Sister's Choice Quilts

Arrrggggh. My Dog is SO Annoying.

I've been buying a few outside/active play toys for Eva to use this summer when she is at my house.  This is one of them, a Little Tykes basket ball hoop.  She loves it and got to put one ball through the basket.

Then Ozzie got the ball away from her and now it looks like this:

In about 10 seconds he did that.  Maybe less.  In my backyard there is a graveyard of dead balls Ozzie has killed.

He destroyed this one before Eva even got to put her little hands on it. 

I feel so sorry for that child.  He wants any personal object that belongs to her so he can chew it up.  I can't tell you how many little toys he has mangled to smithereens.  And now he has moved on to eating her bottles and sippy cups.  I don't leave them laying around, honestly.  He actually got up on the counter and got this one and ruined it.

Do you have any words of advice?  Aside from taking Ozzie to the pet rescue center?  In particular, do any of you know of a ball that is dog proof?  The baby needs to be able to play with a ball without the dog eating it up within seconds of it coming into the house. 

Here is how he has been occupying himself while I write this.  Maybe a home for deliquent dogs isn't such a bad idea.

These Are What My Days Are Like

I think he is trying to tell me something...What could it be?

Honestly, this dog is such a clown.  If he isn't dozing on my favorite chair, he is teasing me with something.  He is so expressive and comical it is ridiculous.  He lives to torment me non stop 24/7.

It is so clear, what he is saying.  "Nicole.  Nic-ho-ho-hol?  What's wrong with this picture?  Tee hee hee".

"Betcha can't catch me!  Come on, at least TRY!"

So of course I fall for it every time and chase around the house after him shouting "Leave it!  LEAVE IT!"  It is no surprise those were my little grand daughter Eva's first words.  It is wildly amusing for both her and Ozzie to see me in such a fluff after him.

Yeah right.  Really funny.  He almost always wins too.

At least it wasn't worse.  Remember this?  My quilt top.  In the wet grass.

And when he killed THREE of my irons one after the other?

And this?   My new knitting project?

Or his all time worst, this...  No explanation necessary for this visual.

I don't know why I let him live.

 

 

Irish Woolen Mill

While visiting Ireland last week, we made a point to travel to County Wicklow to see the woolen mill at Avoca.

This mill is the oldest mill in Ireland and is located in a village so picturesque it has been used for a location in many films--you may have heard of the tv series Ballykissangel, which was filmed there.

Aren't these colors amazing?

And you think we have troubles trying to keep our sewing machines lint free?  Check this out--and no, my focus isn't blurry, that's all lint!

The looms weave all those spools of thread into colorful bolts of fabric.  Later these bolts can be cut down into individual throws and shawls. 

This mill's products are hugely popular amongst the Irish as well as the tourists.  In fact, there is a very posh retail shop with several branches throughout the country, called "Avoca".  The shops sell the woolen products of course, but also have very trendy clothing and accessories.  The vibe of the shop put me in mind of the US chain "Anthropology".

I have to say, in my trips around the Irish countryside and my excursions to Dublin's main shopping district, I saw no sign of any quilt shops or even dressmaking fabric shops.  I think if I lived in Ireland, I might be the only quilter in the country?  Are there any Irish quilters out there?  (Sound of crickets chirping....) You must be very lonely!

Jet lag may be a bit better.  Still waking up at ridiculous times of the night, but am managing to fall back to sleep.  Would you believe I haven't been down to the studio at all since I got back?  Today is the day.  My plan is to tackle my Spools projects and wrap them up.  Hope to have some progress to share with you on Monday. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Guess You're Stuck with Me

I know I am not half as cute as Baby E, and I am more high maintenance to boot.  But the family has laid down the law and Nicole won't be posting pictures of the baby's face in the future.

But hey.  What's wrong with my mug?  As dogs go, I think I am pretty stylin'.  Even though there aren't many groomers who are that happy to see me.  That's why I am kinda shaggy right now.  Haven't been to the groomer in many a moon.  I hate that place.  They make me wear the "Happy Cap" when I get my hair groomed.  I hate the Happy Cap.  I haven't actually ever *bitten* anyone.  They are just nervous nellies who think because I growl that I am likey to take a piece out of their arm.  Heh heh.  I'd never do that.  Heh heh.

