Heading to new beginnings.......

isn't it amazing that at any point in your life you can hit a new beginning that breathes life into everything that you are doing and trying to achieve?  And this happened this week....

A relationship that I thought I had lost has been revived and there is forgiveness from both sides and a new understanding of family.  Then another friendship that I thought was strained became as it had always been and I can believe in that again.  Then, following on from the stress of the visa renewal the bank came through and all the things I want to do in the next few years are now possible.  So here I come world!!

Caper is proving to be an absolute delight.  I miss Bandit very much, and Maggie, but this little lady is just wonderful.  I did some research and found that she had been at the kennel with Heartworm Project (www.heartwormproject.org) for a whole year and that she is only about eighteen months old - so she came to the kennel at about six months old.  She is a little pudgy and still a puppy, but so easily trained and willing to do what I want her to do - she loves her crate and took only two nights to get house trained and is now running with me on a loose leash and able to wait in doorways and in the car.  Very impressive. 

 

The picture is a little bit blurry, but black dogs are so hard to picture.  Her ears are usually pricked up but she was so 'what are you doing new mom?'.

 

 

This quilt is a bit of a sad story.  My new landscaper asked me to make a quilt for his 25th anniversary to include silver and earth tones.  We made this quilt and spoke to him on the day, since we had not heard from him, and he had had a stroke.  I hope that this story will have a happier ending next week.

 

So 'Oodles of Sensations' has been given a new lease of life with a lot of crystals.  Crystals do not show up in a photo so I cannot show you how spectacular this quilt now looks.  So let's see how it does at AQS Grand Rapids!!

 

Reinar and Jill - I am working on your quilt!!

 

The new design/blocking wall - J.P. got her DIY on and this is the result - thank you so much!!

 

And this is the chaos caused by the new design/blocking wall - J.P. (the other one) I hope you are ready for tomorrow!!

So - that is enough for tonight - we have plans for mystery quilts and other things in the near future, as well as other exciting things on a much more regular basis.  Caper says 'Hi' and could you please let me out to go potty.  Nature calls!

Oh my, life has become interesting.......

and I am glad to share it with you.  It's not about quilting - it's about life.  I opened up to my lovely J.P. and realized that I had issues that needed to be addressed.  Over the last many years I have kept a day minder and looking back over the last three years I was able to see that I had a major event in my life in late December 2010 that changed my life. 

I had no idea that this event had caused so many issues, but now that I have related the event to what has been going on in my life, I can make adjustments and sort things out.  So things are looking up - I realize that I can make it on my own and that I am stronger than I think I am - so look out world - here I come!!!!

Watch this space - things are going to happen.

For my lovely furry friend......

who finally gave in to old age and joined his mother, Maggie, and his human father, John and is united with them both in my closet.  It may seem strange to some that I keep the cremains of them all on the closet shelf, but my aunt started this tradition and now it seems to me as if they are all together and it is a good place for them - I know they are there and they are always in my thoughts.

When I got back Bandit was so glad to see me and I was so glad to be home, with my visa and five more years to come up with a plan.  On Tuesday afternoon last week I picked up Caper from the kennel - she has been there for at least a year as one of the dogs that we keep for the Heartworm Project (www.heartwormprogect.org) - please check them out and consider adopting a pet from them if you are looking to add a furry friend to your family. 

So Bandit knew that I had a furry friend to look after me before he passed on and he lived until last Saturday evening and I was holding his paw when he took his last breath.  There were four of us that crossed the pond to be here in the USA (me, John, Maggie and Bandit) and now there is just me - the last of the four musketeers.  And although sometimes it seems strange to make plans on my own I have to move on without them and take my life in the direction that I want to go - and that is the challenge.  Where do I want to go and what do I want to do? 

I do know that quilting is my absolute passion, as well as teaching what I know to anyone that will listen.  So I will focus on that for a while and try to put as much into the blog as I can in the near future.  And to that end, I have to recommend Sally Collins to you - she has a number of books that I have loved and a DVD that has some of the most amazing tips for precision piecing that I have ever seen.  Check her out and watch and learn.  My J.P. doing piecing took up one of the tips on the DVD and has produced one of the most masterful quilts in terms of the pressing that I have ever seen - trust me I have seen all of the spectrum of piecing and pressing! - anyone who pieces needs to see this pressing and cooling technique. 

OK - I am drawing up a new schedule that should have me blogging more often and with a plan!  I have the next new fabulous craze that I want to introduce in the next week or so and a lot of other things that I want to do - more quilting but also more other hand work and skills. 

Thank you J.P. - the quilting one - for prompting me to blog.

I need to thank all the kennel staff and the studio staff for the wonderful work that they have done to help me out, keep me going and keep the businesses ticking over. 

Tomorrow is a haircut!!

 

So here is Caper - black dogs are so hard to photograph!

 

And here is the Hoffman Challenge that actually made it on time and will be judged - I should know by the end of July if it has won anything or will travel.  This time I have hopes for a win or at least a travel......the last one bombed but this one should do well!

 

Goodnight all - does anyone in the USA or UK remember the Magic Roundabout and Zebadee - 'time for bed'?