linques design speaks

Stripe Out

Cosmo is doing much better. He has to either stay on the couch with us, or in his crate. I have to admit it's a little boring sitting on the couch, but it's worth it. He has to go outside for mini walks three times a day, adding more time each week. He's starting to put his leg down already, which is pretty good!

Derek and I found this fantastic new-ish fabric store near us. It's sew cute! Haha. I would post a link, but I just tried their website listed on their card, and it doesn't seem to be an actual site. Maybe it's in the works. If you're in/near Columbus though, you should definitely check it out- it's called Sew to Speak and it's on N. High Street.

Do you like the scarf I made? I love summer scarves, but I have a hard time finding cute ones. So I've put this one here!

the patient

fun day!

Working at the dog wash...

Today Derek and I helped out at a dog wash for Animal Outreach, a group that promotes spaying and neutering, as well as adoption programs. I found out about it through work, and we'll probably go each month to help. We brought Cosmo, which we had been debating, because it was from 12-4. But he was SO good! That's a long day for him, especially being outside the whole time.

This is Levi. He was so sweet. I'm the one in the green, and don't ask me what I'm looking at! I think his owners in the background were saying something. The wash is in a parking lot right outside of Starbucks, and they let the org hook up to their water, which was nice. There were maybe 12 dogs that showed up for it, but it was the first day this year with minimal promotion. Dogs are fun!

Cosmo Ate It

Or at least he tried to. Like my new banner? It's finally starting to feel like spring here (yay!) so I figured I'd give a quick lift to the blog. I also updated my little Etsy links over there ---> to correctly show both Lindsey Marcella and Lindsey Marcella Jewel.

Cosmo seemed the think the tulip was both a toy and lunch. This was the runner up for the banner picture. I can understand how he might see it as a toy, but lunch? I guess it's because he's on a puppy 'diet'. His vet says he's not at his ideal weight. He weighs 9 lbs, but last year was 8lbs, which is supposedly much better. She did say his waistline is still good though. Come on! He's a dog!! Oh well, we've cut back on his treats but he's never been a very big eater anyway - except for his chicken treats. Those aren't even fattening; they seem like people jerky. We'll see if he drops his extra pound while he cries himself to sleep now.

I've been enjoying the weather so much that I haven't been very productive. I've made some jewelry, worked on the X-quilt...but it's much more fun to be outside. Especially in a convertible. I don't even need a destination; just a drive is nice. But I did make it to the library and also picked up a bagel for lunch.

Cosmo will jump at the words 'outside' or 'walk' (also 'bacon' or 'chicken'), but he's been a party pooper these past 2 days on his walks. I've been excited because of the weather, and have wanted to go for a nice long walk. He has other things in mind though. He just stops. Dead in his tracks. And will. Not. Budge. I don't want to yank him because of his cute little neck, but it's kind of ridiculous. If I turn around towards home he goes willingly. Maybe it's a terrible threes stage or something.

I was able to pick these teeny tiny daisies on our "walk" today for the macro challenge. They are so small - each bloom is about 1 cm!

Poor Baby

Poor Cosmo. He had a luxating patella and had to have knee surgery 2 years ago (almost to the day) when he was just 1. Bed rest after for 6 weeks. He's been fine since then, but yesterday night he started limping and favoring his right leg - which is the one that had the surgery. I don't think it's his knee this time though; it almost seems like his hip. He wouldn't even climb his stairs last night, so I knew it hurt. This morning it seems better, but something still seems off. I've got an appointment for him Monday, so I'm crossing my fingers that it's just something like a strain. He could probably handle another surgery if he HAD to...but I'm not so sure that I can!

Anyway, onto happy things. I've been sewing a lot, on little projects. They're nice to throw in while I'm working on my jumbo quilt. I don't feel a rush to get that done, but it is a fun project. The smaller things I've been doing all have some sort of hand work, which I can do on the couch or bed with Cosmo. So far I've got a baby quilt, mini quilt, and spring purse. I really love the spring purse, but I have a feeling I should at least Attempt to sell it, so, you know, I can actually try to make some money! Haha, isn't that what I should be focusing on since I do have a business? Oh, but it's so fun to make things for myself or gifts...

As I've said before, I don't really enjoy cooking. Slowly though, that might be changing. Did you see this post and recipe? And her lovely picture of the quiche? Well I made it right after I saw the post on Thursday and it was SO good! My picture isn't nearly as pretty, so I don't really think I need to share it, but you should really try the quiche out. I did mine with broccoli, no onions. Derek and I ate the entire thing. And you know what I'm going to do tomorrow? Make Thanksgiving!! I wanted to do it on Easter but I was sick and not in the mood. So tomorrow is Turkey Sunday. Yum!

We're back!