Nicole will be back tomorrow with a quilty post, so don't despair.  She never meant she would stop blogging or change up her style much.  Just not so many pics of that darn baby.  Honest to Pete, things sure have changed around here since that kid came into the picture.  "She's so adorable, she's so cute, isn't she smart, how awesome is she?  Blah blah blah".  What a fuss.  I will say they buy the kid cool toys, but really.  They don't let me anywhere near 'em.  Well, there was that little incident with the rubber ducky...

More Notions and Ozzie Takes Advantage

I swear, my husband goes out of town and Ozzie thinks he can take all sorts of liberties.  I had just staggered out of my nice warm bed this morning, and when I tried to return, someone had slipped in and taken my place.  Yes.  Under the covers!

Yesterday I mentioned that a number of blogs have been discussing various notions and sewing tools recently.  Here are some links to some great product reviews:

 !Sew We Quilt!  

I Have A Notion

Insights From SewCal Gal  (you will not believe the product she is reviewing!)

Green Fairy Quilts

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally

 
Finally I got into my sewing room and got some Bliss Baby Blocks done.  I stopped trying to complete the applique center on each flower and concentrated just on getting the blocks finished.  My aim was to complete all 30 blocks this weekend and then work on appliquing the center circles before and after work this week.  I need to get this wrapped up and sent to the quilter pdq.  (Linda, that would be you!)

I stuck the blocks up on the design wall as I made them, without any real design plan in mind.  Plenty of time to rearrange things when I finish.

A couple of things helped me stream line my sewing.  One was placing an ironing board right next to me while I sewed.  It is amazing how much time hopping up and down to press the little units takes!

 
I have a number of irons that I use when I sew.  No, I don't use them all at once, I use different ones, one at a time.  I have a fancy Rowenta steam machine unit, which I am trying to make last.  I go through irons like you would not believe.  I buy two or three a year, seriously.  At least Ozzie stopped eating them, thank goodness.  Remember this?

 

And this?

 

I have stopped paying a ton of money for my irons, since I go through them just as fast if I get an expensive one or a cheap one.  I do prefer a heavy iron though, so I tend to avoid the light weight ones.

And I have one big gripe about most of the irons on the market.  Why can't the automatic shut off feature take longer than 8 minutes to shut off?  I need it to stay on for at least 20 minutes at times.  It is so annoying to have to keep turning the iron back on and adjusting the temperature setting.  Are there any heavy weight irons that cost less than $40 that do not have the automatic shut off feature, or at least have it timed to go off in more than 15 or 20 minutes?

Ozzie Gets a Hair Cut

 
I just hate it when Ozzie gets a hair cut.  He makes me feel guilty for about two weeks while it grows out.  He shivers and shakes and has to wear his blue sweater.  And he insists on making himself as small as possible in order to conserve his body heat.  Seriously, he completely goes missing.  I search all over the house for him, and finally find him curled up into a ridiculously small ball in some random corner of the place trying to stay warm.

He looks splendid to my eyes, but in his own, there is something dreadfully lacking.  He skulks around with a look of total embarrassement until there is some regrowth.

And this time at the groomers, it was even worse.  He suffered an injury to his eye recently, and had to have half his face shaved at the vet's, including all of his left eye brow.  Typically his eye brows form nice round puffs over his eyes, but unfortunately, he did have to have one of them shaved off to get stitches, much to his dismay and humiliation.  We won't even talk about how he handled wearing the plastic cone around his neck to prevent him scratching at his boo boo. 

Ozzie is like the children that many of you have had.  You know, the kid who is always getting hurt.  You have made so many trips to the emergency room with that child that they know your car when it pulls up in front.  That's my boy.

His injury has healed, and his hair has started to grow back, but not completely.  This time when we took him to the dog groomer, she decided to go for a symmetrical look and shaved off most of the right eye brow as well.  Plus, his beard was so snarled, that had to be shaved off too, leaving just the side whiskers.  Oh dear.  Poor Ozzie, he looks like a simpleton with an underbite.  And he knows it too.  I doubt that he will be getting out of his favorite chair for four weeks until the hair starts to grow back.

Here he is, trying to maintain his dignity.  You can tell by his expression that he is totally annoyed.  He refuses to make eye contact.  It is his "kill me now"  expression.

