Saturday, February 21, 2026

Creativity Saturday: Reading thru the ages phone/camera bag

 

I've been a bit distracted this week.... but managed to finish the Project Quilting challenge 

(Of another era) https://www.kimlapacek.com/project-quilting

The distraction was this pup, who came into our lives and home Sunday from a ranch in Colorado

Dewi, which means beloved in Celtic, is just over a year and a half years old and I've never been so supervised in my life! He is a lovely companion even into the studio which is boring to him

"I'll be here napping if you need snoopervision mama"

so I started the project with one idea in mind, decided I needed to make that into a real larger wall quilt, so went looking in the stash for fun prints like:
and
both of which focused on books and reading which I have loved all the eras of my lifetime! 
I need a small walking pouch to carry phone and camera, so started with a fussy cut of the lady who reminds me of the 60's walking her dog and reading, for one side

I used green scraps for the RSC challenge this month to use green. I pieced it to 7.5" square

then used the boy reading to a dragon over a medieval castle for the other side, 
I joined them into one strip, layered with top batting and lining, then quilted the strip
trimmed that, folded RST and seamed the sides. Boxed the bottom so it will sit up


chose a cute scrap of checkerboard fabric in turquoise and green for a binding on top edge


couldn't locate my box of handles, so used a trim in pink for a handle and stitched it into the sides and voila!
a wee bag to hold essentials while walking with my new pup! (He's 26" at the shoulder, and 50+ lbs) but has lovely walking manners so far, and loves seeing all the sights each day! 

I'm ready to go for a walk now mommy!! 

next up, the SAHRR row challenge of "two colors" to add on my dragonfly quilt... maybe posting Sunday if I can squeeze in more studio time. 

thanks for visiting... let me know what you think

Thursday, February 19, 2026

I Like Thursday # 492 and there's a new dog in town

 

O. M. POODLE!! We picked up Dewey on Sunday wayyyyy out in the middle of Colorado and he's now our new son!!! Hooray, 

It's been a long time coming as the song says. Milo passed over a year ago. We think we've found the sweetest boy to join our family and help us love again.  He is 20 months old, a standard poodle, very skinny at 50 lbs   and such a gentleman. 

His first mom said he may be too scared to walk, but he wants to be with us. Each day he's gotten more curious and brave and gone on smaller walks, is increasingly interested in things.

Something smells here

 

On Wed, (the 4th day with us)  he found his sniffer! He sniffed and sniffed and sniffed every tree, bush, grass blade and wanted to sniff these big boxes! 

He also got brave enough after doing the sniff test and finding a Meeeelion dogs peed on trees, he lifted a leg to try it himself, and promptly lost balance and stumbled away. (his previous owner said he wouldn't pee while wearing a leash) and he's only gone in our back yard so far. 

he discovered he could go upstairs by himself, but panicked when he didn't know how to get back down to us... he'll learn soon enough! 

He knew no words when we met. Not come, not sit, not really his name... speaking of names, we kind of want to replace (mountain Dew) with maybe Dylan... what do you think?

He is frightened, of people, noise, cars, the crate, his yard, losing sight of me... 
a bit scared of the Daddy even

scared of the pumpkin jar?

Okay with walks with Mama

anyway, he is adorable and a mama's boy and I love him

I made this waterlily to add to my round robin quilt last week... loving that!

Conversation starter of the week
what was your favorite subject in school... elementary, high school, or college... or did your favorite subject change over time? what was the teacher like? do you still have an interest in that subject?

I always loved history. I liked imagining living in other times. I read a book on time travels as a little girl, 
I also loved English and reading. I remember telling my mother I couldn't go to school because I didn't know how to read and she said, oh you're going and they will teach you no worries! In first grade we sat in a circle, and each read a paragraph of a simple book. When it got to me I was daydreaming. The teacher was cross when I said where are we, I finished it already. 



I decided to become a doctor in university. I took all the first year courses, majored in biology which also interested me, although calculus and physics not so much. But.... my real interest was in psychology by then, so I changed to that as a major and worked in field as my career. 
ps I still love history, and time travel, and archeology, and Diana Gabaldon novels.

my nature pics this time are of the ranch Dewey came from:
chooks by the hundreds

turkeys

donkeys! also a bunny, lots of dogs, and other critters. 


different from our hood, in some ways, like loud cars but we do live close to donkeys!

