My Last Fezzik Friday...

June 4, 2010 - April 29, 2011
"Never did so much personality walk on four tiny feet.
Your were greatly loved and will be sorely missed.
Goodbye, Little Boy."

Fezzik died in my arms at noon today...complications from his surgery. I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while to try to heal my broken heart. I'll be back again when I can find new words.

For The Love Of A Corgi...

(BW file photo)

Thank you to everyone who sent get well wishes and prayers for Fezzik's surgery. I was so nervous about the little guy going to the vet yesterday, but your notes helped bolster me as I awaited results of his procedure.

I want to tell all of you that he is doing just fine and I'll be heading back to Sarasota this morning to pick him up and bring him home. I'm sure he's going to be a little uncomfortable (the vets had to make two incisions to complete the surgery), but he'll get a lot of TLC while he recuperates.

After dropping off Fez for his surgery, I ran a few necessary errands, and then had a delightful time lunching and visiting with my friend Carol from Serendipity. We agreed to both wake up early (in our own homes), make a cuppa tea, put on a pretty hat and watch the royal wedding of William and Catherine. (A guilty pleasure...please don't tell anyone! We can keep it a secret just between us.) I'm sure we'll compare notes soon! Thanks, Carol, for such a nice day. I'm really going to miss you when you head north again for the summer.

My friend, Sue from Granny's World sent me a link for a free pattern to knit this sweet little corgi. Thank you for thinking of me, Sue! I have been quilting a whole lot more than knitting these days, but I'm going to have to get out the needles to make at least one of these little darlings!

If you're interested in downloading your own free pattern of the royal corgi, just click on the photo of the little guy so you can knit one up before Wills and Kate celebrate their first anniversary!

In keeping with the last paragraph of Lynn's post on Lily Quilts (click here to read), my Royal Wedding name is...wait for it, now...Lady Irene Wonser-Bannor. What's yours?

(BW file photo)

Back to quilting after I've brought Fez home again today. I won't be a lonely nursemaid. I'm sure Kessie and Handsome will help me take care of him, too! He'll be right as rain before we know it.

Fezzik Friday On Thursday - 45 weeks...

Anybody know what today is?

No. It's not Fezzik Friday, but I really wanted to say "hi" to you this week...before I go to the vet's office today.

Who's nervous? I'm not! I'm a big boy, and I'll be just fine. Right? Yeah, Right! I'll be back before you know it, but I think I'll just take it easy for a few days after the big surgery, so don't be lookin' for me tomorrow.

Mom wouldn't let me model the bowtie and hankie pocket insert that she made for a local young man to wear to prom. Looks a little girly for me, but I'm told it's this color because he wanted to match the dress his date is wearing. He'll be wearing it this weekend, and I'm sure his date will be impressed.

I'm impressed with Mom. She hasn't made one of these before. Now, Dad wants her to augment his performance wardrobe with new bowties and cummerbunds. She said she's looking forward to doing that for him.

Mom is going to take me to the vet's office this morning, and then she's off to have lunch with her friend, Miss Carol from Serendipity. (She said she's sorry Miss Rett from The Gazebo House isn't here to join them, too.) I'll have to stay with the vet overnight, so I'm hoping Mom comes back to get me early on Friday. I'm not going to like staying away from her, Dad and Kessie overnight! Mom will write a post tomorrow to let you know how everything went. Think good thoughts, ok? Thanks! 'til next week

"More wagging, less barking."
Fezzik Inconceivable

Fuzzy Pants...

I shared images of our beautiful magnolia blossoms with you on Easter Sunday. Today, I want you to see how a person can find something unexpected when one takes a closer look.

First, I noticed that the pods covering the magnolia blossoms are fuzzy. Then, I realized that, as the blossom starts to open, it completely sheds that outer covering to reveal the beautiful, large, white flowers inside.

I searched the ground under the tree to look for some of those shed coverings and found this one...
I started to giggle looking at it. Do you know what I thought of as I held it in the palm of my hand?

Fuzzy, corgi pants!

