We Lost Wonky

We are so devastated, Wonky is gone.  He was not feeling well last Thursday so off to the vet clinic we rushed.   Emergency surgery went well for an intestinal blockage and Wonky came home with me that night.  Friday all seemed well. Wonky was eating and drinking, acting like he felt so much better.  DH arrived home from his work travel back east.  He was very glad to see Wonky and they spent lots of time together that evening.   DH woke me early Saturday morning to tell me that Wonky had passed in his sleep sometime during the night.  OMG.  We saw no signs of struggle, the little fellow looked like he would wake with a touch of our hand.

Wonky's body will be cremated and ashes returned to us next week.   Good Heavens, we never imagined this young, strong, energetic poodle kid could go so quickly. Surely this reminds us how fragile all life is.

Below is Wonky with the breeder in Oregon,  Aug. 2006.  He was given back to his breeder, the lady who raised Wonky said she was ill and unable to care for him.  Yes she was sick, she admitted to beating Wonky because he would soil his crate after being locked in for many hours.  Over time Wonky had became aggressive and a fear-biter.  The breeder knew of us thru a poodle forum and asked if we would take Wonky and try to work with him.  At the time we had old Simon and a young Chelsea, she needed a playmate so Wonky seemed the perfect fit.

Wonky was flown down to us, he looked so small and afraid in the big shipping kennel.
Dear Chelsea showed Wonky how to be a fun poodle again, although potty training took a while for this boy. He was very timid towards us and it did take months for Wonky to warm up to his humans.  He ended up being a loyal friend to us, but not so much towards strangers.

In Memory of Wonky

The sand-pile was one of Wonky's favorite play spots.

Wonky disliked a bath and the rest of grooming but he tolerated my doing it.  He always acted like he was cold afterwards and found a place to snuggle.

He surely did not mind freezing rain. LOL

Wonky loved his cat friend, Whopper (may Whopper RIP too).  I would like to imagine those two met when Wonky crossed the rainbow Bridge.

Many foster poo-kids have come and gone from our home. Wonky always welcomed each one and especially enjoyed being with the little ones.

May you Rest in Peace our dear friend.   Wonky-poo  8-17-2005 - 5-18-2013

Beautiful Fabric & Mocha Memories

Thinking about using these fabrics for the wedding quilt.  (Bittersweet for Benartex, designed by Nancy Halvorsen). Colors are much nicer seen in person!  Pattern will 'probly be rail blocks (shown in last blog entry).  Stripe works for binding, cream mottle for light outside rail.

 

  You may see the entire Bittersweet line HERE.  Also toying with using a flannel kit for the wedding quilt since the couple will be moving to Germany this summer.  My DH also liked the idea of batik fabrics and a four- patch pattern (seen in the Keepsake Quilting catalog HERE).  I have batiks stashed.  That four-patch pattern has lots of blank space that deserves a nice specific quilting design (but I want to use an easy all-over panto). Will let my DH pick which quilt he wants.  

Well. Mocha is gone. I dropped her with transport Wednesday Morning.  What a sad feeling for me.  I went to the nearby WallyWorld in Benson to schlep around and take my mind elsewhere. Bought summer jammies and a strawberry lemonade to sip on my 40 mile drive home. Lucked out in the tiny fabric department to find five yards of a heavy weight perma pressed Roc Lon brand muslin.  That muslin will go well with some "prim" projects I have stashed away .

Two Mocha memory pics I'll keep.  Found time to clip face, feet and tail,  oh she was so good about that.  (I'm partial to a clean face vs fuzzy face on poodles).   Mocha's nose was forever dusty from snatching toys and romping across the front field.  (Thanks Sandra for pointing out Mocha's heart shaped nose, I had not caught that).  Snapped the below photo after she lapped from my glass of cold water. Silly girl did not even blink from the flash. LOL  Flash makes her look silver but she is truly a deep inky black.

 Here she is clean and clipped,  ready to play and always in my chair if I was in the quilting room.  (That room is so bright I don't know how to keep glare from morning pics).   My DH said he misses Mocha's being so busy and inquisitive all around the house.  I know that's the puppy still in her and over time it will settle out.

Founder of the poodle rescue met Mocha and said she is a wonderful girl, there are so many families wanting a standard poodle just like her.  I'm glad I don't have to be the one to choose the family Mocha goes to. It was hard enough giving her up to a foster home.

Still Making Quilt Kits and Working with Poodle Rescue

This sweet girl has been with us a few days.  She popped up for sale on CraigsList.  The Poodle Rescue asked if I would pick her up and I did.  She will go up to the Phoenix area, there is a family waiting to adopt her.  (Sorry, there is a bit of glare in my photo).

