the doggies

I don't know how anybody couldn't be a 'dog person'!  These guys are such a big part of our lives, so I thought I'd share a few pics of our babies :)

This is Tucker and Tikka.  Tucker is an 11 year old Rottweiler/SharPei mix.  I love his mush-face.  I call him meat-head just as much as I call him Tucker.  We got him when he was a month old because the rest of his litter died and the neighbor was trying to raise him on cream-of-wheat, oye.  He is a strange dog because he wasn't raised by dogs, but we love him lots.
Tikka is a black Lab - and was supposed to be son #1's bird-dog.  Well, son #1 went off to college and had no time for duck hunting, so she's just a much loved pet.  She is spoiled rotten and definitely favors me, hehe :)

Tucker, on the other hand, favors hubby :)

I just love those big thick lips of his and short little muzzle and itty bitty ears :)

And Tikka is quite the hunter even though she didn't get to be a bird dog!  She has gotten *many* rats this summer, along with a squirrel and a rabbit.  She is pretty proud of her hunting abilities, but not thrilled about holding still for pics (can you see the ''get the pic taken already mom!'' look on her face? LOL)

And she totally thinks she's a lap dog, LOL.  This was camping summer before last :)

So, anyhow, just thought I'd share my doggy babies! :)

just ONE

well, I have been battling with a horrible chest cold (doctor called it bronchitis, but I have a feeling it's type A flu) for 2 weeks now.  Horrible cough, just awful.  Since I have high blood pressure, there are a lot of meds I cannot take.  The doctor gave me a prescription for 'tessalon perles' which helped a couple times, but for the most part didn't help as much as I hoped.  I have literally gone through 5 bags of cough drops (they help the most).  I have been using the sugar-free and surprisingly they are just as effective and don't taste any worse than the loaded with sugar kind.

Anyhow, I am starting to feel a LITTLE better, so I wanted to do a little sewing.  I pulled out 6 of my strips I cut previously for the #scrappytripalong and sewed - these go so fast and you have a block in no time!

I am holding off making anymore for now until I get a couple more WIP's done.  I have the quilt I'm working on for the Bake Shop which is getting close to being a finished top!  But, I also have the curved 9-patch quilt I MUST work on after that....... *then* maybe I'll work on some more #scrappytripalong blocks :)

tiny trips beginnings

I have decided to name my scrappy quiltalong quilt ''tiny trips'' since it's made with 1'' finished squares instead of 2'' finished squares (1.5'' honey bun strips).

26 blocks so far (from one honey bun, with some scraps leftover).  It's still pretty small though since the blocks are only 6'' finished! (6.5'' unfinished).  This is most likely not the layout I'll choose, but I just wanted to get them layed out for a quick pic :)

insane continued

well, it wasn't long after I wrote the last post - that I dug through my strip scrap bin and came up with enough for the 300 strips (16''ish long).

So, they are ready for me, but I'm not ready for them, LOL.  I do know my plan is to have the diagonal be the darkest prints - other than that, it's not going to be pre-planned.....

insane

yup, call me crazy......  call me insane.......  I've been called worse, LOL.  I've started cutting material for the Scrappy Trips Along.  I've always wanted to do this quilt, and I actually started one with honey bun strips a while back.  That one is like making 4 quilts for the amount of stitching as one quilt though with those teeny tiny strips/squares!

I cut approx 170 of the 2.5''x16''ish strips......  I figure I need about 130ish more to make a full size quilt........

Not sure if I'll dig into my strip scrap bin - or cut strips from my FMF yardage.  I'll probably chicken out and go to the scrap bin, LOL.

precut HEXIES?!

Have you seen Camille's latest post 'Five New Patterns'?  Scroll down and LOOK at the new Moda precut ''Honeycomb'' - I think they read my mind for the precut hexies!  Ya, I'll be on the lookout for some of those!!!!

fusible batting?

Has anybody tried fusible batting like this for their quilts to be quilted on a DSM (domestic sewing machine)?

I'd like to give it a try - would love to hear if you've had success with it!  I'd be using it on full/queen size quilts if I used it.......

fun with peppermints

I kept seeing the fun bowls and plates people were making on Pinterest, so I had to try one for myself just before Christmas.

First, I started with a package of green and a package of red peppermints and layed them out in a hexagon shape on a pizza pan lined with parchment paper.

Then, I baked them at 250 for about 10-12 minutes - I kept peeking the last few minutes to make sure the edges didn't get too thin and misshapen.   This is what it looked like right out of the oven.  The candies have melted together and turned into little hexagons.........  oh beautiful little hexagons......

Then, I took a bowl and placed it in the center of the candy 'sheet', then turned them both upside down.  This was when it was cooling on the bowl.

I was a little nervous at this point because the parchment was sticking - but I stuck it in the freezer for a couple minutes, and the candy bowl easily removed from the bowl form and the parchment.
Unfortunately I didn't get a 'finished' pic before I brought it to Christmas dinner at my brother's with a pile of my homemade peppermint patties on it :)  Mmmmm, peppermint overload!