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Vent- quilting, dogs, rain, blood- LONG

Let me set the stage- it's thundering and lightening... almost nonstop. Hoover and Simon don't much care for all this but Dottie goes berserk in absolute terror. The ONLY place she feels safe is on mommy. Not close by but *ON* mommy. She's shivering and shaking and panting non-stop. Panting gives her a dry mouth, so she drinks water. Drinking water makes her have to go tinkle. Dottie is a good girl and she knows she must do her tinkles outside, but it's too scary out there. So she asks to go out, I open the door for her and then she decides it's too scary so she'll wait until the thunder and lightening stop. Then she asks to go out- again- cuz she

*really* needs to tinkle. But it's so scary that she decides to wait- again. No, she *really, really* needs to tinkle. No, it's too scary out there. Etc.

I am trying to finish a quilted wallhanging for my church. I want it done by this evening to deliver it tomorrow morning. It's very humid with all this rain and humidity means the quilt sandwich will not slide easily across my sm and table. I decided to starch it til it's stiff as a board. No problem, I have a brand new can of spray starch. I start spraying the backing fabric then spurt, sputter, spit and it starts flinging blobs of the starch in random patterns. Interesting patterns develop on the fabric as I iron it, too. Stiff, crunchy spots with soft flexible areas around the stiff blobs. Dottie keeps getting tangled in the electrical cord for the iron as she tries to stay as close to me as possible. Try untangling a hot iron from a frantic, frightened large dog who will *not* budge an inch from her mommy. I only have a few second degree burns but Dottie is saved from the scary cords that are trying to tie her down so the Thunder and Lightening Monsters can 'get her'.

Poor old Simon suddenly went blind about a month ago. All the noise has him confused and disoriented. He's wandering lost in the house and bumping into things. At 90 lbs., when he bumps into me from behind my knees give and down I go. While I'm ironing, I'm trying to keep myself in a position where I'm braced in case he blunders into me... and that I have a death grip on the iron at all times so I don't drop it on him. Dottie grumbles at him- mommy is protecting ME- go find your own safe person to protect you. Poor Simon just wants to try to figure out where he is so he can find a soft place to lay down and ride out the storm.

Finally the backing and front fabrics are ironed. On to pinning the sandwich. But it's raining. My poor ol' arthritic fingers are not happy with the weather and don't want to cooperate. After many pokes and jabs and cursing I have it pinned- about 12 inches apart. The heck with pinning a hand's width- I've lost too much blood from the pin pricks to continue.

Then I dig out my little metal L-shaped rod that goes somewhere on my sewing machine to use as a guide for sewing the straight lines 3 inches apart for the 60 degree diagonal grid pattern. Got the guide but where does it go on the sm??? I can't find my owner's manual and there doesn't appear to me any hole in the presser foot area that will accommodate the guide. Phooey! I'll just waste an hour or six marking the dumb lines. The blue fabric means the only marking tool I have that will show up is my little chalk wheel with white chalk. I don't want to be jumping up and down marking each line- with Dottie jumping up to follow me every time- so I decide to mark half the quilt and handle it v-e-r-y carefully so all the chalk doesn't flake off before I get the lines stitched. Of course, I am running out of chalk and have to go over each line about 30 times in order to see the lines. The nearest quilt shop is only 100 miles away, so getting a refill isn't going to happen.

I sit down at the sm and start in sewing on the flaking chalk lines- trying to hurry before the chalk is all gone. Dottie decides the only safe place in the entire house is under the sewing machine table..... where she merrily operates the foot pedal as I attempt to quilt. Sew, stop, fast, slow, sew, stop, fast, slow, sew, stop...... and I don't dare try to trim the thread ends. Who knows when Dottie will take off sewing again and I'll cut off a finger or three with my very sharp scissors??? And, any way, I can't afford to lose any more blood after those thousands of bloody pin prick holes in my fingers.

As I sit here taking a short break from all the sewing gadget failures and canine insanity, Hoover, The Golden Retriever is in my sewing room whining most pathetically. I left my chair pulled out from the sewing machine table. Hoover is accustomed to walking *behind* the chair- that's how he's done it for the entire five years of his life. No matter how many times I holler out to him him to walk around the front of the chair, he will not budge. By gum he's always walked *behind* Mommy's chair and that's that. Mommy save me! I'm stuck in the sewing room and you're in the family room eating chocolate!

