Monday, February 13, 2012

Some things might be worth the wait

This year's Auction quilt has been in progress for some time. Back in the fall, when we began, I found it hard to get excited over a quilt that was basically a copy of another quilter's work. Within a few weeks we had gained permission from the Sensei to use her design for inspiration. Then there was a turning point where the picture of her quilt was put away and we began doing our own thing. This week the borders were put in place and we met to do the basting. Luckily, the Early Learning Center could give us space for the task and tables so we didn't have to crawl around on the floor.


An eager group of moms made quick work of the task at hand, removing threads and cat hair and getting down to the basting. Now the quilt is in my care. We have four weeks to complete the quilting. The wind-chimes and cross strips will get in-the-ditch quilting and for the background we plan an echo-style quilting to resemble a Japanese style raked gravel garden.




We have a wonderful group of worker bees ready and eager. We have added our own combination of fabrics and colors and I think the quilting will be distinctive too. Our first "panic point" was the permission. With some luck and some hard work, it will be finished early enough too hang at the School for a few days before the Gala, avoiding further panic.


And today is the birthday of the canine daughter. Ten years ago in May, I received a phone call from my kids who had gone to Nikko for the day. "Mom, we found this darling puppy abandoned outside the community center". (Me) "I don't want a dog"! "But Mom, you just have to see it to believe what a darling dog it is". (Me) "I can't see it over the phone and I don't want a dog"!




So ... what did they do? They put her in a box and brought her home for me to see. "If you don't like her, I'll take her back", says my #4 daughter. Yeah right! And throw her back on the road! Oh, that poor animal, skinny and caked in dirt! Into the bathroom she went. After several washings she turned out to be white. Sitting on the rug by the garden window with the last of the afternoon sun drying her sparkling fur, someone says,"she needs a name". Since she was found in Nikko and the characters for Nikko are "sun" and "shine", it didn't take long to pick a name. Name it ... and it is yours!
A visit to the vet for puppy shots told us she was about three months old. Counting backwards, that was Valentine's day. Ten years ago! I can't believe someone would abandon this dog on the road. She isn't perfect. She has issues from time to time, but a sweeter, more gentle dog would be hard to find. She faces each day with enthusiasm and loves everyone.


My husband loves to take her shopping and when he comes out of the store finds her surrounded by a fan club, getting affection and praise.



Of course, those fans don't have to worry about tons of white hair covering everything in sight. You have only to look at the first picture following a "shampooch" to see some serious shedding.



So ... Happy Birthday, Nikko. Thanks for ten years of dog hair, crumb pick-up, left-over supervision, and quiet companionship. I guess if I had to choose again, I'd take your quiet non-yappy nature and forgive you for all my stuff you have chewed up.


27 comments:

  1. I think you "done really good" with Nikko. She is lovely. The auction quilt is shaping up to be nice too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. She looks gorgeous and very regal. My mum had a white chihuahua - not on the same scale as yours obviously - but in malting season she used to take her outside and rub her coat and brush it like mad until there was a cloud of tiny white hairs floating all around them - but it was at least outside and not all over the furniture! Give her a pat from me - I think she is lovely and i would be one of those fans - I do appreciate my non-shedding dogs though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Birthday Nikko..you sure don`t look your age! Julie your love and care really shows in a dog you did not want..VBG. She is stunning we all have our good and bad moments right now I see a very good moment.
    The quilt looks awesome, it sure is lovely to have all those helping hands.

    ReplyDelete
  4. who could NOT love that face?...as if she would chew and shed hair!!.. lovely pictures of her...and youxx
    Waiting to see the finished quilt... a little every day!! NO stress or pressure xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy birthday Nikko, I'm not a dog person but I do think she looks lovely, very innocent!! The quilt is coming along beautifully, well done to all of you. Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did Nikko enjoy the scones on Sunday? Maybe it was like early birthday cake (^o^)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday Nikko. She is a beautiful dog with a calm face who you just know from looking at that she loves unconditionally. Great work with the quilt so far Julie.

    ReplyDelete
  8. your quilt looks so beautiful, from what i can see - so glad you resolved the 'panic issue'

    love your dog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a gorgeous quilt you and your friends are making. I'm anxious to see the finished product. Happy Birthday to Nikko. Lucky dog to find you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy Birthday to Nikko! She's a real cutie. Know what you mean about shedding. I have a black lab and twice a year he sheds his coat. Only good thing about it is it makes me have to vacuum more than I would if we didn't have him! Love the quilt! Can't wait to see it quilted!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a beautiful tribute to your dog. Makes me miss our dog who is about the same age! The quilt looks great - I was so sorry to miss basting day.... Looking forward to next Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great dog and what a beautiful quilt you ladies have made - retstrained elegance. Well done - Mary

    ReplyDelete
  13. She is a beautiful dog and you can see her personality in her eyes.
    I wish there were a way to clean hair, without the work, lol.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  14. Pets keep us active and staying active means more strength, physically, and more alert, mentally. And Nikko has done that for you! blessings, marlene

    ReplyDelete
  15. Happy Birthday Nikko! What a beautiful dog :) such a great story too. I'm glad you found each other. I can't wait to see how your quilt turns out. I'm sure it will be beautiful and a lot different from the original. Hope you had a happy V-Day!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love your picturs of Nikko. Such a lovely dog. They are the best companions.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi there, Just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for a Liebster Award. Some people aren't all that keen on awards so I hope you don't mind but I thought you were a worthy recipient.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Birthday Nikko!! As soon as you make eye contact, you know you are going to lose your heart to them. Nikko is so cute! Don't let my cats hear that! I think the lost of some of our items and fur on everything is worth the unconditional love we receive from them.

    I can't wait to see the Auction quilt finished. The pattern looks quite interesting and the quilting sounds very intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mom, I love reading your post about Nikko. Makes me realize where my dog connection comes from. I will have to work at getting some good photos of my dog Suki -- like Nikko, she is not perfect, but maybe a bit more perfect than Nikko because of MINIMAL SHEDDING, ha! Can't wait to see the auction quilt complete. Do you have some detail shots of it? Love you, Julie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Making me rethink my frustration with my tow dogs these days. We had just one for 2 and a half years, but I thought he was lonely. Now we have two and, oh! The trouble they get into! But there are definitely nice to have around, and I can't help but get attached.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Happy, Happy Birthday Nikko, from Cheryl and the puppies (Padfoot & Katie). Woof! Woof! Padfoot is also a rescue dog.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Omedetou Gozaiimasu, Nikko-Chan! And thank you for picking MY number to win my Nekko San! *HUUGS* and *CHUUUUU* Your biggest fan ... =)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Aw, nikko is so cute! and you might like this site: http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/patchwork to make a Nikko quilt? :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I rember that day... We went out to see the stained glass installation I worked on... Nikko was such a tiny little thing back then... Tired and weak... Mal-nourished. We did the right thing. Thank for all the love, care an tolerance you've showered her with. -J

    ReplyDelete
  25. A wonderful story! How uplifting to know that another animal was saved! Happy Birthday Nikko!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Happy belated birthday Nikko!!! Feliz aniversário in Portuguese!!

    auauau

    ReplyDelete