Hiring Freeze is Off on Account o'the Pixie!

Well, we said we had a full house. We said that until I finish my thesis and/or my internship we just don't have the TIME FOR ANOTHER DOG.

Then we saw this face: 

Along with the words: WILL BE EUTHANIZED TOMORROW.

Pixie had been found on 108th and Park in New York City. Scared, lonely, and alarmingly skinny. Who knows how she got there, who owned her before, who bred her for puppies and then left her to fend for herself on the streets of Spanish Harlem? Who knows how she felt, or if she wondered if they were going to come back for her? We'll probably never know. But in spite of all that, like many dogs Pixie is forgiving and trusting. She was friendly and affectionate to the folks who handled her at the Manhattan Animal Control Center. She passed her behavior tests with flying colors and the volunteers who walked her said she was gentle, polite on the leash, and good with men, women, children, and other dogs. In spite of all that good faith in the human race that had so let her down, the ACC was going to let her down again; they put her on the euth list for having kennel cough. That's the part that really pisses me off. Kennel cough? Seriously? They were going to euthanize this dog because she HAD A COLD. I will save my ire for the NYC ACC for another post.

Seriously. Look at that face.
And then tell me we could have just let her die.

Pixie says "Goodbye ACC!"

It is thanks to an amazing network of dog-loving volunteers who diligently post photos and descriptions of these stray, homeless and rescued animals on Facebook and EBay, that we saw Pixie's info. And it is because of their efforts that we were able to contact a rescue group that very night who was willing to put a hold on Pixie for us, and it is because of them that instead of being euthanized that Sunday morning, Pixie got a new shot at having a family. We drove down to NY the next morning to pick her up. And when we did, we could not get out of that sad depressing place fast enough. And neither could Pixie who, when we stepped out the front door, took a deep breath of fresh air, hacked a bit with the kennel cough, peed on the nearest patch of grass, and then hopped into the back seat of our car like it was already hers. She alternately slept and gave us kisses the whole 5 hour drive home. Once here she quickly endeared herself to every being in this house - including our shy big black cat (she licks his ears like he is her "puppy"), our sometimes-cranky resident geezer dog Mr. Tim, and our other lap-sitting, bed-hogging  mushface bully, Django. She sits with my kids while they do their homework. She curls up next to us at TV-time. She likes to sleep on the bed and has perfected the art of weaseling under the covers where she IS NOT ALLOWED! (yeah... right...;-)  ) 

Here's Pixie, cozied up with my 13 yo boy.

("mmmmmm...... teenager feet!")

Welcome home, Pixie.
  We are so very glad you are here.

If you are reading this, and you have any room in your heart or home for a critter that has done nothing wrong but to be homeless, please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue. Some people have commented that we "lucked out" that Pixie is such a good dog, and while I certainly agree we are lucky to have found her I also fervently believe that the shelters are full of GREAT DOGS JUST LIKE PIXIE. She is not the exception!  Unspeakable numbers of dogs who are JUST as wonderful and adoptable as Pixie are euthanized in these shelters every day. So if you have been thinking of adding a pet to your family, please consider that right now, a dog as wonderful as this is just languishing in a steel cage with the clock ticking. Please go get them!

Dog Days at the Magic Cottage

Did you know October is
Adopt a Shelter Dog month?

I grew up with shelter dogs and never thought twice about it; in fact, I guess I just always assumed that's where everyone got their dogs! My very favorite dog in the world, Mr. Tim, came from the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, Maine. The AWS does an amazing job with their animals and one of the things I love most about AWS is that they participate in the Paws Across America program; click on the link to read more.

my man Tim, Animal Welfare Society Alum

Mr. Tim says "Throw the ball already!"

Another wonderful local shelter is the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. They too do a fabulous job finding homes for their animals and participate in programs to relieve overcrowding in southern shelters. And then there is the MSSPA - the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals. They are New England's largest equine rescue and rehab facilities, and I just can't say enough about the amazing work they are doing.

When I can, I foster dogs through Almost Home Rescue which, like the AWS, works with partner shelters in the south to find homes for strays/rescues here in NE. AHR does an amazing job! AHR is made up of a super-organized bunch of volunteers who LOVE dogs and spend countless hours and dollars on finding homes for these dogs. And on finding the RIGHT homes. AHR carefully screens applicants because what they don't want is for dogs to end up back at a shelter because the adopter didn't realize the energy level of the dog or how much time it would take to care for it. [sidenote: If you don't realize how prevalent this is, check out a bunch of shelter notes on why dogs were surrendered - overwhelmingly owners state "Not enough time."] But I digress. Please check out AHR and see who might be waiting to be your new best friend!

here i am smooching on foster dog Landon -

who has been adopted by a wonderful family!

foster dog Chili Bean,
who also found a fur-ever home!

