Just for Linda!

I apologize, but this blog will be a tad long. I have a few things that I keep meaning to blog about and today is the day!

First off, for my friend Linda - since you thought the wall behind the sauce wall was good - check out the wall behind my stove!

And why stop there, how about the wall repair here:

Or there are the floors, we found the original hardwood under this garish green shag, and there is tile everywhere, I mean everywhere!!

Here is some fantastic use of tile... ... or not:

And what about that fridge? Original to the house. Its a Magic Chef. Yup, they do not make them like that anymore! In fact they do not make them at all.

Now, onto the quilting. I was able to get some sewing done these past two days and made two small quilts to donate to our vet clinic. Here they are:

Here is Jada Bean helping:

Saturday I went to the football game. My Saskatchewan Rough Riders were in town to play the evil Edmonton Eskimos. Now, you have to love Rider fans, the weather sucked, it sucked bad, the rain came down in sheets sideways right into our faces and it was cold enough to see your breath. All this, yet there were more Rider fans in the house then Edmonton fans and the game was in Edmonton!! Not only do we show up to show our Rider pride and cheer on our team, but we dress up. Here are some picks of the best dressed that I saw: (one lady even let me take her picture in the lou!)

Here is the swag, small selection, I was sad - but still bought my share.

See, this crowd is all Rider fans:

Oh My, I almost missed this one. These boys were popular!

They even let people rub their melons for luck. 

Didn't work - we lost. Still a great game and it was really close.

And here is the info for the 12" quilt competition, just in case you were too shy to ask!

Finally, I will leave you with tonight's supper. FUN Do!! hee hee hee

Ahhh that was good!

Cheerio!

Its a Give Away Day!! Yippee!

This one is for fabric cut outs done on the Accuquilt machine!
To check it out and enter to win, click here.

And then there were two chances to win!!

There is another Accu Quilt Give Away going on at Karen's blog, click here to check it out!
Her blog is full of tutorials and crafty ideas so its a great one to follow even if you do not want to enter the draw.. ... cause I need to win it! ha ha ha.

Just a guy who quilts is doing another giveaway!!

Check out Ryan's blog here for your chance to win a sweet AccuQuilt Go cutter and three dies.
If you do not follow Ryan's blog yet, you should! He does tons of giveaways and he is pretty funny. His quilting is really fantastic too.
Enjoy and good luck!!

Yummy food and doggie update

The other day I have the biggest craving for currie so I whipped up two dishes of yumminess! I was pretty impressed at how well they turned out. Even my hubby's daughter had several helpings so it must have been good! 

I had made a butter chicken which my husband whined about for about 30 seconds. He feels I should have made it from scratch the way it would be traditionally made. Well, for one, I have only a vague idea as to how it is made, second I do not have time, and third, I know it does require real butter and we do not have that. Besides, I get the jar from Superstore and I have to say - their Presidents Choice Butter Chicken sauce is fantastic. As soon as he started eating he was happy at the results. The second dish is a delicious cottage cheese dish my girlfriend used to always make and we would eat on toast. So delicious, I could eat it every day! Here is the fantastic sauce!

On the sick doggie front - there was major panic yesterday and some anger. Lets start with the anger and then get on to the more important which is how our little Lucky is doing. When we were quoted for his eye surgery, we were told 400 bucks. Now, one would think that this would include all aspects of the surgery - but then that one would be wrong. Our vet wanted to charge us another 160 dollars to remove his stitches!! Can you believe that?? 

So, how Lucky is doing, I am going to backtrack to Monday, August 23rd. Actually no, Saturday, the 21st. Lucky had been to the vet twice the week prior and our vet told us everything looked great. On the weekend, I noticed that the third eyelid which was sewn shut to allow his eye to heal - was looking not right. There appeared to be a dent in the eye, and a small lump in the lid, plus the color of the lid was starting to look more red and well, even grosser then before. I insisted all weekend that my husband take him to the vet on Monday to see if everything was still going to plan. Our vet poked Lucky in the eye and felt around and said - No, everything is still going A OK. Keep in mind now that he has been to the vet three times since his eye surgery and every time, they tell us A OK and charge us for poking him in the eye. So, I trusted the doctor as he is a really good vet for everything so far. This past Thursday, August 26th, Lucky had his stitches removed and we got another bill, only when they looked at his eye, they saw indeed what I felt I could see. His eye was worse than before! It is so deformed and just plain awful and painful looking. Lucky however is ecstatic to have the stitches out. We were immediately referred to an eye specialist, and able to get Lucky in this morning. 

