Dogs, Hexagons and Scratch, Oh My!

First off I want to say that awhile back I joined the facebook verison of the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild though I couldn't make the first meeting in April. I am very excited for the next meeting which is next Saturday! We are to bring our favorite quilt....I think Double Delight will need to come with me, though it isn't modern...so maybe I better bring Flock of Triangles...I need to work on the binding anyway!

This is what I was up to after work today. I started these little one and a half inch hexagons the other night and found them to be addicting! None of these are sewn together but I have them all glued to the Paper Pieces papers so I can start hand sewing them. You may have noticed that they are all made from Denyse Schmidt fabrics. I had some of her Flea Market Fancy and I bought both colorways of Hope Valley. I loved them all so much I didn't want to use them. I saw some inspiration in the form of squares with Denyse Schmidt's fabrics on Red Pepper Quilts (sorry I can't get my cut and paste to work in blogger lately but if you google it you will find it) and finally cut in. I only wish I had the other colorways of Flea Market Fancy too--not to mention Katie Jump Rope!

I also secretly whipped up this pincushion that I purchased on the shop hop for Kathy. It is really my first time doing this and it was fun though I don't think it looks like the original...SMILE. Kathy if you peak and see this I won't post future gifts here ahead of time :)

I also finished binding Scratch and was bummed the sun had set (yes, even the Arizona sun does set) so I will get better pictures in the sunshine tomorrow. I need to package this one up for my cousin who just got married but I am struggling to part with it at the moment!

And more views of the hexagons....this was before I had made from Hope Valley.

One sad note...this is Otto and we had to put him down this past week. He has been disabled and blind for a long time. When I met Kathy she already had Otto (and Joe, our black lab) and when she moved from AZ to WI the four of us squished in her little truck for the trip. Otto was quite bewildered the whole time but he and I bonded because of the pottie breaks. He had to be lifted in and out of the back of the truck and soon learned that "step"meant to jump up or down. Kathy did not think he would make the trip.

He made the trip and then learned how to go up and down stairs as well. He had to use them to get on and off our porch to pottie and also to come up to sleep in our room. He amazed us. He was a great comfort to me when I had to put down my Daisy in Wisconsin....he had such personality...fighting with the vaccuum and broom or any other thing that made noise. He was always "saving me" from it. He made the trip from WI back to AZ a little over two years ago...and learned another house layout and a split staircase even though he couldn't see. Then close to a year ago he stopped coming upstairs and started losing weight. We finally put him down on Monday and it has been a rough week for us. We still have four dogs and a cat, but our lives were the better for having this disabled dog and all his personality in it. We will miss you Otto Tato.