I'm keeping that blossom covering for myself, but if anyone is interested in some of the fuzzy pods for some of their artwork, let me know. I'm happy to send out a handful of them! They're all dome-shaped and unique. (The first two people to request them will get some in the mail.)

I finished my commission project yesterday and will be back working on the Summertime quilt again. Hope you have something creative planned for today!

First Summertime Block...

I spent some of my weekend working on the Summertime quilt. I'm having so much fun working with these colors! They're totally outside my usual color spectrum and perhaps that's part of the allure. But, I know the other major component is that it reminds me of summer.

I drew little diagrams for myself. (This is just one of the drawings.), and took notes to remind me which way to cut once I was finished with the assembly.

By late day on Monday, all of my red/white blocks were completed. (There are thirty of them.)

Now, I think you know by now, that I had to push on to see about the other half of each block. I had decided to make full blocks and then create 1/2 square triangles. In order to make the other half of the finished block, I needed to do a little more calculating to come up with the right size. I actually miscalculated the first time, but recognized it prior to joining with the block with the red/white block. (disaster averted.)
I kept referring to the original painting from my card and finally settled on the sizes and colors for the second block.
Once I decided on the focal fabric for the second block, I assembled what I'll refer to as the "caramel half" and created the finished, joined block.

Well? What do you think? I know the green sashing isn't on yet, but I think I've figured it out! Do you like it?

I have a commission to sew today (a tie and hankie insert for a young man's prom this weekend), so I won't work on the quilt today until the commission is finished. Only twenty nine blocks to go and then I can sash them up and start the assembly of the quilt top!

Thank you for all the lovely comments you've been leaving for me. I'm so far behind in replying to my comments, that I'm feeling a bit ashamed. Please know that I read each one, and love hearing from you. I promise to try to get to all of my correspondence this week. I appreciate your understanding.

Gotta fly. I really want to finish my commission so I can get back to making blocks! More tomorrow...

Memory Lane Monday - Cruisin'...

Welcome to another Memory Lane Monday, y'all!

Do you remember your first car?

I got my first car when I turned 16. (I passed my test on the first try, in case you're wondering.) My father presented me with a 1965 lavender Chevrolet Corvair convertible. I don't have any photographs of the actual car, but Handsome managed to find this one on the internet.
The actual color was closer to this floss color: Anchor 342 (DMC 211) with a black convertible top.

Of course, I was tickled to have a car to drive. This one had a lever on the dash to change gears, a heater that didn't work in the winter, and for every gallon of gas it used a quart of oil, but it was my car and I loved it.

All that burning oil (which I have since learned was a curse in those cars) created a smoke that billowed out of my car whenever I'd been running for more than a couple of miles. That puppy smoked out the heating vents (so I drove it year round with the window open) and out the long vent above the rear-mounted engine compartment. It was great for meeting guys! Whenever I pulled into the high school parking lot with my sister, guys would come running to see if they needed to help put out a fire! I didn't care. There was nothing quite like being 16 (going on 17), driving with the top down that first summer with the car.

During the summer, high school kids in our town used to drive up and down Main Street from Lakeside Park on the north end down to Gilles Custard Drive-in on the south end. Top down (the car, not me!) Back and forth. Back and forth. Blaring JoJo Gunne singing Run, Run, Run on my radio. Gas was a lot cheaper then. (I do remember 24¢/gallon gas!)

Alas, I only had the "Purple 'Vair" for approximately one year. Seems I hadn't paid attention to all the instructions for taking care of my car. A red dash light came on, and I figured that I could make it home (7 miles) before stopping. I was wrong. The fan belt had broken (which cooled the engine in the corvairs) and I seized up the engine as soon as it overheated. End of my convertible. Poof! My father decided a different car would be better than a new engine...after he gave me the "What were you thinking?" lecture.

I can guarantee that I have never ignored a red light or warning on my dashboard since.
This photograph was taken right around the time that I would have been driving my 'vair. Yup. That's snow on the ground. Don't you just love my bell bottoms? Those were the days!

