25 Hours With My Sisters...

Wow, I finally have some time to do this while my satellite speed internet is being cooperative. Finally.

I last wrote on Thursday night, when I made a quilt block for Julie.

The next day, Friday, Julie & I went to the vet school (where I work & where she used to work) so that she could visit with some friends.

We did a few errands and then came home to get
ready for the other two sisters.
Julie wanted some photos

taken with the pups.

Here's Tag, sitting nice & straight for her

(her hand - holding a stick - is just outside the shot).

I think she's whispering sweet nothings to Allegra.

Joyce & Jill finally arrived! YAY!!!

We had pizza for supper and then sat & gabbed.

(l to r: Julie, Jill, Joyce)

Each time we have our 'sisters weekend' we exchange gifts. Jill gave sister plaques, Julie gave each of us 3 jars of jam (oh, it's sooo yummy), Joyce gave each of us a votive candle, dishrag that she made + money. I made aprons for everyone. Julie's has a wine motif, Jill's has motorcycles, and Joyce's is black/cream with a pocket that matches the fabric of theplastic bag holder I made for her last Christmas. I think they all were very happy.

(I made one for myself...pizza slices!)

Mom and Aunt Bev sent gifts, too,
but I don't have good photos of them.

Thank you very much...the gifts are great!

I wanted to give Jill her Christmas/birthday gift so

that Julie and Joyce would have a chance to see it.

(yup, she's crying.)

We got our jammies on and were all set to watch a movie (he's just not that into you). Julie grabbed my 'practice' quilt, Jill grabbed a tan quilt that I usually have on the ottoman, and I had my star quilt that Brenis made for me last year. Joyce sat there in the middle...here's how it went. (Close, anyway.)

Joyce: don't I get a blanket?
me: oh. do you want one?
Joyce: well, yeah.
me: {sigh} I suppose I can get something. (walking toward the hallway) I think I have an old...

Joyce to sisters: I suppose I'll get an old army blanket or something...that'll itch.

I came down the hall with the black and white quilt (I know, you haven't seen it, yet...be patient!) and tossed it into her lap. She looked at it and asked if I had made it. Told her I did...she noticed the patch of purple on the back (her fave color) and we told her to look at the label. She did.

It read: "To Joyce, From Jacque. Heart, 2009."

She sobbed. Not kidding! See?

And, sobbed.

For 10 minutes!

She finally calmed down and looked it over.

I think she likes it. 

And, here it is...the black and white quilt I made for her.

I bought the fabric last spring and made it
in 4 days a few weeks ago.

It's Joyce's birthday/Christmas gift.

See the text pieces? They are verses from Psalms.

Here's the back. See the purple?

She LOVES purple, so I had to put a piece in there for her.

I didn't want to have any quilting in the text blocks,

so I just quilted it in straight lines on both sides of each horizontal seam.

After all the excitement died down, we settled down to watch the movie.

The pups got comfy, too.

We stayed up late, chatting and laughing and having a good time.

The next day, Saturday, I made breakfast for everyone.

We showered, etc., and went shopping at Gordman's

(a discount department store that is Julie's all time fave store!).

Joyce and I talked about the doll quilts she wants me to make...

so we ended up at Stitcher's Crossing to look for some fabric.

Went in with Joyce saying she wanted purples and pinks.

Here's what we ended up with.

They are gonna be so dang cute! {grin})

Julie bought some fabric for a quilted kitty blanket. More on that later.

We ate lunch here...

(left to right: Joyce, Julie, Me, Jill)

Salute! To the 4 J's!

Of course, time for them to leave came all too soon.

I love them & miss them very much.

Couldn't Help Myself...

had to cut into Julie's fabric.

Made one block.

She loves it.

Second Day

Julie wanted to buy a digital camera.

Finally! I've had one for over 6 years.

How can one get by without a digital camera???

So, we went shopping.

She got a nice little Nikon...plum colored.

She has now left and will be out for the evening

with a good friend, so I am on my own.

Whatever will I do?

ahhhh...perhaps read.

