Two Knitted Dog Sweaters

I knit these dog sweaters using leftover yarns.  This first one was knit using the pattern Patons Cables and Hearts Dog Coat.  Both were made for a family member's dog.

This one was knit using the pattern Patons Biscuits and Bones Dog Coat.

Quilt Damage Repaired

Our rescue Jack Russell terrier Harlow decided to chew on this old quilt for some unknown reason.  We adopted her in March this year.  She had not chewed on any of the quilts until recently when she did this.

I repaired it by trimming the hole and then hand sewing a piece of batting to fit.  Then I machine stitched the words "Harlow was here" on a heart shaped piece of felted wool.  I then machine quilted this over the hole.  I then hand appliqued another heart using dog paw cotton fabric on the back.\

Here is a picture of Harlow (usually sweet).

Dog Bed

I used a damaged towel to cover an old pillow to make a dog bed.  I plan to donate it to my local humane society.   You can see the scraps of the damaged towel folded on top of the finished dog bed.

Tiny Dog Sweater

I made this tiny dog sweater for my Pilates' instructor's dog, Dolce (weighs <5 are="" br="" by="" dog="" from="" hartwood="" is="" knitted="" lbs="" leftovers="" nbsp="" pattern="" previous="" projects.="" rose.="" s="" sweater="" the="" tiny="" winnie="" yarns="">

Lizzie Portrait Quilt

This is my third portrait quilt.  The first two were the pear still life ones (here and here).  This one was made using a photo I took of my dog.  The teacher from the iQuilt class (Leni Levenson) actually took this photo of Lizzie and turned it into the pattern.   

The quilt is machine appliqued and quilted.  It measures approx 20.5 in x 21.75 in.  It is not perfect but turned out fairly well.  Here's the finished quilt.

Here are two detail photos

There are some things I hope to do better with more practice.  For example, I know that red fabric often will bleed if not washed (and sometime even if prewashed). The red fabric had been prewashed and when I washed the fabric markings from the quilt I used cold water to try to prevent bleed.  It happened anyway.  I fixed it by appliqueing more fabric over the red areas as you can see.

Also as I did the "dog" first and then decided on the background I had the brown fabric of the floor showing through the white of the "dog."  I had to "underline" the dog with a layer of muslin to hid the brown.

Just for fun check out this photo of Lizzie sitting with me while I was working on this quilt.

More Dog Shirts for Lizzie

I've been making Lizzie shirts.  I've have used old and new (on sale at greatly reduced cost) shirts and recycled them into shirts for Lizzie.  The pattern is one I drafted using a purchased shirt and have tweaked as I made the shirts.   This pink one was made from a purchased child's shirt featuring the Wonder Woman logo.

 I love this camouflage shirt!  Also a purchased child's t-shirt recycled.

This blue one is recycled from a shirt my husband donated.  I should have cut it with a bit more ease as the fabric isn't as stretching as it at first appeared. It's a little difficult to get on/off so won't get used much.

 I do like the white strips though

 This red one sparkles in the sunlight.  It is from a purchased child's shirt.

 You can see a few sparkles in this photo.  They are really visible outdoors in the sunlight.

 This one is my favorite (followed by the camo one).  It is recycled from one of my old shirts.  It has a mock turtle neck.

Three More Dog Shirts

I recently bought a Husqvarna Huskylock s21 serger.  I've made three dog shirts (two from knit T-shirt fabric and one from an old flannel shirt) as part of learning to use the machine which is way more powerful, has more extra feet, and more stitches than the serger I had years ago (broke it making a bag for a niece, sewing through too many thicknesses).  I attempted to draft my own patterns.  This first one I drafted using an old Simplicity pattern #9520, dog patterns for large dogs like my old Labradors.  It's a little big.

 

The next two shirts I made using a pattern I drafted from a purchased shirt that fits Lizzy. 

 I think I need to raise the neckline in the front about an inch and use a 15 in neck band rather than 16 in band.

This one I made using the flannel shirt.  I choose to put the buttons along the back to facilitate putting it on Lizzie.  I took the collar/band unit apart and resewed it.  The collar was split in the middle with the once back collar sewn so that the button on the band ended up in the back.  The front of the collar was sew so it sits at the front of Lizzie's neck but at the back of the collar band. 

 The collar back was tapered from full width at the back to half width at the front of Lizzie's neck.  It could use a bit more ease so it doesn't gap/pull but otherwise fits nicely.

Lizzie's Heart Sweater

This is the second sweater I've knit for our dog Lizzie.  It was knit using the pattern Cables and Hearts Dog Coat by Paton.  The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease Sportweight in the color blue heather.  

Shirts for my dog Lizzie

I drafted a pattern for a pullover shirt for my dog Lizzie.  I used these notes (http://www.barlowscientific.com/technotes/home/sweater.html) as a reference which are quite helpful.

Here's my first one using an old T-shirt with the words "dog rule" on the front.

 Lizzie approves.

I did a bit of tweaking to tighten and raise the neck a bit as well as tightening the torso a bit too for this one.  It was made of left over fleece.  I used sock cuffs for the sleeves as I didn't have quite enough fleece.  The socks worked really well.

I'm not sure if I'll leave the pattern alone now or tweak it more.

Dog Sweater for Lizzie

We recently adopted a rescue dog to replace our chocolate Labrador Rusty who died back in January.  Lizzie is a 4-5 yr old Jack Russell/Bull terrier mix.  She is house-broken. She is intelligent and has already learned how to use the dog-door.  I am working with her on the basic commands. 

With winter coming I decided to knit her a few sweaters.  This is the first one.  It was knit using the pattern Biscuits & Bones Dog Coat by Paton.  The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease in mushroom color.  Lizzie loves her sweat, but I had a tough time getting a photo of her from the side while standing.  So here's one of her curled up while wearing it. 

Here's an old photo of my sweet Rusty.

Sewing Room Remodel In Progress

My sewing room has been long overdue for some remodeling.  The carpet and paint as you can see from these first two photos were old and dirty from living with dogs (got to love them) and time.  Besides it never seemed to be a good time to close the sewing machine and take the time but currently we are dog-less as our Rusty died this past January.  No more excuses.

In this second photo you can see the carpet (probably 25 plus years) was originally a pale blue.  Regardless of my cleaning it got to be impossible to get rid of the dirt stains.

 I have chosen a light golden yellow for the new paint.  The floor is a faux wood similar to Pergo and snaps in place.  My dear husband is fortunately a good handyman.  We duct-taped a beach towel over the west wall to block some of the summer sun out and help keep the room cool.

 The clothing closet has been turned into an area for my small antique writing desk with some shelves added for books, etc.

Two Dog Beds

I made two dog beds, approx 20 in X 36 in (only one shown but both alike).  I made them using recycled cushions from outdoor furniture (the covers where in taters), pillowcases, and fleece fabric. I gave the beds to my local humane society.

 Here are the materials used prior to be put together.  Each dog bed contains two of the recycled cushions.