I'm watching figure skating from Milan but the coverage here isn't great NBC 


a few words from quiet Dewey (Dylan?) 
I love being the only dog and having all the love and pets and snuggles. I like walking, and seeing dogs along the way but going home to only our family. I love to eat, and that my pawrents feed me more than I used to get, (it's still not enough! is it ever? ) 
I think I'm going to like my toys, not yet, I don't know what to do with them yet
(editor: he picked up a ball rolled to him today) 

suggestions for names? 

please visit these folk to see what they liked this week, and school subjects they enjoyed

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Dragonflies and waterlilies happy V-day


My posting schedule is kind of sporadic now that I have 3 deadlines to make and post my work. 

Today I am sharing this week's work for the stay at home round robin, the prompt is "curves" and I needed to make the prompt fit in my scene


this week I joined the hourglass blocks, love how they blend and look, thank you to the challenge organizers. Then I worked on this week's curves.... decided to use this fabric

I used some misty fuse on a fussy cut strip, then cut out petal shapes and arranged them into lily shape
and chose a background fabric to fit in with the double blocks row I did last week, and pieced this week
I fused the top portion of petals together to make one flower to then move around the background
it's easier to move the whole thing than keep individual petals together

heat bonds the petals and mistyfuse

seeing it with the components, I realized it needed a leaf. Used a scrap, sewed seams in it to create texture




tucked it under the petals and I plan to embroider all the petals and leaf when the quilt is basted, to create more dimension, and that thread color will create more depth then

I'm liking this, and plan to move the strip I chose last week to let the watery fabrics blend


awe, I love coming in the studio to see this on the wall!
no time to rest, this is the Valentine pull for a special hexie spiral block


and this is the pull of green scraps for Rainbow Scrap challenge 

A hexie block in St. Patrick's day fabrics, and green scraps for this month


and one of my photos from walks this week, enhanced to really glow green! since it's mostly brown in Colorado without any snow basically all season. We never got winter this year  near Denver

and my calendar is especially pretty this month, with a V-day collage

(we are going out to visit a poodle, wish us luck, a house needs a spoo  (standard poodle)!

Sahrr curves week Piecefulthoughts

Thursday, February 12, 2026

I Like Thursday # 491 romantic date

 

welcome to this week's list of likes and photos starting with the big blue traveling ball I see daily, always in someone else's yard! this is a real close up

Our friend's doodle (and town crier) Oliver

(c)LAPaylor  twig impression in concrete


artsy photo of the creek (c)LAPaylor

(c)LAPaylor   working on my dragonfly piece, and my dragonfly design wall guard

(c)LAPaylor  I made a tote with one of my photos for PQ

conversation starter this week: Tell us about your most romantic date



welllll it was with my fiance  (at the time) Michael

for my birthday, he bought us tickets to fly to San Francisco, (he had to go for work ) rented us a red convertible, took me to the fine craft show he had to attend, we did touristy stuff, stayed at a great hotel, did wine tours, and I had the time off because he called my boss and set it up all secretly for me. 

It was lovely way to celebrate a birthday. All I had to do was pack a suitcase and wake up early!

Liked the exuberance in this video

exactly how I'd behave if we ever had snow again

the link if you need it

fine dining like

I love orange sicles and this recipe uses 3 ingredients:  jello, hot water, real cream whipped

makes a mousse dessert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxGAXCbvYrs

please visit these fine folk to see what they liked this week, join us by giving me your post link of likes

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Dragonflies next SAHRR row

 

I worked on the prompt for stay at home round robin (animals or live things) row this week

(first, the dragonfly doll was made last year for PQ challenge, she guards my design wall) 

My piece for SAHRR this year is one of dragonflies, they have eyes, so I continued in my theme. 

my first thought, because I am having trouble with my bodily pain this week, was to cut a row from a print with dragonflies/frogs/and turtles. I started by sewing together the hourglass blocks from another prompt, having to commit to placement. 
hmmm not sure,
what about another print with just dragonflies? 
cut a strip of it...



it's there under the hourglass, 

gotta add in this print somewhere

maybe if I add in this little batik strip in the sky, it has dragonflies