Swissy Raffle Quilt is finally done!

Yes!  It can be moved up on the bar on the side of the blog!  Double yes!

I always dedicate my quilts in memory of Bonnie Doon and Dutch, my beloved Swissys who are watching me deal with the bassets.

Bonnie Doon is totally disgusted.  She knew how to keep everybody in line.......and I am falling short of expectations.

The dog in the towel is not a Swissy, it is a St. Bernard.  And Saints, while related to Swissys did not actually have brandy in that cask they carried around their necks.

Both Swissys and Saints are Molossers brought to the Swiss Alps by the Romans.  Neither look like they did back then.

They are powerfully built, heavy boned dogs who are very intelligent.

 Intelligent in a good way, not like Bassets who are intelligent in an evil way.

I am pleased to see this quilt bring some money in to the Swissy Rescue group.  I hope to be able to let you know when the raffle takes place so you can bid several thousands of dollars for my quilt! 

LOL

glen

Wednesday Doings

Coming down to the wire on the Swissy raffle Quilt.  Well, not the wire, really.  That sounds like Patty the Quilt Lady and her deadlines!  I am just coming to the end of it.

Here it is on the frame with some of the quilting going on.  I am hoping to get it done so I can gt the binding done while at the retreat. 

Paula and I went to The Quilt Corner this morning to pick up some last minute items for the trip.

The Quilt Corner was Paula's shop years ago when it first started.  It was the first time she has been there since, and it was a bittersweet moment when she walked though the door.

I have been listening to another great book.  The White Princess by Phillipa Gregory.  I love Gregory!  I think I have read all her books, all the ones available here anyway.  This one is about Elizabeth of York who was forced to marry Henry Tudor (Henry VII) after he killed her beloved Richard III of York.  I think I have all the numerals correct.  They were the parents of the infamous Henry VIII of many wives fame.  This united the families of the Red Roses and the White Roses (The War of the  Roses) and thus ended the Cousin's War, bringing what can be called peace to Europe.

This will be a good book to listen to on the road to the Retreat.




And hey, if anyone thinks they can come in and steal my stash, the Attack Bassets will be on guard with Frank and his arsenal of high powered rifles!

They have been taught to bark, "Save the Stash!" as their battle cry.

Sunday Progress and a Spider

Andrew's beloved Aunt is in the hospital.  I understand the value of Aunts.  I couldn't have made it here in Baton Rouge when we moved here.  I was very pregnant with Carrie, Frank was literally never home working two jobs out of New Orleans and my mother wrapped up in my brother's life in another city.  My Aunt and Uncle took care of me and loved Carrie as if she were their own! 

My thoughts are with the family as they deal with some difficult times. 

So today I had a chance to get some small jobs that made great progress!

I added the binding to the Baby Scraps quilt.  Tonight when we get home I will finished sewing it down and call it a finish!  (Update: I got half of it sewn down.)   It will be washed to remove all the markers.  I can't wait to see it all clean and clear!

And I worked out the backing together for the Swissy Raffle Quilt.  Bonnie M. gave me a ton of fabric with dog names all over it for Animal Charity Quilts.  It makes a great backing for this quilt.

Paula let me borrow her straight edge Long Arm Ruler.  It takes a bit of getting used to to use rulers, and you have to go s-l-o-w-l-y !  and you need that table on your machine base.  But it makes a straighter line than I can affect!  

This quilt will benefit Swissy Rescue  helping make Happy Tails!  The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Rescue Foundation helps with medical assistance and rehoming of rescued Swissys.  My friend Pat Saxon heads this mighty undertaking.  Thankfully the breed is still small enough to not have a lot of rescues, but even one is more than we want.






This morning in my yard we were greeted by this guy.  He even had some breakfast waiting for him.

You could see where the web needed repairs.  In another area he had already fixed his amazing creation by weaving another thread along the damaged edges.

There is a beauty in the simple things I find in my incredible backyard.   And then McGee comes in and barfs part of the back yard into his bed...........

Progress on the Swissy Raffle Quilt

Look at the dirt on the ear 3 hours after a bath

Whew!  I had a busy most of the day!  Up early, I took Chloe and McGee to the vet for baths.  I picked up a prescription for nasal spray from the doctor's office and hand carried it to the pharmacy since the phones were out at the pharmacy.  When I got home, DiNozzo was so lonely.  He walked from room to room and all over the back yard looking for everybody.  So he and I hopped into the CR-V and headed to PetsMart to do some Doggy Grocery Shopping.