 Miss Mocha is 2yrs, she is not "broken" as in abused or neglected.  My goodness it has been fun having her.  She is still puppy-like. Wants to play and sit on a lap, very snuggly.  Lucky is the family that adopts her.  I meet transport up at the interstate 9am Wednesday morning.  Yes, I'm gonna cry to see her leave but cannot keep them all. The rescue group does an excellent job placing these standard poodles.

Finally broke open a jelly roll of Little Matryoshka by Riley Blake.  My stash had two yards of a perfect white and cream to go with this line of pretty fabrics.

Below pic is the pattern I'll be using, a simple Rail Fence block. The pattern asks for one outside edge fabric strip on each block to be a lighter TOT.  That TOT will break up these busy fabrics and set a zig-zag path thru the quilt top. I'm thinking my white/cream will work perfectly.

                                      

Pattern name is "Country Lane" from Simple Quilts and Sewing magazine.  I've been cutting out favorite patterns from my stack of older magazines.  It's just to time consuming (for me) to catalog and go thru saved magazines to find a pattern.  These cut patterns go into a plastic sleeve set in a big binder.

For now I have to set this project aside. My DH asked if I could make a throw sized quilt for a wedding gift.  A friend at work will tie the knot mid-June.  Gotta get busy and start that!

Love Those Homespun Fabrics

A nice stack of homespun fabrics, half yard cuts found on eBay last year.  DH "gave"  them to me as a Christmas gift.   Also found a nice smooth muslin to use as a background fabric (Roclon). 

The plan is to turn these homespun fabrics into star blocks and maybe churn dash blocks too.  Some folks may find these fabrics boring, not me! Scraps left could make some nice 4 or 9-patch blocks mixed with other muted prints.  

How far will half yard cuts go?  LOL-  I'll see and let ya know.

Neighbors mare had a little filly two weeks ago.  The mare is an older Quarter Horse breed.  The baby really pulled her down, at one point she was laminitic. I went to visit the day after the filly was born. OMG, the mare looked soooo bad then.  She is looking 100% better now.

It's fun to look out front and see this cutie.  I know when mare and foal are out and about cuz our old Mooser gelding nickers to the pair when they come nearby.  Makes me want to raise a foal too, but with only geldings on this little ranchette, it ain't gonna happen.  Been there and done that, lots of work.

************************************************************************

Visit with my doc last week gave answers to why I've been so tired.   The blood pressure machine kept giving very different results so an EKG was ordered.  Long story short,  the paper graph showed periods of no peaks and then small blip marks followed by normal peaks with repeats.   My goodness now the dizzy spells and shortness of breath I've been experiencing paint a picture.  My heart skips several beats then flutters to get going into normal beats, all this repeating over and over.  (((sigh)))
I chalked symptoms up to meds and the fibromyalgia plus asthma that another doc diagnosed.  
Now I'm waiting for a refferal to have a cardiologist administer a chemical stress test. Oh joy.  Meanwhile I'm taking it easy and won't fret. Just gotta wait for test and results then ask lots'a questions.

Busy Time Here

Still working on setting up the quilting room so things are a bit messy and jumbled. I won't document in this journal- I want to forget that part! LOL

Never underestimate a slight breeze.  I found that if certain doors and windows are open at the same time, it spells disaster for blocks on my design "wall".  Some of the rows were sewn and blocks were placed so it was a good mix of darker to lighter shades of blue. 

 A sudden wind came up and all those blocks were in a messy pile on the floor.   Here I am starting over.  Why did I not think to capture the setting in a photo to refer back to?  I will from now on .

Last week I ordered two scrap bags from this on-line store.  Both bags are 1800's reproduction fabrics, my stash is mostly empty of those.  I'm very happy with the size of cuts and selection.

 These will go into  a fun  scrap quilt, maybe a four-patch or stars with unbleached muslin as background.

Bird life is getting busy around our yard.  These are Scaled quail aka "Cotton Top", very flighty and hard to capture in a photo (been trying for a year).  Haven't seen the Gambel's quail  around yet.  Mated pairs show up to glean any feed the roosters leave out back. Now that I know the quail are scouting for food there will be extra put out for them.

Last year mom and dad Quail proudly brought their brood of 14+ to visit and feed around the yard.  Many times during the day I could hear them calling down in the wash- "chuck, chucka, chuck chucka".  At dusk small groups would come around our hen coops for water and stray feed.  I don't know where these little birds go for winter,  it becomes silent  in the fall until spring.

OK, gotta keep chugging along on sorting and moving my sewing/quilting stuff.  Slow going but eventually it will get done. I keep telling myself that anyways  .

Wordless Pet Wednesday

Easter Sunday

       Wishing everyone a Blessed Easter

Link to a very similar kitty block pattern- HERE