All quiet on the sewing front...

I haven't posted for awhile and haven't got a lot of sewing to show, but thought I should catch you up on a few things happening at the moment.

I came 6th in the Pattern Review Activewear Contest!  Pretty happy with that.  No surprises in the winners - they were all ones I would have picked as winners. Results are here if you would like to check it out.

I recently attended a Craft Fair held here locally - Craft Alive.  It seems to be a new group bringing craft fairs to regional areas.  Yay!  It was pretty good, except for the queue for a coffee!  

Some great locally produced yarns and shops were there and I heard a great talk from Pauline of Pauline's Quilters World about quilt as you go and it had me really fired up as I have had some fabrics waiting to be made into a quilt for our bedroom for ages  I was baulking at how I was going to quilt such a large quilt and this seemed to be the answer to that quandary.  I did have to buy one more pack of batiks to boost my fabric for the quilt too.

So I started on the quilt using the handbook and basing the design on a quilt that is featured as an instructional piece in the handbook.  The design it is based on is called Rectangles Rock N Roll.  I am using some batiks I bought in NZ and adding some others.  This is a picture of my trial blocks.

And in non-sewing news.  Our house has been too quiet since Cosmo left us and so we have finally found ourselves a new dog.  

Champ is a rescue dog about 1 year 4 months old.  He is a Australian Stumpy tail cattledog x German Shephard (they think).  He was saved from a pound as a 4month old and then got parvovirus.  Amazingly the wee thing survived and has grown into a lovely natured young dog.  We had to drive 2 hours to pick him up from a neighboring town.

Champ on the drive home

We stopped for lunch in a park on the way home and bonded over ham scraps from our wraps.

And when we got him home we realised he was way too big for Cosmo's old bed (that the cat loves to sleep in) so we bought him a new bed.  However he had to check them all out for size.

... and this bed was too small....

Lulu is not impressed but after a week will sleep in her high bed in the same room.  The introduction is going as well as it can I think.

Ciao kittens... more quilting soon.

House warming - log cabin quiilt

My DDH comes from a mixed ( is that the right terminology? - two marriages ) family so one of his brothers is much younger than him (considering he is the eldest).  Andrew  (the youngest) is from a second marriage and born about the same time as our first born.  Such a great young man... and he has paired up with a great girl that you can only take to your heart. They live in our local town and have recently bought their first house.  As celebration of this major event I made a quilt as a gift....Log cabin as it is their first house (timber too) but not  in traditional colours via this tutorial

  

Not much else to say - all from stash but bought some more reds/ oranges as did not have them in stash. Very simple quilting following the diagonals. Some more photos...   

Love log cabin style as you can fussy cut blocks...

pieced the backing and it fell in line with the quilting (happy about that)

Loving this quilt and loving when you make a gift that seems to have gone down well. :)  Active wear sewing next....

Opal quilt

I have finished my Opal Quilt - so named for the blue-green colourway.  

The pattern layout is from the book Spectacular Scraps by Judy Hooworth and Margaret Roolfe.  It is called Black Opal.  I love the colourway they use in the book - purples and blacks, but wanted to make a quilt as much from stash as possible.  So blues and greens seem to dominate the stash, so that is how the colourway came around.  One good quilting friend did give me some bits and pieces to use as well and I am glad to have part of her in the quilt now as she moved away and I do miss her.

I used the books suggestion to quilt it in wavy lines along the diagonal.  I used my walking foot for this and set myself up on the dining table to help take the weight of the quilt.

The borders were free motion quilted in leaves and swirls like a vine.  It is very hard to photograph on the busy fabric.  I am very grateful I bought the Bernina Aurora 440 as it has the BSR foot and is a boon for someone like me who doesn't free motion quilt regularly.

The colour scheme works really well on the double bed in our guest room (my older son's room).

Caio kittens!  Back soon with pants.

Strippy quilt - finally

Started March 2008... Finished January 2012.

This quilt was started at a fun day (called a strip party) at Toowoomba Quilters in March 2008.  The intention of the day is that everyone contributed strips of  fabrics and we were to assemble them into blocks, not taking colour or fabric into account.  So there are a lot of fabrics I would not normally favour in this quilt, but once it is made, it all works!

The blocks are assembled as quilt as you go and the sewing of the strips acts as the quilting.  Once the quilt blocks are finished and trimmed to size, then they are butted together, zig-zagged and cover strips applied.  This shows the cover strips on the back.