Or, cut pieces for a new quilt project!

hmmmm...I guess time will tell!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the meantime, here is the Iced Mocha quilt.

All done.

Laundered, label on, ready to go.

Measures 46 1/2 x 55 inches.

As you can see by the photos,

I had a lot of fun quilting this one.

Random lines in the center,

stippling on the inner border,

zigzags on the floating squares and

intertwining lines on the outer border.

I am very pleased. In fact, I love it!

First Day

My sister, Julie, got here late yesterday afternoon. This is her cute little rental car...a Dodge Caliber. Isn't it a lovely color? Actually, she does not like blue, so I thought it was very funny that they gave her a blue rental. Cute little car, though.


Didn't do much last night...I showed her all the projects I have going on...and coming up. Watched tv, visited, and played with the pups. Went to bed at a decent hour. Here's Julie at 8:00 this a.m....while I had been up for well over 2 hours. Okay, actually, she had been awake, but decided to get a bit more sleep. She did not know that I took this photo. {grin}


Went to my LQS today. Got all the fabric for Julie's quilt...and it'll be much larger than a lap quilt...my biggest venture to date! Got some really nice compliments from the owner and one of the workers at the shop...about how far I've come with my quilting...{sigh}...there are times when it's difficult to be humble.


Well, anyway...here is the fabric for Julie's quilt. The large green piece is the backing and a border. The paisley and gold and green are for blocks. It's going to be an awesome quilt!


We'll visit with Claire & Curt later and will have another easy evening. It's so great to have her here. I have missed her.

Allegra and Sisters

Update on Allegra: she's doing about the same. No better, but no worse. We're hanging in there.

Other news: I am trying to get everything done this weekend...my sisters are coming. Several years ago, I read Nicholas Sparks' book, "Three Weeks With My Brother". It's an exploration of relationships between the two brothers (Nicholas & his brother, Micah), & how life has influenced them, etc., as they go on a trip around the world. I loved it! And, I have an autographed copy!

At any rate, I determined then and there that time spent with my family was the most important thing in my life. Sisters Weekend resulted from that. Joyce lives in Alaska. Julie lives in Colorado (though she still lived here by me when I instigated this idea), and Jill lives about 2 hours away here in Wisconsin. Once a year, when Joyce comes to Wisconsin to see family and friends, we set aside 2 days for the 4 of us to get together. It's not always a weekend, and it's usually only one overnight. But, we spend time together, just the 4 of us...the 4 J's. We don't do anything special. Sometimes we shop, sometimes we just hang out. The one thing we always do is eat well! Julie missed the first year after she had moved to CO, and we didn't have the opportunity last year, so this year is very special. We each buy 4 gifts...not birthday or Christmas...just a special something for each of us to have from our time together. I've been busy, but I cannot tell you what I'm giving...you'll have to wait until next week when this is over.

Julie and Joyce are flying to WI today. They'll stay in Eau Claire where our Mom lives. Julie will come to Madison on Tuesday, while Joyce takes more time to spend with her youngest daughter, her grandson, & friends. Julie will spend time visiting friends in this area, bathing my dogs, and just hang out with me. I only work Monday & Tuesday. We will probably do a bit of shopping...I know Julie needs a digital camera. On Friday, Joyce and Jill will come down. It'll be a great time and I am so looking forward to it!!! It'll come slowly, but will be over much too soon. They'll all leave Saturday night. I hope to have lots and lots of photos to show you!

Here's what I'm working on right now...just need to hand sew the binding...trying to get it done before my sisters are here. Nooooo, it's not for any of them. Just want to get it done. Look at all the quilting on this one...I had some serious fun! Random lines in the center, stippling in the first border, zigzag lines in the floating squares, then just some lazy lines on the outside border (which you cannot see too well because the binding hasn't been turned to the back, yet). I used a brown/cream variegated thread...so pretty!
Have a great weekend.

Wanna Smile?

Got this photo of Kaylynn Marie today.

Makes me smile...

you, too, huh?

