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