The Cute is in the Trimmings

Dog dresses!   These two were made using some fabric scraps from my neighbor (the bodice) and arm bands from a dance recital.  DD dreamed these up and they turned out even cuter than I'd imaged.  

The tiger stripes needed a little something, so I added these chained bows.  They are scalloped and then tied, so each is just a single ribbon which runs all the way from the left hip to the right one.  I'm sure these will be even cuter on.

Fancy Dog Dresses

Yes I'm getting back into the swing of making dog dresses.  I tell you what planning to do anything in the summer time is rather like trying to cram a mole into an ant hill.  Today I have a dozen dresses for you to see.  6 matched pairs for the little sister and big sister we adore so much.

Now the red dresses and the pink ones are embroidery blanks, they are simple now so they can be embellished later.  As for the black with the tiger stripes I am most proud of that one.  When I was handed that fabric, I was told "I don't know why I bought that fabric I don't even like it, it's more what my husband would like".  Well hopefully by adding the sparkle black to the top thereby toning down the orange everyone will like it.  The fabric by itself made me daydream about DD and our new dog Shelby.  Wouldn't it be neat if they dressed as Jasmine and Rajah for Halloween?

New Curtains

I just finished up some new curtains for DD, at a whopping 8 years old I felt it was time to replace the faded Winnie the Pooh Bear ones back from her nursery days.  I took what my mother taught me years ago about using two layers of fabric to create a light blocking effect and made these using a beautiful hand made batik on one side and a coordinating solid purple on the reverse.  Now should I decide to make tie backs I will made them using the last little bit of batik fabric that I have.  That way the curtains can be turned so that the purple side shows with a bit of batik detail or the simple batik as shown here.

Doggie Do Doo, Baggie Holder

The other day in my online shopping travels I encountered an adorable dog bone.  The purpose of the dog bone is to be carried  along with your dog leash when you take Fido out for his walkies.  This way you always have a baggie for any little (or huge) dookie piles left behind by your best friend.  Well you know I just had to make one.  Mine is quilted, made with french seams and has no form of Velcro or other closer for you to catch yourself on when you really just need the bag out now.  I made it big enough that it will hold the rolls of bags you can buy at your local pet store for this purpose or you can just re-purposed grocery sacks.

Personally I think it's cute enough to make a change purse as well.  To bad I'm not into all that fussy crafty stuff.

To Spite Sore Arms

Well now I have learned a very important lesson, never show off the corner of a quilt when you can show off the entire thing.  

Mandala Back so far

This new picture of the back of the Mandala quilt shows off the deep rich blue very nicely, where as the other image seemed to show the blue as lighter and more vibrant than it is.  I'm not sure what should come next?  Perhaps green?  I have two deep greens, one a batik and one a print that might work.  I also wondered if perhaps I should do something with pieced blocks?  I have more spirographs from the front of the quilt 6 big ones and 14 little ones if someone was thinking I should add a hint from the front on the back.  Though I'd like to save one or two of the big ones for a pillow...  At your suggestions I think the answer here is to use only deep rich tones, vs. bold bright ones that would detract from the Kaleidoscope blocks.