A Cat With His Shoe (Sutherlin, OR)

Slow week for outdoor activities.  Lots of rain with sporadic sunshine making the world around us look fresh and clean.  A real nice change from all the fog we have had for way toooo long.  

Dusty has been moping around because he hasn't been spending as much time outside.  You would think he wouldn't care that it is raining since he has a thick coat, but he does.  As soon as the rain starts, he begins to twitch and runs for the door.  "Let me in!"

not your shoe,  my shoe!

 So, here he sits with his favorite chew toy....my shoe...well, it was my shoe until he stole it out of the closet and chewed up the backside which made it hard for me to wear.  Almost every night after we go to bed,   Dusty drags his shoe into our bedroom while doing his cat-a-wallowing howl "I killed the shoe for you!".  He leaves it for me to find in the middle of the night and I, of course, step on it.  That certainly wakes me up.  I'm happy to say with all this rain, he has been sleeping with it.  So, no midnight surprises, but I'm sure that will not last long.

I don't know what it is with my stuff that Dusty feels a need to chew on them.  I have to hide everything from him.  I never thought he would chew on my phone....he did...sigh..

I have no idea what to do with a cat like that except to hide everything of mine from him.  

He does make a great model for my quilts.  That's his silhouette in the wall quilt.  He was actually being good when I took the photo, but I think this looks more appropriate since he is always getting into something.

On The Cutting Board
The only project I have been working on this week is the Kitty's Welcome wall hanging.

So, I want to take this moment to give a big Thank You! to Maggie from Flowers in the Window for featuring my mug rugs in her blog.  You probably remember when I made the Harvey J mug rug last summer?  Harvey J belongs to Maggie and Chris.  We have spent some time talking since discovering each other's blogs.  We both love our pets, quilting, and traveling except she is in England where I would love to be again someday.  Please stop by and say hello!

Here are a few more photos...

A little experimenting with Picasa.  I used the pencil sketch format to see what I would get...

Okay, one more.  This little leaf caught my eye with its bright colors.

Well, I better go see what Dusty is getting into now.  Lately, he has been burrowing under the quilts I have been working on.  I don't think the wall hanging is going to cover him this time.  By the way, all my quilting projects are put away every night...thanks to Dusty...the tables are cleared of all projects.
Happy Quilting!

I'm Actually Busy! (Pacific City, OR)

On Th Cutting Board

All Right!  I finished my second custom order and within a week's time.  Of course, it helped that I already had the templates from the first one.  So, here's the finished Harvey J.

I like the deeper colors of the new one.  If you are wondering what I am going to do with the blotchy first one, I'm going to mail it with the other one.  It was almost done, so why let it go to waste?  Now the customer can hang one up and use the other one.

I have a new custom order for two new mug rugs.  This one is for "Travels with Emma".  Emma is the dog in the left-hand corner.  The blue is for the windows because Emma is going to be looking out the window.  This will be a new challenge for me.  So far, I have found some good samples of royalty-free cliparts of dogs that look similar to Emma and matching fabric.  I hope to get started on the mug rugs today.

 Today, I was on Facebook and there was another one of my mug rugs being advertised by Etsy!  This time I clicked on "Quilts on Etsy" and I was surprised it took me straight to my Vintage Trailer!  That is so cool!

Of course, this one sold already, but at least it is taking customers to my shop.  Thank you Etsy for the free advertisement!  All four of my Vintage Trailers have sold!  Which means I better get busy with making more mug rugs.

The following photos were taken at the Yaquina Lighthouse and the rocky beach area from Newport.  I'm glad I uploaded the following photos earlier this month.  I don't know if I could have done them while we are here in Pacific City.  I can't even get the link to the state park's website to share with you.  Oh well.

 

Anyway, we had a great time watching the harbor seals sunning on the rocks..

listening to the birds...and smelling them too...

exploring the tide pools....

and getting some great close-ups of sea life...

Even though I have seen this lighthouse a couple of times, I never tire of looking at it again or any of the other lighthouses that we have visited in the past.  They are so fascinating.

As much as I enjoy the rustic lifestyle, I'll be so happy to move next Monday to Seaside....back to civilization...back to cell phone service....back to WiFi....back to some kind of TV signal...Yes!  We are only spending two weeks at Seaside.  Before we head back to Pacific City, I do hope to get caught up with everything online.

Well, time to get back to work.  I have mug rugs to wrap up for mailing and a new custom order to get started.  Pinch me!  I can't believe I am this busy!  

Happy Quilting!

Dyed Red With Embarrassment (Pacific City, OR)

On The Cutting Board

I'm so embarrassed.  I was almost finished with Harvey J.  He was shaping up so well.  I wanted to wash out the pencil outlines along the edges before I started quilting.  I had used a new pencil and it was not washing out as easy as my old pencil.  So I used a little soap....should not be a problem since I pre-wash all my fabrics especially the red.  BUT, I was wrong.  The dye in the red embroidery thread ran.  I thought it was just the red showing through the wet aqua.  As I ironed the lower end, the red disappeared as the fabric dried, but the top stayed red!  OH NO!

This is the mess I had to share with my customer.  I told her I would start another, but I am out of the light aqua and would have to use something different...

..and I actually like the new fabric better.  I hope she does too.  I took the following photos this morning.  To me, the embroidery pops out so much more with this color.  I can't wait to see the finished project!

Oh, and I pre-washed the red embroidery thread. I was worried the thread would end up a tangled mess so I wound it around a plastic cup and sunk it in warm soapy water.  It worked very well.   I always thought the embroidery threads were die-cast and would not run if wet.  Well, I will never assume that again. I plan to do that from now on with my reds and purples.

More Beach Photos

 It has been too foggy to take photos of this area, so here are a few more photos from the Newport area...

 Most of these were taken on the Ona Beach State Park walking south to the Seal Rocks State Park.

 A very nice place to walk and to explore during low tide.

 I just love the rock formations.

Aren't these gorgeous?  I don't know what they are except they grow on a bush in Waldport.

Well, back to work...Happy Quilting!