Rag, Leaves, Mini, VIP...

First of all, cuz I know you're all wondering, Allegra is doing fine. Same, in fact. Though, she does seem to be eating better...could be the prednisone is working...or it could be the fact that I have found the correct size of meatballs to feed to her. No, not meatballs like with spaghetti, but small pieces of canned food rolled into a ball. Much easier for her to eat.

Second, I had a crappy a** week. Worried about Allegra, then my car broke. Thank goodness it was just the battery, but I still had to go without my car for 3 days...and rely on others to take me to work and back. What a pain. For them, as well, I am sure. So, when I went out to get the mail and found a large package waiting for me, I was amazed. Who was sending me something??? I knew it wasn't my quilt from the doll quilt swap...the box was too big. And, heavy. Well...I tell you...I cried my eyes out when I opened the box. Sharon, a friend from a wonderful group called An American Primitive Gathering, sent me this kit to make my very own rag quilt! How totally awesome is that! Thank you so very much, Sharon. You are so very generous! This was exactly what I needed on that day. (the colors are much richer...cannot get a good color for some reason)
Sharon also sent along a magazine, "American Patchwork & Quilting". In it was this quilt pattern. Isn't it lovely??

I walked into my LQS yesterday to pick up my next BOM kit and saw bolts of these luscious leaves...had to buy some fat quarters to use for the leaves of the aforementioned quilt!
Third, here is the mini quilt I received from my partner in the Doll Quilt Swap 7! Anna saw that I, too, was a Christian, so she wanted to make something with a verse. This is what she did. Isn't it just the perfect mini for me? Totally AWESOME!!!

Anna wrote, "When I found this verse I just thought of how we always focus on our flaws & not the beauty in us. So I made the quilt kind of wonky & with some wrinkles as a reminder that no matter how many flaws we may focus on, we are God's amazing creations."

I absolutely love it! My first doll quilt swap was so much fun...the next one doesn't start until the New Year. Thankfully, I have a ton of things to get done by then...so the time will go fast.
I am working on a very important project...hoping to get it done this weekend. Here's a sneak peek:
Hope you all have a great weekend!

Bad News is...

just that. Bad News. Sad. Devastating, in fact. The kind of bad that makes me want to curl into a ball and shut out the world.

Allegra went to work with me today and was given a thorough neurological exam. Diagnosis...she has a lower brainstem lesion. She will never get better. She will only get worse. Because of the rapid progress thus far, I fear she won't be with us much longer.

It was raining on my drive home. I imagined the raindrops to be tears from heaven.


I am going to take some time off from blogging.

Meatballs.

So. Because Allegra hasn't been eating well, I had substituted in canned food for her dry food. I've been making meatballs out of her food and she is able to take them out of my hand and (mostly) eat them okay. She still isn't moving her tongue, so it's messy. But, she's eating more food. Weight loss is another issue...right now, she's at 36 pounds. Gotta get some weight back on her. She's a small girl, anyway...weighed about 42-44 pounds in her prime. As I said, a small girl. (But beautiful, right?)

I'm taking Allegra to work with me tomorrow...she'll be looked at by two services...internal medicine and neurology. The neuro service will want to see how she eats/drinks. I am very curious to hear what they have to say.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Not much sewing going on this week, what with my worrying about Allegra & the fall season of television shows starting. I missed the NCIS premieres, but it couldn't be helped. DWTS, ya know. Saw "The Good Wife"...love Julianna Margulies. Saw "CSI:NY" last night...that was a good one. "The Mentalist" is on tonight...really love Simon Baker!

I did manage to sew this block. Today. Amanda Jean, over at crazy mom quilts, asked for help making blocks for Quilt of Valor quilts. I volunteered to make a block and this is it...I like it much better than my 'practice' one.

