Dog Quilt Done

My dog Lex is so good he needed his own quilt. While I just wanted him off my quilt as he is very good at taking more and more for himself. He sleeps at my feet in the evening and was taking my quilt at every chance he got. Now his quilt is done and he loves it. I worried he may still want my quilt and not take his new on but he loves his quilt.

I love the food fabric. Lex likes all this food. Beer, hot-dogs, cupcakes, ice-cream, doughnuts, and hamburgers.  I should have used pizza too. He was a very bad dog one day and eat the family supper - our home made pizza.

Over the Christmas break I did some of my own quilting. You know, the long arm business person never has time to do her own quilts. I wanted to practice some different stitches and I hate to waste time or good stitching so the dog quilt was a practice quilt. One rule was I was not to rip out any stitches, it all stays in good bad and the ugly. Well I did not have many ugly or bad, mostly good.

When I showed it at guild (and still had the binding to hand stitch) Many guild members liked the quilt and wanted to be my dog. They thought it was far to good for the dog.

Here is the back. it shows the quilting the best.

I used disappearing nine patch. Can you see I have some blocks in the wrong place. I put it together at retreat and got some blocks mixed up. Oh well it is just the dog quilt.

2011 Recap Missed Quilts

I sit under this finished quilt as I write this blog post. I had sometime this summer and fall when I did not have a camera and fell behind on blogging. Tonight I thought I would show you what I did complete this past year. 

 I started this quilt in the fall of 2010 and put it aside till Sept 2011 when I quilted it. I had it ready for the Leduc guild quilt show in October. I quilted a little different this time, making sure to quilt the units in the rows.  

Fish Pond Quilt got quilted in Aug or Sept 2011 and also in time for the Oct quilt show. I was really happy to finish this one. I feel this quilt helped me get my sewing MoJo back on track. Sometime in 2009 and all throughout 2010 I had trouble finding the joy in quilting. I was in a funk. Have any of you had trouble sewing for the joy of it?  I still did the long arm quilting for my customers but did not hang out in my sewing room to work on my quilts. Why was I quilting? Why did it matter? This one was fun to finish yet it was still a challenge. I do not always do patterns. I like to make my own way.

The detail of Fish Pond Quilt. I spent a few(5) days quilting this one. I know one day was spend digging out and looking for patterns I could quilt with. I also used some 12 wt thread for some of the quilt patterns. Much of the work was free hand. It turned out great. After the guild quilt show, I left it in the living room to use. My son #2 now snuggles under it tonight.

Custom saddle pad for horse back riding. I used a few recycled wool blankets and some wool batting and a black cotton on top.  It was thick to quilt and I had some thread troubles but I was pleased. It has the straps to hook on to my saddle and girth and stay in place when I ride. The other side has my horses name on it. It was finished in Aug of 2011 and is well used already this year.

This is the dog quilt. I got the top done at retreat in Oct. It now is on the quilt machine and should be done very soon. It is the disappearing nine patch.  I am still laughing at a junk food quilt for the dog. All his favourite   foods.

One last small sewing project. A bag for our high line ropes when we tie the horses in the mountains. It is made with the leg of a old pair of jeans. It close and holds the rope from running every were. And it can be hung up. 

I am considering on making a list of my UFO. I have many, and many are very old. I know I will not finish them all this year nor will I every finish them all. Some UFO may never get done. I think we out grow some projects. Maybe an old class project or a pattern that you did not like once you started it. I also have some smaller quilts that I was playing 'What if' and has no plans to finish as the What if was not working but I have learned from some of them still. I will work on my list and maybe just limit it to quilts I want to finish sooner. 

Happy New Year 

Disappearing Nine Patch

  This is food fabric for a Dog quilt. Yes My sweet dog needs his own quilt. He had surgery this week and is doing well but hates the cone.  I wanted a quick quilt so I have gone with Disappearing Nine Patch. It is also the same fabric I used for my casserole covers from yesterday. If you want a quick quilt this is it. Follow along if you have not made this block before.

First I sewed the nine patch blocks together. I think I used 6" squares. I know some have used 5 inch square. Just keep them all the same size. Note my black fabric in the middle.

Once sewn. Press seams and cut right down the middle. Both up and down and left and right. See the black fabric from the middle is cut into four smaller square units.

Now the fun part. Give the new units a twist. Turn them. There are a couple of different ways to lay them out now. Play around and see what you like the best. See were you like the little square ( Black Bones in my quilt). Then sew them back together again. You now have a new block.

We are spoiling the dog big time.  He hates the cone he has to wear and does not do well in his kennel for the night. Wines the whole time, so the first night my husband slept with him on the floor. And I plan to tonight. This way he wears the cone and can not lick but will sleep without the noise.

Christmas Gifts 2011

 I can celebrate. I got all my customers quilts done for Christmas, just this past hour. Now I can work on my gifts.

This is a dutch oven and quilted cover to take to a pot luck party. I made this one for a dog trial prize draw early this month. I have one more to finish for a family gift. I am laughing, I got my sister in law's name this year and wanted to give her this, bought the pot early, on sale. Well then she sent her list out and guess what was top of her list. A dutch oven, so I did well.

I used some disappearing nine patch blocks using some food fabric. Did you notice the bones? My way of getting dog related fabric in.  I will show you how I did the disappearing nine patch on Friday. I am still working on what I need to say so I get it correct.