Three Quarters of a Century Plus One

I had a birthday earlier this month. I've become old enough that I turned my age into a math problem. I'm a retired teacher, so everything becomes a lesson. It's automatic. Maybe I'll even remember my own age this way. All that counting backwards to 1942 gets harder every year.

I volunteer at school every working with and for my former fifth grade teammates. One of the teachers told the students that I'd just had a birthday, and, of course, the kiddos wanted to know my age. They had no trouble with the math, but there were some very large eyes. A few of them have never actually known anyone so ancient.

Working with my former team is one of the highlights of my week. I give book talks, help students with reading issues, shelve books in the library, and then enjoy lunch with my friends.

That brings me to this newest mug rug pattern. I'm trying to design a mug rug for each of the teachers for Christmas. I want to create designs that fit their own unique interests, and I don't want to use anything that I've already made.

The newest addition to the teaching team is a young man who is an actor in his spare time. I haven't seen him perform, but those who have, say that he's fabulous. I started there.

The Greek muses of comedy and tragedy seemed fitting for his mug rug. I'm sure that there are thespians in almost every family, so some of you may be looking for a gift just like this.

Muses, Masks of Comedy and Tragedy: Etsy Listing, Craftsy

 

Summer officially exits the stage this week, and colorful, cool autumn will make a dramatic appearance.

Wishing you a fabulous season. 

Inspired by Puppies

My daughter has two adorable little dogs named Watson and Willow. They are inseparable buddies, snuggle pups, forever together.

These puppies are so much fun, and I don't see them very often, so, of course, they found their way into a pattern. I didn't expect three variations of a pattern, but that's the way it worked out. Goodness knows, I'm not in control of any of it. Inspiration takes over, and I can only go with the flow.

Buddies Trio Pattern Click for Etsy Click for Craftsy

Although the pups are in all of them, each of the projects is very different from each of the others. A person can add as much embroidery or thread work as liked. Nothing more than mouths and eyebrows works well, too

The 9" x 9" quilt block can be used as part of a quilt, a small wall hanging, a hot pad, or a large mug rug. It could even be left unquilted and placed in a picture frame.

The pups have eyebrows, mouths and a few little bits of stitching to add dimension to Watson's hair and Willow's ears. The quilting on this one was fun. I just followed the leaves so it required no thinking about the design. This was the first of the three projects that I finished. It's cute as can be, but I changed Willow's mouth on the other two.

These little guys lent themselves beautifully to pillows. The background on the !2" s 16" unquilted pillow was chosen by vote on my Facebook page. I wasn't sure about using the black, but I really like it. The contrast in colors really makes the pups pop. This time I accidentally left out the stitching on Willow's ears, but it doesn't detract from her at all.

The 16" x 16" pillow was the most fun to make because it had the most detail. This one was pure play.

I quilted the front of the pillow cover and I added rickrack so it wouldn't look so plain. The gray background and rickrack were special choices to go with my daughter's decor. You can see her colors in the puppy photo at the top of the page. Yes, she gets this project, too, poor thing.

The real fun, though, came when I added extra thread play to the puppies. Something was needed to make them stand out better against the fabric background.

Now, I'm thinking ahead to the next project. I'm not sure what it will be for sure, but it will likely have a Halloween theme.

Wishing you a lovely last week of August.