Rest In Peace My Sweet Girl

As those of you who follow my blog know, that with the exception of an occasional MeMe, I don't really bring my personal life into my blog. Today I make an exception. Because today I laid to rest the most loving companion I have ever had.

Sadly, she was with our family for only 15 months. We brought her home on July 5th, 2006. She came to us from Houston Schnauzer Rescue. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her. And for those of you who don't know, her name IS Bella.

She adopted me as her 'human' and while friendly to the rest of the family...she was MY dog. She loved to play with Fritz. Bella quickly accepted him as both her mate and her mentor. (Aren't they cute together?)

I don't know how long it will take me to fully accept losing her. And the fact that I did absolutely everything I could to take care of her isn't very comforting right now. Because in the end what I couldn't do is protect her from a rare and aggressive cancer. One that took the life out of her in less than a month. One so aggressive that between 9AM and 1PM today, she was lost to me.

We opted to have surgery preformed to remove a tennis ball sized lump in her belly. And most probably the removal of her spleen. But during surgery it was discovered that the cancer had engulfed her liver and there was no hope.

To say that I am heart-broken doesn't begin to describe the loss I feel for her. I'm torn between helplessness and anger. But I know with certainty that I will miss her head lying next to mine while I sleep. I will miss hearing her breath. I will miss her at my side every step I take during the day. I will miss her little tail nub wagging until it's a blur. And I will miss telling her how much I love her.

I'm also sure that Fritz will be lost and lonely, too.


Rest in peace, my sweet little girl. Mom loves you!

Crafters Who Care - Completed

I just love it when things work the way they're supposed to. Today, I made nice with my serger and got the other 5 wheelchair/walker bags finished for Courtney's charity project. You can read more about it HERE.



I'm hoping to get these in the mail in the next day or two, Courtney! Well, got to go. I'm on a roll and I'm going to take advantage of it. LOL.

Until next time...Happy Needling!!!

STS - Winter

This is the block I pieced for part two of the Season to Season block share project that I'm hostessing with CQN.



I was happy to get a little bit of a jump on this. Sign-ups have just closed and the 1/2 worked blocks aren't due to be mailed to me until November 1st. And due to the 'holidays' this project will run to the first of the year.

Be sure to check back for photos and updates. And until next time...Happy Needling!!!

And The Winners Are...

For the first set of 5 fat quarters, postage paid, (going to the first commenter whose name begins with the letter pulled out of the hat) is Dee in Idaho.

Dee was unable to leave a comment so she emailed me. I received her email on 10/04/07 at 10:33 PM.

For the second set of 5 fat quarters, postage paid, in a totally random drawing (all names for comments and emails included) is Bear in Australia.

Congratulations Dee and Bear. I will be sending you an email asking you to send me your snail mail addresses. I'm planning on mailing your fabrics out by Friday.

Thank you everyone so much for playing. And until next time...Happy Needling!

Ever Had This Feeling?

Well, I was out of gas, running late and had to come back to get DS a different shirt before I took him to DPS today. And guess what???? About 10 minutes into standing in line he remembered that he forgot his wallet. I'm grateful is wasn't an hour.

Sadly, the last two weeks has been pretty much a series of unfortunate events. And the BONUS is...they've all been really inconvenient and costly. LOL.

Oh well, it must be time for a glass of wine and some deep reflection about how and when I messed up my Karma. Sorry, you can't join me. This pity-party is for one!


Until next time...Happy Needling!!!

2007 VBCS - Finished

Today was a nice lazy day for me. I managed to get my Crazy Quilted Christmas Stocking, aka Victorian Boot Christmas Stocking finished for CQN. Mary is our hostess again this year for this swap. Not only is this a great swap, it's wonderful for building your stash. Each stocking will be accompanied by 4 squishies full of fabrics, beads, lace, charms, ribbon, etc. A real crazy quilter's dream!!!!





You can see the boot I made last year, and my naked block for this year's swap at this POST. Just scroll toward the bottom of the post.

