dogs sleep alot, right?  One day last week I was giving him his medication and noticed terribly swollen lymph nodes.........off to the vet............ aspirate one of the lymph nodes.  Results came back today.   My worst fears have been realized.  He has lymphoma, he has meds to try and take down the swelling and we will take each day as it comes.  He's my happy little guy who has a wag and a smile for everyone and never knew a stranger (except the guy who tried to break into the house when we were all home) For that act alone, my little rescue guy had a home here forever. 

Kaffe Fassett

This is my version of one of Kaffe Fassett's quilts. This quilt was a class, I used some of my Kaffe fabrics, but the majority of the fabrics  are just what I had in my stash.  I really like the fabrics, my layout could have been a little different.  Don't ya just love how crooked these pictures are. I took them a while ago with my old camera. 

More UFO's

I planned on doing some sewing for my Red Sky At Night today, but I'm still playing catch up with sleep and work because of the puppies.  They still need a lot of watching to make sure mom doesn't lay on one accidentally, I find myself just sitting there watching them sleep,  it's mesmerizing.  I thought I would post some of my past mystery quilts, retreat quilts and group exchanges.  The top two quilts are now quilted and bound, just waiting for me to sew the binding down The top one was a group exchange, the friendship star was a block I started for an exchange and used the wrong black. I finished it and it will go to a friend who loves the colors. The bottom lone star was a retreat project several years ago. I haven't decided whether I want to make it longer or not. 

Twister Puppies

It's been a busy day around here. Got some weeding done this morning, around noon the thunder, lightening and rain started. Then around 3pm after the thunder and lightening moved on, Twister decided it was time to have her puppies.  In over 25 yrs of being a breeder, this is only the second litter that was born during the day. The amazing thing is it took her less than 3 hours to have 8 puppies. The 9th was born about 2 hours later.  For a first time mom, she's being wonderful.  This isn't a very good picture, but she's taking very good care of her new little family. All are strong, healthy, wiggly and quiet.  We've got 6 girls, 3 boys. Two of the girls and one boy are brown, the rest are black, all are wavies.  I will be updating as they grow.  Now to see if these old bones can handle sleeping on the floor next to them for a day or two till they get a little bigger. 

Dog Yard Art

I saw the little mounds in the grass, figured the moles were back. I put down the grub stuff,  still more mounds running through the yard. Then the grass in on those mounds started to die. That's when I realized I didn't have moles, it was voles.  I treated it again for voles, no more tunnels in the yard, but I guess they didn't leave. The dogs found those tunnels, followed them and dug up every one of them. I have trenches all over the yard. I sure hope those voles never come back. 

Yup, one of the tunnels lead to a young Maple tree and they dug under the tree looking for that vole.

RED SKY AT NIGHT by Judy Martin

This is a Judy Martin pattern from her book Yes! You Can Make Stunning Quilts from Simple Patterns.  It took me several weeks to figure out Judy's method of assembly. I'm not following her method, I'm strip piecing instead of sewing each piece together to make the strip. There are almost 140 strip sets to assemble before you can start to put them together. I've got 22 done so far.

I've seen the quilt finished and it's beautiful. It looks complicated, but if I follow the directions to assemble it, I'm hoping it will turn out just like the picture. Unless I've assemble one of the strips incorrectly.  :-)). This is for sure a long term project for me. 

The EWWWWW Factor

I've been asked what a June Bug is. Well, it's a beetle. It's out for a short time in June.  It's the adult form of your white grub.  They are attracted to the lights at night. Mostly the males, as the females are burrowing to lay their eggs for the next season.  I guess it's different colors in different areas.  Here it's brown hard shelled on top and sorta furry on the body. It's got 6 legs that look like they're barbed. If they get in your hair, they stick. ICK!! ICK!! ICK!!  They don't bite, they're just creepy.  I found a picture of the "June Bug" we see around here.