Cough-Free Friday

It is almost 4pm and Nim has gone all day without coughing. I hope we are done with the "dog cold."

It is really cold today, but no rain so as long as I bundle up and get moving I actually can enjoy it.

The blocks are all together and now to search my stash for some borders. The lighting doesn't do this quilt justice so you will just have to trust me that it is a fun combination. Hopefully I can find a better way to photograph it when it is done.

Have a great Friday night and hopefully a relaxing weekend!

November Quilt Project

This latest project is a favorite pattern of mine from "Phenomenal far quarter quilts" by M'Liss Rae Hawley. If I can get it done by Tuesday I will submit it for an auction.

The "patterned" fabric comes from a bundle I got years ago at the Sew Expo in Puyallup. The main background fabric is extra bought for that darn NASCAR quilt which is on break right now. I am sure I will return to the NASCAR quilt soon as well. I am completely unemployed right now and it is helping me to have other structured projects besides job applying and studying.

Nim has been sick (kind of like kennel cough or some respiratory infection).

Today he finally was feeling a lot better and drinking so for everyone's well-being we got a fall hike in.

It was cold out here today...that cold, clear type of day that makes you think of snow. Have a great evening!

Emile! (and apparently everyone past and present)

Emile is about one more incident away from earning himself regularly reports.This honor was previously held by Rusty.

(Rusty - 2010)

Emile is positive that he is STARVING. He is sure that at this time of the year he is supposed to be eating excessively to build winter girth.

Since he has been on a "diet" most of the year...aka normal eating for his healthy weight...he has taken to chewing other things to demonstrate his displeasure. Paper has been a standby for years. I have a minimum of 3 notebooks going at any given time that used to be safe in a detached office, not anymore:

New this season is cords and other personal items, such as the handle on my new and expensive collapsible dog crate. This would be my electric blanket cord:

How many electric blanket fires are caused by failing cords?

So I begrudgingly got out the scale yesterday and dealt with weighing cats. Despite the fact this doesn't not involve a kennel, going to the vet, or pain, they still are melodramatic about the process. I am pretty sure I have never weighed Leela without her rear being in my face as she tries to back up my body.

I remember one vet telling me you can just put the cat in a bag and put them on the scale and I was even dumb enough to try it once. That only worked with the my 5 pound persian-mix Chloe who was a big believer in going limp in the moment (maybe some growling) while planning revenge for later.

(Chloe with Leela - 2005)

(Chloe with Odin - 2007)

Emile certainly doesn't look too skinny, but I decided if he was around 12 pounds I would bring his food up. Sadly that was not the case:

Emile: 15 pounds - sorry Emile, no food increase for you. (16.9 in March, 15.8 in May -  it is amazing how slow the loss has been. I don't have a lot of experience in this area with cats, but normally I can take weight off dogs much faster)

Leela: 11 pounds (holding steady - ALL YEAR)

Leela says she has a "set point" and she had some not publishable suggestions for my scale.

You have to feel bad for them. I mean I wouldn't put up with someone restricting my food.

Meanwhile I am watching Webinars and cutting out a new quilt.

Speaking of quilting, I am sad I didn't have a quilt ready for the fall Quilt Festival, but I am still getting out there to vote and meet other quilters:

I am running into a lot more not user-friendly commenting systems out there which is unfortunate. I don't know who came up with that random text/number validation system but they clearly didn't come from the same usability background I did.

So I am not leaving as many comments this year and as someone who loves comments that bums me out a bit, but please visit sites! The stories and the art behind many of these quilts are so inspiring.

Have a great Tuesday. I am planning on another productive one!

This is one of my favorite Chloe photos and I had forgotten about it. When I would go to Costco I would make a point of finding her the perfect box. She wore "chicken of the sea" well.

 (Sherman on the dog bed, Odin, and Chloe - 2005)

These three were a great mix. Sherman (Shepherd-mix, almost made it to age 15) would have actually probably chased Chloe had he noticed her moving around the house. She was the best dog trainer of any cat I ever had, in part I am sure because of her belief that the world should accommodate her.

I have never tried putting everyone, past and present, in one blog post. This might be my favorite post for awhile...and all because Emile is starving. :)

Tova Shirt Completed

Finally the Tova shirt is complete. I really enjoyed the support and suggestions from verykerryberry, it made me wish I had found her site at the start of the sew-a-long so I could have participated. The instructions are very clear but I so rarely make clothing that following those instructions does not come easy to me.

I really like the finished result, however I think I will go a size up next time.

While the sizing was based on the bust, it is actually my broad shoulders and back that fill in this shirt, and I know better. Fitting my shoulders in women's commercial cuts is right up there with my long torso as a problem areas.

Since I don't know enough about altering, going a size up is about the only option I have. The shirt fits, but I don't like it tight across the upper back and that is where I feel it.

With Tova done I am free to start another project much to the cats' delight (I hope we all survive my sewing area + cats).

I was ironing and cutting fabric while watching Kathy Sdao dog training video (which is completely inspiring) and I kept feeling this pulling below me.