Right now my household is in a "hiring freeze" at two dogs (@mrtimidity and @djangofullspot), two cats, and two wonderful kids. I am working, completing a master's degree, an internship, and a thesis, and my partner and I have decided that although we very much want another dog and to continue fostering rescue dogs, I should really put my nose to the grindstone and finish my thesis and internship first! Now THAT'S motivational! After making that commitment, I notice a definite increase of focus, HAHA! ADDENDUM: okay. hiring freeze may be off. stay tuned.

Tim and Django sharing the couch.

In the meantime, I continue to torture everyone on my Facebook friends list with numerous posts advocating for all of the beautiful dogs waiting for their forever homes, and I have a particular soft spot for the most over-bred and misunderstood breeds; the pit bull. And by "pit bull" I mean any of the various breeds that people tend to confuse and lump into the category of "pit bull." Turns out, lots of people think they know one when they see one, but they really don't. (Do you?) I have fostered a wonderful lab/pit mix (shout-out to Yoda!) and I live with an American Staffordshire Terrier and know what amazingly loveable, goofy, and loyal pets these dogs make. I also know that they are the most-euthanized dog breed - thanks to overbreeding and persistent myths about their personalities. In many states, even owning a pit bull is illegal but backyard breeders continue to pump them out, so guess what happens to them? They die by the millions in kill-shelters. I wish that were an exaggeration but sadly, it isn't.

If you are considering a new pet, PLEASE consider a shelter or rescue dog!

Welcome Home, Sajan!

Margaret is now a mommy! Sajan came home from Nepal in July and the whole family just couldn't be more thrilled. I wanted to make a quilt that would wrap him up in something as warm as a welcoming hug, as colorful as green grass and blue sky. I found some fabrics with pulltoys and kites and frogs and all sorts of things little boys love. And I found this super-fun strip-quilt pattern from the Quilts of Valor site. Quilts of Valor is an amazing group that creates and sends handmade quilts to comfort our wounded soldiers. They have a network of piecers, seamstresses, longarm operators, and quilters all over the country and they are also very generous in sharing their patterns. If you have a chance, check their site out and if you have a few dollars send them their way; they are doing very important work.

For this quilt you simply sew strips of fabric together in a 1,2,3,4,5 pattern, repeat the strips several times, and when you get to the end you sew the top and bottom together so that you end up with a big fabric tube.

Then you turn the tube and carefully cut strips the other way... so that you end up with a bunch of fabric "rings." By carefully "unsewing" the rings in order (between 1,2, then 2, 3, then 3,4, etc...), you end up with a bunch of strips that form a diagonal pattern of blocks. So clever, eh? Who thinks these things up!?

I am lucky to have a big porch and on the day i needed to make the quilt "sandwich" I was lucky to have a dry, sunny day with no wind! I pin a king-sized sheet right to the deck, and then I have plenty of room to smooth out and pin the layers. I had run out of acrylic "basting" spray, so i did it the old-fashioned way with a million safety pins.

For the backing I used this gorgeous vintage fabric I had on hand - I'd been saving it for something special and was so happy it blended perfectly with the colors in the quilt top.

Welcome, Sajan!
We are so glad you are here!

Bento Box Pillows for Mom

This was a quickie project for my mom, who made a gorgeous amazing quilt and had fabric left over to play with. I have been meaning to try the Bento Box pattern so she let me have at it.


This pattern is super-easy and fun... IF you have a rotary cutter and mat. If you don't... well... the cutting might be laborious. Of course, once you've gotten a rotary cutter & mat, any other type of cutting is going to seem archaic and laborious anyway, so just go get these amazing tools and watch a whole new world of sewing fun open up for you. No, I do not work for Olfa or Fiskars, but I welcome sponsorship invitations or kickbacks, haha! (I have no shame I have a ginormous student loan to pay off after all ;-) ]


I made my own pillow forms. I am always floored at how expensive pre-made pillow forms are, and since I always have yardage of neutral-hued cottons on hand, why not spend a few extra minutes whipping up my own? You can purchase by-the-bag fiberfill economically at Joann Fabrics (if you get on their mailing list they send great coupons every month) and stock up for occasions just such as this.

The decorative pillows are actually pillow CASES - I like to make them with a simple envelope closure in the back so you can take them off easily for washing & put them back on just as easily. If you want to get fancy you can use a button or toggle or other such closure but if you've made the envelope with enough overlap you probably don't need it.

