Author: agilejack

I was all ready for my vacation to start this morning when it was brought to a screeching halt by a positive COVID test.

So, no vacation for me. No trip to Seattle to see my aunt. No visit with my brothers. And all that work in getting my house ready, and I’m the only one who will appreciate it. At least I have a fridge full of food to hold me over!

I feel pretty good. It really only feels like a cold and not a very bad one. My sinuses are congested and I have a cough but not a terrible cough. And I had a fever earlier today but Tylenol took care of it. I’m being careful to drink lots of water and eat good food. I just had dinner and I hadn’t eaten since lunch. It just never occurred to me to eat. I had pulled some home made chicken tortilla soup out of my freezer this morning.

I have all the stuff ready to make spaghetti… I planned to make it for dinner tonight. So I will make a big pot, eat some, and freeze the rest. It will be nice to have that in the freezer too.

My doctor has approved monoclonal antibodies and they should be delivered tonight. They help boost your antibody response and help make the virus more mild. I also had my second booster vaccine about a month ago. So if I had to get it, this is a good time to get it.

I had a few phone calls with nurses and doctors today. Apparently, I should feel better soon and my symptoms should be gone in five days. Then I’ll need to isolate for another five days. Pretty much the exact length of my vacation.

So, I’m thinking I may just go to work next week if I feel ok and will plan some vacation time when I’m better and can enjoy it.

Since I’ll be stuck at home for ten days. I hope I’ll feel better in the next couple days so I can get into my sewing room and get some stuff done. Since I can’t go anywhere, I think I’ll actually work a few days next week instead of burning my vacation sitting at home. Then I’ll schedule some vacation later.

I’m pretty sure I picked it up at Pickleball on Sunday. I’m still wearing masks to the grocery store. So pickleball was the first indoor activity I’ve done without a mask.

Apparently the pandemic ISN’T actually over!!!

Bender is already terribly bored with this sickness stuff. He played and played with this ball this morning and then fell asleep like this! He was so groggy when he woke up!

Hopefully I’ll be able to get out for some walks later this weekend. The doc said to be sure I don’t over do it. But these boys are going to be bouncing off the walls if they don’t get their walks!

I leave you tonight with this… Where’s Rico?

Please send positive energy my way!!!

I got up this morning and hit the road for Molalla where Rico had his weekly sheep herding lesson. It was a great opportunity to work on different sheep in a different place and on very different terrain. And he was such a good boy!

We worked in a pasture that’s on a hillside and is covered with tree stumps. There were high and low points in the field so Rico couldn’t always see the sheep. It was really challenging and he was just a trooper.

We worked mostly on driving, which is basically pushing the sheep away from me. The dog’s natural desire is to bring the sheep to the handler. So driving is challenging. He worked so well… worked really far away from me, was calm and controlled, and kept the sheep going in a relative straight line. Here’s a bit of video.

Wow. There’s not much to that video. But you get a little of an idea.

It was fun to be down at Trudy’s again and see all the lambs and how much they’ve grown. Trudy was giving some alfalfa to some sheep in the barn and all the ewes and lambs were hopeful she was giving it to all of them and they came running.

They were all so disappointed when they didn’t get any alfalfa. And look at how big those lambs are! They grow so darned fast!

There is one set of triplets that Trudy still has staying in the barn because the mom has a chapped udder and isn’t letting the lambs feed as much as they want because it’s painful. So the smallest one is getting the short shrift. So Trudy is confining the lamb with a yearling ewe that only had one lamb and she’s getting her fill there.

And Trudy has to treat the ewe with the chapped udder. Here she is putting Bag Balm on the ewe.

I’ve kept Bag Balm in my house for years. It’s a really dense treatment for dry skin, sort of the consistency of thick Vaseline. I know people who use it on their summer feet. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen it actually used on udders!

It was really good to be outside and moving around. But wow… it was really wet. Rico was soaked by the time we were done. And here’s a really good reason why I wear my knee high rubber boots for herding…

After seeing the lambs again I had to hightail it home in time to work our fundraising drive for three hours. While I was on the air from my sewing room, a COYOTE ran right across my front lawn! It was all I could do to keep it together as I was talking!

After a nice and relatively dry walk I grabbed some dinner and then hit my sewing room. I managed to finish quilting the second blue and yellow bag panel and I got the body of the bag constructed.

Here’s a picture with the lining and and fabric for the inner pockets.

And some pictures for me..

Tomorrow morning a friend and I are meeting for a pickleball lesson. I’m really looking forward to it1 It will be good to start a busy Sunday with some physical activity.