I used narrow strips in a contrasting fabric to the backing fabric, mainly as I didn't have enough backing fabric.  As some of the intersections were a bit 'off' I put yo-yos to cover them ... I mean as a design feature!

22 years ago I gave birth to my first child.  This is him at his first Christmas wearing an outfit I had made for him.  I have sewn for quite a while!!

Qld Quilt Show

The girl's and I - Caity and Vicki all got up at sparrow's f**t yesterday to head down the hill to Brisvegas to attend the Qld Quilters Quilt Show. The Toowoomba Quilters Club raffle quilt (coordinated by moi and made by lots of members) had won a prize so it was with real delight that we attended the presentation. The quilt got third in the Collaborative Section and I received a parcel of Leutneaggers fabrics and other goodies and a voucher for Be Be Bold.

Here is the quilt - it was beautifully displayed at the show.

This is the parcel of goodies I received. This will all go back to the Club, probably to be used as a raffle prize.
The only annoyance was that I didn't realise the voucher was part of the prize until I was at home again. This was a shame as I could have used it at at their stand at the show. Now I will have to mail order as the shop is located at Lismore.

We had a great time shopping after viewing the quilt show. This is my booty-
I also ordered a magnifying glass for my Bernina machine and as they didn't have any at the stand they said they would mail it - well it arrived today at 11am - that must be a record for prompt service!

After lunch, we thought we should take advantage of being in the big smoke and went into the city to go shopping. I scored a MAC lippie and a big bling ring! We had heaps of fun trying on hats (as it is spring carnival racing season here at the moment and we are considering going to a Melbourne Cup function).



Then we still managed to make our way into the Fabric Barn on the way home and I scored a beautiful black jersey with the chain print and a cotton/spandex which is camel coloured with a stripe in it - that one is also in he photo above under the lippie and ring.



We had a great day but I think I really need to stay out of the fabric shops for awhile now and just get to my sewing machine. I did finish a dress today - piccies to come soon.

And for those interested I have done my review on the Silk dress McCall's 5039.

Silk dress update

I have been working on a silk dress to (hopefully) wear to the races this week-end. I have a beautiful Silk Georgette and I am making Mccalls 5039. As it is such a light fabric I am making a silk slip from NL 6244. I have finished the slip up to the stage of hemming and permanently attaching the straps. It sewed together quite well. I am stretching myself as I am using seam finishing techniques such as french seams, etc. The dress body is together (including an invisible zip) but I have to put in the sleeves and finish the neckline ruffle. The instructions for the neckline ruffle make no sense at all, which was confirmed by Caity yesterday when she came around to help me interpret them. Hopefully we have worked that issue out now.

Caity also helped me look at some items in my wardrobe and suggested re-vamping a RTW skirt I have worn a bit but isn't working for me anymore - sometimes you need someone else's eyes to see these things! Thanks Caity!

Yesterday was a calm day off but life has been busy lately - more hours of work than I need, preparing for the Toowoomba Quilters Open Day (lucky they are a good bunch and very helpful) and then on top of all that I have been going to gym more than usual as I am feeling very inspired to improve my fitness some more and to hopefully, lose the one major roll still left hanging around my middle!

On a really exciting note, I received a call from Qld Quilters on the week-end, to say that the raffle quilt I entered in to the Collaborative Section of the Qld Quilt Show has won a prize! I will be attending a presentation ceremony next Wednesday to find out what prize exactly!

However it brings up the ever present quandary - what will I wear?

New monster to feed...

We have a new toy in the house. I have been cleaning out the filing cabinet and felt very uncomfortable putting all the old paperwork in the bin (there was enough info there for someone to apply for a loan in our names!) so we bought a paper shredder. So now it sits near the study desk with a pile of papers next to it & every so often it gets fed a few sheets! It's like a new obsession to feed the monster.

On the sewing front I have finally managed to finish the Australian wild flower table runner designed by Helen Godden. Here it is....

The colours do not show true in the picture of the whole runner but are closer to true in the detail picture here...

Raffle Quilt again...

