STATE BLOCK CHALLENGE

Sometimes life just gets in the way of quilting!

On Sunday, October 16 last week our dog Lucy threw up her breakfast and was lethargic all day. If you know anything about Belgian Malinois, they are never lethargic. I had taken her for a walk on Friday and she was feeling fine. So my husband Mike called the vet and said he wanted to take her in to have her looked at. Monday morning he took her and when he came back home there was no Lucy. I thought well maybe they had to keep her overnight for observation. Boy was I wrong. Mike looked at me and chokingly said she was gone. I couldn't believe it! She was only 7 years old. (Here she is at the window visiting her favorite outdoor cat Oscar.)

The vet had taken x-rays and found a large tumor on her spleen. It was inoperable, so the vet said (and we have a wonderful vet who would do what ever he could for our pets if he thought he could) the best option was to put her down. She wouldn't be able to eat anything without throwing up. We have been beside ourselves all week. In the over 45 years my husband and I have been together we have always had dogs (and cats). There was a short 2 day period after we lost our first dog that we were without when the kids were little, but I took the kids to the mall (when they had pet stores in the malls) and we came home with a Husky puppy.

The week was a rough one for both of us. Everything we did reminded us of her. Only pet owners understand what it is like. They are part of the family.  She was like our child. By Wednesday I was on the computer looking for Belgian Malinois breeders. Of all the dogs we have owned, from 3 St. Bernards, 2 German Shepards, the Husky, a shepard/collie mix (our first dog named Luv), and a miniature Schnauzer, her breed is the one we have liked the most. They are extremely smart and loyal dogs. We called her my shadow because she was always with me no matter where I was in the house.

I found one breeder in Kansas City who had a dog that was due any day. The only problem was he had 400 applications to adopt one litter! I found another breeder in Morrisville, MO, who had 4 puppies left. It was only about a three hour drive from our house. Both breeders required an extensive questionnaire to be filled out. I wonder if someone wanting to adopt a child had to fill out as much information! We did not want to wait so we told the breeder in Morrisville we would be there on Sunday to get a puppy (or 2). You know that my husband really wants something if he is willing to drive 6 hours round trip to get it! He hates to travel further than Walmart to do the shopping!

Well, we are now the proud owners of two 8 week old Malinois puppies! 

It has been a long time since we have had dogs that young. Lucy we got at 7 months old and the German Shepard before her we got at 1 year old from my daughter. We have raised puppies before (but were younger then) so we knew what was in store. I tried to wear them out so they would sleep well (which also wore me out)! They did go to sleep without any problems (and so did my husband and I) and only woke us up 2 times during the night. At 2:00 and 4:00.

The point of all of this is I did not get a chance to finish Blocks 6A and 6B, Colorado. I had them cut out but not pieced. So.... I will post those blocks by Monday next week. I am moving the posting days from Sunday to Monday because I seem to always be one day behind! I know I will be busy this week house training puppies but while they are sleeping I will work on the blocks. (Will post more photos later.)

There is one problem with last week's blocks. A quilter emailed me to say that her block only finished at 10" instead of 12". She said that the template page said they were for a 10" block. That's what I get for rushing and not checking what I send out. The cutting instructions were correct, but the template sizes were not. So here are the links to the proper size blocks. If you did already cut out the pieces but not piece them, hold on to them. I'm sure you will be able to use them in a different block in the series. If you have pieced them, I apologize. You can make them into a small pillow to go with your quilt.

Here are the corrected templates:

5A

5B

I hope despite all of the delays and changes, corrections and mistakes, you continue to stay with me. All of this is relatively new to me so I am learning as I go. Thanks for your patience and understanding. All of the blocks that I have seen so far have been outstanding! 

You still have an opportunity to vote for blocks 4A and 4B.

Here are the links: 

Block 4A Arizona 

Block 4B Arizona 

As always: Love what you do and do what you love.  Toby 

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