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Friday, August 23, 2019

A Two-Fer-One Day!


How about we just keep adding MORE things to the binding queue?

I was only planning on figuring out borders on the giraffe stitchery (still yet unnamed – I’m waiting for it to speak to me.) and before I knew it, fabric was flying, and things were coming together -

The challenge?  It is much easier to get pieced borders to fit if the quilt is square.  Sometimes rectangular quilts can pose a real dilemma and I’ll find myself either doing an “extension” unit in the center of the border sides, or as in the case of our giraffe friend here, add an extra row of checkerboard squares top and bottom to make the repeat of the border triangles work out right.


Quilted and Trimmed – just like that!


But wait!  There is still plenty of loaded backing fabric!

It wouldn’t take very long?

I plopped a scrap piece of batting on top of the backing fabric, basted place mat number 1 in, and away I went.  Two Fer One!

My plan now?  Make EVERY quilt back just big enough to also throw on a couple of place mats at the same time - 


This morning’s round of binding -


A yellowy green for the giraffe -


And orange dot to finish off the place mat.

I feel a few good, long movie binges coming on!


Yesterday’s visit to the new vet went well.

For 13, Sadie is doing remarkably.  Her weight is normal, her arthritis can be dealt with, she got her shots up to date, her nails trimmed (She hates that!) and her flea/tick meds taken care of.


The only thing we couldn’t deal with via pharmaceuticals is her anxiety with storms. She has a pronounced heart murmur (You can feel it when you place your hands on either side of her rib cage) and we can’t do anything that would cause her blood pressure to drop.  So no sedatives. 

Remember that thunder shirts do NOTHING for Sadie – and I only mention that because that is the first thing someone suggests. 

The vet suggested 3 mg of melatonin when the first thunder rumble is heard.  She also suggested we try CBD oil for her, but since it’s not regulated, it’s kind of a crap shoot on how much to give her, but I am willing to try anything to stop her inconsolable shaking when it comes to storms. 

If anyone is using CBD products for their dog’s anxiety, could you let me know their weight and how much you are giving them?  Thank you!

Other than that, all is fine on the Southwestern Virginia Front!

It’s FRIDAY!  There is a lovely weekend ahead for me, and I plan to fill it up with much hand stitching.  I think I’ve had my fill of machine work for a little while.


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

I feel so strongly about this for so many reasons. That little voice inside you will tell you all you need to know.

Vintage quilt from my collection. It's tattered and torn, with triangles going the wrong way and I love it to bits!

Enjoy your Friday, friends!


53 comments:

  1. Great quilting stitch pattern on Giraffe !!! Hugs to Sadie and thanks for sharing the thought process on designing borders!

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  2. The giraffe piece turned out great! I'm glad Sadie is okay & I hope the CBD oil and/or melatonin help her anxiety. Our 11 yr old mini Aussie has storm anxiety too.

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  3. Trying to post again - zylkene 225mg daily & Adaptil (I use spray) as needed on collar, in rooms etc. Available only through vet pharmacy. Made huge difference for well being of my 2 dogs! May be available in US under different product name. Most beneficial if given daily vs stormy days etc.

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  4. My dog had the same problem with thunder and lighting. I close the blinds so he doesn't see the flashes and I sit on the sofa with him under a blanket on my lap. It seems to help. If a storm happens at night, he jumps in bed with me. I guess the snuggling helps.

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  5. Zeus is at about the same place Sadie is but except he doesn't have a heart murmur. He hates getting his nails trimmed and he hates storms even more, thundershirt doesn't work, and he has arthritis. The CBD oil bottle does have dosing instructions, but it didn't work for him.

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  6. Bonnie I use Hempworx CBD Oil. Although I don’t have pets, they have a special line just for pets. I know of a distributor in Southern Virginia who may be able to answer your questions. His name is Sonny Dodson. He has a Facebook page. Hope this helps

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  7. Bonnie, Have you tried a white noise machine for Sadie. I have a German Shepard with anxiety to storms, fireworks and even power tools. We usually go into our bedroom with her and put the white noise machine on and it drowns out the bad noises.

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    1. Our DD and her hubby use Spotify heavy rain as white noise. Just put it on shuffle.

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  8. I always love seeing your quilts. Glad to hear Sadie is doing well. Thank you for sharing your life with us.

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  9. We used CBD oil for our boxer, Crissy, who had cancer. It took care of the pain & also relaxed her. We used a dropper full of it (she weighed about 55 pounds), so I'd adjust depending on Sadie's weight. Highly recommend it - it made her much more comfortable in her last few weeks of life. I'm sure the oil will help your Sadie deal with the anxiety over storms. Deb E / CA mdenders@msn.com

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  10. Oh, Bonnie, I love what you did with the borders on the giraffe. I especially love that the borders suggest daylight to night sky with stars over the savanna in that last row -- that's what I "saw" before I looked at each fabric individually. Your small projects reflect your love of color and pattern just as well as your larger ones.