We had a sewing bee on the TQ raffle quilt today and had a successful day. Now, I am trying to be more positive than I have been in the last few blogs because I have got over the worst of the blahs and I feel my sense of humour is starting to return. But (yeah there is always a 'but'), why is there always one person ready to burst your balloon? The day went well with only minor dramas which we coped with and everyone seemed to be happy with the progress of the quilt. When we get to the end of the day - we lay out the rows we have and blurt - one of the club members has to make a negative comment about the quilt - why do they have to do that? You know, think it but don't say it! That person is very welcome to design and organise next year's raffle quilt but please at this late stage don't start criticising this one! You know if I was to make this design again I would make it slightly differently - the design can always be improved but please don't tell me what you think is wrong with this quilt - positive comments only please! My skin has got very thin lately and bruises easily!

Anyway the rant has abated and I can now show you the photos of what we accomplished today. We realised when we started to put it together that we were one 'sun' block short, but Yvonne did a great job and whipped up one more! The only other drama is that Sheila's glasses lost a screw and couldn't be repaired, so she was blinking like an owl and had to check if she was putting the right pieces together!!

This is the sun blocks combined with the flying geese - the first row in summer now done (oops - photo is up-side down!)

These are the first three rows of the quilt which represent summer - the first two rows are finished and the third row of heart blocks are made but need to be trimmed and the blocks joined.

The spring section has a row of Dresden plates in spring colours. Today some of the ladies embroidered the centre circles of the dresden plates -

This is the detail of the centre embroidery -

I think everyone did a great job and should be heartily pleased with today's effort!

The blahs...

I am feeling very blah the last day or so...blagghhh! I know this too will pass (and I am madly ingesting evening primrose oil to try and aid it!)

TQ was fun today but even that had moments of blah as well! I feel like I have taken on more than I can chew this year (you know the old 'bite off more than you can chew, then chew like mad!') However amid much discussion on upcoming events I was strong and said no to organising a club event that I had no part in setting up. I think those who tell people we will do these things - can take on the organisation - I certainly don't feel like I need any more to do! Anyway I still feel guilty as it only means it will get passed onto some other busy person who already does much for the club - it's not really right is it? Do you find there are people who tell you they want to help but only on the fourth Thursday of the month and so long as it does not involve the colour orange! Get real people - either help or don't but don't add a million provisos and make it even more work for others to organise your 'help'! Anyway I must be feeling blah as I had not planned to rant so today.

I took this photo of my cushion covers hanging on the washing line. I took the photo because they looked so happy flapping on the line in the nice autumn sunshine! It also made me smile because now I don't have to look at them looking filthy and thinking when will I get around to washing those covers? ... like I have been for the last four weeks! I don't know why things seem so overwhelming sometimes.

I finished this dress yesterday so that is good. I am not starting anything new until I finish the table runner I started ages ago. I have the backing fabric and thread to quilt it with so have no excuse to finish it. It will give me permission to be excited about our upcoming trip as I am making it for a gift. I hope I have enough energy to make some more gifts as I would prefer not to purchase gifts for my family as making them something would be so much more preferable and pleasurable!

I started thinking about a new quilt last night in the middle of the night. I am really interested in all things vintage and how woman used to live so that is going to be the theme for this quilt. That's probably all I can say about it for now as this quilt will only be a thought in my journal for the next while. But while it is still a thought it means I don't have to be anxious to finish it. Plus it is pleasurable to think about this quilt and what I am going to use to make it, etc. It is like a soft quilt in my mind that makes me feel happy even though nothing exists of it yet. *sigh*

A few things have pointed me in this direction, including the starting of sewing clothes again. Sewing clothes has lead back to my interest in vintage clothes. I remembered this pattern which I bought at an op shop while in second year at university.

I loved this pattern - I should have made it then - I would have stood more chance of fitting into it. Anyway I think I will still make it one day. (that should be pronounced as one word i.e. 'one day' = 'wuuunday'... it is very overused in my vocabulary).

Don't the ladies look happy on the pattern cover? Who is the lady waving at... perhaps her beau is in the crowd at the function she is attending? Where does one go, that you wear short brown gloves? These and other deep and meaningful stuff passing through my mind...and all the other things you didn't want to know about me...

Raffle Quilt (cont.)....

The guilts must have set in or otherwise its the looming deadline, but I have done some more on the TQ raffle quilt. I bought some more fabric on Friday at QuiltCraft in Margaret Street. I do realise now I got pieces bigger than I needed but I think we should be able to use the left-over fabric to make a lucky door prize for the Open Day or perhaps the Qld Quilters picnic, which we are hosting next year.

