Thursday 29 October 2015

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

 

 
 
 

26 comments:

  1. Great quilt that you designed. No doubt your daughter loved it.

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  2. Love how you combined it with other blocks. Love the colours too.

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  3. That's one happy looking birthday girl..... Glad she liked her quilt! You did an amazing job, Abigail. This is such a pretty quilt!

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  4. Such a happy girl! Super cute dog gone cute finish. Great job. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Heide

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  5. That turned out so cute! I love the other blocks added to the mix.

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  6. I love your Cats and Dogs Quilt! Your customized touches make it beautiful and so special!
    And you can see how much she adores it!! { I love making the back with scraps from the project, too!}
    Susie

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  7. Great photo of the birthday girl and her quilt! Love the lettering - it turned out perfect for a girls birthday present!

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  8. That is one happy looking girl holding her beautiful quilt! I love the design you created and the letters for her name. The stippling was an excellent choice...cute, cute, cute!

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  9. Adorable!! What a fantastic finish. I LOVE the pieced backing, they are my new favorite. :)

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  10. I love your original design! It was a smart way to get maximum impact out of fewer pup blocks (I made the small ones too... I wouldn't want to make a twin sized quilt worth!) I'm not normally one for pink, but when a little one requests it, you've gotta go for it. Great job!

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  11. She looks so happy. What a wonderful job you did with your changes to the pattern. I love her name and the alternate blocks. It actually makes the pups you did pop nicely.

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  12. Simply adorable! I love the colors! :)

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  13. Very cute. You did a great job with the design and I love your daughters name on the side. Thanks for sharing!

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  14. great quilt finish. love how you made it your own!

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  15. It turned out beautifully, and I love that you put your daughter's name on it.

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  16. Your quilt is gorgeous, and it sounds like you enjoyed making it as much as I did! The addition of your daughter's name is perfect, as you can see by the joy in her face! Well done!

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  17. Love how you showcased your pups and personalized your quilt!

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  18. Love this quilt. Love the aqua and red together and well the whole thing!! Beautiful! Your daughter is one lucky girl :)!

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  19. This is a great finish. I like how you put her name down the side.

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  20. Oh I just love your finish! The plain blocks you used as fillers work so well. And including her name...perfect! I made my blocks individually, too. I just couldn't keep track of each face otherwise. Stipple quilting is a favorite over here, too. You did a great job avoiding the eyes and nose! Well done! Happy birthday, Cassia!

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  21. Love the colours you chose and how you put this lovely quilt together. Your daughter's face says it all! Congrats on your first blog hop. A great result!

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  22. What a special birthday gift! Putting love in and getting love out, that's the magic of handmade quilts.

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  23. Oh how fun!! I wish I quilted when my girls where young...moments like this are priceless!!

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  24. What a perfect quilt for your lovely daughter. I love how you added her name.

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