August Card

I am still determined to design a card a month for one year. This is Augusts' card. September will be my final month, since I began this personal challenge in October of 2007. I have decided to give card making a rest after September, except for holidays and possibly a few birthdays.

In Memory of Morgan 08-26-08

Talk about being on a roller coaster of emotions. Saturday was such a happy day for our family. My son and new daughter-in-law had their marriage blessed in church. They were married in Riviera Maya, Mexico on August 4. Saturday night was their wedding reception. The reception was such fun. All of our friends and relatives were there and life was great. We returned home at 1:30am Sunday morning to find our puggle lethargic and weak. We rushed her to a 24-hour emergency critical care veterinarian center. From her outward signs, the vets thought she had been bit by something, but could find no puncture wounds. Her belly was very red and they assumed she was having a severe allergic reaction to something. They began treating her with Benadryl. When we went to see her on Sunday evening she was so weak that she couldn't stand. By Monday her entire body was bloated and the vets were telling us she had something called vasculitus, which in simple terms means her blood vessels were breaking open and leaking fluid into her body. When they told us they were having trouble managing her pain, we decided to have her euthanized. We are all going to die someday, but needless suffering is just not acceptable in my eyes. The hardest thing to accept is the fact that she was only 5 years old and that this sickness came on so quickly. This dog had the sweetest disposition. She has left a paw print on our family that will never be forgotten. Rest in peace my sweetie girl.

Unsolicited Endorsement

Time for a commercial break. I wanted to make a special label for the back of Mike and Ashley's quilt. I decided to use one of their wedding photos. A few months back I was at a local sewing center and they had some inkjet fabric sheets that looked interesting. I bought a pack thinking maybe someday I would make a photo quilt. I figured this label was a golden opportunity to try out these fabric sheets. AWESOME, that's all I can say. They are called EQ Printables...premium cotton satin inkjet fabric sheets. I worked in Microsoft Publisher. I imported the wedding photo and used the MP font for the wording. OMG, it turned out great. The picture is as clear as it is on the original photo. They are super easy to use and the directions are very clear. Okay you are saying, so where's the photo of the label? I can't show it because it not only contains their pictures, it also lists their full names. I think that might be filed under an "invasion of privacy" act somewhere.

Done!

The binding on this quilt is so skinny that you can't even see it in the pictures. That is good because I didn't want it to detract from the blocks. Ashley fell in love with the widest piece of backing fabric. Unfortunately, there were only 2 yards of that fabric left on the bolt. I had to add the strips of magenta to each side in order to have enough width for the back. The plan for tonight is to make a label. I am planning on using one of their wedding day photos and a word program to make the fabric label.

Home Stretch

This weekend went unbelieveably well as far as quilting was concerned. Years ago a neighbor gave us an old ping-pong table that she no longer wanted. Saturday it came in very handy. I used it to lay out the quilt. I got it pinned in no time. Saturday evening I got the entire quilt stitched in the ditch. On Friday I had cut, joined and ironed the binding so that was ready to go. I attached that Saturday night also. Then came sewing the binding down by hand. I made it until 2:15am and called it a night. Boy, was my butt dragging today. But, I worked on the binding a good part of the day today and I only have about 15 more inches to go to finish. It is now 12:11 am and I am headed for bed. I'd call that a pretty darn good weekend!

Mass Production

Remember a few months back when I was massively producing those purse-sized tissue holders? Well, apparently I have hit on something else just as popular. I received a luggage tag at a retreat recently. Not too long after that, the light bulb went on. My son and his fiancee are having a destination wedding. Wouldn't this be a great favor to give the guests? So, I proceeded to make my take on the luggage tag. I made 50 of them. Fourty of them went to the wedding in Mexico. I had 10 remaining. I was showing my next door neighbor what I had made for the wedding. I asked her if she would like two, one for her and one for her husband, since they couldn't make the trip. She picked out two that she liked. After we got back from Mexico, my neighbor called and asked if I had any more luggage tags left. I had 8. She came over and asked for 4 more. I had 4 remaining. My niece stops over one day after work and I show her the luggage tags. She loves them. My remaining four are gone. Here's the ironic part. I made 50 luggage tags and there are NONE on our suitcases. So, I am back to making luggage tags, and this time, I am taking mine FIRST!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

This quilt was made by my friend, Madelyn. It won third place at this years Wisconsin State Fair. It now resides in my home, a gift from Madelyn. The unique thing about this quilt is that it measures only 8" x 10". The centers of those snail trail blocks are 1/4" square! Talk about itty-bitty. The fabrics are from a line where part of the proceeds went to ovarian cancer research. I am unbelieveably honored to own this miniature piece of art. Thanks Madelyn!

What You've All Been Waiting For

The signature quilt for the wedding reception is almost done. It is getting pinned tomorrow in the daylight. It will be stitched in the ditch so that the quilting doesn't interfere with the signatures. As you can tell from the pictures, this quilt has no borders. It will have an orange binding. Yes, I know I am running out of time. But as most of my friends know, I work better under pressure.