Anyway it was a nice coincidence to go to QuiltCraft on Friday as it was Cotton Club day and I hadn't realised so I scored a cuppa and got to catch up with some quilting buddies I haven't seen for a while and see their luscious quilts. There are some very productive ladies in that group. I wish they would join Toowoomba Quilters and display their quilts in our show - some are absolute knock-outs. One lady in particular does the most exquisite needle-turn applique (& actually finishes her quilts!)

Today I pieced these pinwheels - not as perfect as I would like but I think they will do. The photo colours aren't quite true - the pinwheels are orange in colour.

I also trialled these hearts. I have not finished the raw edge off. I am vaguely hoping someone might take these home with them on Tuesday and finish them before Saturday when we get together to work some more on the quilt. Anyway if no-one can take them home, we will do them on Saturday. I thought it best to finish the raw edge after re-joining the heart as that way if there is a little wiggle in the joins then it may be camouflaged with the blanket-stitch or sating stitch or whatever.

A note for anyone involved in the design of this quilt - I have made these blocks 6" square (finished). We had planned 10" before we adjusted the size. However on checking the other day, the template is for a 6" block and I decided it would be easier to leave it that size than adjust it. Plus the hope is that we have another narrow row lower on the quilt and it should balance or reflect that one.

On the homefront - I have made a lovely corned silverside with beans, corn and spuds, an apple cake type dessert and have now just realised that there is now only two of us home for dinner (instead of the usual four) - I hope Mr D is hungry! - whoops just burned the spuds - shouldn't blog while the stove is on without at least putting on a timer!

Keeping up ...

I seem to be running around in ever decreasing circles lately. The thing which usually slides at these times are house cleaning and bill paying. I have started to catch-up (do you ever?) with the cleaning but wonder at living with men sometimes. I am not a perfectionist house keeper but eeewwwhhh. I found an apple sticker on the toilet floor. Now which of the men in the house was in the toot, eating an apple? Like I said eeewwwhhh! The bills were caught up yesterday. I missed gym so I could spend two hours sorting all the paper on the desk and paying bills. I was late with two - very annoying as one is a credit card so I know it will incur a fee!!!

I MUST KEEP UP WITH THE PAPERWORK!

I MUST KEEP UP WITH THE PAPERWORK!

I MUST KEEP UP WITH THE PAPERWORK!
I MUST KEEP UP WITH THE PAPERWORK!
I MUST KEEP UP WITH THE PAPERWORK!

Some of the ladies at TQ were discussing the care of quilts - or lack of care by people presented with quilts. Now I have a number of quilts in use in the house and also cushions I have stitched/ patchworked, but I am afraid when they are dirty I do just throw them in the washing machine, and they bleach in the winter sun on my bed as I don't draw the curtains during the day. Also ...gasp... the dog sleeps on all of them. Yesterday he was napping on this cushion. (that ball of hair on the cushion is the dog btw!) At least he was on the back side of the cushion, but maybe that is because the other side was too dirty for him!

I do feel strongly that quilts should be used. If they are 'precious' hang them on the wall or put them on the guest bed (if you are lucky enough to have one). Only give serviceable machine washable quilts to kids and if you see that the quilt you have given to a child has faded from washing - be happy - be really happy! - it means they love it and use it - a great compliment to any quilter!

Snow Fall in Toowoomba

If I was the editor of the Chronicle that is what I would have as tomorrow's headline. I can't stop the smug smile on my face today to see that not only did Snow not win but he was resoundedly told where to get off! Less than 8,000 votes - muhaw, haw, haw! It has absolutely made my day. The ones who voted him into Council last time on the poo water stand must have realised how bl***dy hopeless he really is! All that posturing and libelous statements and NO results - I am so glad that good sense prevailed. I would have been happy if either of the other two candidates got in, anybody is better than old Fabian! Yesterday's ad in the Chronicle run by Clive on behalf of Snow was worth a laugh. The picture of Clive was bigger than the picture of Snow... hmmmm, I wonder who Clive is really trying to promote. Snigger... let's hope that the rest of the Council will be worthy candidates also.