Here's a link to Run, Run, Run. One more little walk down today's Memory Lane - Cruisin'. Where were you when you heard this song? (Here's the link for my FB friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNVc6AokZVk)

You can share your favorite memory once a month, too. Just link up to this post (you can link up until midnight May 2nd.) by clicking on the Linky tool.

Sunday Scripture...

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
1 Peter 1:3

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live, even though He dies;
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

John 11: 25-26

Easter Blessings to you and yours.

TOMORROW - MONDAY, April 25th is our next Memory Lane Monday. I'll hope you'll have a story to link to the party. I will have my post up around 10 pm this evening to make it easier for you to link up and join in the fun.

Summertime...

One of the blogs in my favorite quilt blogs list is Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure. She recently introduced her readers to Rebecca Barker. (Click here to see her post.-but don't go read it yet.) These are just two of the paintings that Rebecca creates. She's also a quilter, but this lady really can paint, too! This is the link to her website, where you can purchase her designs as notecards or prints. (Oh, and Madame Samm is having a giveaway for some of Rebecca's cards at the end of her post at Sew We Quilt!) Can you imagine having one of her gorgeous pieces hanging in your studio or a room in your home?

These two paintings of Rebecca's really got my attention. I'd been thinking about making my next quilt a red/white/blue, patriotic-themed quilt, but these two cards completely derailed that idea. I've decided, instead, to make my next quilt a Summertime quilt!
I've selected fabrics that are the colors of grass and fresh summertime fruits - a combination of strawberries and watermelons. The pattern I'm going to sew is going to be similar to the one on Rebecca's strawberry card, but not exact.
You can see that I haven't chosen the fabric like the golden color in the photo yet, but I have time. After all, I'm going to have to "do the math" to design my quilt, too. Or, I might just decide to keep that half of the block white.
I'm starting by cutting 2" strips, the width of the fabric. I arranged them by alternating light and dark fabrics and have already begun to sew each row of strips together. I'm taking notes as I do this so that I can keep track of supplies and measurements as I go.

I admit it will be a bit of "trial and error", but I'm hoping to keep the "errors" to a minimum. You know what they say..."Measure twice, cut once". I'm not going to copy Rebecca's exact design, but I do love the way her art makes me think of warm summer days and sweet summer fruit, and I'm going to do my best to duplicate that feeling. I know that my blocks will be larger than hers, so I'll be interested to see how that affects the overall look and feel.

I saw on Rebecca's site that she has published books with quilt patterns in them. After I finish this one, I may purchase one of her books to be able to make some of her other fabulous designs without having to do my own math.

I hope you'll join me as I prepare for summer picnics and s'mores by the campfire with this new piece. I'll keep sharing my Summertime quilt project with you until I've got it finished. Don't you just love starting something new?

Fezzik Friday - 44 Weeks...

Hi, everybody!

Hope you're ready for another Fezzik Friday.

You may notice I'm spending this week lying low.

First, Mom told me that Miss Shell
lost her beloved Sugie this week.

Miss Shell, I hope you feel better soon. I'll miss hearing
Mom read your stories about your sweet girl bunny.
Mom and I wish we lived closer so that
we could come over and help you feel better.

We're all very sad to hear this news and Mom, Kessie and I
send love and hugs to Miss Shell and Harrington.

On Tuesday, Mom told me that she made an appointment with my doctor for a little operation next week. Something about the "family jewels" and jokes about my voice changing. I don't think that's funny! I've been awfully proud of my Big Boy voice, and I don't want to end up with a little, yippy voice...ever. Woe is me. (Or is it, "woe is I?")

My surgery is scheduled for next Thursday, and will be a bit more extensive than a run-of-the-mill neutering. Mom said we can thank my greedy, disreputable, selfish breeder who knew she was breeding boys that don't drop their little boy hardware. Mom said that my doctor is going to have to look a little harder to find them so they can be removed.

Mom said she's having this done because she loves me and doesn't want me to get sick when I get older...and because she loves corgis, she doesn't want me contributing a breed flaw to the gene pool. We're being responsible pet and owner.

