Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Growing Boys

We've enjoyed another week of antics with our three baby foster guinea pigs, Snap, Crackle and Pop.  They're growing up so fast!

We did another photo shoot with the boys over the weekend.  I wanted some more coffee cup photos as well as some "head shots" for their Dakin adoption page.  It took several minutes before they boys finally sat still.  Good grief, they're adorable.  

The amazing thing is how much they've grown in one week.  They pretty much tripled in size since they were born.  Wow!  They jump up and down to the second level with ease.  They move so fast it looks like they magically transport themselves from one floor to the next.

Monday, March 11, 2024

QAL and Projects

I've finished the rick rack baby quilt (photos soon) as well as the latest Project Quilting challenge.  Time for some cleanup projects:   straightening out my sewing room, figuring out why my quarter inch foot doesn't like my Singer 201, even organized my fabric stash by color.  You know - the odds and ends before picking up the next big project.

I also joined a mystery quilt-a-long hosted by Canuck Quilter.  I've eyeballed several mystery QAL over the years, but haven't been willing to take the plunge.  No time.  Too many other projects.  And what if I hate the blocks when I'm done?  But a two-color mystery quilt?  Seems pretty hard to go wrong with that.  

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Project Quilting 15.5 - Water Bottle Holder

The latest Project Quilting challenge was called Wearables - the piece should either be something to wear or made from clothing or inspired by clothing.  The rules stated a bag could be worn ... so I figure water bottle holders count, too.

I have been wanting to make a water bottle holder for years - so long that one of the tutorials I had bookmarked popped up with a 404 error when I accessed it (yay for Wayback Machine!).  This was a great opportunity to use up the fabric I made from a stack of ¾-inch strips.  And then there's the satisfaction of crossing this project off my list.

I find the blues and greens so calming.  I really loved the fabric I used for the strap.  Unfortunately it was just a little too short - but I found another batik almost the same shade of blue.  The difference is hardly noticeable!

I added a lining, which made for a smooth top edge.  The bottom inside, though, has raw edges.  I wanted to make sure the lining didn't stick to a wet bottle and pull out.  I figure no one will ever see it. 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Here, There and Everywhere

The continuing saga of my foster guinea pigs from Dakin Humane - Mama Laylla with babies Snap, Crackle and Pop. 

The three pups all doubled in weight by Sunday.  It's crazy how much bigger they are (and yet they're still so tiny).  The big news of the week is that Crackle has a forever home lined up with a single boar as soon as he's old enough to leave mama.  Baby boars need to be separated from all sows (including Mom) at 21 days old.  Amazing they can possibly be fertile that young.  

So I have another week with the full set of piggies.  I'll enjoy it while I can!

Crackle gave us a demonstration of his zoomies.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Tempest in a Teapot

Or maybe I should say chaos in coffee cups?  We decided to have a little photo shoot with Snap, Crackle and Pop for some glamor shots for their adoption write ups.  I decided it might be easier if they were contained in something.  So I put them in my little coffee cups.  What do you think?

Are they cute or what?

Monday, March 4, 2024

So Close!

A post not about baby guinea pigs?!?  Yup - let's briefly go back to the Crafts portion of my blog.  In between watching Snap, Crackle and Pop's goofy antics, I'm trying to finish up some projects as the next Project Quilting challenge drops.

My favorite second-to-last step of a quilt is cutting off the edges after machine stitching the binding.  Oh, look at those clean edges!  The only thing that looks cleaner is a fully bound quilt!  The recipient arrived into this world last week - so it's time to get this done and delivered!

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Growing Like Weeds

I can't keep up!  I've been gathering photos and video of Laylla and her pups faster than I can edit and post them.  The dynamic changes every day.  Even as I type, the boys are chasing each other around the cage making so much noise!  

So here's a quick dump of what's gone on in the last week with foster guinea pigs Laylla, Snap, Crackle and Pop. 

We have confirmed that the trio of pups are all boys.  We're a little disappointed with that because both the folks at Dakin and I had hoped Laylla would keep a child as a companion.  Plus it is unlikely all three boars will be able to live together as they hit adulthood (personality conflicts).

Thursday, February 29, 2024

I Like Thursday: Leaping Into March

Happy Leap Year Day (is that a thing?).  It's time for me to link up with LeeAnna's I Like Thursday.  

Top of the list of my likes is guinea pigs (and I'm sure you'll agree).  We're fostering again and it turned out Laylla was pregnant.  Last week she had three beautiful little babies!  I'll get to keep them until at least the middle of March - but I'm sure they'll be adopted quickly after that.

It's been a hoot.  We have hosted a pregnant guinea pig before, but she had only one pup that lived with three older sows.  This time around we have a solo sow with three little pups.  It's a very different dynamic this time around.