This and That

I once told a friend that I'd call myself a "neat freak" except that I'm so insecure about my abilities in that area that I'd be afraid that people would think that was strange to call myself "neat" when my house in never that clean. There are several reasons for this fact, but the number one reason is that we have three animals who have the run of the house at all times. Our beagles may have short hair, but they shed constantly, which is why I sweep and mop our floors at least once a day, usually twice. Kitty contributes even more to my cleanliness angst since she likes to sleep on the couches and (horrors!) the kitchen table. I've given up on table cloths since she'll just walk across them and take a little nap, leaving black hair everywhere. But, today I decided that I'd get out her kitty bed to encourage her to stay away from the couches, at least. Yes, she's still on the table, but I feel better about her, at least, being in her little bed....and she is so cute and cozy in there.

Oh, and I didn't crop my last picture very close so that I could show off my little pumpkin salt and pepper shakers from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop that  I recently purchased.

 What wrong with the above picture? 

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the The Maricopa Quilt Company with a quilting friend of mine and bought a fabric pack, thinking that maybe I'd follow through with a little quilting project. I don't know much about quilting, but I do know the alternating bold fabrics with lighter fabrics rule. Somehow, I got my right band of fabric reversed so that I had lights with lights, so even though it's so much easier to unravel a knitting mistake, I ripped out my misplaced band and fixed it. Success! My seams all match. It's amazing what one can do if she is willing to rip and sew, rip and sew, rip and sew...I mean baste.

Now what do I do? I'm planning on hand quilting it, which I have no idea how to do. No worries. I have the internet. This isn't really even big enough to be a baby blanket, but I wanted to start really small. I'm thinking that I'll use it as a table topper once I'm finished.