After that, Paula called inquiring if I wanted to try some Middle East for lunch......duh, yeah!

Then I had to Human Grocery Shop and retrieve the two clean dogs.  Chloe the Smelly Basset is smelly no more!

When I got home, Frank was already home!  I swear I could never have an affair with his odd and unpredictable schedule!

Without extra borders

He went out to replace the pump in the fountain.  I stayed long enough to make sure he didn't electrocute himself, and then headed to the Quilt Room to work on the Swissy Quilt.  (Poor guy, he couldn't get it to work.........RAY!!!)

Of course everything we do is overseen by bassets.  I had to keep taking tools out of McGee's mouth as he wanted to work on his own project.  No doubt dismantling the gate to my sewing room.

I  tested various bits and pieces in various places and sets and ended up with a layout I found pleasing.

I spent most of the afternoon working on sewing the pieces together.  I am loving it!  Really loving it.

with paw print border

Without the paw print border it is 48 x 60.  A really nice size for a raffle quilt.

I have 1/2 yard of the paw print fabric which would make the borders about 4 inches I am thinking.  Maybe 3 inches

.  It would be ineffective as a binding and I would rather save it for another quilt.

So what do you think?  Is 48 x 60 good?

I am going to hook up with Nina Marie at Off The Wall Friday and see if I can get some opinions on the border.  Feel free to jump in with suggestions!

Swissy Raffle Quilt

My progress on the Swissy Raffle Quilt is great.

At this point in most of my improv quilts I am not happy, but this one is different.  I am forcing myself to just let it go.

I am really linking it at this point.  But not that piece on  the bottom.  Maybe for the back.




See those plus signs?  They are representative of the Swiss Cross which is an important part of the breed.  The most highly prized chests show a Swiss Cross.

Here is my sweet Pepsi, who had one of the best Swiss Crosses I have ever seen.  That photo was taken for a newspaper piece on my Obedience 101 Dog Training in 1995 or 1996.  It is one of my favorite photos.






Dutch and Bonnie Doon, not so much! 

Monday Morning Plans

We had dinner (tamales!) with Carrie and her In-Laws on Saturday night.  I am so glad Carrie has a great relationship with Fayne.  I was so hated by Frank's mother and father, and she barraged Frank with such negative thoughts about me constantly.  It is something that affected my entire life.  It seemed like there was never anyone in my corner.

I ate too much and definitely went off my diet!

So I need to find some veggie recipes for the week.  He insists on eating some sort of meat at lunch so I am working to find less meat/fish/beans in our night meal.  

I am working kitting some things to take with me to Retreat in a few weeks.  Here are the things I need in the next months:

1.  Raffle Quilt for Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Rescue (It will be a bright one)
2.  REME October Challenge (Black and White and a Color)
3.  River City February Challenge (Secondary Patter
4.  A buttload of Quilts that need to be quilted!

The Swissy Raffle quilt has a linen tea towel with a Saint Bernard on it.  It has the Swiss Cross and I was thinking at first to make a quilt with the crosses, like the Locked and Loaded one.  I really don't have a choice of colors in there.  I wonder who was on drugs when they made this tea towel!

Can you see that lower right corner?  That is the "pattern" I will generally follow.  I think it will be a spectacular quilt actually.  And the colors may be fantastic.  Here is another example of working outside your box.  These colors are definitely NOT in my box.

I was choosing some fabrics for the Swissy Raffle Quilt for the Rescue Organization.  Pat Saxon put out call for donations.  Swissy Rescue has rehomed 9 of 13 dogs pulled from homes across the US this year.  Nearly twice as many as they have in past years.  This is where you see the difference between a good breeder and a not so good breeder.  A good breeder will take their puppy from an owner at any stage in that dog's life.  A good breeder will make sure the pups they produce always have a good home and are willing to step up.

If you are not willing to do this, DO NOT BREED!  There are so many dogs out there, find your chosen breed and work to get all dogs into good homes. 

I want organizations like CAAWS to no longer be needed!

I have my Jane Dunnewold Class I need to work on as well.  It is frustrating because my computer does not like to show videos and it gets stuck on one photo while she describes the topic of the week on 15 others.  I have pretty much forsaken the class because I am tired of fighting it for an hour or two.

This computer has failed miserably in what it was supposed to do for me.  I wanted one that be for editing photos and creating slideshows and showcasing the quilt work.   But I fight this one.

And then there is the keypad that is finicky and randomly chooses a letter to not work every day or two.

And I spent so much money on it I have to keep it till it dies.........can you say accidental death?

Yeah.  Accidental.