Another reason to celebrate

January 1st is a day to celebrate not only a new year, but another year with this guy!

Toby turns 15 years old today!  We have been so blessed to have such a sweet dog for all these years.  Here's a small sampling of some fairly recent photos:

Watching the squirrels and birds from the most comfy vantage point.

Checking out view from the top of the stairs before deciding to come down.

Submitting to a bath in the tub, but always checking out his options to escape.

The best nose in the business.

And keeping that nose warm.

Wondering just how long it will take us to get this picture of him.

He makes us smile every day, and he's still going strong.  Hope we have many more years with him.

Transformation for Toby

After using the "Dogs in Sweaters" pattern to make a quilt  for my sister to represent her two little dachshunds, I thought it would be fun to create a dog quilt to represent my own little pup, Toby.

We don't know Toby's exact heritage, but he does have a longish body with short legs similar to a dachshund. 

I started with the same dachshund pattern for the body, but needed to make some changes to the face.  

 I added the eyebrows, shortened the ears and adjusted the colors on the nose.  I also added two buttons for eyes.

I didn't have a need for a whole quilt of Tobys, so I settled on just making a pillow.

He makes for a cute little companion, don't you think?

Fabric Sale or Fabric Fail?

I bought this cute Woodland panel for 50 cents at a Super Bowl sale at my local quilt shop:

I thought it would make a cute Quilts for Kids donation quilt.  When I looked through my stash for some coordinates, it seemed that everything I had was just a little too bright, and made the panel look dull in comparison.

So, this weekend, I went to a local fabric blowout sale that advertised fabric at $4.00 a yard.  I picked out some fabrics to go with the panel, but with a 1 yard minimum purchase, I ended up spending $20.00 for five yards.

Now granted, that's a great price for fabric, and I will most definitely have some leftover to add back into the stash.  But, does it really make sense to spend $20 for fabric to go with a 50 cent panel?

Toby is still mulling this over.

Tuesday with Toby

Toby has been "hounding"  me to write up a post that was just about him, so here goes:

Here he is just hanging out with a friend.

Keeping a watchful eye on the weather.

While the rest of us have grown weary of all the snow, Toby loves nothing more than to be outside in it, repeatedly burying and digging up his tennis ball.

 When things get dull, he is a great source of entertainment, 

especially when he is being goofy.

However, he balances his silly behavior with moments of regal dignity.

Toby recently celebrated his 6th birthday, and we are so glad to have him as part of our family.

Out with a Bang

Spring has been a very long time coming this year, and  parts of the country are still getting snow even this week. With the wintery weather outside, I wasn't in any real hurry to put away the "few" snowmen decorations that I left out after Christmas.  I finally got into the mood last week and collected them from around the house.  What I thought were just a few snowmen, turned out to be this:

There were 13 snowmen, a nutcracker, a skater, a cardinal, even a couple of Santas.  I should have taken more notice of the number 13.  Perhaps it was a warning of what was to come.

I went up to the attic to get an empty box to store them in.  It was already awfully hot up there from the bit of Spring weather we were having, so I left the door open when I came down, hoping a little cool air would find it's way up there.  Our attic is accessed by pull-down stairs.  So imagine a stairwell coming down from the ceiling.

On my way back with the now filled box, I had my head down and forgot that the door was open.  BONK!  I hit my head on the stairs and fell over.  (Don't worry.  I'm fine.)

As I lay on the floor, getting my bearings and trying to decide if I was bleeding, or had a concussion, (nope and nope)  Toby came bounding over.  At first he was excited, thinking I was on the floor to play with him.  But then I guess he sensed that something was wrong, and he just laid down at my side.  I only remained there for a minute or so, feeling kinship with the "Fallen but can't get up" lady,  but all the while,  there was my faithful little companion right next  to me to  keep me company.    You know he got extra treats that day!

I think the moral of the story is to put away the Christmas stuff before April comes around.  I should stitch that into a Christmas pillow.

Snowpocalypse 2013

You probably heard that New England had a little snowstorm last weekend.   Poor hubby had quite a job snowblowing the driveway.

The next day dawned with a beautiful blue sky, and the sun came out, so we took advantage of the weather and took Toby out for a rousing game of "Fetch". This is our fourth winter with Toby, but it is the first time we have seen so much snow accumulation.  I wondered how a 15 inch dog would manage in a 24 inch snow pile, and he showed us that he was up to the task.

It all starts with a leap into the snowy abyss:

Then he bobs up and down as he approaches the orange "flying squirrel", creating his own tunnel through the snow.

On the way back, he wisely follows the path he created on the way out.

Eventually, he returns with his prized toy,

and is all ready to do it again.

Off he goes!

If you are a new visitor to my blog from Marlene at Stitchin by the Lake, welcome, and thanks for stopping by my little corner of the neighborhood.    Normally you would find quilt content here at Quilt Crossing, but Toby sometimes sneaks in and steals the show.   I also dabble in knitting, crochet and genealogy and have a love for British dramas.  Thanks for visiting!

Dog Days

Here at  Procrastination Laboratories, we have been studying a new life form.  It came to us in an oblong vessel where it has been slowly maturing.

After many weeks of gestation, the furry creature appears to be  ready to hatch!

It opens it eyes!

We hold our breath as it slowly becomes aware of it's surroundings,

The creature takes a moment to observe it's brand new world.

Without warning,  it leaps from it's egg!

Relying only on instinct, it seeks out the nearest life form and demands:

Take me to your pack leader.

I know.  It's silly.  But every time I see him squish himself into that little bed, I think he looks like he is about to hatch.

Whimsical Wednesday

Toby loves his "Mini Me".

Animal House

Meet Stella.

Stella is a gorgeous kitty who belongs to my brother and sister-in-law.  That is not her crate she is lounging in, it is Toby's crate.  She is absolutely fearless when it comes to canines, and Toby was more afraid of her than she was of him.

After a bit of warming up, the two became quite friendly.  Here they are sharing the view to the back yard at Stella's house.

Toby had lots of fun with his "cousin" Stella. The next day he seemed a little subdued.  We thought he was just resting up from his visit, but it turned out that Toby had developed some tummy troubles and had to visit the vet.

A couple of days on a bland diet, and some medicine and he is back to his old self.  In the almost three years that we have had Toby, this was the first time he has ever been sick. 

After a few days of being stuck in the house with my little ailing buddy, and I just had to celebrate his return to health with some retail therapy of the quilting kind.  I went to my local quilt shop and came home with these luscious fabrics:

I just love the leaf print on the left, and had to find some coordinates to go with it.  I'm going to make another table runner.

All Cleaned up

(This is a guest post written by Toby.)

My humans thought it would be a treat for Mom if I was nice and clean for Mother's Day.  Sadly, I was not consulted about this.   I heard the bath water running,and tried hiding in my little bed.

But they found me anyway,  and I was unceremoniously lowered into the tub.

I tried giving Mom my best "sad puppy" face, but she was having none of it.

It seemed best to just cooperate.

At last, it was time for a rinse.

The only fun part was shaking off the water while still in the tub.

After the towel dry, I shook off some more.

As a reward,  I got to bask in the sunlight while I dried off.

Hope Mom appreciates all I go through for her special day.