Oh my gosh…please get this thing off me!

We have a very thin dog.  She is an adorable, loving, sweet Jack Russell Terrier cross. 

We actually had her DNA checked (couldn’t resist- hey, I don’t have kids OK?).  They said she was a mix of Chihuahua and Italian greyhound.  The greyhound I see, the Chihuahua???  Not so much.

 

She’s actually pretty sick with liver failure and she’s only 4 years old.  She was born with a liver shunt.  She’s the best dog ever so it doesn’t seem fair…but we love every day we have with her.

 

Because she’s so thin and it’s so cold here, she has to wear something when she goes outside.  I made her a fleece coat but she and one of our other dogs destroyed it. 

 

So, I tried again.  I bought her some homemade “jammies” from Tails Me All About It. 

 

I’ve never tried to fit a dog into “feeties” before.  Turns out, she’s not too big on them.  It’s comical to see her try to walk in them! 

 

 

I actually bought them a little too short for her body so I added a fleece stripe down the center.

 

 

 

The workmanship is great, high quality.  I just wish she liked them better!

 

 

Love you Pearl!

Personalizing with Names

So, does anyone else try out a pattern or new technique and then want to do a bunch of those things until you're sick of them?  That happens to me a LOT.  I recently got into personalizing things with names. 

Now, I've decided that to properly create letters that look good and have a lot of character I need a AccuQuilt Cutter.  Probably not the GO version but the GIGANTIC, EXTRA HEAVY version.  WHY? Well, I double checked and as of now, the GO cutter doesn't have any accompanying alphabets.  AND, I really want to cut multiple layers of denim (for when I cut up old blue jeans) and I know the large version of the AccuQuilt Cutter will go through a lot more layers at once.  And...I know I can think of some more reasons!

But, for now, I have been hand stenciling letters onto fabric.  Not a quick process but it works.  I decided on pillowcases and travel pillows for my niece, nephew and their friends.

I really liked the process and would love doing more...but it really does take a long time to trace and cut out those letters.

Here's what they looked like.

I experimented with decorative stitches until I found one I liked.

Both girly and boy-ish, I tried out both types of pillows.  I'm happy to say that the recipients were pleased!

I was also really pleased with the final product.  Until next time!!


Heather  :)

Lots and lots of Circles!!

I decided to make a quilt that I've been wanting to make for a really long time.  It's called a "Less Than Traditional" quilt or more commonly called "Cathedral Windows".  Basically, you make a whole bunch of circles and once they're assembled the quilt is done.

Here is my box of circles.  They're a random assortment of Asian fabrics all backed with a purple batik.

Notice the white basting stitch around the edge of each one?  You sew the fabrics together, (right sides matching) and then turn the circles right side out.  Then you smooth the outer edge and put in a long basting stitch to keep the edges flat and keep the fabrics from turning to one side or the other.

One of the reasons I decided to do this project was that I could turn and stitch the circles during my lunch hour.  I worked on them on a recent plane trip to and from Hawaii and from there on my lunch hours.  I'm all done now and I have 96 circles.

You assemble the circles in units of four.  Here is one of my units.
 I've seen the Less Than Traditional technique at many shows.  The first time I saw it was when I went to the Paducah, KY show.  (It was AWESOME, by the way!)  :)

The author's website is Quilting With Charlie if you'd like to check out the technique. 

Here is the biggest section I have so far.  It is a combination of 4 segments made up of 4 circles each (for a total of 16 circles).

 Here's the thing I'm not liking.  When the segments of four come together, the area where the stitching meets is pretty stiff.  Not sure what I'm doing wrong...but I really do like the overall look. 

It was a good way to use up all of those Asian fat quarters!!  I'll keep plugging away at it.

Thanks for stopping by!  Heather  :)