Dog Gone Cute ta-da!!!!

Finally it's my turn at the Blog Hop run by Lorna over at Sew Fresh Designs.  When I first saw her Dog Gone Cute blocks I thought they were adorable and when a Quilt Along and Blog Hop were mentioned I jumped straight in.  This is my first time participating in a blog hop so please be gentle!

 

Well what can I say about the blocks and patterns?  Sooooo much and I have soooo many pictures that I don't know where to start.

 

The pattern was a dream to work with, once you got your head around all the pieces involved!!  In an attempt to be organised and efficient (that's my engineering background coming out) I set up a production line ........  I quickly reverted to making one block at a time because I found I was just using the quick unpick too much. 

 

The blocks were made using a stitch and flip method which I had never tried before.  Note - please do follow the pattern designer's instruction - sometimes they just happen to know what they are talking about ...... Let's just say that I didn't believe in ever ironing seams open before I made this block .... now I believe that ironing seams open has it's place - especially for precision on stitch and flip blocks!  I loved seeing the dog emerging from all the pieces ....

The blocks come in two sizes but I actually only ever made the smaller size.  I decided to use the blocks for a quilt for my daughter's upcoming birthday.  She had previously requested a quilt in blues and pinks so that's what I worked on.  She had no idea I was making it for her birthday and the secret sewing in a studio with the door closed was very different to how I normally work.  But then again I don't usually make a quilt in under three weeks!

I knew I didn't have the patience time to make a quilt solely made up of these blocks so I used some plain patches as filler and then decided to put my daughter's name on the side.  I liked the stitch and flip method so much I designed letters using this technique.

 

 

I had the backing already on my shelf but when I went to get some more fabric for the border (I went to get blue but came back with pink!) I saw the most adorable fabric with cats on and knew my daughter would fall in love with it.  It wasn't quite wide enough so I made a pieced panel to put in the middle.  I love how it turned out and the best part was it used up nearly all the scraps and my mistakes from the blocks which I kind of love!

 

 

The quilting was always going to be stippling.  Since I got my longarm machine in July my daughter has always loved the texture of the quilts which I have stippled so it was a no brainer!  But how to do the faces?  I decided that I would quilt over them but ensure I didn't go over the eyes or mouth.  I think it worked well!  Here's a before and after shot to see the difference the quilting makes.

 

 

And of course the all important person to impress .....

 

She loved it!!!  It was on her bed before we left for London that day ......

 

And if anyone's still reading(!) here's some full shots I managed to take of the quiltonce I got it off her bed!!

 

And for the back ....

 

 

So that's it.  I've named it Cats & Dogs.  I've been bursting to share it with you since her birthday which was two weeks ago!!  Thank you soooo much Lorna for a wonderful pattern and for hosting the blog hop.  I have loved making this (and I certainly would not have made it so quickly without the blog hop commitment) and loved visiting the other participants who have made such different things from the same pattern.

 

Oh and it's a tick against one of my items on the Finish Along 2015 Q4!!

 

To see some other makes here's the full list of the participants:

 

Tuesday, October 6 Karen of Run Sew Fun

Kris of Kris Loves Fabric
Anja of Anja Quilts
Kelly of Quilting it Out
Tish of Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

Thursday, October 8
Carol of Just Let Me Quilt
Nina of Inchworming
Doris of The Quilting Queen Online
Brandy of Pampered Pettit
Leena of Creative Instincts

Tuesday, October 13
Ruth of Charly and Ben’s Crafty Corner
Tanya of Tanya Quilts in Colorado
Laurel of Quilts by Laurel
Kathy of Kathy’s Quilting Blog
Deb of New Creative State

Thursday, October 15
Anita of Daydreams of Quilts
Gina of Quilts and Cakes
Beth of Words & Stitches
Rachel of Quiltineering
Julie of Mack and Mable

Tuesday, October 20
Cathy of A Quilting Chick
Selina of Selina Quilts
Shauna of Shauna’s World
Gayle of Pedal Sew Lightly
Kathy of Kayak Quilting

Thursday, October 22
Sandy of Upstairs Hobby Room
Heide of Heide’s Quilty Hugs
Britt-Inger of Hill Valley Quilter

Judy of How ART You?

Louisa of Sewmotion

Tuesday, October 27
Teje of Nero’s Patch and Post

Stephanie of Jak and Will

Valerie of Val’s Quilting Studio
Ellen of Georgia Florida Studio
Cristina of Pretty Little Quilts

Thursday, October 29
Abigail of Cut & Alter
Magdalena of iloveneutrals
Jenn of A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Anne of Batiks by the Bay
Susie of Susie's Sunroom
Tracy of Tracy’s Bits N Pieces