Home Sweet Home

I often get asked the question, "How many hours per day do you sew?" There is no easy answer to that question, as each day is different. But, for the most part, I spend at least an 8 hour day in my sewing room.

I love my sewing room. I love my wonderful husband who has created this beautiful room for me. He is the best. I tell him what I need (okay, sometimes it is only a want, but he views them the same. Told you he was the best!), and he creates it.

The room did start out with the bank of cabinets and counter top at one end. We created the rest. The sewing area is prefab counter top, supported underneath with bracing to make it extremely sturdy. We cut away the carpet under it and created a "Pergo pad". That's what I call it. It is the greatest. I just roll effortlessly from one sewing machine to the other, or over to my laptop computer. We considered doing the whole floor with Pergo, but decided to keep the carpet to reduce the noise and make it warmer.

The only drawback to my sewing room is that I do not have a window. The room is located in our basement, and doesn't have one. I make up for it with lots of lighting, but I do miss looking out the window sometimes. But, that would just make it harder to work when it is a beautiful day outside.

My fabric rack is awesome. I used to have all my fabric packed in bins, but putting in this rack has been a great decision. I can create and work with everything at my fingertips.

I used to be a professional organizer, thus everything is very tidy and organized. I really can't work in clutter and chaos. That doesn't mean it is always as clean as the pictures. I did do a little tidying just for that!

Truly the best part of being able to work in my home, is that the girls get to come to work with me each day. Their beds are under the sewing counter and on the bottom shelf of the fabric rack. I use to have fabric stacked on the bottom shelf, but they kept making a bed out of the fabric, so I put one of their beds in there and problem solved.

It has been fun sharing my room with everyone. I am always welcome to visitors!

Adorable Tshirts from Pure Country Pet Boutique

I received some most adorable tshirts the other day from Pure Country Pet Boutique. They specialize in apparel and costumes for the smaller dogs at reasonable prices.

These little tshirts fit each of the girls' personalities perfectly. They are made from high-quality cotton that is completely machine washable. I am a bit of a stickler for that. Anything you dress a dog in needs to be washable.

They have dozens of tshirts with all kinds of fun sayings on them. Many of them are on sale right now, for only $9.99 each! If you really go crazy with your shopping, they even have free shipping for orders over $75.

My family loved the girls in these, as they thought they looked like muscle shirts!

Why Do Dogs Run Around Like Crazy After a Bath?

Why Does My Dog Do That? Wednesday addresses the issue of why dogs run around the house like crazy animals after they have had a bath.

For the most part, dogs hate baths. That isn't the same thing as hating water. You can have a Labrador Retriever that would spend 24 hours a day playing in the river, getting soaking wet, but try to get him near a bathtub and it is like you are suddenly lugging an 80 pound bag of uncooperative concrete. What is it about baths?

First, we give dogs baths because we think they smell like..well,...a DOG! This is not a problem to the dog. They like the way they smell, and really are not that fond of all the perfumy shampoos that are marketed towards the owner's sense of smell, not the dog's.

So, you have managed to drag your uncooperative dog to the tub, bathed, lathered and rinsed. Now you towel them off and let them go. Suddenly they are these crazy animals running all over the house, rolling on the carpet, rubbing on the furniture and walls, snorting and sneezing.

And let's not forget the big shake. That's their favorite part...especially if they are in close proximity to a dry human. Ahh, perfect payback.

Dogs do not like the weight of the water on their fur. You will see even the dogs that frolic in the river will stop and shake the water out of their fur. A healthy, dry coat is the dog's best protection from the elements, and instinct tells them to keep it dry to do it's job.

Your dog will zoom all over because they are happy to be free of the dreaded bathtub. You are usually giving them all sorts of attention, talking to them in that excited high-pitched voice, telling them how beautiful they are.

Yes, you do, just admit it.

Mostly, they are just excited to have survived the ordeal once again. For some strange reason it makes YOU happy, which usually results in a treat of some sort coming their way, so all in all, it's an occasion to run and be happy. And he probably really does feel better to be clean than dirty.