A Mini-Vacation and a Long Break Ahead...

Tag and I went on a mini-vacation...we house sat for my friend, Claire (former landlady, current friend and Tag's vet).  We stayed at their house from Friday late afternoon through this morning.  It's always fun to have a bit of time out in the country. 

This is Tag's friend, Blue.  He is a Portuguese Water Dog...and quite the goofy boy.  Tag was not quite in the mood for Blue's exuberance; though, for the most part, he calmly put up with his antics. 

What really fascinated Tag was the fish tank.  He kept going into the room where the tank was and would stand there looking...and looking.  Sometimes, he would bark at the fish...just a quiet 'woof'.  ~grin~  I am disappointed that I did not get a good photo to show you...but sometimes the orange fish came down to the bottom of the tank to look back at Tag...as if to say, "hello, there!".   But, here is one that did turn out...the brown boy watching the fish.

We had a good time while there and I thoroughly enjoyed the quietness of being outside of the city/apartment environment.  

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I am about to go on a long break.  Not from this blog and not from sewing in general.  But, from the business that I have been wanting to get started for a long while...that of developing a line of doll clothes.  What will I be doing instead?  I have several commission-type projects that I need to work on.  Some that I have been putting off and some that are fairly new.  Plus, at least two quilt tops that really need to be sandwiched/basted/quilted in the near future!  Too much going on in the next several months to tackle everything.  So, I think this is the best way to do this.

And, I need to finish my Snow Days quilt.  I am at a good place with it...all the embroidery stitching is done and the center blocks need to be pieced.  Sharon, who did the Snow Days BOM with me, chose to purchase the fabrics along with the pattern.  Which, of course, means that each month she received fabrics along with specific block patterns.  I purchased my own fabrics, so I need to do some serious color planning...to decide which fabrics will be used for what sections of the center blocks.  

So.  That being said, here is a little commission-type project I finished the other day.  Three earbud cases (first shown here) for Cyndi...

and I have more to make.

I am happy that my sewing business is busy right now...it's the perfect time of the year for me to be busy.  The gray and gloomy days of winter are gone and the warmer weather is here...I am full of excitement and energy for getting these projects worked up and checked off my list.

Have a great week!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

The Color Blue...

Years and years ago,

me Mum was giving me something...

what was it?

Don't remember...

just remember that I kept saying,

"But, I don't like ba-loo!!"

Don't get me wrong.

I don't hate it.

It can be lovely.

I just don't rate it my favorite color.

However.

My Aunt Bev loves blue and so...

remember the blue floss and

the ivory linen I showed on Friday?

Here's what is going on with that...

I am almost done with the running stitch,

then I need to hand-stitch the hem on all 4 sides...

about 15 feet worth of stitching.

When finished, it will be a scarf...

pattern from The Purl Bee.

I've had a fairly lazy weekend...

mostly watched episodes of 

"Burn Notice" on streaming Netflix

and worked on the scarf.

Talked on the phone.

Went grocery shopping.

Nothing exciting, but then...

when is it ever exciting here?

~grin~

The snow is almost all melted and gone.

Today, the sun is shining brightly.  

Perhaps Spring will come, after all.

Have a great work week!  

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Life In The Country...

ahhhhhh, how sweet it is. I (mostly) love it. I rent a 3 bedroom ranch house from my friend, Claire. For those of you who haven't seen it, here you go...

Claire was my dogs' vet for a long time...and I used to work with her. She and her husband, along with their daughter, built a new house up the hill from this house (off to the right of the garage). We watch out for each other, so it works out nicely. AND, we barter care of animals. Though, I must say, they are getting a sweet deal! ~grin~ Right now, I only have 2 dogs. Sometimes when I am away, my dogs stay in my house and Cayley (their daughter) comes in and spends time with them, feeds them, and lets them run in the fenced area. Other times, I put them in the kennel building (Claire occasionally boards dogs out here so has a nice setup for that). They, on the other hand, have 2 horses, several laying hens and 2 roosters, some meat chicks (they don't always have them...only once a year, I think), 3 dogs, 4 outside cats, a guinea pig, fish, and a dove. It doesn't take long to do chores, it's just hard on my knees. There are benefits, though...like the 2 dozen fresh eggs I gathered today!

Thought you all might like to see photos of stuff other than quilts...my blog has been animal-less for quite some time.

This is the side of Claire's house...front is to the right. This is the side that faces the barn/kennel building, which is between our houses.

They have 3 Portuguese Water Dogs. This is Blue...

Nellie...

Vinny (my fave)...

Claire's horse, Twist...

The noisy handsome rooster dude...

His women...

Here are the meat chicks...

This may gross you out, but this is the 'before I mucked Twist's stall' photo...

here is the 'after' photo...all nice & clean.

There are more animals...Bubba, the pony, the dove, the guinea pig, the fish, and the cats. I'll try to get photos tomorrow. I know you all are disappointed I didn't have them here for you now. ~grin~

Lest you think I'd forget him, here's the TagEButt...with his warthog, of course.

And...one more. This is the rosebush I got for Mom's Day from my oldest son.

I did get some sewing done today...5 sets of 2 strips (wof) to make blocks for the border of the Iced Mocha quilt. Otherwise, have just spent time here on the computer. OH, I started watching "Assassins", a movie with Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone. I think it's an older movie...both men are so hot (Antonio is my hero!)

Gotta go...the pups are waiting to go out and run around a bit.

Hope you're having a great weekend!