Pearly Whites

Allegra is home. Claire did a thorough oral exam...found no tumors, masses, lumps, bumps. BUT, she did find a very inflamed (almost to the point of ulceration) epiglottis. What is that, you ask? The epiglottis is the little flap that keeps food from going into your trachea...thereby directing it to your esophagus. Claire couldn't find any reason for her to not be using her tongue...when she pulled on it, Allegra retracted it. All cranial nerves were good. Now, in addition to the Baytril that she is on for her pyelonephritis, she is also on Antirobe. Thankfully, she takes pills well.

AND, her teeth are the whitest they've been since she was a few years old. Collies are notorious for having bad teeth. I brush them all the time, but the tartar buildup was bad. Really bad.

So, I am relieved. We shall see what happens with her tongue once she's had some days on this new antibiotic. I am really hoping that this is the cause. Though, not really sure. At any rate, she had a dental and she's being treated for something I didn't know was there.

She was a very good girl at the clinic. Like, you know, I wasn't really worried about that. She is always a good girl.

Okay, that's it for today. Just wanted to let you all know that the little Princess made it through the day.

Thank you so very much for all the prayers, well-wishes, good thoughts, and everything else. I appreciate you all so much!

One More Finish...Manley...Allegra.

I tried to post this yesterday, but my satellite speed internet was down. It was raining. Clouds and interference, ya know. I hate it! The SSI, not the rain. Well, sometimes I hate the rain. You know.

I actually got a lot done this weekend, which makes me very happy. AND, I sold my little 'animals & alphabets' quilt. YAY!

I finished the doggie blanket I started last weekend. I say doggie blanket, not because it is made with fabric prints of bones and dogs and pawprints and doggie commands (though it most certainly is!), but because it's for a dog. Look at those cute pups. The pups and the bones fabrics are from Erin, my 'we double rock' swap partner. Thanks, Erin! I quilted this with circles, not depicting pebbles or stones (though that could be very fitting in this case ~grin~) but to depict balls. This blanket was specially ordered by Manley...paid for with his allowance that he earned by helping his mom pick up sticks and pine cones. He must have worked really hard...he sent me $29.00!

I have always hand stitched the binding of my quilts to the back, but in this case, I machine stitched it. Turned out really nice. Easier than I thought, too. Fold it to the back, stitch in the ditch on the front!

I suppose you're wondering who Manley is.

Remember this photo?
Here's another one...

The basket measures approximately 16x22 inches. The dog is a full-grown Golden Retriever weighing about 70 pounds.

That dog is my doodlehead, Manley. That's where the word doodlehead comes from, by the way. Cuz he is such a doodle. He belongs to my sister, Julie. She used to live in Madison in the apartment behind me (now lives in Colorado). When Julie first got Manley, I worked nights and she worked days, so we worked together and quickly got him housebroken. He is 6 months older than Tag...they used to be great playmates! I special ordered this print of Manley and Tag...one for me and one for Julie. I'm not sure why I never got an actual photo. But, this picture shows exactly how they used to play. Okay. Anyway. The basket. When I would go over (down the hall 30 feet) to visit Julie, Manley would always come and sit in front of me. So, I would play with his ears, holding them in different breed ear positions..."this is what you would look like if you were a collie", etc. I would blow in his ears. And in his nose. I would play with his flews.
He let me do whatever I wanted with him. Didn't really enjoy it, but would keep coming back for more. One day, Julie had the empty laundry basket sitting on the floor. So, I asked Manley to get in. He did...cuz he's a doodlehead. ~grin~ Then, I asked him to lay down. Now, really...he's much too big for that basket. But, determined to please his Auntie Jacque, he scrunched down in it and even managed to look somewhat comfortable!
I sure miss Manley. I hope he can come back to WI sometime when Julie visits. I know he won't be coming this year...~sigh~
I originally planned to say much more about Manley, but I am very distracted today.
Allegra, though doing better, is not completely normal. She's having a difficult time eating and drinking...isn't using her tongue. Seriously. Not. Using. Her. Tongue. How, you ask, does she not? That's the question of the day. So, she's going to the clinic tomorrow and Claire will anesthetize her and give her a thorough oral exam, a dental cleaning and whatever else might need to be done. Needless to say, I am very worried about my little girl.