Birds, Puppies And My Sister

This is another applique block that I finished for the quilt I'm making that is made up entirely of applique blocks that are each 12" x 12". I won't have this quilt done any time soon. It is a labor of love. I tried something new when I made the flower. It's a technique called "ruching." The flower came from the gathering of 60 inches of ribbon. The gathered ribbon is then circled around itself until it forms the flower. That makes it three-dimensional. The button I found forms the center. A lot of work to make but very satisfying.

We had our visit yesterday from a puppy raiser to see if we would be good parents. She was here quite a while with Whisper, the female black lab that she is currently raising. She's been doing this for 18 years. She approved us. Now we wait to hear from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) to find out when we pick up our puppy. We learned yesterday that we are raising a puppy but we are also joining a wonderful group of people who come together fairly regularly to socialize and raise money for CCI. She mentioned that they often share a glass of wine when puppy raisers are together.

I think this little puppy is going to keep us very busy for the first couple of months. That's when you establish the routine that will help the puppy when he or she graduates and perhaps goes to work for someone who has a disability. First we have to complete Puppy Kindergarten Training (PKT). It's a good thing we have nothing going on until the wedding on Oct. 4th.

Whisper is currently taking "riff-raff training." That's where they teach the dogs not to be distracted by anything around them. That plays a big role in whether or not they go on to be CCI guide dogs. A lot of that training takes place at the Galleria, a big, busy mall in nearby Roseville.

And, one final thing; my sister had her meds changed so we are hoping that things will improve for her.