Now the "fingers crossed" Good News! The specialist feels that although the eye looks terrible, it is healing. He has an ulcer on his eye, but the doctor claimed he has seen and healed worse! So, he told us there most likely will not be more surgery, Lucky will keep his eye and we are to keep giving him these special drops that we have been giving for 1 month now. Phew, that was great news. I will keep you posted on the progress!   

As for the sewing room, there has not been any progress, but I feel tomorrow is going to be my lucky day! I have two ideas for the Quilting Arts 2012 Calendar competition. Is anyone else doing something for this? If you are interested and want more info, send me a comment regarding it and I will scan the page and post. 

So, I am editing this post - just found out that the sewing room is on hold for at least a week - most likely more! Ahh PAINFUL. Damn renos always come first. Speaking of, did you like the texture behind jar in the pic I posted? That is the least of my worries. hee hee, I edited out the hole in the wall behind my stove. Nightmare - although I would still rather be sewing. HA HA HA

I was thinking of other great finds as well and thought I would share this nugget. When we were in  England, one of the cousins had this amazing shoe tree (theirs was not full). We found them at London Drugs! Here is is (full!):

I now have two of these - both full.

And my last thing to add, two years after getting married, we have finally gotten our wedding present from my best friend. A painting made by the amazing artist herself. Not sure if I should post her name .. ... hmm well I guess if you like the painting and are interested in seeing more of her work, please leave a comment and I will connect you both. Here is a picture of it:

Not the best pic I know, but I wanted to share it anyways. Yes it is hung sort of crooked. I had to use an existing nail that was off centered. Damn plaster walls keep bending all my picture hangers when I attempt to put in a new one!

Yummy food and doggie update

The other day I have the biggest craving for currie so I whipped up two dishes of yumminess! I was pretty impressed at how well they turned out. Even my hubbies daughter had several helpings so it must have been good! 

I had made a butter chicken which my husband whined about for about 30 seconds. He feels I should have made it from scratch the way it would be traditionally made. Well, for one, I have only a vague idea as to how it is made, second I do not have time, and third, I know it does require real butter and we do not have that. Besides, I get the jar from Superstore and I have to say - their blue menu Butter Chicken sauce is fantastic. As soon as he started eating he was happy at the results. The second dish is a delicious cottage cheese dish my girlfriend used to always make and we would eat on toast. So delicious, I could eat it every day! 

On the sick doggie front - there was major panic yesterday and some anger. Lets start with the anger and then got on to the more important which is how our little Lucky is doing. When we were quoted for his eye surgery, we were told 400 bucks. Now, one would think that this would include all aspects of the surgery - but then that one would be wrong. Our vet wanted to charge us another 160 dollars to remove his stitches!! Can you believe that?? 

So, how Lucky is doing, I am going to backtrack to Monday, August 23rd. Actually no, Saturday, the 21st. Lucky had been to the vet twice the week prior and our vet told us everything looked great. On the weekend, I noticed that the third eyelid which was sewn shut to allow his eye to heal - was looking not right. There appeared to be a dent in the eye, and a small lump in the lid, plus the color of the lid was starting to look more red and well, even grosser then before. I insisted all weekend that my husband take him to the vet on Monday to see if everything was still going to plan. Our vet poked Lucky in the eye and felt around and said - No, everything is still going A OK. Keep in mind now that he has been to the vet three times since his eye surgery and every time, they tell us A OK and charge us for poking him in the eye. So, I trusted the doctor as he is a really good vet for everything so far. This past Thursday, August 26th, Lucky had his stitches removed and we got another bill, only when they looked at his eye, they saw indeed what I felt I could see. His eye was worse than before! It is so deformed and just plain awful and painful looking. Lucky however is ecstatic to have the stitches out. We were immediately referred to an eye specialist, and able to get Lucky in this morning. 

