Purse Dog And I Get To Babysit

Today the Purse Dog and I are babysitting 2 kittens. They are Daughter #2's new babies. Yes, that's right. I don't have any grandbabies yet. Just "grand-pets." Daughter #2 has 2 kittens, Rob and Tink, and Daughter #1 has a teacup poodle, Ruby, the Purse Dog's country cousin. Don't my daughters' pets count as grand-pets?

Here are the kittens trying to figure out what that furry thing is...Hey, it's the babysitter! Aren't they cute? They are a brother and sister, just 3 months old!

In honor of pets, how about a cute Amy Bradley quilt?

Here it is hanging up in my studio ready to be picked up. Notice below what is sitting on the table there on the right? That's not a candle! You'd never see a candle in my quilt studio. That's a Scentsy warmer. I love it. Wickless and flameless, it keeps my quilt studio smelling pretty and it's much safer! Daughter #2 sells them. Check out her website here: Scentsy.

Let's take a closer look at the quilt. Cute pets, don't you think? Ok, I don't know anyone with a cow as a pet! Or a sheep either! A pig, maybe!
Close-up shots. Cute bees appliqued around. Of course I did swirls allover. You know me!

In the green field I quilted some grass. And in the rainbow border I quilted swirls in variegated thread.

Here's a close up of a Purse Dog and a Cat. Too bad it doesn't look like my Purse Dog. And the cat doesn't really look like one of Daughter #2's kittens. But they turned out cute anyway, don't you think?

Now back to work, Vivian! Vivian and The Purse Dog have get busy and babysit the kittens! (it's not hard work at all...in fact, it's lots of fun!)

They Make Our Lives Whole

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." --Roger Cara

That is one of the quotes on the Amy Bradley "Dazzling Dogs" quilt I just worked on recently. It's true though...dogs really do make our lives whole!

Another quote on this quilt put a smile on my face. It said: "The more people I meet, the more I like my dog."

Each of these blocks were appliqued by my customer. She really had a great collection of fun fabrics to use in this quilt.

You may notice all the dogs are missing eyes. After my quilting was done, the quilter was going to sew button eyes on the quilt. (I appreciate that she waited to put the buttons on...that way I didn't need to worry as I quilted around them!...I wouldn't want to to hit some poor dog in the eye!)

I used different background filler techniques throughout.

I also changed the threads to match the fabrics. I didn't want my machine quilting to be too distracting on this already bright, fun quilt.This is the perfect quilt for dog-lovers, like me! Don't tell the Purse Dog that there were other dogs before her! She thinks she's my only one true love. Below, I am five years old, holding our beagle Chumbo, in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania.And pictured below are my kids here in California when they were little with our bassett hound, Molly. She was a wonderful, sweet, loyal dog. During the years we had Molly, I had this cartoon hanging on our fridge. I hope you can see it. Posted inside the dog house of the bassett hound, a sign reads:

"Daily Schedule--8:00 Chase Ball, 10:00 Chase Cat, 11:30 Chase Mailman, 2:00 Chase Cars, 4:30 Chase Tail."

The owners say: "Boy, what a life--what I wouldn't give to just lay around all day!"

That sounds like the Purse Dog too! But she lays around all day keeping me company as I quilt.
Here she's saying, "Now back to work, Vivian!"

Boo!

I've been working on lots of Halloween quilts. Every year I get more and more. I think they just about outnumber the Christmas quilts this year. Here's one I worked on recently...

Here it is with the flash:

And here it is without the flash:

I know. I know. You probably thought something was wrong with my camera! I just didn't know how to take a picture so you can see the quilt glow-in-the-dark. Some of the fabrics used actually glow-in-the-dark. I wish you could really see how it looks in the dark. I don't have 'night vision' on my camera. And I'm such an AMATEUR photographer!

Here's a view of one of the spiderwebs I put in the quilt:

Here are some of the blocks up close. I love this black cat, because he reminds me of the black cat we used to have--Buddy, The Black Panther. I miss him.

(Here's a side story: When we got Buddy, our friends told us he was a "she." We took "her" to the vet to be spayed and the doctor took a good look at "her." Then he lifted "her" tail and pointed. He said, 'Mrs. Love, your cat will not be spayed today, HE will be neutered!' I never really looked at our new kitten that closely. That morning we took in a "she", who we found out was a "he" and he came home an "it."....No, seriously, he was the best cat!)

Pictured below--my BabyBoy on the day he got Buddy.

Now where was I? Oh yes, I get a little sidetracked with my stories...

Look at this cute block with the ghost hiding in the background:

And speaking of ghosts... (here I get sidetracked again, with another story!)

Here's something that I've never shared with any of my blog readers. Please don't think badly of me, but here's a secret about me. I love watching ghost shows on television. I know you're probably saying, That woman should be quilting...not watching ghost shows! My favorites: Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted. I TiVo them every week so I don't miss them. I know it's silly, but there you have it. I love ghost shows. (And ghost movies too, of course!)

Here's a ghost story for you I heard recently. I don't think it's scary enough to be featured on television, however it's one I heard while I was visiting Utah last summer.

In the Richmond, Utah cemetery in the far southeast corner is a small piece of granite that marks the grave of an Indian who died many years ago. The groundskeepers would constantly hit the marker with their lawnmowers. It would do damage to their machines, until finally one of the groundskeepers decided to remove it. He figured no one would mind. He set it along side the cemetery but everytime he did, he would find it put right back in it's place the next morning. Finally he took the marker and put it in the groundskeepers shed and locked it up. Well, the next morning, the marker was back in the ground...and the shed was still locked up! Eventually the groundskeepers left it there and marked the spot with a white stick, so they wouldn't hit it again with their lawnmowers. The marker is pictured above with a ghost's sneaker on the right. Just kidding, that's Daughter #1's foot in the picture!