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  11. we use an herbal 7 flower formula to calm my EnglishSpringers works super, got at local health food store, maybe Sadie needs this also,
    luv how blues make giraffe look very happy.

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  12. Oh, I feel for you and sweet Sadie! Our dear Kira knew when the barometric pressure dropped -- often hours before a storm -- and went into terrified mode. We had an enclosed room in the basement and she'd hide under the bed (and try to dig a joke in the linoleum). Didn't help to have her snuggle with us -- she was shaking, panting and desperate to get away from the storm. We used a mild sedative for her, but she had no heart issues. Thunder jacket and natural remedies did nothing for her. I felt so helpless that nothing the vet and I tried worked, and understand your desire to bring Sadie comfort that doesn't affect the rest of her health.

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  13. have you seen the soundproof dog houses? maybe a handy person could make her an insulated kennel.

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  14. Love how the giraffe turned out! Our almost 14 Chihuahua has a heart murmur too and our 10 year old has major storm anxiety. While I have not seen it help with that, the CBD oil does help with the arthritis, we give them 2-3 drops in the morning. Ours is from United Canibas, do research as needed.

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  15. Bonnie, just curious, do you design on an EQ program, or just good old fashioned graph paper. I would be interested in that process, especially the borders you are so good at.
    Thanks, Sharon in Colorado

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  16. There may be some information on the use of CBD oil for dogs on one of the pet vet websites. I look up various issues on pets.webmd.com or petmd.com. Hope Sadie is feeling better soon!!

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  17. -Our Standard Poodle is the same with noise. I feel so bad for her. Last year we put a card table up with her bed under it and covered it with quilts to make a little tent (like kids do for an indoor fort).
    She was 80% better. I kept the "fort" next to where I sit and she stayed in there all through the fireworks this year. It's worth a try.

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  18. Love seeing the photos of Sadie. Our pets are so important in our lives.

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  19. The noise from a fan (or white noise machine) is what we use here. The CBD oil is a great idea. A company called Treatables sources their product from South Carolina and has it in dog chews etc. It would also help her arthritis. I have used it with my dogs in the past with good effect. They give directions for use per the weight of the animal. AND...the giraffe quilt looks wonderful with those borders! Lovely work!

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  20. Bonnie, I have purchased CBD oil for my nervous nellie from Petreleaf.com....they only make CBD for pets, I wouldn't give her just any CBD...they will tell you how much but you really can't over medicate with CBD just waste it if you give her too much.

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  21. So glad to hear Sadie had a good vet visit. As for the CBD oil, our son was telling us that his older dog had fallen down the steps of their camper and was favoring a leg & shoulder a little. He gave the dog a little CBD oil & is seemed to help. Tried it out on his father-in-law too, for hand pain & it seemed to help him to.

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  22. Hmmm ... I think I heard your giraffe whisper that her name might be Ginny?! She may not be speaking to you yet, but I'm pretty sure that's what she said. For what it's worth, this name reminds me of a beautiful friend of my grandmother who always smelled good, and loved ALL the fabric and fiber arts!

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  23. Loving how your giraffe piece looks. For Sadie, ask your vet about Rescue Remedy. It was my preferred treatment for my beagle. Natural - found it at health food store originally, but now it's available at most pharmacies and Walmart. Always like seeing sweet Sadie appear in your posts. Enjoy your movie marathon, hand sewing, and R&R weekend with Sadie.

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  24. I love your placemats made with the license plates! How about The name Twiga for your giraffe? It means Giraffe in Swahili. One of my friends is from South Africa so I wondered what the native people call it.

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  25. You could always move to California for Sadie...no thunder storm here except up in Tahoe!! (just teasing you!!). You have such a great color sense. I would never have thought to put the colors on your Giraffe that you did...but it looks great. Thanks for all you share!

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  26. Living giraffes were originally classified as one species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Somali name is geri. Middle English spellings for giraffe is jarraf, ziraph, and gerfauntz. I love the history of words. I can't wait to see what you name your giraffe!!! Poor Sadie...my little girl barks at fireworks and just listens to thunder, so I don't have to deal with the terror that poor Sadie has. I use CBD oil (oral) with a little THC in it for my arthritis. My research showed that the THC enhances the effect of the CBD but the level of it is so low that it doesn't affect me. Definitely not like the gummies and other edibles they sell, according to friends who use those medically.

