ANOTHER DAY OF PROGRESS FOR BEAR

Aidan Patrick has been letting Bear have plenty of room to relax and heal, but today he just couldn't wait any longer to cram into the snuggly with him.  Bear tolerated it for a while and then shooed him away.

SHOPPING BAG

This bag is modeled after the standard plastic shopping bags we get at grocery stores.  All three prints are from Moda's Xanadu line from last season.  The jury is out on whether the handles should be longer, so I'm going to do an experiment and adapt the pattern. The bag can be washed, dried and folded up easily and all the seams are reinforced to ensure sturdiness.

REMEMBERING HOLLY 1998 - 2010

When I posted the pet pictures I neglected to include Holly, my little 12 year old Tonkinese  girl, who died in June 2010.  She and Bear were half-siblings, sharing the same father, but that's the only thing they had in common besides living with me.  Bear is a big boy - serious, easily embarassed, frightened of new things and very loving in his shy way.  Holly was tiny - outgoing, comical, stubborn and insistent that the house run by Holly rules.  They loved each other very much and were inseparable in a very special way.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and after two lumpectomies I decided to try to save her by a radical mastectomy.  She had her surgery on June 22, 2010 and while the surgery was successful, she died that night of a fatal allergic reaction to pain medication.  It was a dreadful time and we miss her still.  Her memory is with me every single day. 

THE BEST LAID PLANS

I've been sewing for nearly three years and one would think I've finally learned how to pay attention to directional fabrics when it matters!  Here is an apron I made from good graphic chickens fabric.  When I was laying out the pattern I repeated my mantra, "This fabric is directional.  Chicken legs go to the bottom!"  Imagine my surprise when I finished overcasting all the seams and really battening down the hatches (no pun intended :) and those chickens were upside down!  Grrrrrrr...  My sister Stacie said, "Well, they're right side up when the wearer looks down!" which will have to be the case because unsewing is out of the question. 

Yet another learning experience!

BEAR IS ON THE MEND

Today was Bear's first day with no pain medication and he seems to be doing fine and healing nicely.  So far I haven't had to put a collar on him and he won't let his little brother near the incision, so that is all a blessing.  He's somewhat subdued, but he's such a serious cat anyway it's not that different than normal. 

MORE RAIN, KILLER SALE AT JOANN'S

We've had a couple more days of intermittent rain but this afternoon the sun came out for a blustery treat.  Mags and I went to lunch at a Greek cafe - gyros rock!  Then we went to Joann's with our special coupon and did some careful scoring of good buys.  I got a tailor's ham and a pressing roll, shown in one photo.  I've been wanting these for some time, as making purses and totes requires certain seams be pressed open very thoroughly.  Also, I finally broke down and bought one of those sissy suction thingees to attach to my big rulers when doing rotary cutting.  I have only almost sliced my left index finger off 2X so have gotten off relatively lightly! Check it out in the other photo.

BEAR'S SURGERY 03-22-11

Today Bear had a suspicious mass removed from his left rear upper leg.  Thankfully, it appears to be all fatty tumor, but the incision is pretty long and he's uncomfortable.  It's 5:30 p.m. and at 8 he can have more pain medication, which should help him rest through the night.  I was so worried all day but he did fine and if his little brother will stop hissing at him because he smells funny, he'll be great!

MEET THE PETS

Princess Grace, lutino cockatiel, 17 - 19  years old, blind

Aidan Patrick - 11 months, male flame point Siamese mix February 2011

Sydney Eugene - 17 years old, citron/umbrella cockatoo boy February 2011

Sydney playing at the Pt. Loma Farmer's Market November 2010

Bear 12 years Tonkinese male - my first cat!  With Aidan napping Dec 2010

Bear and baby Aidan Sept 2010

FINISHING UFOS

This weekend I finished my version of the "Pocket Full of Rulers" tote for use when I go to sewing classes or socials.  As usual, the instructions were headache-inducing and I ended up finishing it the way I learned to do other totes.  It's great but I want to do one with binding all around the edges as the pattern indicates.

RAIN RAIN RAIN

An electrician is working here this morning and we're alternating between sunshine peeking through and cloudbursts.  I feel sorry for him because he's having to go in and out. 

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!

I've set up three or four blogs in the past couple of months and then can't seem to get them operating nicely.  I'm sure it's operator error but I need something pretty simple as I am not quite a Luddite but almost  at things technical.  So, we'll see how it goes with this one courtesy of Google!