Strip party yesterday was heaps of fun. These are the blocks I have made so far:

It is really liberating, to not try and match colours,etc - even though I must admit occasionally a bit of that happens. I liked the blocks best which were random. A few people themed their colours - I did not really go for the 'brights' or the 'pastels' but understand what they were trying to achieve. I like the colours mixed and occasionally a bright goes in there and gives the block some sparkle (good word that 'sparkle'). For all that though, I did like Joan's green and blue colourway, Yvonne's random but with the same corner (end) strips on each block, and Di's light/dark variation.

Anyway I am going to get on with clothes sewing today. I am feeling 'Mother Earth' again and have already visited the local markets to get some free range eggs, vegetables and fruit and most importantly some of Aunty Vi's marmalade. I love her Seville Orange marmalade but was told that the seveille oranges are not ripe yet - they grow their own citrus and make the marmalade from that on an Orchard at Applethorpe (near Stanthorpe). The marmalade always has a perfect consistency and a lovely tang. Anyway I had to settle on Three Fruit marmalade today - its still lovely (on my home made bread). I have also made the Spicy Zucchini cake that my friend Fay provided the recipe for (using my own home grown zucchini), so the kitchen smells divine!

Dancing Beijing Challenge Quilt

Ta da!!! My final effort. I was blown away by the other quilts brought in for this challenge! (Double click to view larger image with more detail.) My entry detailed it as : "China is renown for its fireworks and at the Olympics there will be great fireworks. As you watch this show and the shimmering lights glowing, you see the ephemeral image of a dragon dancing in the night sky."

Dragons and Andy Warhol

Yesterday we had a terrific day - went to Brisbane to see the Andy Warhol exhibition. Stopped at the Auchenflower quilt shop - however, could not browse for too long as the boys were waiting outside (we need to do that road trip, Caity!) Then we moved onto South Bank and had lunch at San Marco Cafe - lovely - saw dragon boats on the river - is that a sign for my quilt?

Enjoyed the Andy Warhol exhibition very much - see tourist shot of me outside. (I can be a tourist in Brisbane now we don't live there any more!) I also saw some storm lillies which only flower after it rains. I am sure I used to have some in my garden, but they must have perished in the drought. I will have to try and get some more, but I am not sure what their real name is.

After returning to Toowoomba, one boy rode into the sunset to sleep-over at a mate's house, and I dropped the other at a party, where he also was staying the night. Sooooo... Hubby and I took the opportunity presented to go out and try the new wine bar in town called Swish. Had terrific tapas, great service and lovely wines - highly recommend it - but note to self, next time make a booking as it seems very popular.

Today I have been working on the challenge quilt. Up to the binding ... yeah!!! I have included a photo of the dragon's face which is the best shot I have managed so far. I am happy with it, but if I were to critique it I would say it does not have enough of a focal point. Anyway it will be interesting to see other people's reactions to it.

On Tenterhooks

Sean (eldest boy) has managed to score an interview for the ideal job. He applied in Dcember and got the call on Monday to come in for an interview. I thought they must have already finalised it but I should not have over-estimated the Council! Anyway we were so excited he had an interview, now we are on tenterhooks waiting for the yeah-or-nay call. I thought they might have called Friday but it was not to be, now we will have to live through the week-end trying not to think about it! I bought him a new outfit to wear (as most of his trousers are all too large for him) and he looked great - the young man-about-town. If wishing counts ...I have heaps of my friends keeping their fingers crossed for him.

Sewing-wise it has been a very dry week. I had a day out on Monday to the Movies with my gal-pals from the Club. We had a lovely time and I got the much needed dose of oestrogen. I would recommend 27 Dresses as a great chick-flick - a must see on DVD to at least see all the crazy Bridesmaid frocks and see some of the great clothes Katherine Heigel (spelling?) wears. A beautiful Audrey Hepburn style piece at the party towards the end. So that was Monday, Tuesday was TQ - social stitching day. Wednesday, Thursday & Friday were a blur of working or going to gym. I did a Personal Training session on Thursday & my legs still haven't forgiven me!

Today we are driving down to the big smoke to see the Andy Warhol exhibition. I plan to stop at the Auchenflower Quilt Shop to see if I can pick up some beads or dangly bits for my challenge quilt.

I MUST bind it this week-end and finish the quilting I un-picked - tomorrow's job! I will try and put up a photo then if I can get one. ( I have found it hard to photograph so far.)

Telstra... finally!

