This is for Heather...

Heather is my best friend. We live a country apart, and we never speak, but she is still my best friend and has been for... well, let's just say a jillion years. She knows me SO well. And I miss her SO much. When the big kids were little, she was their Auntie Foofy. They are now too sophisticated for that and call her Heather, except when a gift or card arrives, then it's Auntie Foofy all over again.

Once, when my son was about 2, we spent the whole day with Auntie Foofy, and all the way home in his little car seat, he chanted over and over again, "Auntie Foofy....Auntie Foofy.... Auntie Foofy."

So Heather emailed me, "Why do you have that stupid blog if you never write anything?"

So this is for Heather.

I attended a Jo Diggs workshop a week ago. It was FanTasTic! Her specialty is the layered landscape, but we made underwater scenes instead. The only requirement was a piece of background fabric, about 12x18 (although this was very fungible), and tons of fabric scraps. Everything was free-hand cut, no patterns, and if something didn't work, it was put aside.

Here's what I made. Jo Diggs said it was the best turtle she'd ever seen, by the way. I may put that on my business card! (This is still a work-in-progress, hence the little pins...)

Here is the work of some of the other participants. I just took photos so have no attributions, except for this one by the great Paula Tuano:

I told her it looked like Las Vegas under the sea, and she said, "That's my title!" We worked at the same table and laughed all day. I love her!

Here's one more:

And here's a layered landscape, based on a photo of the Cape Cod National Seashore, by Nancy McConnell:

It will be part of the quilt exhibition for the 50th birthday celebration of the National Seashore, established by President John F. Kennedy. I'm making one also - I'll post a photo when it's presentable.

So you see how this could be a really fun and easy way to spend a few hours, just cutting shapes, laying them down and see what makes your heart go "WOW." HINT: add a seam allowance. Paula and I were so busy having fun that we forgot that, so we are painstakingly going to fuse everything instead. (You could also use 505 spray after the fact.)

By Cindie, maker of the The Best Turtle Ever according to artist extraordinaire, Jo Diggs.

Heather, I love you, and I hope you liked this post.  Auntie Foofy!!

Do you have a pet? Any kind of animal you love in your everyday life? I have 5 guinea pigs, a rabbit, and two dogs. But I also have wildlife that I love - a flock of six turkeys who have established my yard as their territory, numerous birds that come to my feeders for sustenance during this awful winter, the requisite squirrels, occasional coyote loping through the trees, bees and butterflies who come to the garden I have planted for them.

I also put out hay for the deer in the woods. They may not be finding a lot to eat this winter.

All of this explains why I am vegan. I know that my pets have emotional lives of their own. I see their mood changes, their interactions, their cravings, their hiding places, their favorite toys.

I know that wild animals have the exact same lives, without the pampering provided by me. I have seen the turkeys squabble, fight over seed, then all together move back into the trees.

I have seen the coyote skirt the yard, look at the house and see me watching him. He stops for a moment, then starts moving again. He knows humans are not his friends (except this one).

So I don't eat animals, or the byproducts of animals like milk or eggs, because their lives are as worthy as mine. They deserve to live to a ripe old age, just as I do and just as we all do.

Go vegan, be kind, and save the world.