Now the "fingers crossed" Good News! The specialist feels that although the eye looks terrible, it is healing. He has an ulcer on his eye, but the doctor claimed he has seen and healed worse! So, he told us there most likely will not be more surgery, Lucky will keep his eye and we are to keep giving him these special drops that we have been giving for 1 month now. Phew, that was great news. I will keep you posted on the progress!   

As for the sewing room, there has not been any progress, but I feel tomorrow is going to be my lucky day! I have two ideas for the Quilting Arts 2012 Calendar competition. Is anyone else doing something for this? If you are interested and want more info, send me a comment regarding it and I will scan the page and post. 

Holy Moly I won something!

There is a first time for everything and I have just experienced my first ever win with a quilting blog competition. Thank you so much for every one whom voted for my pet quilt! I had a blast making it. The show was really fantastic and with a lot of fantastic talent.

I have been going a little crazy unable to sew for almost the entire summer. I have really missed my sewing room and the retreat/ sanctuary that I find in there. Unfortunately we have reached the point in renos where I can no longer use my lack of muscles as an excuse to not help. hee hee hee. I have spent the summer either painting, tiling, grouting, cleaning and entertaining guests. Of course there was a two week trip to England in there too.

My sewing room started out in the basement, it was the first room my husband built. I did not even give him time to tape and mud it I was so desperate for my own space. Oh the joy of being able to leave my fabrics out and not worry about anyone tripping or messing them. To have my paints already to go if I decided to do some canvas work. Beads all organized in their case and sitting pretty in my own shelving unit just waiting to be assembled into something.

Alas, I was booted out of the room when my husbands daughter came to stay for the summer in between university. I swiftly took over the spare room upstairs but was then kicked out when my sister came at the beginning of August, then came my mom, and finally my girlfriend from BC. Obviously I loved all the time visiting as it was all people coming to see me! But I still longed for me sewing room. ha ha. The last of our company left this morning, and I was sad to have my girlfriend leave. My husbands daughter leaves in a couple of weeks now not going back to university but moving to BC herself. I am unsure if I should set up shop in the spare room upstairs again, or wait and move back into the original sewing room in the basement? Either way - I am closer to getting a room back. I just have to get all this painting done so I can have time to sew!

Here is what the bathroom looks like so far:

That's the hubby's shoulder. He is installing trim around my new linen closet!! So exciting. This house is so old, there isn't any closets to be found. One just  for towels is pretty exciting for me!

Our dog Lucky has been having some health issues. Long story short - he has had an eye injury which became infected and he may lose his eye. Poor little guy has been wearing a cone for just under 4 weeks. He had eye surgery 10 days ago and he can have his stitches removed hopefully Thursday. All that said - he is still hyper and wanting to go outside and play. In fact here he is:

Don't mind the horrible wall texture - hence the major renos. Basement first, then the upstairs. Its been two years so far of weekend and after work reno warriors. We are getting cranky, but it will all be worth it in the end!

This video is pre-surgery. We had to ask the vet for sedatives for him as he would not settle down to just heal. And for he record! I did not give him this ball - he just finds them! OK - well we did buy it for him, but then we have to hide them or he will not stop playing. I haven't a clue where he found this one.

Raining cats and dogs? No - just cats!!

I just received an email from my brother that brought tears to my eyes. There is a man down in Florida, Craig Grant whom has built a 25 acre cat sanctuary for abandoned and abused cats! It is amazing, he has built houses for them and just last year built a fence to keep the coyotes out so the cats can roam the 250 miles of tree forest in safety.
Anyone interested in the story or wanting to donate to help purchase things such as cat food and litter, you can find everything here. They are a non for profit cat sanctuary. Anyone living down there can volunteer to help out or you can simply go for a visit and pet all the cats.
It always brings me joy to see humans helping animals. I wish there were more people like Craig Grant!

Awesome quilt along!

I just found this gold nugget! I quilt along that focuses not on the tops, but on the actual quilting. According to the blogs write up, you can do these fancy quilting stitches on a regular machine! This should be great as I have not been successful at this yet. Hopefully there will be some discussion on how to get regular machines to not knot up on the underside like mine does.