How did that marker keep getting put back? Who did it? The groundskeepers think it's the ghost of the Indian who keeps putting it back....or is it?

I hope you're getting ready for Halloween and sewing up your costumes. Make a Halloween quilt too, while you're at it!

Merry Cats

Merry Cats? Why did I say that?

You'll see.

Wait for it...

Keep scrolling....

You're almost there....

Almost...

Here they are! Merry Cats!

Info about this darling Amy Bradley pattern called "Hairy Christmas" is available through The Calico House in Yorba Linda, CA. Ooops! I mean Placentia. They used to be in Yorba Linda. Placentia is right next door. Anyway, here's their website: The Calico House. They'll be at Pacific International Oct. 16-19. Stop by their booth and say hello. This wallhanging will be at the booth!

And here are some very Un-Merry Cats below. If you are a regular reader of my blog, I shared this before. These are my favorite Halloween pictures.

This is "Buddy." I miss him. He was a huge black panther. At least that's how he acted! He was not happy being Princess Leah for Halloween.

And this is "Gina." I think she liked being Princess Leah because she always acted like a princess! I miss our cats. They left us about 3 years ago.

And here is the "Purse Dog." She says "What am I doing posing with a bunch of CATS?" And she doesn't act like a princess anyway! She acts like a queen! Now back to work, Vivian!

Side note: This is my busy season and my tension is acting up on my longarm! Never in 8 years have I had a problem. It all started with Lava thread, which at first, I loved. I guess "the honeymoon is over"...as they say. I'm back to using King Tut and Signature Variegated.

Are You Hungry?

Isn't this one of the cutest quilts? My friend Lisa, mother of 6, has made, through the years, quilts for some of her kids' teachers. This is only one of them that I have done. Two lucky teachers will be receiving these as end-of-the-school-year gifts. Lucky ladies!

Made with the darling Andover Fabric, The Very Hungry Caterpillar collection and based on the popular Eric Carle book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The class read the book together this past year. Lisa made one for the teacher and one for her aide. As you can see the teacher's block is the butterfly, made with the teacher's handprints. The caterpillars are made with the children's fingerprints. Don't you love it? It sure made me hungry as I quilted it! Lots of yummy foods throughout.

The Purse Dog got hungry too! I told her it was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", NOT "The Very Hungry Purse Dog!"

In my next post I will share another teacher quilt you will love. Come back to my blog very soon!

For Dog Lovers...

If you're a dog lover, like me, then read the post that Martha Stewart put on her blog last week. Click here: TheMarthaBlog. It was very touching.


And if you're a dog lover, like me, or know someone who is, don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. Click here and leave a comment before Mon. 8pm PDT: PartyWithPurseDog.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Party With The Purse Dog!

"Today I turn 4 years old. According to the DogYear Conversion calculator, that makes me 29! I have been partying all day and enjoying all the attention. " "But my owner won't leave me alone. She's always taking my picture!"

"Maybe if I hide, she'll go away and leave me alone!"


"Hey, she's still there! Always snapping away. She must be the paparazzi! It's hard work to be so beautiful all the time. I feel like a movie star!"
"What did I look like four years ago? Pretty much the same. Everyone thinks I am a puppy. Shhh! We won't tell them my real age! My owner keeps her real age a secret too!""Here are some pictures I'd like to share with you from my Purse Dog Family Album. Here is my first owner, Daughter #1 who first brought me home. She lives in Utah and has her own Purse Dog named Ruby."
"Ruby is my Country Cousin. Don't you love her fleece blanket? My owner made it. I helped...ok, I took a nap while she made it."

"Here I am kissing Daughter #2. She moved to LaHabra. I miss her. I used to sleep with her every night. Now she sleeps with her husband! What's the deal with that?"

"Here I am with BabyBoy. He's the one I sleep with now. Here he's dressed up for Halloween. He is fun and always teases me. See, it looks like he's going to eat me. He's always kidding around."
"Here is an extra piece of fleece my owner says she will make into another Purse Dog fleece blanket. It can be yours if you leave a comment below and wish me a Happy Birthday. Maybe you have a dog you'd like to give it to."

"Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Birthday dear Purse Dog! Happy Birthday to Me!"

***Leave a comment below to win a little Purse Dog fleece blanket. Contest open to US & Canada residents only. Drawing will be: Mon. Apr. 21st 8pm PDT****

You'd Think It Was Summer!

Here in Yorba Linda, we've been experiencing a bit of a heat wave. It's only mid-April and yesterday it was in the 90's! According to weather.com it forcasts that today in Yorba Linda, CA, there would be "abundant sunshine." That's for sure! Where's my suntan lotion?

One of the great things about being raised here in Orange County, is this:

There's only one month in the year that I can't get beautiful strawberries like this! (December) The best growers around are the Manassero Family. My BabyBoy is a friend of one of their sons and he picked these strawberries personally for me! Aren't they beautiful?And what do you think I did with these strawberries? Well, first I ate tons, took some to Daughter #1 in Utah, and made a big batch of freezer jam . I topped some Marie Callenders' Corn Bread. It was delicious.

And speaking of strawberries! Look at what a local quilt shop had me quilt yesterday! I love it. So bright and cheerful!

Isn't it pretty?

I love the prairie points. They add such a nice extra detail. This is what I did along the border.

I don't know if you can see it very well.
And who always has to get in the picture? "Oh, there's a camera?", says The Purse Dog. She turns 4 this week.

Who else is ready for the summer? My BabyBoy is, but he won't be doing this anytime soon. He got his wisdom teeth removed this morning. All four! He's in a lot of pain and resting. I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day. This is probably what he's dreaming about...