After four attempts (once they didn't turn up), Telstra has finally fixed our ADSL problem. They, of course, assumed the problem HAD to be at our end - poor dumb end-users that we are! Hubby had of course checked everything at our end before we even contacted them, even to the point of borrowing another modem. He also set it up so that it automatically tries to log back in, when it drops out. One day it recorded over 30 log-ins - sure the problem must be us! Anyway the last technician was convinced enough to sit at the exchange until he observed the problem (why could they not do that in the first place instead of spending time at our end re-checking everything we had checked - twice!) Luckily our eldest son has been available to sit home in the four hour windows they tell you they might turn up in!

I have finished two more quilts for the 'Bags of Love'. I will take them in next week. Since then I have started on a sewing machine cover with has been at the back of my mind for ages. It uses a stitchery panel made by my MIL.

I have added a photo of Cosmo since his haircut - it is like getting a new dog every few months!

There is also a photo of my Dad's cat Miska. I have never seen a cat that enjoys boxes and baskets so much. My Mum was relieved that at least he wasn't sleeping on her half-made jigsaw like he usually would!

Quilting gloves

I bought these gloves the other day and have been using them today. They are heaps better than my old gardening gloves! I haven't tried threading the needle with them on, but I have been able to take out pins and pull the thread through from the back when starting while the gloves are on. They are also quite light and much cooler than the gardening gloves. Now I suppose I might have to spend some time in the garden to get some use from my garden gloves!
First up I have quilted my 'Dancing Beijing' challenge quilt. I was quite happy with my quilting, but the quilt isn't exactly like I pictured. That, I suppose, is the fun of trying new techniques. It doesn't photograph well so I am not sure if I will be able to get a photo up when it is done. It has an embroidered section which doesn't 'pop' as much as I hoped it would. I think I am still happy with it though. Now I need to bind it - the next challenge - inside corners! When I first started, my machine started skipping stitches, but I kept my cool and changed the needle for a larger size, and that fixed the problem... maybe I am finally learning something!
This afternoon I started quilting one of the 'charity' quilts. It is all done with the walking foot but will still take a little while to do. I will add a photo when I get one - my camera battery was flat just now when I went to take one - I need to remember to check it!

Tiring day...

So far today, I have done half an hour session with a Personal trainer - doing weights , then a class for an hour doing Pilates. After I showered and had something to eat, I went and did the grocery shopping. This afternoon I should be doing something useful around the house - continue the decluttering, etc but I have spent the time completing some more charity quilts. I have decided to leave the string quilt the size it is, so I found some backing and batting - have used some polar fleece for the batting, as I did not want anything too heavy. I have also finished another '1000 pyramids' quilt top, using the leftover triangles from the last one like this that I did. I must have gone really overboard cutting triangles! Anyway they are all used up now and I found a fabric in my stash to use as the backing. I am determined to not purchase anything but use what I have at the moment. So I started looking for batting and I have spent the last little while cutting all my leftover strips of batting straight and then joining them together with a zigzag stitch. Now the batting is patchwork as well ... anyway it all in the tradition of making do!

BTW is it more correct to call it 'batting' or 'wadding'? - that always trips me up!

Another quilt - size?

I have put the Jinny Beyer quilt away for the moment. My patience has run out for the moment. To do something totally opposite I started piecing a string quilt I have been collecting strips for. I thought I might use it as a 'charity' quilt (for a child). I made the blocks 9" (finished size), so the quilt is about 36" x 45". Is that too small? I don't think I have enough strips to increase another row each way. I am reluctant to put a border on it but have got a fabric that may be suitable. Because I used calico as a backing for the blocks I am concerned that if I add a border it will be relatively 'thin' compared to the centre (if you understand what I am getting at). The other concern is how do I quilt it? Maybe I should have made it quilt-as-you-go but I didn't want strips between the blocks as I wanted the impact of the blocks butting right up to each other... anyway it is too late for that now!

Foundation piecing.... Arrgh!!!

I have continued working on the Jinny Beyer quilt today - joining the foundation pieced blocks - now there are 8 of them ... and then... the words to strike fear in any quilters heart.... remove the paper... how long is that going to take me? ...little bits of paper everywhere! I am very tempted to put this back in to the UFO category! Meanwhile the dog has been having a very hard day! Have a Happy New Year everyone! It is going to be very quiet for me and that suits me fine.