Chevy on Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 256 of Free Motion Mavericks. Thanks for dropping by.

Chevy on Free Motion Mavericks

I'm shamelessly using Chevy's picture to attract you to the post 😊 because this week isn't going to be about my free motion quilting (FMQ)!

Chevy, sleeping on two quilts!

It's not that I didn't do any FMQ, but rather that I have nothing new to show you. I did finish quilting the Epic Neutral Bow Tie Quilt on the weekend and was busy sewing on the binding last night. I don't want to share it with you until I've finished hand-sewing the binding and then I've washed and photographed the quilt!

The two quilts that Chevy is sleeping on are the Colourful Scraps Quilt that I posted on Throwback Thursday last May and Bandit's first quilt.

Related links

• Throwback Thursday - Colourful Scraps Quilt, May 6, 2018
• Remembering Bandit (2002 - 2014), December 12, 2014
• FMQ the Epic Neutral Bow Tie Quilt, November 6, 2019

Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many linking parties, just to get the word out about Free Motion Mavericks. I hope that you'll link up your projects below and visit these linky parties. Let the fun begin! Design Wall Monday, What I Made Monday. Colour and Inspiration Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Put your food down, Monday Making, Friday Foto Fun, November's Whims and Fancies,

Free Motion Mavericks

We had 8 wonderful projects posted on Free Motion Mavericks the last time. Remember that you can link up any project you're working on, even if your not FMQ. I think that it's safe to say that we are all addicted to anything made with fabric - so please don't let a little thing like free motion quilting stop you from linking up!

This week's featured quilt is free motion quilted and in Issue 31 of Make Modern magazine. Join me in congratulating Devoted Quilter Leanne on her lovely orange peels quilt. I'd love to make a variation on her quilt....but I'm not committing to anything right now! You can also get the pattern if you buy the digital Make Modern Magazine.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Remembering Bandit (2002-2014)

Two women’s best friend died this week. Bandit brought joy to our lives, especially to my daughter and me.

Adopting Bandit

Bandit was a rescue dog from Florida. Apparently there are a lot of cocker spaniels in Florida and so older dogs have more difficulty getting adopted. Bandit obviously had some wonderful owners in Florida. He was generally well trained and confident…sometimes a little too much!

Two mothers

This is my daughter and I adopting Bandit in January 2012. We got him from a wonderful foster mom. Thanks Margaret for all of your support! Although I had a dog growing up, he wasn't my responsibility so it was a steep learning curve. We also had a good coach in Jane Madigan of Inspired K9s.

Bandit in Northern Ontario

Within a month of moving in, Bandit went on his first road trip to Northern Ontario to my grandmother’s funeral. For a Florida dog, he sure loved snow, especially when he discovered that he could eat it all! He had no problems adapting to the cold and the snow. He was also wonderful in the hotel room. A perfect gentleman.

A confident Bandit on his pink and brown quilt

Of course as soon he moved in he got his first quilt. He would lie down on the couch on his pink and brown quilt. No doubt about it, he was a confident cocker!

Bandit and Twix

Bandit has his own quilt

Bandit was often in my room when I was quilting. Here he is with his cousin Twix (my brother’s dog). They both wanted to be there as I was binding the quilt before my brother and his family moved to Denmark.

Finally, Bandit got a quilt made just for him. I had a great time shopping for fabric in Philadelphia last fall. I also got to practice my free motion quilting.

Last Christmas I made mug rugs for my colleagues. Since I worked late into the evening, Bandit made himself at home in my Christmas stash. What a sweetheart.

Bandit in the Christmas stash

This is one of the last photos of Bandit. He was quite sick and lost a lot of weight. He still loved to hang around with me when I was quilting. I think that one evening he decided that he wanted attention – lying down on my sewing machine pedal did the trick!

Thank you so much Bandit for your love. You are truly missed.

Bandit wants attention

What I learned:

• It turns out that having a healthy pancreas is important :-(
• Unconditional love is rare and precious.
• It's almost more upsetting that it hurts less as time goes by.