 

 

Take a Walk With Ozzie and I

Would you like to take a walk with Ozzie and I, through the neighborhood?  Come on, it's a great day, let's go.

This is Ozzie in his new lead.  Ozzie is a bad walker.  He likes to pull and tug and choke himself half to death when he is on a normal collar style leash.  This little invention is called Gentle Lead, and makes it possible for me to actually walk Ozzie, instead of being pulled, knocked down and dragged down the sidewalk behind him.  I am loving it.  Ozzie?  Not so much, but he is getting used to it.  The principle is that the leash is attached to the dog's muzzle, so if he dashes ahead of you (who are holding the other end of the leash), his head gets pulled backwards in an uncomfortable manner.  Hence, the dog tends not to pull ahead, but rather walk along side you.  Amazingly, this works like a charm.

So, off we go, down my street for a lovely early Spring walk.

These trees are at the entrance to my street.  The flowering plum trees are all at the height of their glory right now.  Just look at this.

I wish you could smell these blossoms with us.

This is the home stretch, a lovely boulevard with a creek running along side it.  You should hear the frogs croaking in that creek!  That weird patch of brown grass?  The landscapers are trying to eradicate some sort of invasive grass, and have put weed killer on patches of it.

Let's get up close to one of those blossoming plum trees.

Here we are, back at home.  We've got a couple of those trees in our front yard too.

Thanks for coming with us! 

Oh, don't hate me.  I know this is like rubbing salt in a wound for all you poor snow bound people.  Just one more thing....

It's sandal weather.

Ozzie's On A Tear

Good gravy, is this dog getting on my last nerve or what?  I've just been so busy lately, with the shopping, wrapping, decorating, sewing, that I haven't been able to devote my usual amount of time to Ozzie.  He wants my attention and he wants it NOW.

His usual method of getting me to focus on him is to do something mischievious.  He is an expert in this area, a total pro.  If I am sewing, he comes into the sewing room and roots around in my wastebasket for some small token that he can sneak off with to make a mess.  Clippings from half square triangles?  Score!  Leader ender scraps with trailing threads?  Woo hoo!  He casually retrieves something and slowly begins to exit the room.  If I notice him sneaking off with a mouthful of messy sewing debris, I shout out "Ozzie!  No!  Leave it!"  That of course, causes him to pick up speed and launch into hyper space in an effort to make me chase after him.

You all remember the time Ozzie got sewing thread all wrapped around his tongue?  Well, I am not repeating that experience, I can tell you that.  $300 worth of X-rays and vet services to be sure he hadn't swallowed a bobbin?  No thanks.  Trust me friends, do not let your pets chew on thread.  It can cause terrible problems.

Luckily, if I offer him a dog treat in exchange for whatever he has in his mouth, he is willing to make a trade.

I had the door of the sewing room shut yesterday, so he couldn't do his usual tricks, but he is resourceful, yes he is.  He found something else to torment me with.  At least it wasn't my new shoes.

"Wanna go to the grocery store Nicole?  Huh? Huh?"

A Patch of Sunshine

Thanks for all your encouraging comments after my post on Thursday.  I don't have so much trouble finding things to do, I just miss the routine and company that having my husband and Ozzie home brings.  So, Friday, I had the entire day off and made the most of it.  I didn't leave the house all day long, and spent about nine hours in my sewing room.  I will show you what I was up to on Monday.

Sometimes we need to take lessons from our pets.  That is Ozzie, the eternal optimist, in the picture above.  He is never bored.  He can always find some sort of trickery or mischief to get up to.  Everyday is a new adventure for him.  They say dogs love routine, and that is definitely true when it comes to Sophie's preferences, but not Ozzie.  Oh sure, he likes to have his dinner and walkies at the usual time, but he is a guy who is Always Up for Some Novelty.  A ride in the car?  Oh yeah.  A toy?  Whoopee!  A visitor?  Hang on to your hat.  And if there is no entertainment, he will make his own.  Hide your shoes, cell phones, the tv remote, eye glasses, any small personal object he can get his paws on.  He will grab it, make sure you KNOW he has it, and then make you chase around after him to get it back.  Fun, fun, fun.

Even when he slows down and stops for a second, he has a knack for finding the patch of sunshine.

See what I mean?  We can learn a lot from our pets.