Corners are Meant to be Turned

I have often wondered at the origins of well known platitudes. Turning a corner on something is usually a good thing, but going 'round the bend isn't. The last few days either one would have applied, but this post is about the turning the corner and coming back from around the bend. To all who commented publicly and e-mailed privately, THANK YOU for your comfort, prayers and good karma. Stella is on the mend, released for light Timmy (ball) fetching in particular and normal play in general. Other than antibiotics, we have dropped off pain meds, prednisone and special meds for stomach protection. Whew! Am I happy and relieved but it is nothing compared to how I think Stella feels. For those who like the technical stuff, Stella had a retrobulbar abscess with a bacteria (pastuerella multocida) that was resistant to Clavamox, the antibiotic of choice for most things dog.
Baytril seems to have "done the trick" for this nasty infection.

Bea is also eating a little better. The food of choice right now is Basmati rice and chopped roast beef. We can slip in a few cooked veggies here and there, and she is happy at times to finish what Peter might leave in his dish, usually the kibble. Is it balanced, probably not, but at this end game it is all about comfort and quality of life. Miss Bea can have whatever her little heart desires.

I have been sewing, not as much as I would like but some. It was easy enough to plop the dogs up in the air conditioned bedroom and keep an eye on everything while I kept my hands busy. It was also easy enough to pile everyone on the bed and just cuddle and nap.
We did equal shares of both. ;)

I finished up a bright fun modified Grainline Studio Scout Tee.



 Fabric of Vision has had this bright yellow-green linen in taunting me. It is not a color I can wear well, but Sandi came up with the brilliant idea of color blocking it with the red linen. Done! Oh and it also provided a chance to use this fun robot print.



 Classic colors really, red, yellow and navy. Where is my yacht?

The next offering came again from the Bold & Beautiful book. I am sewing my way through it and tackled the Wrap Front Tunic. I did the first version in rose linen.



 I liked it, but I didn't love it.



 Please forgive the awful pictures. I wore this to the vet with Stella on our worst day, last Friday. It was cool, comfortable and comforting when I needed it most (as was Dr. Gurney and her amazing staff!). It was pretty wrinkled and kind of grubby by the time I thought to snap a picture or two.

I hated the inset gathered panel. Why would I need or want a bunch of pleats hanging off of one boob? I didn't, so for the next version we ditched that detail, lengthened and straightened the bottom, made the neck a bit smaller, used self bias binding instead of facings and changed out the tie (which small dog paws kept getting stuck in) for a simple dark grey metal snap.



 I lined the wrap part too in some fun fox fabric (Of course!).



Added a lined pocket. This was an old linen tablecloth. The fabric, very fine, the color amazing, free of stains and holes. I bought this years ago at a place in Vermont that sold fine antique French linens. It graced my dining room table on holidays way back when I had a big drop leaf table in a formal dining room. It was time to put it back into service in another form. In cutting, much of the beautiful hemstitching was kept in tact.



There are some more simple cotton tee shirts cut out from the Scout pattern, a black woven tank and I am piecing together Grainline's Archer shirt PDF pattern for a try out.
Mostly I am looking to get out of the house and not have to head for the vet or worry about the home front while I'm gone.

Parting shot: On the mend and finally resting comfortably. The abscessed eye is up and while there is still a little swelling, it is NOTHING like it was.