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  27. I LOVE how the giraffe turned out!! Thanks for the update on Sadie. Our cat doesn’t like the loud thunder and hides under the bed. Have you tried diffusing any new essential oils. I know there are some that cannot be used around cats but I understand dogs don't have the same issues. I know it must break your heart to see her so distressed.

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  28. Great to use up the extra Backing fabric. I did that last week also. I love my TV Binding time. The Giraffe is SEW cute. Have a great weekend.

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  29. Dear Bonnie: I cannot wrap my head around how you made the borders. Those half-square triangles and triangles. Could you point me to a source that will show me how you did this? I have a few embroidery pieces I would like to highlight, but just cannot figure out how you did that pieced work.

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  30. Love your blog and posts ... you are awesome.

    Suggestion for a name for your giraffe ...

    Twiga is the name for a giraffe in swahili ... the main language in Kenya.

    Maradardi is the swahili word for fancy/beautiful ... its pronounced Mara-dar-di.

    So ... Maradardi Twiga ...

    Hope you enjoy your trip to Kenya ... it is the most beautiful country and the people are warm and inviting.

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  31. You could name your giraffe Kibo in honor of the giraffe in this article https://www.12news.com/article/life/animals/out-of-africa-says-20-year-old-giraffe-named-kibo-put-down-after-complications/75-4df0bd2e-4a9b-4bcc-8e24-b82a9b227827

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  32. Wow! One minute the giraffe is on it's own then BOOM! On go borders so fast! Lovely - and the leafy quilt pattern goes really well. I love the place mats too.
    Yayyy - good for Sadie. Not good re the storms and I can well understand her fear - you do get some humdingers over there!

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  33. Bonnie...there's a nice lady in W-S who works at Hemp Healer Dispensary LLC, on Knollwood St, who helped me with gummies for my mother's anxiety and she was telling me about the pet oil for my dog she said is highly recommended by vet was King Kanine. She sells it there and is very helpful, but they do have their own website. I just liked going to her store for the advice for my mom, because looking online at all the different sites became very confusing. The gummies helped my mom and she said I could just phone in any orders and she would ship it to my mother, if I wanted her to. Hope you find something to help Sadie. She's sweet...I have a Sadie girl too. Also, if you don't want to go the Hemp direction, Bach's Rescue Remedy is a good natural product for calming, but don't know if it would help enough. I did hear the oils need to be given regularly to build up in system and would not work all that great if just given once in a while, so might want to check into that so it works right for her. Love how the Giraffe piece turned out! Very cool!

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  34. Hi Bonnie,
    One of my dogs was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur, and the first thing they asked was whether I fed him grain-free dog food. There seems to be a link between a grain-free diet and heart murmurs in dogs. Something about the lack of an amino acid needed for the heart tissue. So, I've switched back to regular dog food for him.
    Thunderstorms .... I've tried to link the sound of thunder with something positive. So, we sit during thunderstorms with some kibble ready. With each clap of thunder, I give him one tiny piece of kibble. That has helped us get through the storms.

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  35. Your trip to Kenya sounds amazing!
    As for Gracie, I just got this email this morning from Purina - I'll send you the link - I have no experience with this though - no dogs - just cats.
    https://www.purina.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets/calming-care-dog-probiotic-supplement

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  36. Hi Bonnie,
    Love how your giraffe came out! Reminds me of Geoffrey from Toys R Us, at least that's what I think his name was, same as your son's maybe spelled differently?
    My morning starts off with your blog, never miss it!! Thank You for all you do!!!
    Glad Sadie is doing well!
    Carmen

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  37. I love animabibbles. Sadie is beautiful and I am happy she is healthy.
    Of course, she has good advocates, and "owners" responsible ones.
    Scary 4th of July fire crackers and wild wind and thunderstorms make my cornish rex kitties worry too. I like the ideas stated above. I know you have tried everything. I won't add. We just do what we can
    I love the giraffe quilt very much, and the adorable license plate mats. One day i will get to use one. I know it.
    Your quote is so true.
    How have we as a nation become so petty and easily insulted?
    We should not be forced or fooled or bribed into ideas we do not agree with. If we continue this sort of triggered behavior, we will implode.
    Best thing is to be yourself.
    Happy Week-end

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  38. Love how the giraffe came out!
    No longer have any fur pets, but feel badly for Sadie during storms. I don't like thunder and lightening either.

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  39. I would call your giraffe "Zarafa Out of the Box." I very much enjoyed reading the book Zarafa by Michael Allin. (https://www.amazon.com/Zarafa-Giraffes-Story-Africa-Heart/dp/0385334117) [Yikes! It was published 20 years ago!] It's about the first giraffe to be captured and taken to Europe. "Out of the box" refers to the style of your quilt -- it's got your scrappy style but I haven't associated "embroidered blocks" with "Quiltville" heretofore.