After that I’m meeting the friend who will be staying with my dogs a couple of evenings soon. Then more housekeeping. I’m so close to having it all done.

Well, it’s finally Friday. Only six more sleeps and I will be on 1.5 weeks vacation. Oh, sweet vacation!

Rico has a sheep herding lesson tomorrow morning outside Molalla, Oregon, and then I have to hightail it home to be on the radio for three hours to wrap up our fundraising drive. It’s been a busy ten days.

Here I am live on the radio Thursday morning from my sewing room.

We’ve had a rainy few days. We started out our afternoon walk in a light mist and by the end of it, this is what was happening…

It took me forever to dry out. And it was not easy to get my drenched clothes off so I could warm up. But the boys REALLY enjoyed getting toweled off when we got home.

I was happy to have a lovely and mostly dry evening walk.

And I found some time to hit my sewing room when we got back. I managed to finish up the second blue and yellow bag panel.

That yellow fabric on the side will be the lining. it’s one of the yellow fabrics on the curved blocks of this bag.

And I managed to get one panel quilted.

Here’s some eye candy…

I just love those pops of pint and turquoise.

I love the way it all sparkles under my needle!

The dogwood trees are in full bloom and I just love them. Here’s one that we passed on our walk today that was the most amazing shade of pink.

And down the street from this tree is this amazing lilac bush. It’s the most amazing shade of pale pink and the individual blooms are huge.

Bender has become enamored with my new yellow bath mat. He keeps bringing it to me with great excitement and anticipation.

My house cleaning is continuing. Today I washed some baseboards and cleaned my two ceiling fans. Not much left to do to be ready for company in a few days.

My mind was going in a different direction for a new project and then an old high school friend of mine posted a bag she made from my tutorial and my plan came to a screeching halt.

She made an adorable upcycled denim bag with a giant yellow sunflower appliqued on it.

Here’s the bag that Linda Remund Ivie made that inspired my next project…

It was just so cheerful and sunny that I just HAD to make a blue and yellow bag. So I started on it this afternoon and got a good start on it. I managed to finish one panel.

I think I might actually like this color combo better than the blue and orange. But I’ll hold my final opinion until this bag is done. Someone on Instagram said it’s celestial.

Someone either emailed or messaged me a Monet quote: “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.” And I totally get it! Yellow and orange make blue more spectacular! I’m so sorry I can’t credit the person who sent me that quote, because I love it!

Here’s my four curvy pieced blocks just because I love them!

I decided to use up some of the smaller scraps I generate when making these blocks and whipped up some crumb blocks.

I was thinking that piece of fabric at the far right in the second photo will be the lining for this bag. It’s Kaffe’s Belle Epoch in gray. And as I was searching the inter-webs for it I learned that it’s hard to come by. So it’s unlikely I will use this only half yard I have for a bag lining. I’ll have to dig into my stash and find something less dear. But it looks really cool with this bag!

I have all the block elements for the second panel done. I just need to put them all together with the blue Aboriginal fabrics.

The weather today was so glorious. I managed to get out for my afternoon walk and then an evening walk in a short sleeve T-shirt. I’m glad I got to enjoy it because there is rain in the weather forecast for the next ten days.

I have one more Frankenbag from reader Allanah Lewis to share with you tonight. And interestingly, she’s combined some aboriginal fabric with some KFC fabrics! Along with some other pieces. I love the way she left the Aboriginal fabric in a large piece. The colors are good too.

After our fun playing pickleball on Sunday, my friend Anne and I met at a racquet store this afternoon and bought pickleball paddles! It looks like we’re committed now! We’re taking an introductory class on Sunday!

I’m happy to report that I have one more week of work and then I’m taking about a week-and-a-half off!!! I really need some time off!

I’ve been working a lot of hours and our drives are usually pretty stressful. So I’m tired tonight and I have to be up early. I’ll be on the radio at 7 am.

So I didn’t do much tonight. I worked until 6. Grabbed dinner. Then took the dogs for a walk and the weather was so gorgeous! I just love these lovely spring evenings.

When I got home I hurried and packaged up the orange and blue bag I finished on Sunday and took a quick trip to the post office. While I was out I stopped at JoAnn’s and bought 15 yards of fusible interfacing.

That’s a lot of interfacing. It’s enough for the lining of about 15 bags. It will last a day or two.

When I got home I pulled a few pieces of KFC fabric to combine with the blue Aboriginal fabrics I’ve been having fun with. But I want to combine yellow KFC fabrics with the blue. Here’s what I ended up with.

Each of those yellow fabrics has a touch of blue, which is a nice touch.

