Dear Vi,
Every time we leave the house, we have a conversation with Sam first. Sam sees us getting ready and starts his little happy dance.
Sam: oh boy oh boy oh boy, we’re going somewhere!
Us: Oh, Sam. Mommy and daddy are going to work and you have to stay here. (“Work” means going away without Sam)
Sam: ears go down, slinks away to jump on the bed.
Us: (following Sam into the bedroom) You’re in charge of the house. Don’t let Spooky invite her friends in. Be a good boy. You’re a good boy, yes you are, yes you are. (Said with smooches)
Sam: ducks head to escape smooches.
Us: We’ll be back in a while. Two whiles. Okay, probably more like three. Three whiles. Okay? (Said in overly bright happy tones)
Sam: climbs into the pillows, digs himself a nest to wait out the long desolate hours.
Us: Okay, well. Bye.
Sam: follows us with his sad eyes.
When we pull out of the driveway, there he is, watching through the glass door. We wave. “Bye, Sam.” Then we sigh.
Sometimes I seed his toy basket with treats before I go , creating a sort of doggy Easter egg hunt. When we get home, he’s always found them all.
I know, I know. But I bet you do something similar. Am I right?
The quilt is finished with a mix of machine and hand quilting.
The center of the hearts are hand quilted, as is the looped row of hearts running along the bottom edge of the quilt.
The 9-patches are done in straight-line quilting, and I practiced my free-motion quilting by making loops and hearts in the borders. I’ve only tried free-motion quilting a couple of times and I really enjoyed it. The stitching isn’t perfect, but neither am I, lol!
It was a pleasure to make both quilts, and I know they are being enjoyed.
Too much hand quilting, knitting, typing, and gripping heavy weights at the gym have given me tennis elbow in both arms and caused the arthritis in my hands to flare up.
And I’ve got a short story out on submission, but I won’t hear for awhile yet.
Meanwhile, I’m working on two new manuscripts. This is a bit discombobulating – I need to settle into one. Instead, I dither, going back and forth, unable to totally immerse myself in either.
I’ve been busy in other areas, too: I’ve got one quilt ready for binding and another one sandwiched and ready for quilting, and socks on one set of needles and a sweater on another set. Lots of busy going on in that area, as evidenced by the gawd awful mess of knitting and hand sewing paraphernalia next to my side of the couch.
And then, as if things weren’t messy enough, I decided that most of the pieces of clothing I’ve made up to now are not acceptable. They looked good in the initial trying on, but once I started actually wearing them – out in public, like – their flaws started showing up. Three dresses have been tossed into the recycle bin. There’s enough fabric in the skirts to use as a muslin for a couple of tops I want to make. It’s all a learning process.
Sam and I have really been enjoying the autumn colours this year. Somehow, they seem even more vivid than usual.
What about you? Anything interesting to report?
The sides of the road were covered in blue wildflowers – the kind that will turn to stickers as soon as their blossoms drop. I’ll hate them later, but right now they’re stunning.
After I gave up, we walked back along the beach, where the water level has dropped but the sand hasn’t dried out enough to walk out very far without getting muddy.
And then we came home and had some lunch.
