I had a great weekend and I’m not ready for the work week to start.
Our weather has been absolutely amazing. Spring really arrived with a bang. So after work on Friday I got dinner and took the boys out for a wonderful walk while it was still light. I’m so thrilled to have light in the evenings! It’s the best thing to see it coming back.
After our walk, I hit my sewing room but didn’t really feel like a larger project, so I dug into my scraps and started cutting fabric for key fobs. I cut enough fabric to make 37 fobs. I got 20 completed Friday night.
The remaining pieces are all fused and ready to press. They will whip up pretty quickly one night this week.
We didn’t have a herding lesson on Saturday because our teacher is busy with lambing, so instead I took the boys for a lovely long walk in the morning and then met some friends for some agility training in the afternoon.
Here’s Rico before agility…
Here’s Rico after agility…
Rico was so happy to be out there doing agility, and so was I. The weather was nearly perfect, and it was great to be out there with friends and dogs. We even extended it into a pot luck dinner and it was so wonderful to hang out with friends on the patio.
This morning I met a friend at the farm where we usually do our herding lessons and we did a little training. Then we took a short drive to a big field to let the dogs run.
This was toward the end of the walk and these boys had done a lot of running! Bender needed a good cool down when we got home.
When we got home we took a nice long walk in the sunshine and then headed home and hit the sewing room. I whipped up a couple of panels for a bag using purple and blue Aboriginal fabrics.
I’m digging into my stash and finding smaller cuts to use up, rather than cutting into larger pieces. And I’m generating a lot of scraps. I’ll have to make some really scrappy Aboriginal bags to use them all up.
A few weeks ago I bought an entire bolt of fusible batting. As I finally opened it and cut some this evening, I realized it’s actually NOT fusible.
So now I have an entire bolt of it to use up since they won’t let you return cut fabrics. I’m going to have go pay more attention the next time I buy it. And, of course, I bought an entire bolt! It’s too bad I didn’t notice it before I took the plastic off. Oh well. Live and learn.
My dogs are exhausted tonight! When I finished sewing I found Bender on my bed and he didn’t budge when I walked into the room. He didn’t even move after he opened his eyes!
Back to work tomorrow, but this will be a short work week for me. I’m taking Thursday and Friday off to go and work with Rico’s sheep herding trainer on her sheep farm. She’s busy with lambing right now and I’m going to help! It should be a couple of days of hard work and I can’t wait! I’ll be outdoors with a lot of physical work, and LAMBS!!! You might not know this about me, but I love lambs!!! I will try to document my experience.
agilejack 
Looking at your key fobs, I was wondering if you have ever made any dog leashes or collars. Not to be worn when it’s muddy of course but for ‘clean’ or ‘visiting’ hours! Or just to go shopping!
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I bought the webbing and hardware for leashes and collars a few years ago and never got around to making any. I should dig it out and get busy!!! They would make great gifts.
Anne
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I see this ability training involves tongue stretching. It’s like a mile long in the after photo!
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His tongue is insane! And he can really slobber too!
Anne
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The Before and After pictures of Rico = ❤️.
😁
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He looks pretty pleased with life, doesn’t he!!!
Anne
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Please explain lambing. It should be an interesting week for you and the dogs. Spring is struggling here in the Midwest. We swing from cold to warm.
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Lambing: A friend of mine has a sheep ranch. She breeds her ewes all at the same time, so they all give birth to their lambs within days of each other. So when they are having their babies, or lambing, there is a lot of work… taking care of the babies and moms,, moving them from paddock to paddock, helping those that need extra help, etc… A lot of physical work, all outdoors, and lambs!! I just love lambs!!!
Anne
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L💖’ve the pictures of Rico and Bender 😘😘😘 happy doggies!
Sandra has an idea there about leashes and collars too! The key fobs are super cute! Looking forward to hearing about your lambing experience. Enjoy 🐑
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I actually bought webbing and hardware to make leashes and collars several years ago and never got around to making one!!! I should dig it all out and make some!
I’m so excited about lambs!!!
Anne
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That looooong tongue!!! Happy chuckles here…..,
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His tongue is ridiculous!
Anne
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Yep, me too …. looking forward to your lambing and herding experiences. Rico really gets a workout from the looks of him afterward. Love Bender in the kiddie pool. How the heck do you get those dogs dry after all the wetness they get into? My dog takes forever to dry off due to the double coat.
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My dogs ride in crates in the car and their crate pads are always wet! I’m constantly washing and drying crate pads!
They are basically wet from October through May!!!
Anne
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Love the key fobs! I guess you order hardware and go from there!!?? Are there directions for them?
Looks like beautiful weather by you! We still have bouts of off and on again cold but the sun is out longer each day!
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there are tons of tutorials on Youtube. they are all basically the same. Thjis is the tutorial I used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPomgTghvD4
We’ve had a beautiful spring. But I’m a bit worried that we’re not getting the water we need. i worry that we will have bad fires this summer if we don’t get more rain.
anne
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Oh, and you can get the hardware on Amazon. I bought some that came with a tool to crimp them closed.
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Oh my… that tongue!!! Seems unnaturally long in the picture. LOL
Wondering how often the boys need baths? Or is that the point of the pool? Seems like between the pool, rain, the beach and rivers they are wet more than dry. Do they have that “wet dog” fragrance all the time?
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I don’t know how Rico rolls that tongue back up into his mouth!
I don’t bathe my dogs too often because they do get to swim somewhat regularly.
The pool is for summer cool offs, but it’s also handy to have to rinse off muddy winter feet! I don’t worry much about hte dogs coming in with wet feet… and it’s a good thing because it’s wet here all the time. I just don’t want them bringing mud in!
they are wet a lot in the winter because we walk in the rain pretty regularly. They don’t mind!
Anne
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What a privilege to be part of lambing! I hope you’re allowed to share pictures! Sounds so exciting.
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I’m so excited about it! I know I’ll be busy and will be working, but it should be a fantastic couple of days! And our weather is supposed to be pretty perfect too! I can’t wait!
Oh, and there WILL be photos and video!
Anne
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I have purchased the non-fusible fleece by mistake a couple times over the years. I used Wonder Under to bond it to my fabric, an extra step that could have been avoided if I was paying attention. Looks like everything is greening up in your area. Our grass is making an attempt at green but it was down near 20 the last 2 nights.
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Oh, you just made me think of something! I have a bolt of fusible webbing in my closet that I could use! I’m so glad you said this!!! I had originally purchased it for masks (could have made 1000 out of it!!) This will be a great way to use that up!
Everything stays really green here during the winters. But it doesn’t grow. When the temps warm up and the days get longer, it all goes crazy! I hope you see some warmer temps!
Thanks Wanda!
Anne
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Hi! I love all of your creations! You are so clever. What do you do with the key fobs that you just made and showed? I read awhile back on another site what great sellers they are. I loved making them and made a bunch. I took them to two events and sold one. 🙃 I have many more than this Thank you for all of your inspiration
Donna 😊
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I’ve given away almost all the first batch of key fobs I made earlier this year. I sometimes throw one in when I ship another larger item. People love them. I’m guessing they sell well because they’re relatively cheap… at least cheaper than other stuff I make. I did give a lot of them away during the holidays. They were great to just hand out to friends at parties.
Anne
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Lambs? Bring them on!!!!
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You would not believe how excited I am about lambs!!! I emailed my teacher tonight to remind her i’m coming and she said she already has a bunch of babies! Gah!!!
Anne
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Thank you for your wonderful blog. I am still in awe of your energy. Your words help to motivate myself.
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Thanks for reading! I’m glad you’re finding motivation! Now who will motivate me???
Anne
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