Mazel Tov Zachary GPS June 10, 1992 – March 21, 2006 I had to put a good friend down last night. Few of you know him, he never won anything, never did anything special for the breed, and the only mark he made was in my heart. Zac was four months old when I got him. I was supposed to get a chessie pup from a big-shot local breeder who called me a few hours before I was to leave to get the pup to tell me that it was not available to me. That was going to be my first “well-bred” chessie, a big move up for me. My friend aimed me to an ad in the local paper and we went and found Zac. He did not like his first car ride with us, actually, he never did like car rides and I bought a 4x4 pickup truck with a cab on the back so he could pace back there. Since he still muttered and screamed through every trip, I finally got a van and stuffed him in a crate. He loved being places, just did not enjoy the trip. Zac was raised with my friend’s show standard white poodle Winston. They made quite an odd picture running the fields together, Zac looking intense, Winston looking rather silly in his do-dads and bounding along. Zac always liked standard poodles. Winston has been gone for many years but I bet they are together now. Zac was going to be my obedience dog. He hated obedience. He would never sit straight and he never wanted to heel. The collars got harsher and harsher and he got worst and worst (even with food in front of him). One day, the instructor had me take the collar off and he heeled perfectly. After that, he always heeled perfectly without a collar but fought any leash. I was protected by Zac. Once when someone came to the door and tried to get in – I would not have wanted to confront the Zac that appeared then. The second time, at the park, when a crazy bike person ran over another of my chessies and then came screaming at me. Zac stood between us and his response escalated perfectly as the man tried to kick at him and kept yelling. I always called Zac my “40-watt” dog because he always seemed a bit dim. Dim? Last night after he was gone I realized how well he had trained me. I keep listening for the blinds to rattle so I would know he needs to go out; I threw biscuits out for the other dogs as soon as the meal is over because Zac demanded them for dessert. I got up every few hours last night to check on him, even though he was not there. And, I kept hearing him last night. So did my three other chessies who are a bit confused that their leader is gone (even with problems walking, he stayed the leader. Zac was full of life and full of heart. Zac was my chessie. I miss him.

PREPARATION TO ATTEND A WEDDING I have not been to a wedding in a long time. I have reached the point where my friends are either divorced or determined to stay married (usually their second or third) until death parts them. However, I am off to Kansas City in a few weeks for the wedding of my nephew David and his lady Shanna. Please understand that I am very happy for them but I am surprised by all the work involved. First, lets talk about having to take care of my four chesapeake bay retrievers, Zac, Aspen, Ceil and Echo. Zac is old and sick (almost 14) but the universe is not letting me make 'reasonabl' decisions about him. Instead, I am planning on boarding all the dogs at the vet for about $100 per day. I can live with that, then we add the $150 in shots, the $100 in fecal samples and $400 in tires, gas and hotel bills. Hmm, they will be getting a quilt sometime in the future. Actually have all the pieces but can not figure out how to put it together, assuming that they like the fabrics. Really looking forward to seeing family, travelling visiting quilt stores and stopping at the Wichota dog show on the way out. OK, it is worth it - I am a'coming family!!!!

March 11, 2006 This is going to be a great Saturday. Listening to Alex Anderson's new podcasts (www.alexandersonquilts.com/podcast) Yes, I have been a Simply Quilts viewer since I got DISH and could watch HGTV. Been watching about two years and considered them a set of private lessons. Will miss them. This afternoon, I will be volunteering at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Get to docent in a room full of wonderful quilts, I see it as an opportunity to study them for three hours and to get to talk to interesting people. Plus, my bitch Echo is about out of heat - thank god, no accidents, no encounters with my stud dog, plus a get a sleeping partner back. My triad piece went over well in my color theory class, lots of laughter, a few blushes, those women understood what that piece evolved into. Not sure how it got there but there it is. Before I start thinking about my next project for that class I want to show my analogous project that I called Duck Watching Sue Hunting. I am not a sunbonnet sue fan. Sunbonnet Sue is this cutiest creature with a big hat doing such girly things. Hmm, not my style. I was thinking about a hunting girlfriend and decided to combine my thoughts (assuming I can hang on to my thoughts long enough to act on them). Plus I wanted to show how stupid it was to hunt in a big hat that covers your eyes - she doesn't see anything. So she has a duck behind her plus three 'Birds in the Air' blocks overhead. All she sees is a barren brown field. I have to remember to look around more.

I just kept staring at the triad quilt piece (my last post) trying to figure out why it did not sing to me. Sometimes when I finish a piece, I will look at it on one of my walls and just go "wow", someone did a great job with that, then realize that it is me. Loved the shape but it was just flat. Yesterday I went into the yarn department. This is a first for me since my last knitting was as a child. Found some blue-green and red-violet yarns and just machine couched them in. NOW I like the look. I am still building the background that will let me think through options. My learning curve is very high and between the workshops and classes I take and the quiltart email list I am being exposed to numerous ideas. Right now I am still very hit and miss but I think this was improved and gives me a distorted vision of a woman. I think I will let people decide for themselves in class.

March 1, 2006 Still thrilled about the new blog but finding working a 40 hour a week job is cutting into my quilting and thinking time. Need to find a balance between money and my creativity efforts. I have been using my color theory class to try a lot of new techniques and ideas. Am trying to get at least one or two new things in each piece. This month was triad colors. So we have a yellow-orange background, blue-green and red-violet. Interesting colors. Decided I would work on fusing again, a new circular rotary cutter and an odd shape for the piece. I am not sure I like the result but I am often neutral when I finish a piece. Must admit that it is different for me.

February 26, 2006 Still hanging out with all four dogs. Zac is still with me though skinnier and tired. At the direction of my older sister I have been working on baby quilts new relatives. One family I barely know (darn those old family issues) but Ethan Shane was born on Feb 14th. He will be a Valentine baby forever. I decided to go big, bright and bold but used an existing pattern. The quilt went off a few days ago and was delivered but my sister is not sure it is the right address. It was fun and easy to do and did not require a lot of thinking. Great border fabric from Andover - did all the swirling on its own. One of my passions are my chesapeake bay retrievers. I show them in conformation, and agility and I wanted to learn how to quilt dogs. Got Sharon Malec's book (the dog lady) and learned her free standing applique techniques. Then I started creating originals and have had them in a few shows and sold some. Thought I would show you one that I put on a business card (Quilting the Dog).

First Entry

Wow, I am entering the blogging world. Never thought I would set up any type of website so this is great. I am a fairly new quilter (basically a toddler) with a leaning towards art quilts. I am not sure where the transition is from quilter to art quilter, or sewing area to studio so I have to say that I am working to be original. I am still flowing with life changes I made a few years ago. I left the workforce (with occasional trips back) and made a long list of things I wanted to try. While birdwatching fell off the side, quilting stayed. Joined a local guild, volunteer at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and attended the art quilt symposium given by the museum during the summer - loved that! I joined the Quiltart discussion group and am learning a lot about the people and the process. Having always been a left brain bureaucrat (and good at it), working with a creative outlet feels wonderful. Been taking a 13 month color theory class with Heather Thomas in Colorado and loving the class. Started the class in September and am progressing through various color selections with a project a month. Started with black, white and grey; then monochromatic. The hardest part of the class is showing your piece. Is there a point where you begin to feel comfortable with that? Then I got to opposite colors. I had just been told that one of my dogs had an aggressive cancer and I was upset. Decided that I would try and show my feelings. Used "The Scream" by Edvard Munch as the basis and went off in orange and blue then. It brought silence to the class when I showed it.