A Little Herding, A Visit With a Friend, and a Little Blue

I got up this morning and met a friend up in Battleground, WA, to do a little sheep herding. Rico was a really good boy and did a great job. We even got the sheep out of the pen and moved them into the big field. He hasn’t gotten to do very much of this type of work.

It was warm outside today. Rico took advantage of the water tank but kept his eyes on his sheep!

We had to stop quite often to give him a chance to cool off and let the sheep cool off. We’re not ready for this heat yet!

Rico would keep working if I asked him too. But it’s important to give him breaks and let him cool off.

He did get to meet a puppy today and run around with his girlfriend Jolene.

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A friend of mine dropped by this afternoon to return a piece of dog agility training equipment that she had borrowed from me. We sat and talked for at least an hour and it was really wonderful. She is a 2nd grade teacher and had all kinds of fun stories to tell.. including one where a student took the computer into the bathroom where her father was showering… the entire class got a view of him completely naked!

Then I got into my sewing room for a while and finished up this bag. I had finished the panels and body construction yesterday. So all I had to do today was make the lining and get it all sewn together.

I’ve been wanting to make one of these Frankenbags in blue KFC fabrics. So I pulled out the scraps from my KFC blue sixteen patch quilt. Then I added those vibrant orange fabrics to wake it all up.

I just LOVE those pops of orange! I find it very exciting! And look at this lining! I pulled out several pieces from my stash as possibilities, but when I saw this in my drawer, I knew it was the one to use!

Like I’ve said before, I think the lining really matters! Nothing better than a surprising and beautiful lining in a bag!

I had a few more reader submissions of Frankenbags. Here’s the tutorial if you’re interested in making your own.

Ulla Eriksson made two bags and adjusted the size so they would fit in the basket of her bike.

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I love those little blocks on the blue and white bag. And I love the earthy and freeform feel of the brown and green one. I also love it that people are using my tutorial as a base and are adjusting it for their own use.

Diane Rieders-Levine made this fun pink and purple version with that crazy sharks tooth. I just love what it does when you cut in into strips. I have recently purchased a few yards of that. I’m going to have to dig it out and show it off!

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I love the warm reds and improv piecing on this bag. I can’t tell what the lining is but there’s a nice pop of color there!

This bag was made by Regina Decker. I really like how she used that big piece of the Kaffe embroidered flowers on this bag. That’s an unusual fabric with a really big design and I think Regina did a nice job of showing it off well. And the other side of her bag has some fun pops of color and shapes. Nice job Regina!

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Tamy Roberts send me these photos of her blue KFC Frankenbag. Hmmm. She may have been my inspiration for my blue bag! I love the deep blues she used with the lovely pops of green, pink, red and oranges. There’s a lot of fun stuff going on in this Bag! And that lining… you KNOW I love that!!!

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Thanks to all of you for sending me your photos! I just love seeing what everyone is making.

I had planned to get together with a friend tomorrow to do some agility training, but it got canceled. I think I may head out to the Banks Vernonia trail again in the morning before it gets crowded and hot. Then I’ll have the afternoon to get more sewing done. I’ll visit a friend at her new house in Canby later in the afternoon. Then back to work. My vacation has not been long enough. I’m very happy that I still have four weeks of vacation accrued!