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  40. Your Giraffe turned out great I love the borders, I’m sure all your travel companions to Kenya will have great fun sewing him.
    Poor Sadie I hope the CBD oil can help with her anxiety and arthritis, but great news you’ve found such a nice vet to take care of her near your cabin. Have a wonderful weekend.
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  41. I get "Stress Away Tabs" from my vet. They work great. All natural. https://www.drugs.com/vet/stress-away-chewable-tablets-for-dogs.html. They really help elderly dogs remain calm. I used them for my 15 year old Doxie who also had heart murmur. He passed a year ago. ---Judy Sedalia , your new neighbor

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  42. Texas will be making CBD oil regulated. The date is probably 1 Jan. I may try it on my dog. He has separation anxiety. Of course, I hope to be able to use for pain.

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  43. Perhaps a simple thing to try. . . My pup doesn't mind storms but shakes terribly upon entering the vet's office. We tried 3 drops of lavender oil on her back prior to her last visit -- shaking did not happen! She did try hiding under a chair as usual but the horrible shaking stopped. And she smelled wonderful as well.

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  44. I knew sweet Sadie was getting up there, but I had no idea she was 13!! She seems like a pretty spunky old gal for that age. Do I remember right that she was a rescue? You were both lucky to have found each other.

    I've always wondered if she's all yellow Lab or if there's a little bit of something else mixed in there. Not that it matters either way, I just love dogs and that kind of thing makes me curious. :) Give that sweet old girl a rub around the ears from me.

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  45. Bonnie, check out "The Sacred Plant" they're on FB and youtube. Documentary about the plant and use. There was a dosing segment as well. My dogs weight is 110, I used to giver her a 1/2 of drop till her cannabinoids built up in her system then I backed off to a 1/4 dropper. Once you build the system up you have to back of as it will stop working. That's why some say it does not work. I use 10-1 CBD oil. My dog could hardly move due to a very bad back. Now she runs. jumps and no longer cry's in pain. My friend uses hemp for her dog that has anxiety which weights about 50-60 lbs and uses it as needed with a dropper full, Seems to slow her down well. Love the work you have done on those quilts! Great job! Dena :)

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  46. Just went to DogsNaturally's website, ordered 2 bottles of 500mg CBD oil for my Brute, who was just diagnosed with cancer, and also suffers from separation anxiety. The dosage is 1/2 to a full dropper in the daily food ration, but it's the strength of the dose, based on body weight. For a dog 60 lbs or less, then it's the 200mg bottle. I know Brute weighs 114 lbs (as per the scale from last Saturday's emergency visit), so he gets the 500mg strength dosage. One 1 bottle should last 30 days with the full dropper's dosage. I bought 2 because we're planning on a 3-week vacation, so wanted to make sure that his sitter wouldn't run out before we got back, and then make sure we had enough for when we got back for a few days, as more is ordered, depending on how he does on it. So, now you know the dosages.

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  47. Our Dog gets nervous and shakes and trembles in the car and when she is boarded she is in a run with plexiglass because of scratching at the crate. They suggested we try Composure Pro a chewable treat. They only take one a day. Can only be purchased at a vet clinic. Brand is VetriScience Pro Line for Composure Pro. I tried at home and she was more relaxed so this weekend we will have the kennel give them to her.

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  48. You have such a good eye or feel for design and color. I always enjoy seeing the pictures of what you are working on. Nancy A: SewingGranda@gmail.com

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  49. Our dog is 40lb. We give her 4 drops on the cheek pouch. It has helped a lot. The Vet, recommended it and sells it. We use Ultra Cell by Zilis, lemon flavor.

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  50. Our Samoyed Dixie has issues with thunder and fireworks. Our vet suggested an OTC pill called Zylkene, it's available on Amazon. The active ingredient is milk protein. It just makes her sleepy, if I know there's going to be a storm passing over or that tonight there's fireworks, I can give her a dose ahead of time.
    It might be worth investigating for Sadie, see what your vet says.

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  51. So happy to hear Sadie got a clean bill of health.


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  52. I'm super behind on my blog reading-- just getting to this now. I have a reactive anxious pupper, who can't handle thunderstorms at all. I've tried everything for her including CBD oil. I don't know that I saw any benefit. I bought a special 'dog' formula and it had dispensing amounts on the package. My little Fannie is about 30 pounds and I did a few drops for her. Poor Sadie that she can't take any sedative, because Trazadone is what works best for us. It's actually a miracle drug for my little Fannie. She loves her thundershirt and actually gets happy when I pull it out. Again-- poor Sadie. =( Best of luck. xoxo

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