A Few More Makes

 I have been sewing like crazy but most has been for gifts. 

 I will show a few things I have made that I can show.

  I don't think the people I made them for read my blog so I should be safe, LOL. 

I made another Nightingale quilt using the Dorothy's Journey fabric. 

 I just finished binding it!  

I have not taken a photo of the finished quilt yet though.  

Michigan weather has NOT been cooperating with my photo taking! 

 So just a sneak peek of this one.

Cole and I have been busy.  

I need to make 3 Christmas stockings.  

One for a friend and 2 for my sister-in-law.

I got started one of them the other day.  

I made stockings for this little one's parents when they got married. 

 Then I made them for their twins.  

Now it is time to make for the newest addition to their family. 

 You can see the front and the lining in this picture.

This is the back and still the lining.

Ta-Da!  The finished stocking all ready to mail out soon!

I had one block left over from the baby quilt so I decided rather than have an orphan block I would make it into a pillow cover for the baby.

This is the front of the cover, using the orphan block.

I had some fabric left over from making the quilt so I used it on the back.

If you look closely, you can see the zipper flap. 

 I was pretty excited to put a zipper in the back.

I will send it off with the quilt.  

They will just need to purchase a pillow form to make it into a pillow.

I have also been doing some test embroidery for Meags and Me.

This is one of the adorable parts of their Goodbye quilt pattern.  

I have finished all of the embroidery for the quilt, now I just need the actual quilt pattern to finish it.

They needed testers to use the format I use to check if the embroidery was alright, which it was.

Isn't it so adorable?

Hubby and I went out to pick up some things at Cabela's today for the basket raffle at our church.

We stopped in Dundee and shopped a bit.  Most of the shops have closed, sadly.

We walked by the river and I snapped this pic of us.

I have some more to share, but I need to take some photos.

So until then, happy stitching!

~XOP~

Some More Nature

 Chris was taking out the garbage and happened to look up and guess who was in the tree? 

 Our owl!!

  I followed her as she flew down the way, hoping to get some good shots. 

Then, I was taking Cole for a walk on his harness and leash 

when I happened to look down and see this Luna Moth. 

 I think he was in the process of dying as the bottom was shriveling up.  

My daughter told me they are born without a mouth so they are born, procreate and then die.  

They are so beautiful with such a short lifespan.  

I found him in the road the next day.  

Something had eaten his body, but I saved his wings.

These sweet little pink/white flowers are all over the woods.  

One morning, Chris went for a walk and came home with these pretty yellow flowers.

Since we only get to see Avery on the weekends we are finding other things to keep us busy.

I got 5 blocks sewn for my Nightingale quilt.

I hope to take photos of them tomorrow.

My shadow is never far away either.

While we are being entertained the cat's "squirrelfriend" is keeping them entertained. 

 We are under some Hickory trees and the squirrels LOVE the nuts!

Hoping for some sunshine to take photos of my blocks for tomorrow.

We get to babysit Avery on Thursday.

Meeting up with Mr and Mrs Goodneedle on Friday.

She and I will be shopping at Pineapple Fabrics while our hubbies hang out.

Then lunching together afterward.

I have all those nap blankets to give to her along with some additional flannel for her to make more.

~XOP~

Life

My life has been pretty uneventful lately but I have been sewing and doing lots of other fun life stuff.

I was sewing the other day and Cole was "helping" me.

  It was so cute, he had his paw on the bed of my machine like "hey, pay attention to me!"

We spent some time at the farm this past weekend.  

Visiting with the pea fowl.

  I love how beautiful Orion is. 

 He is a purple peacock.

Then there is the ever handsome Stan Lee.

I have been doing some pattern testing for Meags and Me. 

 I made the tree skirt. 

I think I can share it here as I am gifting it and I don't think the person reads my blog.

I machine embroidered the outer edge.  

It took me awhile since I am really new to using my machine to do this.  

I chose to use a stripe and cut it on the bias for the binding and the ties. 

