Georgie

I had a question last week regarding the fabric around my embroidery hoop. I've seen it called many things, I always call them my hoop huggers. I put one around everything I'm working on whether I'm using a hoop or q-snap. They are super simple to make. This one pictured started out as a 6 inch strip of fabric. I measured the hoop around the outside and multiplied that amount by 2.5. I cut a length of quilting fabric to that measurement six inches wide. I turned under the edges on both sides to make a nice clean edge, stitched up the two ends together to make a continuous piece of fabric and put 1/4 inch elastic under the long edges to gather it and make it stretchy. I like mine wide enough to tuck the extra linen into it while I'm stitching. It does keep the linen nice and clean and every so often I just pop the covers into the wash.


I have seen them on sale on the internet but unfortunately I don't have those links anymore or I would share them.

Just to clear up any confusion I do live with four pugs. :-) But I only own three. Georgie officially belongs to my mom who I live with. When I move out in a couple of months Georgie will remain behind but don't worry, he won't be alone. He will be living with Lily the big yellow lab that also belongs to my mom. In the event that something happens to my mom, I will happily take Georgie at that time to live with me.

back on puppy patrol

Now that I'm back on puppy patrol, I don't have as much time to stitch at night as I did the days Izzy wasn't around. But as I've said before, any progress is progress! :-)

No plans for the weekend except the International Kennel Club Dog Show in Chicago (need to buy puppy stuff!) and dinner with friends. Hopefully the rest of the time will be spent stitching and playing the pugs and lab.

I had a great suggestion for my blog name - three cool pugs, me & the lab experiment. I love it. :-)

Have a great weekend!

all I can do is smile today :-)

Loving my progress on Pink Hill Manor. My dye lot of Jacky Brown isn't as pink as the photo and it's a nice color.

Thanks so much for all your kind words regarding the return of Izzy! I'm still pinching myself. I got a call last night from my BIL and they just couldn't take the chaos of two puppies anymore. The two puppies were not playing well together at all and were total terrors when they tried. Izzy who had totally bonded to me didn't want much to do with them and they thought her offstandish and not very affectionate. Hunter was preoccupied with playing with Izzy and in turn ignored them. While the puppies were with me I crated trained them so they would sleep in crates at night giving them a break. But my sister and BIL are not fans of crating so they let them roam around at night. They would disrupt the household in the middle of the night with their antics and no one was sleeping. All good for me it turns out. :-)

When I got her home Izzy ran around with the pugs and greeted each one. The pugs were like, where've you been Iz? Georgie was especially happy to see her. She didn't stop waging her tail until we went to bed and she fell asleep.

She is bigger than all of them!

I'm one happy camper. And I am here to tell you, it really is easier with only one puppy. Breakfast was so easy without Hunter around. I think most things will be easier with just the one. I'm so glad I get to find out.

Now I really need to find a new name for my blog. :-)

She's back!! :-)

And all mine now and forever. :-)

it's almost a house

I stitched over the weekend! Miracle of Miracles. :-) I didn't have as much time as I had planned. I kept getting distracted by this pile of dust and this pile of laundry, oh, look there is a dust bunny! And before I knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and I finally sat down. But the house is nice and clean.

No train ride today - I'm working from home. So there is a good two hours less that will get stitched today. :-( But the extra two hours sleep I got this morning sure was nice.

a great start

I had a really good start to Pink Hill Manor. Almost the entire border complete in just two train rides? I wish they were all so constructive. But the seasons are changing and it's almost light for the morning train and light for the evening train and that really helps keep me awake. Who knew I was half bear? I'm coming out of hibernation! LOL!


Have a great weekend! The pugs and I are going to do our best for the same. Most of the snow is gone now and all that is left is a yard full of mud and dog poo. I know what part of my weekend will involve. Yuck.