All that being said, it's still a major surgery , so it means I'll have to stay overnight at the clinic. I won't be home in time to write my own post next week, so I hope you'll come back and read Mom's post-op report. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can to let you know how I'm feeling. Wish me luck! 'til then,

"More wagging, less barking."
Fezzik Inconceivable

PS. Mom asked me to add this little reminder for everyone, too:

MONDAY, April 25th is our next Memory Lane Monday. We hope you'll have a story to link to the party. Mom will have her post up around 10 pm on Sunday to make it easier for you to link up and join in the fun.

Another Top Finished, And A Reminder...

I finished the quilt top for the Marie J quilt yesterday. I really love the way it turned out. Seems I never tire of the Whispering Windmills block pattern (from the book, Lickety Split Quilts). Every fabric variation makes each quilt my newest favorite!
I managed to have all of the blocks assembled before stopping to prepare our dinner. This was also the last photo I took in daylight. (The first photo showing the completed quilt top was taken around 9:30 last night after I finished pressing it.)
Here's a daylight photograph of the fabric I used for the inner border as I previewed it against the assembled blocks. I decided to use this to pick up the same golden tan color in the floral fabric.

I'll assemble the fabric for the backing today and then I'll take it up to Kathy and Nora's shop. I beat my deadline by over a week! I'm using the same darker blue print shown in the above photos.

So, what do you think? Does it remind you of sea and sand? I think I'll choose something on the order of waves for Kathy's machine work. You know I'll share the finished quilt as soon as I get it back and bound, right? Right!
I just want to remind everyone that MONDAY, April 25th is our next Memory Lane Monday. I hope you'll have a story to link to the party. I'll have my post up around 10 pm on Sunday to make it easier for you to link up and join in the fun.

I'm On A (Sausage) Roll...

I decided to share my ridiculously simple recipe for sausage rolls with you today. Now, pay close attention because you don't want to miss a single step!

You won't even need a pencil for this, so no need to worry about writing anything down or printing out a long recipe. These are the ingredients: Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (8 per package) - or a package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (cut into strips), and frozen Brown & Serve Breakfast Sausages. In addition, you'll need cookie sheets and a serving dish. I also use parchment paper on the cookie sheets. (Who wants to have to do dishes, too? Not I!)
Because I was making sausage rolls for a large group of people, I decided to cut each frozen breakfast sausage in half. (**Do not thaw the breakfast sausages prior to prepping them for the rolls.) Unroll one package of eight crescent rolls. I cut the rolls, ignoring the perforations, so that I used the rolls proportionate to the size of the cut sausages.

Line the assembled, uncooked rolls on a cookie sheet...

...and then pop them into a preheated 400º F. oven for about ten minutes or until golden.

See? I told you. Ridiculously simple.

I came home with an empty serving dish from the guild meeting. Always nice when your hard work and hours spent in the kitchen are rewarded with an empty dish by an appreciative (and hungry) audience. (now I'm really giggling!)

You can serve these with mustard or another sauce of your choice if you want to be really fancy. I usually serve them plain. That suits us just fine.

These were the potholders that I assembled yesterday. At last month's guild meeting, they had a UFO (unfinished objects) sale. I purchased a whole bagful of (52) assembled quilt squares (for only $15.00!). I'm going to turn most of them into a quilt, but had these two left over.

I have to give guild member, Ann, credit for the beautiful block assemblies. All I did was layer the blocks with Insulbrite batting (especially for use in hot - oven - applications) along with a layer of regular batting and a piece of backing fabric. Then, I ran stitching around the inside of each element of the block to quilt all the layers together. The final step was to finish by sewing on the binding and a hanging loop.

I handed them in last night, so there will be one more pair of potholders for sale in the guild boutique at this year's quilt show. I found my pattern for the table mat yesterday (the one I put up for "safekeeping", and then couldn't find!), so I'll be making table mats and aprons to take with me next month to hand in.

I'll share updated Marie J quilt photos tomorrow. See you then!