What Happened to the End of April?!

It's true: time flies whether you're having fun or not. I have been busy with happy things but the last couple of days have been a challenge. I may have mentioned that Luna has begun having seizures this year. (Or was it the tail end of last year?)

 

The vet put her on phenobarbital in an effort to keep them under control. It seemed to be working, up to a point. Then suddenly she had five seizures over the last 24 hours and three in the 12 hours prior to that. They are very stressful to witness, to say nothing of the lack of sleep involved and cleaning up afterward. You must know they don't occur during the hours I'm awake and alert. We have increased the dosage and so far have been without another event for over 12 hours. The poor dog is now blind and practically deaf. We have no idea how old she may be because she was a rescue. Fingers crossed we still have a few good years with  her. I won't be getting another pet. I'm just not able to be the responsible pet owner I want to be anymore. 

On a happier note, I have begun a new quilt project. The youngest of my nephews is finally getting married. They won't be getting a bed size quilt, nor will it be ready before the wedding takes place. Nevertheless it sounds like they will be pleased to have a couch quilt in colors the bride suggested. Or as close as I can get given differences in perception. 😉

She originally sent me a picture of a low volume quilt. The next photo she sent featured colors very similar to the starry quilt I just made.

Which apparently I need to get a picture of in its' finished state! Instead of more stars I have decided to do another version of Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips quilt. It's a process I'm comfortable with and can be worked up fairly quickly. I have also decided to have a go at a more low volume palette.

The original palette suggestion was ivory, tans, and sage green. The second photo was more teal and ivory and included shades of cinnamon. The teals in my stash were too bright so I've chosen to tone down the green overall and focus on the cinnamon instead. 

There has been some hand stitching since my last post, and the completion of the secret project (except for binding). In addition, James had the opportunity to do some quilting for a friend of one of my SIL's. 

This liberated log cabin was hand pieced long before liberated patchwork became a trend. Strips were pieced together to get the desired length, bits were added to corners to make it fit to the next block, and blocks were chopped in half. The outer border was sewn on with apparent disregard for any kind of consistent seam allowance. James used a handmade template to help create the fan quilting - all of his quilting is hand guided, not panto or computer generated stitches.

I don't know who made the embroidered label on the lower front corner.

 It will never be a square quilt but I trust it will be cherished for the family history built into it. It's pretty obvious that the fabrics came from a variety of sources. We've identified everything from pajamas to curtains and tablecloths. It's a true time capsule!

 

Studio Companions

For Mother's Day this year I was given a new laptop. I needed one, and for the most part I'm happy with my new little buddy. However, in their infinite wisdom Google has seen fit to discontinue supporting Picasa, the photo management system I've been using. Which means I now have to find, install, and learn a new program. {sigh} We've tried one already. No, two actually. Three if you count the one that came with the computer (useless, at least for my purposes). I may have to go back to using the more professional program my photographer husband uses. Anyone out there have any suggestions or recommendations?

I don't use a smart phone - or any phone - to take pictures. I use a small Canon digital camera. Aside from the rare family event most of the pictures I take are for this blog. This computer is loaded with Windows 10 (of course, since it's a pc). I want something simple and straightforward. Does that even exist in this world?

Now let's see if I can find any textile content I can share with you...

Lots of textiles waiting to be put to good use!

Hmm, not so much. I don't believe I have introduced you to my new studio bird though. When the lovely Mr. Bingley passed away I didn't let any grass grow under my feet in my search for a new singing companion. Unfortunately there were no yellow canaries to be had in my part of the country at the time.

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of a nervous bird?!

But! There's a guy in our church who breeds red factor canaries. He had some lovely little guys available for me to choose from. It wasn't an easy decision, but I brought one home and eventually christened him Pippen. Here you can see his pretty red chest:

And here's his back.

I was told this color variant is called black opal because there's a black gene in the pool. Lon had one bird that was a very striking black with red patches. Most display shades of gray and white mixed in with red  and brown bits. Pippen is not as flashy as Mr. Bingley, and he sings a slightly different song, but I'm still delighted to have his presence in my studio.

If we can figure out a new photo program I will have an embroidery project to share with you for the next installment of the Stitch Along on 22 May. No, I didn't finish the needlepoint I've been working on (silly goose!). I started a new project this week. ;- )