Dog, puppies and Ukraine

My foster puppies are doing great, running around like loonies, and finally the dog on the left bottom corner of Pheasant Quilt is finished. 

What else to wish for? Nicer weather? Winning a lottery? LOL 

With puppies I have only one problem – I can’t get them on dry food. They have a high quality starter, and Royal Canin puppy food to choose from but they hate both. They prefer freshly made curd with an egg yolk or boiled chicken breast, finely chopped instead. It's not a problem for me, but it will be definitely a problem when they will be moved to the shelter. 

Actually, my head is full not with puppies but with Ukraine. The things are not going great there and I worry that further developments can lead to unpleasant changes in whole Europe. But that’s politics, not quilting.

Day too short

Today was definitely too short to hit the target but at least I managed to do the most – I made the dog for the right bottom corner. 

I’m rather happy about the outcome because my dog looks like the alive original and that all that matters. Now it only needs to be put in the place, and then I can go for the geese on the top right corner.

My little foster babies are doing as great as my fabric dog. They definitely know what’s best for them and bravely go for it. 

Last night they started in their own cozy bed but this morning I found them in a bit different, much better place.

Puppies

This morning I got a phone call – a litter of seven had been abandoned in the open field and they are in urgent need for foster homes until vaccinated and dewormed, and old enough to go to shelter. So I agreed. 

Now two about 6 weeks old are running around here, creating a happy havoc. 

The brother is slower and more dominant while his sister is just a ball, full of energy, and in between all the activities ready to share kisses with everybody. The vet check this morning went great, they even haven’t had fleas and while not well fed, are not severely malnourished either. All they need is a bit of beefing up, a lot of love and socialization, and they will be great.

The brother just in few hours managed to understand the basic potty training and now is using only the newspapers in a tray – that’s makes the whole thing even easier. Sister still has some accidents around but I suspect that until tomorrow all will be in the right place.

It’s so much fun here right now that I can officially admit that my Pheasant Quilt is out of schedule already.

THE DRUNKEN ROOSTER

The right top corner of pheasant quilt is done. It’s almost like I wanted it – almost. The main achievement – I think the drunken rooster has some character in him. LOL  

There is some paper piecing (without paper, I was creative... or lazy... so I made it all free hand) mixed with appliqué, and the outcome isn’t bad (or, will be, after quilting). 

The main thing I learned with this quilt so far is – starch is your best friend, especially when working with cotton sateen. Sateen is floating in all directions, and really hard to work with in comparison with nice, sturdy cotton. So I just starch, starch and starch again, each step, and it makes my life so much easier.

Now only three corners left. I set up my target – to finish the corners until the 5^th May, so I can start quilting. Now I’m curious will I be able to press on to reach the target.

Ode to my Singer

For quite some time I was browsing internet trying to sort out my sewing machine.  See, it’s an old Singer. Of course, it’s a bit outdated and such, but no modern sewing machine I had been able to try out was able to convert me – I still believe in my old, sturdy friend.

 An old Singer is like a best warhorse – its durable, tolerates rough life and is so simple that I can clean and tidy it up all by myself. And in turn it just goes, goes for everything, without hesitation – on this one my parents made their first tent out of thick, impregnated canvas, I sew my first jeans (and some 300 later), endless leather bags and belts.... It conquered it all, without a complaint. 

Of course, you do not expect an old war horse do a fancy dressage steps or win the Grand National. So I must admit that lycra or  spandex are not exactly for my Singer. But I can live with that - I can always play with some modern, more advanced electric wonder. 

So I really wanted to find a manual for my old friend – I have also a large amount of different feet and attachments that I have no idea what for, so manual would be useful. 

But it wasn’t so easy. To find a manual, you need to know the model. But there are no model sign on my old one, only the serial number. Went through the Singer page and they say tere that for older machines you must ask them – they can check it on their records by serial number. Great! So I sent them an email quite a long time ago but no response. Then another one, and another.... Oh well, probably we’ll need to live without the manual. 

Then today, after linking on Confessions of a fabric addict, I did exactly what all this linking is about – browsed through other blogs, and their links to some others. I love web, sometimes you can find a real hidden treasures. So I was looking, reading, left few comments, until I noticed a comment regarding some spare parts for a Singer. So I wrote to the author, to some Connie McCaffery, in case, she has an idea where I might try my luck to find the model. 

And voila! Connie instantly responded and after the morning spent, sending mails back and forth, now I know. Connie even sent me the manual I had been searching for so long! 

My old warhorse is an early model 15, with Egyptian decals! Most likely made in 1910, Podolsk, Russia. 

Not a big deal? Not for me. Now, when I’ll be sewing the dress for my youngest daughter, I’ll close my eyes and will imagine my grandmother’s first baby grown being sewn on this machine when it was new and shiny by her mother. 

My 11 years old is the fifth generation of our family ladies, leaning over that wheel. Isn’t it cool?  Over hundred years of hard work and the machine is still doing perfectly! 

(Okay, I must admit, not absolutely perfect – the rubber on the bobbin wheel had been replaced about 40 years ago by using a wheel from my toy car, and now I need to find a new toy car with rubber wheels as that one gave up finally).