 I LOVE how this came out!

Can't wait to gift this one!

~XOP~

IT'S DAY 84!!!

 I am so thrilled that we have finally made it to day 84 of observation. 

 Tomorrow starts the first day of the rest of Cole's life!!!

Look at this big goofball.

He is never far from wherever I am.

I think he knows.

We go to the specialty vet on Thursday for his final labwork. 

We all want to thank you for all your prayers and donations to make his recovery possible.

~XOP~

Cole Is In Observation!

 I'm just popping on here to let you all know the good news about Cole. 

 His 3 month blood work came back NORMAL! 

 This allowed us to go into the observation phase for the next 84 days! 

 Keep your fingers crossed that all stays stable for him.

  No more shots! 

 We are BOTH happy about that. 

 I want to take a minute to thank each and every one of you that prayed, sent good thoughts and donated to his becoming a healthy boy again.  

We could not have done it without you.

This is where we began.

This pic is so typical of what he was like. 

 He just slept and would not eat.  

He was skin and bones.

His fur was rough. 

 I believe he was dying.

This is where we are now.

2 kg heavier, eating all the time, and just being a general cathole.

(Like all cats)

GS has been a true miracle for Cole and most cats with FIP.

Right now it is only available on the secondary market.

If you have a cat with FIP or know anyone that has a cat wth FIP, and you want more information on treatment, please email me (mamaspark@gmail.com)

As you all know, treatment is not cheap,($90/vial) but the cure is 80-90% effective!

FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) is caused by a mutated kitty Corona virus.

Most cats are exposed to this virus with no ill effects.

If  your cat has this illness it is 100% fatal without treatment.

This is what 84 days of shots looks like.

I saved all the syringes, needles and vials.

That syringe on the top was his last shot.

I can't express to you all how thankful I am that the treatment seems to have worked for Cole.

We are not totally out of the woods yet.

We need 3 more months of good blood work.

Hubby will be taking Cole in for his first blood work in MI.

Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate our way.

I will be babysitting this little cutie for the month of January.

I hope to be able to post again soon.

We are heading back to MI either Friday or Saturday (winter storm dependent).

~XOP~

 

SPOOKY

 Now that I have finished all my animals (oh wait, I haven't shared the procupines have I?) 
 OK, so here are the porcupines.  

The spikes are not how they are supposed to be and where they join up to the head unit isn't perfect

 but DONE is better than perfect, right?

So my porcupines have rogue spikes.  

Real life porcupines aren't perfectly symmetrical are they?

I'm just happy that I can move on getting this put together.

  I did NOT like the directions on cutting the spikes for this little guy. 

 It wasted a LOT of fabric and was not the easiest to follow. 

 I get why they did it the way they did but

 if I were ever to make these again I would do them differently.

Moving on...

I bought a kit from Jedi Craft Girl for Halloween called Spooky. 

 I fell in love with the pattern, probably because of the black cat, LOL.  

The mini top is all finished. 

 I stitched around the cat and the letters using the blanket stitch.

I took a photo of the back so you could see the blanket stitch from behind.

Of COURSE I had my "Spooky" helper.  

Isn't he looking so great?  

He has gained a full kilogram from when we started his treatments!  

That's 2.2 pounds!!! 

 Of course this means his medical costs have also increased, sigh.  

It's always a double edged sword isn't it?  

It's ok though, as long as he is improving I will find a way to continue his treatment!

I am moving through the quilts I brought with me which makes me happy. 

 I finished the Christmas Bear top, this Spooky mini and just need to assemble the Canada quilt.  

I have 2 more with me to work on plus a case for my Oliso mini iron.  

After I assemble the Canada quilt, I will work on the jelly roll Halloween quilt I brought. 

 I have to do some design work for the Canada quilt as

 I want to assemble it a little differently than the original pattern so stay tuned!  

We are home today and will get to see baby Avery again tomorrow so time to work on some quilts!

What are you up to today?

~XOP~