You see this adorable dog? It’s Bella, our BichonPoo. She’s my shadow, incredibly affectionate, high energy and playful, but… she also has a dark side. Which is why, at times, she’s appropriately called…  demon dog. Bella’s still lovable, even when she’s being destructive. 😝 Thankfully, damaging things does not happen too often.

Earlier this morning, after my daughter had folded the clothes, that had been washed and dried, she pointed out this…

You see that? It’s a jagged tear! Guess who’s the culprit? Yep… Bella! A few days ago, when my daughter had folded the clothes, she had placed her clothes on the step to take them upstairs in her room. She forgot about them. Of course Bella didn’t… and that’s when she made her move. She pulled the shirt under the couch and started chewing. While we didn’t catch her in the act, we did find the shirt under the couch. I did not check the sleeves, but I did toss it back in the washing machine since she’d carried it off under the couch. No… under the couch isn’t dirty, but she had the shirt. We have another dog, Bentley, but… it wasn’t him. He rarely comes in the living room and he can’t fit under the couch. So yeah… obviously it’s her! Funny thing is, we didn’t notice the damage until today.

Here’s another view. Bella chewed the left sleeve.

I told my daughter this could be easily fixed. Yes… it’s a knit garment, but I do have a machine that I purchased exclusively for finishing seams on knitwear, it’s called a Coverstitch machine.

The first thing I did, to begin the mending process, was to cut off about two inches of the sleeve. Of course… I had to cut off the remaining sleeve also so the sleeves would match. The sleeves were a bit long on her before… but after hemming, it now falls right at her wrists. Perfect!

I chose the matching thread for my Brother Coverstitch machine. Thank goodness for Wawak. They have great deals on sewing supplies, because of that, I have numerous cones of Serger/Coverstitch thread. Their products are top notch, the customer sevice is excellent and the turn around time to ship items is quick and since I only live a few states away, I usually receive my orders within a few days.  Before using my Coverstitch machine, I tacked down the raw sleeve edges with a water soluble glue stick.

Since I had everything I needed, I began hemming. It didn’t take long to finish.

Here’s how the inside hem looks.

And here’s one final view. Done!

My daughter is thrilled that her shirt has been repaired and she gave Bella, ‘the look’. I did tell my daughter, that this is a valuable lesson for her to keep everything out of Bella’s reach. 😆

 

What’s cooking…

Two Saturday’s ago, I made an herbal homemade mayonnaise and the next day, I made potato salad.

Last tuesday, I made a half/half homemade sausage and vegetarian pizza.

The next day I grilled outside and made hamburgers and grilled veggies. To the burgers I added finely chopped squash, mushrooms, fennel, sage, green onion, cumin, cracked black pepper… and other freshly ground spices that escape me at the moment. My nephew ate two and a half burgers. He said, “Aunt Opal, these are really good!” My daughter had one.

Last week, while my nephew was here, we spent a lot of time outside. My daughter and I plan to do the same thing this week.

Later this week, I will be sewing. I will be starting to make at least one garment for me! I’m thinking of sewing a maxi sundress. We’ll see…