Aren't they cute? I think this pattern translates well to traditional "country" fabrics like this just as well as more modern applications. I especially like how it looks when used for whole quilts - here is a gorgeous example, and here's another. I can't wait to make a full-sized quilt with this pattern!

Helen & Jay Got Married

I haven't been posting much lately because my summer has been CRAZY, but I have a few special projects I wanted to share with you so I will try to get caught up! First of all CONGRATULATIONS HELEN & JAY! Two of my dearest friends got hitched. It was my great honor to be asked to craft a chuppah for their wedding. Helen loves batiks so we conferred over the equilter.com website to find the perfect colors to complement Helen's gorgeous red dress and Jay's signature navy blazer. EQuilter always has an amazing selection of batiks so it was easy to find just what we wanted (but hard not to order a boatload more!)

While waiting for the fabrics to arrive via mail, I availed myself of Home Depot's do-it-yourself curtain rod department and cut four poles to 7' specs. Home Depot has a selection of pre-cut curtain rods, in all sorts of fancy configurations, with fancy end-caps and so forth, but the pre-cut ones stop at 6' and well, Jay's a tall feller so we wanted to make sure he could stand tall while wedding his sweetheart (not to mention wanting to accommodate the statuesque officiate presiding ! ;-)

At home I sanded the ends, installed heavy-duty screw eyes

and then spray-painted the poles a lovely matte copper.

Finally~! The fabrics arrived and I set to work making a pool of pebbled aqua surrounded by a field of batik flowers surrounded by a maroon border. Here is the design laid out on batting and being affixed to the backing fabric, a sky-blue solid. We kept the design fairly simple as Helen didn't want a fancy design distracting from the beautiful fabrics.

If you have not tried the spray-adhesive for making the quilt/batting/backing sandwich, I recommend it highly. It saves oodles of time on basting or pinning.

We did a navy binding to seal the whole thing, then affixed streaming yards of light blue, maroon, and navy grosgrain to tie the chuppah to the poles.

(photo by Olivia Goldfine)

(photo by Olivia Goldfine)

Thank you Helen & Jay for letting me put my creative energies to work for your special day!
Congratulations on your marriage!
May you be a comfort and joy to each other for all of your days. <3

Transmuting the Energy ~ the Sarah Sarah Quilt

My former mother-in-law had a saying. "When in doubt," she'd say, "make a quilt." Quilts make beautiful gifts; for weddings, for new babies, for moving-house gifts, to cheer someone up, to comfort someone who is not well. I always feel honored when someone commissions me to make a quilt for them. And then there are those times when you are at a complete loss, and you make a quilt because, well... it is a way of transmuting energy.

With a quilt you can take disparate fabrics, cut them up and then refashion them into something completely different. Instead of throwing away a perfectly good piece of fabric that might not be suitable for its intended use, or that may bring to mind someone or something you'd rather not be reminded of, you can transform it into something completely different. Something warm. Something greater than the sum of its parts. Something you are proud to have taken part in.


This is how this quilt came about. I had a piece of fabric that I could not look at. It was beautiful but I could not have it in my home, for reasons I won't get into here. I wanted to take it and transform it into something else. Not just for me but in honor of a friend. So I gave the black cats room to run under blue skies, surrounded by flowers and backed by a soft comforting blue. It is a twin-size quilt measuring 79" long by 62" wide and can be used as a bed quilt, comforter, or a lap quilt for lounging on the couch watching your favorite movie. The batting in this quilt is extra-high loft, and the whole thing is machine quilted for strength and durability. All fabrics were pre-washed and dried before assembling the quilt. This quilt is made to be used, and can be machine washed in cold water and either line-dried or tumble-dried in a cool dryer.

For the binding I chose an Asian print of cranes, which are considered very auspicious, harbingers of fortune and luck. I machine-sewed the binding to the front, then turned and hand-sewed the binding to the back. Corners are beveled. I've mentioned it before but I am ridiculously proud of my bindings. I always use the method shown here.

This quilt is up and available for purchase now in my Etsy shop. To complete the transmutation of energy I am selling the quilt and donating a portion of proceeds to the S.A.F.E. House Shelter from Domestic Violence in Albuquerque, NM.

Namasté

Josie’s Quilt

I like to have the customer get to see the finished quilt in person before I blog-post it. So I’m super-glad Josie got her quilt this weekend; I’ve been dying to show you!

