This framed watercolour hangs in my entrance hall. A reminder of some of the doggy friends who have shared their lives with my family over the years. The artist is Gareth Lewis.
There were cats in our house through the years too....
Midge who lost all feeling and movement in his fluffy ginger tail after a bladder operation.
Puff who thought the grass was greener the other side of the fence and went to live with the lady next door.
Dainty
Dixie who lived to be almost 20 years old.
Marmo who got hit by a truck when she was little more than a kitten.
All fondly remembered. But unfortunately no portrait.
Patch c.1960-1971. Patch was found as a stray when we still lived in England and was taken in by my husband's family. Nobody claimed him so he stayed. Like all Border Collies, he could run like the wind and was an expert at catching balls and chasing sticks. And loved going out in the car. His ambition was to learn to drive so he didn't have to wait for someone else to take him out.
Blackie c.1970 - 1979. Blackie became part of our family when we bought the small rural farm where he lived. The previous owners couldn't find a home for him, so he stayed when we moved in. He looked ferocious but was really a gentle teddy bear sort of dog. He roamed the neighbourhood looking for treasure, coming home with assorted prizes.... a cow's leg complete with fur still on it, a cooked lobster, and even half a piglet (the back half)!
Sweep c.1969 - 1979. Sweep was another "found" dog. She was lost, living in a ditch, fur all matted and dirty, when my husband brought her home. She soon settled in and lived a happy life with us. She didn't like to be near water.... I wondered if someone had tried to drown her. She produced a litter of four puppies to our surprise. She eventually became diabetic, and blind, and I gave her an insulin needle every morning. But in spite of her blindness, she still managed to escape from the back yard and go for walkies to visit the neighbours.
Shebah 1980 - 1994. Shebah was a typical Siberian Husky. The first six years were the worst! She howled in the night, chased cats and frightened old ladies, knocked down small children, killed the neighbour's chickens (that cost me a fortune), dug huge holes in the lawn, duelled with a skunk and lost, and shed white fluff over everything, especially people wearing dark clothing. She became a neighbourhood character, and when she died, people came knocking on the door to offer their sympathy. Her ashes were sprinkled on the front lawn where she spent so much time laying across the sidewalk, trapping old ladies so they were compelled to bend down and pet her.
Wendy 1994 - 2007. When we lost Shebah, I put my foot down and firmly declared
"No more dogs!" So that's when we got our Golden Retriever puppy Wendy. You can read her story
here.
I know, he's three and a half and doesn't need a crib quilt now that he's a Big Boy, but I just had to make one for him.
So I went shopping and added to my fabric stash. (Fabricland had a sale!!!) Today I washed it all, ironed it and folded it, ready to start cutting. Watch this space for more quilts coming this way.
There were cats in our house through the years too.... 
Patch c.1960-1971. Patch was found as a stray when we still lived in England and was taken in by my husband's family. Nobody claimed him so he stayed. Like all Border Collies, he could run like the wind and was an expert at catching balls and chasing sticks. And loved going out in the car. His ambition was to learn to drive so he didn't have to wait for someone else to take him out.
Blackie c.1970 - 1979. Blackie became part of our family when we bought the small rural farm where he lived. The previous owners couldn't find a home for him, so he stayed when we moved in. He looked ferocious but was really a gentle teddy bear sort of dog. He roamed the neighbourhood looking for treasure, coming home with assorted prizes.... a cow's leg complete with fur still on it, a cooked lobster, and even half a piglet (the back half)!
Sweep c.1969 - 1979. Sweep was another "found" dog. She was lost, living in a ditch, fur all matted and dirty, when my husband brought her home. She soon settled in and lived a happy life with us. She didn't like to be near water.... I wondered if someone had tried to drown her. She produced a litter of four puppies to our surprise. She eventually became diabetic, and blind, and I gave her an insulin needle every morning. But in spite of her blindness, she still managed to escape from the back yard and go for walkies to visit the neighbours.
Shebah 1980 - 1994. Shebah was a typical Siberian Husky. The first six years were the worst! She howled in the night, chased cats and frightened old ladies, knocked down small children, killed the neighbour's chickens (that cost me a fortune), dug huge holes in the lawn, duelled with a skunk and lost, and shed white fluff over everything, especially people wearing dark clothing. She became a neighbourhood character, and when she died, people came knocking on the door to offer their sympathy. Her ashes were sprinkled on the front lawn where she spent so much time laying across the sidewalk, trapping old ladies so they were compelled to bend down and pet her.
llum: What are those things called, Nana?
Remember that children's song, The Teddy Bear's Picnic?
The little boy bear cub brought his baby bottle.
And the little girl bear cub was in charge of the teapot and the cookies.
Who was the domestic goddess that created this work of edible art?
Crazy wild colours and my first attempt at freehand machine quilting... not entirely successful as my Singer is almost 45 years old and probably not really suitable. However, I'm learning.
I used metallic thread for the top quilting. Hard to work with, but it got easier as I got the hang of it. I found quite a few tutorials on the internet, e.g.: how to make perfect HSTs, and how to mitre the corners of the quilt binding.
The placemats weren't made with any specific patterns in mind, they just grew according to the scraps I had left. And it's amazing to me that they all ended up roughly the same size without a lot of planning.
My next project, now that my grandtwins have arrived, is to embroider the babies' names and birthdates on their quilts. And then I start on the next quilt!
Introducing Max. He arrived on Saturday at 11:40 in the morning, weighing 6lb 14 oz, and measuring 52cm.
His sister Emma arrived ten minutes later, at 11:50 in the morning, weighing in at 6lb 9oz, and measuring 49cm.
Max and Emma were at home with mummy and daddy (YoungerSon and The Bride) by 3:30 the same afternoon.
There was quite a reception there to greet them.... Nana (that's me), big brother Isaac, OlderSon and The Equestrienne and big cousin Callum, and The Bride's mom (Grandma), dad (Poppa) and sister (Auntie J).
It's the home of the "Organ Pipe" Mud Dauber Wasp.
