Stitching and Puppies

 Oh boy oh boy ... it's going to be a scorcher today.  How do I know?  We didn't even get below 72 degrees last night!  It's a hot potato outside, even for Kitters.  This is now her daytime sleeping spot, though she does spend some time sleeping among the roses on the damp soil.  She's a tough old bird ... the heat doesn't seem to bother her one bit.

She and Cooper went nose to nose yesterday .... a mistake on my part.  I yelled STAY and they both stood still.  That's a miracle!!  There was a little nose pushing, but as long as Kitters didn't run, they were fine, if only for six seconds.  Maybe they will actually get along at some point ... but not today.

I spent a few minutes in the garden.  Notice no tomatoes?  I'm thinking it's because I forgot to fertilize them, so I did ... hoping a few more will appear.  The Early Girls?  Still lots of tomatoes, but nothing turning color.  It's okay though, because my friends are keeping me loaded up.  

And THEN ... I went straight to work.  I quilted the bottom of this one where I removed all that stitching.  It did great until the end when its mind went completely blank.  Luckily I was able to reset everything and finish up the last eight inches.  YAY ... it's done.  You can still see some pinholes at the bottom ... all those internet ideas didn't work ... but I think it will be okay.

On the other hand, I HATE this one.  It offends my sense of design.  Unfortunately, I already cut the backing for it, but I'm considering tearing the sides off and adding one more border.  It would look SO much better.  

On to the third one.  Yessiree ... I was on a mission to get these done.  This one came out okay, except the lettering doesn't show up.  The gal apparently didn't write down the color correctly.  It will do since it looks better in person.  On the other hand, I had a difficult time with the outside border.  This was one that was dropped on me, with very little fabric.  What was there, was cut so badly that the stars went downhill and disappeared into the seams.  

Basically, I cut and pasted many pieces to end up with this.  Not perfect but a whole lot better than it was.

I decided I'm not going through the stress of quilting the last two.  I'm taking them to the quilt shop.  It's worth the $40 each to have them quilted for me.  

Since I'm really terrible at sitting still, I finished this wreath after my dinner of leftover Panda Express.  Gosh I love that stuff!!  This actually looks better in person and the big bow stands out a little more than in the picture.  Pretty soon I'll have this stuff hanging from the ceiling for lack of room.  Maybe I'll donate it to the Elks Raffle.

Just for giggles, here's the latest and greatest new PUPPY to keep you company.  Cute, yes?  It's robotic, moves around and barks.  Buyer beware however.  It doesn't look one bit like this picture, nor does it move like advertised.  It barely turns in a circle, and barks with a SQUEAK (not a bark), so annoyingly that people are returning them in droves.

It also barks incessantly ... it doesn't shut up.  Apparently it doesn't even look like this.  This is a real puppy ... NOT the robotic one you will receive. So much for truth in advertising.  And so my hopes of a travel pal that doesn't mind the heat nor lack of food, are dashed once again.

Today I'm looking for an appetizer to take to Steak At The Lake ... our annual Elks picnic at our little lake park.  It's the only time of year you can go there safely due to the number of men in our group who carry.

When I was in High School, we went there often.  You know, tanning with baby oil and iodine?  I actually used real suntan lotion, but most used the turn-you-orange concoction.  I admit, one time I got a terrible sunburn when I fell asleep.  That ended my suntanning days.  

This time we're taking a huge easy up tent.  Us old folks, we got smarter over the years!!!