Hoover is such a blonde.

(I won't remind you what color my hair is......._

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
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I'll start a pity party, Leslie dear.

Oh, that does sound awful. I'll have to attend the party from here, as I am coughing too much to be out in public at the moment!

There's no way of telling them it's OK is there ... ...

Hope something improves sometime soon. . In message , Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

Reply to
Pat S

OK, I'm laughing, and just wondering if we'll see pictures of this wallhanging!

Reply to
Alice in PA

I used to have a yellow lab (Bette, for Bette Midler), that was terrified of thunder storms. This was not funny as she weighed over 80 lbs. I came home from work one stormy afternoon to find the other two dogs barking at the pool room door. This room off the patio, housed the pool pump. Somehow during the thunder storm, Bette had jumped over the pool pump and filter (which was big and round and about 3 ft high) and had wedged herself between the filter and the wall. The only way to get her out would be to lift her straight up and over the filter. I had to call the sheriff's department (we lived out in the country) and they sent two deputies. They had quite a time, but eventually got her out. She was quite happy to be free and the storm had blown over. They say the best thing to do is ignore the dog and it will calm down; but, I don't know how you ignore a huge dog going crazy! Michelle G.

Reply to
Michelle G.

Hey Leslie, You need to move to the desert. We have some thunder but little rain. I have spent some time in the walk in closet with Ginger a time or two. She is pretty sweet but has a few issues too. That quilt guide for your machine feet. Take the foot off and look at the back. there is a little black 'flap' kind of thing that is attached on the back. The guide goes through there. My accufeet and the regular basic foot have them. If you join the Yahoo6500 group they have a manual online you can look at. Sometimes easier than finding your own copy. I just used my quilt guide on the 6600 here for the first time the other day.

My vent regarding dogs this week are the pits next door to my daughter's house. They have dug under the fence and are pooping in her yard. They are totally thrown in the back yard unsocialized dogs. I learned yesterday that their owners are too. Instead of addressing the problem the scumbags started yelling at me and put the barking pits on tie outs. (dogs bark 24/7) Some people need to be in cages or on tie outs instead of their dogs. Good luck to you and al the wet furbabies. TAria

Reply to
Taria

Yes, I am pretty sweet. I have some issues. But I don't mind some thunder.

Oh. You're talking about your dog...

G> Hey Leslie, =A0You need to move to the desert. =A0We have some thunder bu= t

ews: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Reply to
Ginger in CA

I'm so glad you could help Leslie with this, Taria. I have never been able to use those quilting guides (I can't make head or tail of the manual diagram, on this particular point). So, your answer has also benefited me! Thank you. I hope things-meteorological have improved now, Leslie, and that you have all been able to get some rest. . In message , Taria writes

Reply to
Pat S

I never had a dog that was afraid of thunder. Had some that would leap and bark at the sky in just a fever of excitement, but no apparent fearfulness. One of my grammas had a dog named Thunder when I was little. I'm not sure what the breed is called, one of those ones that looks like a 150 pound pomeranian with black streaks? A total gentle giant sort of dog anyway. He would "sing" when it thundered. If he was shut into the garage he would sing in there, but his favorite was to go sit in the middle of the yard and wait for the thunderclaps and then give a good long howl. Gramma wasn't keen because that is an awful lot of dog to have wet dog smell.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

I spent too much time dealing with with my sweet dogs and didn't get the church quilt finished. But I ran out of glue any way, so that means a trip to WalMart before I can finish the last details. My little rant was tongue-in-cheek. After living with multiple dogs for so many years it's just another facet of My Crazy Life! It was all in fun. ;-)

Hope you get to feeling better- very soon. Poor Pat.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

I'm so glad you could help Leslie with this, Taria. I have never been able to use those quilting guides (I can't make head or tail of the manual diagram, on this particular point). So, your answer has also benefited me! Thank you. I hope things-meteorological have improved now, Leslie, and that you have all been able to get some rest. . In message , Taria writes

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

I, too, had a dog that hated thunder and lightening. I would bring a blanket from her bed and put it under my sewing machine so she could be under my feet, but not in my way. I would place my left foot under her tummy or on her back so she'd know I was there, and use my right foot to run the machine. She liked it there so much that it became her usual place while I sewed regardless of the weather.

(lol to Ginger...)

Reply to
amy in SoCal

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