If you want to quilt along or to take a look at the discussion, simply click on the button on the right hand side labelled Free Motion Quilt Along! Or click here.
Oh and did I mention there is a giveaway for this!! WELL THERE IS, go check it out!!
Yippee!

Entry for SewCalGal Pets on Quilt Show

As you can see from the button on the right hand side, there is an awesome competition for Pets on Quilts from SewCalGal!

I am submitting my pet quilt!     If you like my quilt please vote for me! I am in two categories, Best Cat on Quilt and Best Dog on Quilt! Click here to vote. Scroll down to the bottom and then click on the Post a Comment. In your comment, type which quilts you wish to win in each category. If you want to vote for me, then please vote if you want veggie hunter to win best cat, best dog or both! If you vote as anonymous, make sure you leave your email as you too can win a prize just for voting!!!

Thank you so much for looking.

           

This quilt is of my babies. The three of them had to learn to live together and after much training and patience, they are family. They all love to play outside so this is my design of them in the backyard. 

For more info on this contest, please check out SewCalGal's blog here.

When the dog, Lucky, was introduced to the family, my large white cat, Tika (he is 32 inches long from nose to tip of tail) launched himself on top his back from across the hall. Then the little grey cat, Jada, tried to "save" Lucky - and all hell broke loose! My husband tried to introduce without me and lets just say it did not go well. 2 1/2 years later and now they are buddies! Well, as close as cats can get to a hyper Jack Russel Terrier!!

The large panel.

 

Detail picture of Lucky the Jack Russel Terrier

Quilt was hand quilted on a loom and I made a stencil of the three pets to do the edges.

Here Jada is admiring herself in stitch.

Edmonton has a Modern Quilt Guild?

Who knew!
I think I want to do this: 

 http://themodernquiltguild.com/2010/08/16/project-modern/


There is going to be 4 projects over a 1 year span. I do not know if I would actually submit anything I make, but I love the idea of some guidelines and some deadlines. Sometimes it is just the push you need to get your but in gear!

I love Kijiji!

Thanks to the power of Kijiji, I am going on a quilting retreat! That is right, 1 month from now yours truly will be stitching my little pink heart out at a women's only quilting workshop in Seba Beach, Alberta. I have never been nor have I heard of Seba Beach, but I am looking forward to every moment of this getaway! 

It is being led by a professional quilter by the name of Jan Fowler. I have not met her yet, but I can tell from her emails that she is awesome! We both are not into children, think our hubbies can be babies and love to work with fabric! This is going to be the best weekend ever!!

Fabric Giveaway!

There is a fabulous fabric giveaway being offered from one of my favorite online fabric stores, Fat Quarter Shop, via Jaybird Quilts blog. It is for a fat quarter bundle of the entire collection of Pure by Sweetwater. To get into the free draw, check out the site.
Good Luck!

Evicted again!

 Once again, I have lost my sewing room. But this time, I have been forced to just pack up rather than move to another room. At least it is for family! My sister came up and we were able to enjoy folk festival together which was fantastic! 
 My mother is now up for a week so I cannot move my sewing table and machine back in there yet, but soon - so very soon. 
 I finally as well took my pet quilt off the hand quilting loom and folded it up to be kept in the closet. Unfinished - boo! As soon as this bathroom is finished, I should be able to dive back into the happiness of fabric. I have so many lovely fabrics that I ordered in, I cannot wait to come up with something to make them into! I was thinking of doing your standard piece work quilts, but not ready to conform to "boring" I was hoping to feel inspired again to create another original piece. Something even better than the pet quilt and the bird on a wire quilt. 
 Inspiration has been found! I got myself a subscription to Quilting Arts. This is the coolest quilting mag I have found yet. I am very intrigued on this idea of art quilts - but the practical side of me tells me that I has to still function as a quilt! Wall hangings are fabulous, and there are some amazing quilts people hang. Still, being a painter first - I will save my walls for paintings and decorate the beds and couches with quilts! I am sure I will come up with some ideas soon.