The other day a memory came back to me of a serious incident in my twenties involving a dog attack on a neighbor's toddler. No one witnessed the attack, only the aftermath. I treated the victim, who was permanently scarred on the face because of the attack, but I also happened to know the dog's owner. The mother of the child was horrified but did not blame the dog, which I thought was extremely decent of her. The dog's owner blamed the child, which may have been justified but did not help the situation. No one knew what really happened, as the dog couldn't defend itself, and the toddler was too young to describe it. Ultimately the owner put down the dog because her spouse was afraid it would attack their young child. No one got out of that incident without serious damage. I remembered all of this while reading an article about a similar situation. What surprised me was that I had not thought about the incident in at least forty years. It really upset me....
For the third panel of upholstery from my thrifted fabric bundle I wanted to make a padded mat for the top of the little box I use as a focal point/candle stand when I meditate. Yes, it sounds weird. I'm weird, there you go. I first handwashed the swatch, which did not shed as much dye as the first two. I folded the panel in half, trimmed it down to fit my box, and then sewed it all around, turning it right side out, hand sewing closed the gap and then machine stitching around the edges. The fabric is so thick I passed on batting it. I also turned the little trimmed piece into a book mark.