I really hate to cut into the yellow Uzbekistan fabric since it’s no longer available. I have about a yard of it. But I don’t have any plans for it and it’s not big enough to do anything to significant, so a bag seems like a good idea.

I like this combo and will probably just go ahead and start cutting tomorrow. I have another idea I’m ruminating on for some out of print KFC strips a friend gave me. That’s for a little later.

I went to Rico’s agility class last night and it was such a beautiful evening. It had rained a good part of the day but was so nice later in the day. I just had to snap this photo on my way, the sky was so incredible.

We arrived before our class time so I let the boys have a romp in the grass seed field.

And this next one just made me laugh!

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A post shared by Anne Ibach (@agilejack)

And by the way… that’s me on Instagram if you didn’t already know.

These guys just made me laugh in that grass!

I might have mentioned that the dogwood trees are blooming in Portland right now. They are so gorgeous… one of my favorite blooming trees each spring.

And as the dogwood are reaching their glory, the Japanese cherry trees are fading.

Ok, now I’m off to bed for an early morning.

I met some friends this morning for a rousing game of pickleball. One of my friends had recently started playing and invited two of us out to give it a try and it was a blast!

Here’s a quick video about pickleball.

We had so much fun we signed up for a free introduction to pickleball seminar! And I have to admit that I’m feeling it tonight! I think I’ll sleep well.

I didn’t get much done today. It was such a gorgeous day that I really just wanted to enjoy as much of it as I could. So I took the boys for a nice long 4.5 mile walk before dinner and it was glorious! We’ve got a few days of rain on the way so it was nice to have a sunny Sunday.

I did hit my sewing room this evening to finish up the orange and blue bag I’ve been working on. All I had to do was sew the sides of the lining together and then sew it into the bag and do all the finishing. It probably only took an hour or so, but it’s done.

I posted a photo of this unfinished bag with the lining on Facebook yesterday and sold it before it was even done. I’ve got two other people that want to buy essentially the same bag but I’m not inclined to make very many multiples of the same design. I will probably make another one of these in the future but I have other things I want to do now.

Here’s some detail photos.

OMG! That lining is so good! I just love it!

Here’s some close ups that just make me happy.

On our walk tonight I saw some really gorgeous blooms. This first one is a rhododendron. It was the prettiest pale pink color. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

And this yellow tulip was spectacular! It was huge and the most gorgeous color.

Around 8:00 I went out and was playing with the boys and took a spin around the yard and caught the aroma of my lilac bush and it was so amazing! I had to cut some blooms and bring them into the house.

And now my entire house smells like lilacs!

We’re in the middle of an on air fundraising drive, so I’m wiped out. I worked six hours today and barely had enough oomph left to walk the dogs three miles before dinner. So I’m winding down before hitting the sack.

I was looking through my Instagram account the other night and realized that this orange and blue Frankenbag I’m working on is the 20th one I’ve made with the zipper placket and zipper pocket since December.

Here’s all of them in one place…

It’s kind of hard to believe I’ve made 20 of this version!

I think I made 30 of the bags without the zipper placket. So that’s 50 bags in a year! That’s a lot of bags!

I’m happy to say that I’ve slept like a baby in my new bed the last two nights. It’s made me realize how often I was waking up and repositioning in my old bed. It feels so good to sleep so undisturbed! I’m really happy about this.

Since I worked so many hours today I wasn’t productive much beyond that. But I did manage to get my new bathroom linens in place. And I love the way it looks. Here’s a look at before, with the red rug, and after with that magnificent bird shower curtain!

Here’s a better look at that shower curtain.

That great big print is making me feel very happy! If you’re in need of a pick-me-up in your home decor I recommend you switch out your shower curtain, towels and rugs. It’s such an easy change and makes a huge difference! This bathroom feels so much brighter and lighter.

I have a few reader frankenbags to share with you tonight. This first one was made by Niki Sager and I love it! that sunburst fabrics is so wonderful and I like how she’s combined it with the darker blues. Very nice Niki!

These next two bags come from from Paulette Aldrich. I just love those flying geese and the black and white is so good. And all that green is so yummy. And look at the cool detail she’s added to her cork handle. I love it! And everyone is making zipper plackets! I love seeing people get over their fear of zippers!

Next up is this bag made by Connie Nygard. She said she’s hat these fabrics in her stash for many years. Those cat faces are so fun combined with the other black, white and red fabrics! She said this bag was a great way to use up fabric that she didn’t even know she had!

This next bag was made by Laurie Grawl. I love her very scrappy fabrics and relaxed design. This feels very sweet and romantic to me. And it feels like something you’ve loved for years.