A Wish For You finis (for now anyway)

A Wish For You - design by Blackbird Designs

32 count Purely Primitive by Silkweavers

Recommended overdyed cotton floss

I finished up A Wish For You on the train ride into work this morning! Yeah! I got another couple funky dye lots of some colors so my windows look totally hosed. I need to just stop stitching when this happens and pull something else out of my stash rather than complain when the piece is completed. I plan on adding a different saying that continues throughout the entire piece ala House of Hawk Run Hollow. I just need to find something of suitable lenght that I like. Once the last two charts come out I'll see just how much space I have to work with. I'd like to do 2 over 2 but I'll make 1 over 1 work if I really like something that is longish.

I'll get started on Pink Hill Manor on the way home from work tonight. This is aonther one where I love the chart but not so much the colors. But I'm just not up to changing it around right now. I just want to stitch and not re-design. :-)

back to it

I've been trying to find time to start stitching again. Enough feeling sorry for myself already! :-) I'd love to get this piece finished over the weekend and since I don't have any plans, if I just plant myself on the couch and ignore my Facebook page, I might actually do it.


I've starting house shopping! Prices in the area where I live and want to buy have finally come down to reasonable prices and with interest rates where they are I think I can finally do it and still eat. And that means the pugs eat! So it works for everybody.


Izzy is doing fine and my sister and brother-in-law love her very much. I just worry they won't have time for her like I would have nor have the skill set to train a high drive dog. But I'm sure it will all work out. I'm going to hold off on my lab puppy search until I'm in my new place. I'd love to have a puppy more of less potty trained before I move but I don't want to complicate my life even more right now.

She's gone :-(

I came home from work yesterday to find the house emtpy of labs. I miss Izzy already. But I know she will be fine - my sister is kind even if my brother-in-law is isn't.

I'm still here :-)

As you can see not a lot has been stitched in the last two weeks. Mostly because of the following photos. It's still full blown puppy time at my house. :-) So between the puppies, a blizzard and jury duty last week, I haven't had much time to stitch. And whenever I try, one or both of the puppies wants to eat my project. Not good.

But here are some random shots from the last couple of weeks. The aftermath of the blizzard. I missed the snow of '99 as I was living in LA at the time and I was only 5 years old for the snow of '67 and I don't remember much. But this will will linger in my mind for years to come. 20+ inches of snow is a lot. It's hard to tell from the photo just how much snow is in the backyard because of all the blowing and it's also hard packed and the dogs are running on top of at least 12 or so inches. Over the course of the storm I had to go outside every couple of hours to keep shoveling snow away from the door because it would have been five or six feet high if I didn't and we would not have been able to get out at all. This is Hunter, Izzy and Georgie running and playing. Hunter loves it, Izzy and the pugs not so much.

Hunter playing while it was still snowing. I had to shovel a path for the pugs.

I don't let Hunter on the couch but every time I turn my back this seems to happen. That's Molly with him.

Izzy loves to go back to bed after she goes outside - every time she comes back in she runs right to the bed and snuggles in. She is not much for the cold and snow.

See what I mean about turning my back? Hunter, Aoife, Izzy, Molly and Clancy all taking a nap. When Izzy came two and a half weeks ago, she was smaller than my smallest pug, Aoife. Now she is bigger than the biggest, Georgie.

Molly and Izzy taking a nap. Yes, Izzy is special and she gets to sleep on the couch.

I have all but begged my sister and brother-in-law let me keep Izzy. My sister is willing but my bil won't. They have no clue what they are taking on. Maybe if they had been able to train Hunter to do anything I would not be so adamant that they are making a mistake but that 5 month old lab is out of control and they are clueless as to what to do. Now they are going to ruin another. And my bil has stage 4 colon cancer and is in no condition to take on another puppy and my sister isn't up to the job either as she is sick with an autoimmune disease. I told them it was stupid idea before Ken got sick but now it's asinine and borders on insane.

I love that little puppy so much. It hurts just to think about her leaving but I expect one day this week I'll come home from work and she will be gone. No good deed goes unpunished for sure. :-(