Free or Inexpensive Online Classes...

As the year draws to a close, I've been reflecting on the wonderfully full and very busy life that I am enjoying! Family life is fabulous, and my volunteer work with my future dog guide foster puppies is always a source of fun and fulfillment.

Before I share some images you may enjoy, I want to bring your attention to a list of inexpensive, or better yet, free online classes that a fellow blogger, Lynette Collis, has on her blog. Some require registration by December 31st, so don't delay in checking it out!

But, before you go, here are a couple of adorable pictures I took recently of Yoshi and some of her future dog guide puppy friends:

(bottom - top) Rondi, 8 wks; Pallas, 9 wks; Kermit, 4.5 mths; and Yoshi 7.5 mths.

Mom, PLLLEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSSSEEEEEE can I keep them?

Keeping Very Busy...and a Little Sneak Peek...

For those of you who think I may have fallen off the edge of the earth, I've been keeping very busy lately, but unfortunately not much of it has been in my studio.

Yoshi and I have been babysitting Lana, another future dog guide puppy, until a foster home can be found for her. Although Yoshi just turned 6 months old today, she's being a real little momma to Lana!  She's sharing her toys, grooming her and always staying close. Of course there is a lot of puppy play going on too!

A Special Happy 1/2 Birthday Cookie!

Lana, could you eat any slower???

Mom, Yoshi got my head wet!

But, I have managed to do a bit of art.  Here's a sneak peek at a little piece I'm working on during puppy naptime. It currently involves a lot of machine thread stitching and later will have extensive hand stitch added. Hopefully I'll be back in the not too distant future to share my progress.  Until then, have fun and stay busy!

New Beginnings...

The next few days will bring some important new beginnings for my foster puppies. 

Dime will be leaving our home on Monday to go off to 'Puppy University'.  He's been chosen to 'major' in autism assistance. I'm so proud of the amazing dog he's growing up to be, and I know he's going to do a great job helping his special person!  

He'll spend the next 4-6 months in training to learn how to do his important life work. While at school he'll also have down time to play with his classmates and get lots of loving from the people working with him too!

And this little cutie, Yoshi, will be coming into our home for the first stage of her training tomorrow.

In this photo she's only 4 wks old, but when she comes home to us she'll be almost 7 wks.

I'm excited that Dime will be able to help her make the transition, and give her snuggles, as she adjusts to her new home.

I'm sure the two of them will have a great weekend together before we take Dime off to school on Monday.

Have I mentioned how much I love this wonderful opportunity to give back by fostering these amazing puppies.  What they do for their eventual partner is life changing, and I'm so happy to be able to be a part of this process!

Repurposing a Quilt...

Many years ago, I designed and made a quilt that was used for the quilt guild's block of the month.  Although I liked the idea of the blocks, I never really liked the little quilt I had made with them.  So, this weekend I decided to repurpose it into an organizational system.

I could have just used it as a dog bed, since as soon as I put it on the floor to snap this picture so I could show you the 'before', Dime walked right over and lay down on it! Silly puppy!

Anyway, the original blocks were 12" blocks so I cut them down to 11.5".  The four blocks used for the outer panels of the bags were trimmed to get rid of any binding, but the four blocks that I used for inner pockets were trimmed so that the binding became the open edge of the pocket.

Since becoming a foster 'mom' for future dog guides, I've been carrying a lot of ziploc bags with puppy needs (paper towels, a collapsible water dish, water bottle, training treats, etc.) as well as the usual contents of a purse.  Now I can organize all of the puppy things into one bag...the pockets are great for finding things quickly, and the second one holds my other 'purse' items.

The final block (the quilt had 9 blocks) became the water bottle holder and a little change purse (which fits nicely inside the larger 'purse' bag).  All of this fits into the larger bag I carry so that now instead of riffling through a bunch of ziploc bags to try to find my wallet or whatever, I can get my hands on things really quickly!

The idea of cutting up a quilt and repurposing it took some getting over, but I'm going to enjoy this quilt so much more now that I'll see it daily and know that it'll keep me organized!