These last two bags tonight were made by Betty Sims. How can you go wrong with letting a big Philip Jacobs blooms just be a big old bloom? it’s lovely! and I do love that geometric turquoise fabric. All very graphic and rhythmic.

Thanks to everyone who sent in photos and sent me such nice messages!

My new mattress and box springs were delivered this morning and I got the bed made this afternoon. These boys are sure that there is plenty room for all of us!

Sheep sheets!

I’ve been wanting to buy a queen size bed for a couple of years. And in anticipation of that I’ve been in progress on two quilts that I’ll switch out on that bed.

My Jewel Frames quilt is the first one that I worked on for a larger bed. The blocks have been done for some time, but I haven’t put it together because I want to make sure it will fit the new bed.

Here it is on the design wall.

I’m planning on adding substantial borders of Philip Jacobs Shaggy in black to get it to the size I need. The cornerstones are also made of that shaggy.

I bought this piece of Kaffe’s Uzbekistan for $4 per yard several years ago with the plan of using it for the backing of this quilt.

That’s such a cool design and I love it in this green color way. But I might give my left arm for 10 yards of that in red! I managed to get my hands on several yards of the red a couple of years ago. I’m hoarding it selfishly.

The other quilt that I have saved for this new bed is this one I made from my own KFC fabric selection on the Moss Garden pattern.

I just love this quilt and I found it really fun to make. I love those great big blocks that show these bold prints so well.

This quilt top measures 97×97. I’m not sure it’s wide enough for this bed. I might need more drop and might have to add more borders on the sides.

I had to go to the post office and my actual real work office tonight, so I didn’t get any sewing done.

My yard guy was here working all day. The last thing he did was power wash my patio. I can’t wait to see it tomorrow in daylight! It needed this power wash badly.

I’m off to bed for my first good night sleep in spaciousness! I have to be at work at 7 am!

My new mattress and box springs are being delivered tomorrow morning. So It was imperative that I get my bedroom cleared out and get my new bed completely put together tonight.

Poor Rico is NOT going to be able to get under this bed.

This bed feels really big in my room. It will be interesting to see what the mattress and springs do to adjust that sense.

This bed was a pain to put together. The bolts that hold those cross supports in place have to be put in from the bottom! What a wrestling match! But it’s done and ready for my morning delivery.

And here’s the reason there was no sewing tonight.

I can’t even get in there, let alone do anything once I’m in there! The delivery people will take these away tomorrow.

So since I couldn’t sew tonight, I explored some ideas I’ve been having… been thinking about some improvisational curved piecing. Here’s some ideas for shapes.

Of all those, this is the one that has me most interested…

I might play with this idea soon.

Another reason there is no sewing tonight… I have to be at work before 7 am. So it’s 11 pm and I’m heading off to bed soon… in my guest room.

I had the plumber at my house today to fix the toilet in my utility room, re-seat the toilet in my guest bath, and install a brand new toilet in my bath. This was a little shocking!! The plumber told me that their prices have gone up significantly in the last few months.

But it’s really nice to check that off my list of things to get done before my May company arrives! And it’s really nice to have three fully functioning toilets to choose from!

I had to run to the post office to drop a bag in the mail this evening after our walk. So that meant that my time in my sewing room was limited before I was too tuckered to avoid mistakes.

I managed to get the lining, pockets and zipper placket basically done. All I have to do is sew the side and bottom seams and finish the gussets and I can sew it into the bag.

Isn’t that orange fabric gorgeous?!?!?!? I wasn’t a huge fan of this Kaffe Fassett design called Damask Flower when it first came out, but I just LOVE it now! That is the most wonderful color of orange! I bought a few yards of it in green with the plan to use it as a background for a mostly yellow KFC quilt. But I have never decided on a pattern.

Here’s a view of that orange with the bag. I just love it!

And this little peek of blue is so good! The little orange pieces in that blue fabric make this all so glorious!

Bender continues to believe that sewing is boring. He can’t manage to stay awake for it. At least he wasn’t under my feet.

I had my dog agility class with Rico last night. I got there a little early and it was nice out so I let the boys have a nice run in her field.

That is a field growing grass seed. There is more grass seed grown in the Willamette Valley in Oregon than any other place on earth. There’s a fact for you.

Handsome kid!

I have a plumber coming tomorrow. It’s a toilet-palooza at my house! He will be fixing the toilet in my utility room, re-seating the toilet in my hall bath, and installing a new toilet in my bathroom. I’m so excited!!!

I’ll be sure to share photos of all this toilet excitement!