What a wonderful vacation! So lucky to get (paid) time off, so lucky to have a condo waiting for us in FL! Gas and food are really the only expenses, and quite manageable. We had great weather for the drive down and back, and FABULOUS weather at the beach! In the 80's and sunny the entire time, except for the last day which was 60. I had time to embroider and craft, Derek had time to read and play his games, and Cosmo got to sleep in a new place! Here are some pictures; more to come about the trip later but for now it's time to eat!

Cosmo loves balconies, and this is the first time he wasn't scared of the one in Florida. Usually the sound of the waves freaks him out, but he was a very big boy. Only problem was the Red Tide which came a few days in, and made us all a little sneezy and coughy. Me and D could handle it, but not this little guy. Only a few minutes on the deck at a time, and only a few walks.

Here's proof of the Red Tide - if you look closely you can see Cosmo's about to sneeze!

Continuous Binding

There. I got it out of the way first. You had to guess a Cosmo quilt picture was coming. It was folded neatly on the floor, but Cosmo thought he could make it more comfortable. You'd think he doesn't have any beds/blankets/pillows of his own!

I made the binding and attached it by machine. Next up comes the hand sewing, and then it's all done. This was my first attempt at using the folded binding, and not making my own with the bias tape maker. Also my first try using the continuous binding method. It worked well, and I only had to rip it once--when I completely messed up the ending! I cut the allowance without checking my work first. At least I left enough room so I could add more binding to it...

I was also able to finish piecing the front of the boy quilt this morning. I did it first thing so I would just get it done in one go. I love it, and it's just the right size. Now I just have to piece together the back and quilt it.

I went through all of my bookmarked blogs today, and found out I won 2 beautiful headbands! I picked out a pink and green one. Yay! Very exciting. Thanks, Katie Jean!

Poor Derek. He had to make an emergency trip to a brand new dentist today because his jaw was hurting. Turns out he needs his wisdom teeth out pronto. They were very nice there, and got him an appointment this Thursday. I was lucky enough to email my boss to try to use a vacation day, and he let me know right away that it's no problem. I had to take a whole day because we're not sure how long it will take for him since they're pretty bad. At least I can help!

I feel like I'm running out of time before December! I have a few more gifts to make for Christmas, but I also have my annual trunk show the first weekend in December, and I'd really like to make some more stuff for it. I already have a lot to show, but it's always fun to bring some new stuff too. At least I had a productive day today!

happy halloween!

Love, Cosmo the Lobster

Quilted Goodness

This is what I worked on yesterday. I had cleaned up and reorganized all my fabric this weekend, but didn't put a certain stack away. I have had this little bundle of pink fabrics on my table for months now. I wanted to make a baby quilt, but I do not know anyone that is going to have a baby girl. So they just sat. Derek finally said I should just make one, and keep it for myself. So that's what I'm doing! It will be a little juvenile, because of the prints, but I don't really care.

I started with this pattern as a guide, just because I wanted some measurements. But aside from the measurements of the colored fabrics, I didn't really follow it. I made those 3x7, and the muslin strips are 3x the width, which is about 42". I think I will have 10 colored stripes. The pattern calls for a shift in each colored row, but I kept mine lined up to keep it a little bit wider. Everything's cut, and the strips are pieced. I just have about 1/2 more to go to get the muslin pieced in too. I have a great vintage pink sheet that will be the backing, and maybe a border too. It's nice because I don't feel a rush to finish it, but I'll work on it here and there. We do have maintenance coming this week to check alarms and replace filters, but they'll just have to make do with a work in progress quilt on the floor. By the way, don't you love my cluttered table? I try to clean it, but then I misplace everything. So clutter (as controlled as possible) is nice.

I'll end with a little shot of puppers. He was on the quilt strips, but I think you've seen enough of that.

What I'm Reading

Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. This is a great book. It's literall in english, with very very few illustrations or diagrams. I've found it very instructional though. It's the first book that has given me a clear idea of how to hold the needles. With no picture! Wow. She's got one for crochet too, so maybe I'll check that out of the library next. This is a big book too, not skimpy; it goes over everything you should know before knitting!

Here's a stack of books I currently have out. I've mentioned before that I love our library, and this is why.  I am currently in a knitting phase, but would never ever want to BUY all these books. So now I get to take them on a test run. Why the sudden urge to knit?

Here's a sweater I made for Cosmo 2 years ago. It's too small now, but I MADE it! Wow! I didn't know a thing about knitting, I just picked it up from a cheapo dog knitting book. This has increases and decreases, a neat neckline (that his fluff covers up), and raglan sleaves. I didn't know what I was doing, but I managed to follow the instructions pretty well. I need to finish up the knitting book I'm reading so I can start on some larger, much more scary projects.