Daily Prompt: Menagerie

Do you have animals in your life? If yes, what do they mean to you? If no, why have you opted not to?

In 2010 a momentous decision was made…. to get a dog! What a momentous decision it was and I have to admit I had a few sleepless nights and several bouts of cold feet before the little 4 legged friend arrived!

For me, it was a harder decision than the one to have children believe it or not, probably because I always knew I wanted them! A dog however was a different prospect – I had never grown up with one and felt it was such a huge responsibility – the walking, picking up poo, training, finding someone to look after them when you go on holiday etc. etc. and I also knew that no matter how many promises were made by the children, ultimately the main responsibility would come down to me.

Well the day came and we brought the little guy home – named him Goober after a character in Sponge Bob Square Pants (not my idea obviously)! And here he is on his arrival:

New member of the family

Just the right size for a Viszla

Vizsla cuddle

Of course we all fell instantly in love with him and he gradually took over the whole household and now he is like the central point of affection for everyone in the house. He keeps me fit by insisting I walk him every day and has a way of making all members of the household happier.

There again any chair can be made to fit!

I can’t say he’s one for dressing up but when he’s asleep, well thats a different story….

And when it comes to Christmas he really likes to get into the spirit of things!

It really is hard to imagine life before we had him now and I have become one of those people I never imagined I would become… you know those annoying ones who talk about their dog all the time!

Cats and Aprons

At last the temperatures have come down to something a lot more comfortable in Melbourne but I have to admit that I had a serious case of brain-melt earlier in the week and found the idea of making anything quite a struggle.

However I did manage a couple of minor achievements so I thought I would share.

First of all I have had a bit of a hankering for making a quick and easy apron and when a friend told me that you could make an apron from ONE fat quarter I couldn’t wait to have a go and found this rather super tutorial here from Jaime at Prudent Baby. It was my kind of tutorial – clear, straight forward and easy to follow.

Fat Quarter apron

Australian print apron

Blue Aussie Pinny

I have to admit I was very happy with the results and you really can make them in about half an hour! I was especially happy because the fat quarters I am using for the aprons were some very cheap ones I picked up at a craft show about 6 months ago (just because I didn’t want to come home empty handed)!

‘Waltzing Matilda’ fabric

but they weren’t anything I would normally use in quilting. However they seemed to be just perfect for little pinnies and the blue one with its ‘Walzting Matilda’ motif and kangaroo would be ideal for a small overseas gift me thinks!

Then I decided I would have another go at the cat pattern I made some time last year as I had some lovely retro fabric I fancied using and this was the result:

Then I couldn’t resist taking one with his friend:

Retro cats together

Zippity doo dah (facing my fears)!

I wrote last week about my struggles to get back into the creative swing of things and received some lovely uplifting responses – thank you one and all!

I thought it would be a good idea to try something new and also something I have had a slightly irrational fear over….. yes, the dreaded zip! I don’t think I’m alone in this avoidance of all things zippy from what I was reading on the net and hearing from friends so I took courage in both hands and went in search of a nice easy tutorial.

I found what I was looking for here at the lovely Sew Delicious blog. Ros is the very talented author of the blog and her pictures and instructions were so clear, I didn’t even feel scared!!

If you haven’t been there already, I can seriously recommend her blog.

Well anyway this is what I came up with first of all:

small zip pouch

I really like the fabric and kept wondering what I should do with it as it is quite a heavy duty cotton. I kept thinking bags of some sort but I didn’t have any large pieces so anyway I got quite into the swing of things and made a few more.

slightly larger zip pouch

I thought this would make a nice girly penci case and although my German is somewhat rusty I believe it says: “The World’s lovliest countries”

pencil case – boy fabric

yes I know I shouldn’t say ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ fabric but I do think one is more masculine than the other.

zip pouches en mass

As you can see, once I started I just wanted to keep going. Now I have to go and buy some more zips!