Once I stepped away from the ironing board the full battle was on.

Nim slept through all the commotion.

Have a gentle Sunday. I am more than ready for a new week...

Fastest October Ever

Normally I wouldn't hold back complaining about the constant rain right now, but the storm in the Northeast has me so stressed out that I am not even going to whine about our standard seasonal weather.


We even had a sun break yesterday.

This past weekend was a dog show in Ridgefield, WA (this is the Vancouver area) and it didn't go so well which I took surprisingly hard. But I know a lot of that is the additional life stress.

I would like to acknowledge The Shilo Inn for being so accommodating to my meltdown. They totally went above and beyond and I will absolutely remember them for it.

Needing a plan for this week, I woke up Monday morning re-dedicating myself to studying. This is my standing workstation solution (I go completely bonkers sitting too long):

I like to stand at an ironing board and knit when I have a lot of Webinars or slideshows to get through. The project has to be mindless enough that I can pay full attention and even set it down to take notes.

I also had a meeting last night and decided to make them my victims for gluten free baking (which I only marginally know what I am doing). There is a big request for it at an upcoming auction and I just don't eat that way enough to trust my own judgement.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Doughtzel Balls:

I used Bob's all purpose gluten free (1.5 cups, I didn't have almond flour and didn't want to buy it) and no xanthan gum. I find xanthan expensive for someone who is not gluten free and except for the fact these cookies came out a bit "flat" it didn't matter in the least - they were good stuff. I got strong approval from my test crowd. :)

Have a great week and keep your thoughts towards the Northeast. Just reading about all that is going on over there and all of them without power is enough to feel right in your stomach.

Sidecar for Pigs Peace Halloween Bake Sale

This has been such a full month, but so much of it not really worth blogging about...you know how that goes? It would be nice if some of my projects would actually complete!

It has also been rainy and my car has been in and out of the shop.

The cats seem to be coping.

Nim, not so much.

Yesterday after they put my car back together so that I could make an appointment this morning I took him into town for a dog wash because it was getting dark and he was driving me nuts. This is a place where all tubs are side by side so the dogs are in misery together. That was about as exciting as his day got.

I am really backing off bake sales and charity baking right now. But when I saw Sidecar for Pigs Peace still needed bakers to benefit the Pigs Peace Sanctuary I couldn't turn them down.

First I roasted another sugar pie pumpkin and did some seeds for me:

Then I started a new recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie...homemade oreos. The dough is amazing. I hid it in the fridge while I went to work on my other plans.

From Post Punk Kitchen I settled on the Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf.

It is unbelievably good. I stayed true to recipe. Looking at the comments, several people cut the sugar. I didn't find it overly sweet however it is very rich.

My other new recipe was from Eating Bird Food and it was her pumpkin oatmeal cookies.

This is another really great recipe. I think you could cut the sugar especially if you like the spice with the pumpkin like I do. I would personally cut the salt next time but other than that, a REALLY nice cookie, and not overly sweet or rich.

I also made Oh She Glows homemade pumpkin butter again. I am on the fence about making this for the public. After some research, turns out that you shouldn't can pumpkin butter...not that I know how to can anyway but I was willing to try.

I do know there is going to be a set of the population not comfortable with a jar that doesn't "pop." It is too bad because it is a great gift idea too.

Finally I returned to my oreos. They were my bake sale wild card.

They are very satisfying to make and fun to put together. You can see the filling is a little crumbly which will probably vary from person to person because of the coconut butter.

I decided they were not a good bake sale candidate because I was worried they wouldn't hold up to bagging. However they would be great at a party on a platter.

I wish I could remember the site I saw this, but basically the site suggested you dehydrate the pumpkin skins (nothing wasted) to make "chips." I actually forgot I left these in the oven until I downloaded this photo. They are really good! They get less chewy as they dry out and have more a sweet taste to them than I anticipated.

Have a great weekend!

Sewing area and Tova

My only working car went into the shop on Friday and so this is a home-bound weekend.

Since I had to cancel everything I had planned, I woke up Saturday deciding that if it ever stopped raining I need to tackle the last piece of combining living spaces...the sewing area.I have been putting this off because I am a little stressed about having sewing clutter in my living space.

This is the most happy the cats have been during all this moving.

I got the sewing area minimally set up and then it finally stopped raining so I went out to rake leaves while Nim lined up his babies:

He then does this running pattern in which he will carry one, drop it somewhere, re-circle, and pick-it back up on the way back through.

I was all set to finish the shirt yesterday. I want it off the machine so I can return to quilts. I got the hem done.

Then I started sewing the cuffs on the sleeves...and that folks is what I will be ripping back this fine Sunday morning.

I wasn't consulting the verykerryberry Tova Sew-A-Long or I would have remembered that since I cut the 3/4 sleeves short I need larger cuffs (my upper arm is definitely bigger than my lower arm).

Maybe it will get done today. Maybe.

Have a gentle Sunday to hopefully start off a really good week.