Well, it's been a full and productive day. So, I'm off to bed. Until next time...Happy Needling!!!

Fairy Tale RR - Nancy's Block

It's DS's birthday today, so I'm just doing a quickie post to show the work that I've done on Nancy's block. Her story for this round robin is "The Night Before Christmas."

Entire block:



I added the sleigh and reindeer, the seam treatment above Santa and to the left (on the curve).



Nancy is looking for a very 'Victorian' decorated block. So, I gave ornaments. Or at least my version of them.



And finally, a candle stick holder, with burning candles.



Well, gotta run. Until next time...Happy Needling!!!

Fiary Tale RR - Lauri's Block

The other day I received 2 of the 4 blocks I'm waiting for, for the Crazy4CQ/CQN Round Robin. I have completed my work on all of the Unicorn Group blocks. Now, only the Fairy Group blocks remain.

This block was lovely as a naked block. After being worked, it is really quite beautiful. The ladies in this RR have really done a nice job. This is the work I did on Lauri's "Last Unicorn" block.


I added (1st photo): the silver metallic seam treatment and green beads at the upper left corner of the Unicorn, and also the white and black beads at the bottom. I also made a slit in the back of the Unicorn siggie and added some quilt batting inside to 'poof' it out. It had gotten really stretched, skewed and wrinkled during its journey. Now it looks like a little pillow and has a wonderful 3D look to it.

(2nd photo): the butterfly button cluster, the ribbon and french knots (to the left), and the dual seam treatments (lazy daisy, beads, and flowers) below.



(3rd photo): "seascape" (but not the purple bead trail at the right bottom), and (4th photo) the vine type seam treatment with french knots and the purple beads (to the existing lace).



The other block I received is Nancy's. I will start working on it today and post photos when I finish my part. Hopefully, I will receive the final 2 blocks soon.

As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by and look! And until next time...Happy Needling!!!

Crafters Who Care - Courtney

Today I put this little bag together for Courtney's "charity project to brighten the nursing home residents' Christmas."

It's a really neat thing that she's doing. Please pop over and see. Maybe you could also help out. Courtney says, "I would like to have them all by December 1st. Anything extra you want to make (lap quilts, little pretty whatnots) I would be happy to accept as well."

This bag is my prototype. I know I can do a better job. And I don't know if I'll put the pockets in the rest of them because it's really time consuming. But we'll see. I plan on making 2 bags in each of these fabrics.



Well, I better get back after it. Until next time...Happy Needling!!!

My STS - Fall Blocks Are Back

Yippee!!! I got both of my blocks back from my partners this week. These women are QUICK! The blocks aren't even due to be mailed until October 25th. In fact, I'm surprised that I'm receiving so many of them so soon. Good job, ladies!

Anyway, I am just tickled with both of these blocks. It's obvious that a lot of time, thought and effort were put into finishing them. My original block went to Carole. She put so many wonderful treatments on this block, as you can see in the before and after photos. I especially like the ribbon work and the lace motif. I added the additional photo because I thought the bead work was just so unique and fun.



And you'll notice if you pop over to her blog that she already has her Winter block pieced. LOL.

My second block was dubbed the "Make It Even" block because we had an uneven number of partners. This block was supposed to be raffled off/given away in some manner to the group since we're all allowed only one block. But now that I have it in my hot little hands I don't want to give it away. It will be difficult to part with it.

Sharon R worked on this block. I don't know where she found the embellishments that she used. They are just adorable. I had added a lot of lace and trims to this block and Sharon did a great job of spicing them up with french knots, beads, and buttons. I got the biggest kick out of the little bees and the gourd. Way too cute.



It makes me feel good to know that everyone participating is going to be just thrilled with their blocks. This has been a great group of swappers. They have taken so much care in doing their best for their partners. I'm so very proud of all of you! Thanks so much.

Well, I guess I better start pulling my Winter Block fabrics together. LOL. I don't want to be the slacker in the group. LOL.

Until next time...Happy Needling!!!