Josie wanted a queen-sized bed quilt and although I’ve never done one that large (twin throws have been, to date, my upper limit for size) I was super-excited and I said YES! We worked together on choosing a quilt pattern that would be visually interesting but at the same time restful. Some of the patterns we looked at, like the split-rail fence and various interlocking chains are visually interesting, but perhaps too visually “stimulating” when you are in your "oasis." Unconsciously, the eye wants to follow those labyrinths of pattern and you end up going over and over them, which can be less than restful. So we settled on a four-patch pattern which is has a very grounding presence. And then Josie & I collaborated on colors & fabrics too, settling on a lovely mix of batiks, both new and vintage calico and paisley, all in very soft lavenders and blues.

After finishing the quilt top, basting it to the backing and batting, came a humbling moment. I have always done my own machine-quilting but this was the first queen-size piece I’ve done and after one seam it became apparent that no amount of basting and rolling was going to get this thing through the opening of my trusty old Singer home machine. I want to give a shout-out here to Joan Ayers at North Star Qwilts. Joan is a long-arm quilter who took the finished quilt top, batting, and backing and machine-quilted it together in an all-over meandering pattern on her ginormous Nolting Pro 24. It looks AMAZING and Joan was really great to work with. Joan is a volunteer finisher for Quilts of Valor and others who are doing donation quilts as well as volunteering for Beacon Hospice in South Portland. She’s a member of both the Cobblestone and Casco Bay chapters of the Maine Quilt Guild. So if you have UFOs that need to be put together in a timely fashion, contact Joan! And tell her I sent you. :-)

I am just unreasonably proud of my binding.

When the quilt came back to me from North Star I put on a lavender calico binding – machine-sewn to the front, turned and hand stitched to the back. Although all that hand-stitching is time consuming I like to use this method because it's sturdy, and the beveled edges are give the quilt a really nice "finish." I’m so pleased with how it came out and was thrilled when Josie sent pics of it in its new home! I think it looks even better with handsome Max on it, don’t you? :-)

Pillow Set for the Lovebirds

This is my latest set of quilted scrappy throw pillows. I made these as a gift for my friends Catherine and Kevin, who just took the big moving-in-together step. I have not yet been to their new love nest, but was told their livingroom had not-quite schoolbus yellow walls and a couch the color of chocolate. So this is what I came up with:

this view shows the envelope closure on the back - the quilted
covers can be easily removed from the pillow forms for washing.

Maybe even more than for other occasions, I love the idea of pieced items for couples. After all, we are celebrating that these two people, with different histories, memories, abilities and talents, come together and their union produces something greater than just the sum of their parts.*

Happy Shacking Up, Catherine & Kevin!
May the two of you have a long,
happy, and colorful life together!

* hehe. parts.

Mom's Hug Quilt

How great it feels to finish a UFO!* This quilt has been "in progress" for a few years... one of those projects you start and then get distracted from, or other projects have to take precedence over and the next thing you know it's shooting you dirty looks from its Tupperware storage in the basement every time you go down to put laundry in, and you feel guilty even glancing in its direction. (I'm not the only one, right?)Technically, I started this quilt when my son Jake (now 12) was just a baby. I must have seen a photo somewhere of a quilt someone had done all from flannels and terrycloth. I decided that instead of donating my old winter pjs or bathrobes to Goodwill (which I do with lots of stuff!), I would hang on to them and use them in a quilt. I cut them up and started piecing them in a modified four-patch that formed this groovy diagonal pattern. I got more than halfway through the quilt top and then my daughter came home from China, and my husband and I divorced, I got a new job and went back to school.. and gosh, things just got busy. But wouldn't it be cool, I thought, long about November of this year, if I could finish this thing up and give it to Jake for a Christmas gift? So whenever I had a few spare minutes and the boy was otherwise occupied I stitched away on this one and lo and behold at 6pm on Christmas Eve it was finished.

Last inch of binding sewn at 6pm Christmas Eve. Phew!

So within this quilt are nights of rocking my boy to sleep, reading him stories, cuddling up and watching movies together. There are lots of hugs in this quilt. When he opened the box on Christmas morning and held the quilt up I told him that no matter where he went or where I was, this quilt was my way of making sure he could always have a hug from mom. Jake's a sentimental boy, and totally "got it." Maybe he even got a little teary, but don't tell him I told you.

Our Buddha-cat Tucker, diggin' on the new quilt

detail, Mom's Hug Quilt

Don't worry, Santa made sure my son also got electronic gee-gaws and computer gadgets and other manly things. I'm not turning him into a complete sissy-boy.

*(Un-Finished Object)