Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop

Hello world, today is my day to show you what I created with the Dog Gone Cute pattern. But before I show you what I created, let me tell you a little about my process. When I saw the pattern on Sew Fresh Quilts I knew right away I wanted it. Being a dog lover I just knew I wanted to make this a quilt with this pattern. I lost my precious Tucker last July and I thought it would be a great memorial quilt for him. So the first thing I did was make one of the small blocks, but after working with a pattern that had lots of little pieces, I just wasn't feeling the little blocks. So I decided to do a quilt with 4 blocks, using the big blocks. Sounds like I have a well thought out plan, right? Well I wish it all came together that easily.

I found fabric for three of the four fairly easily, but struggled with the fabric for Tucker, but finally found what I wanted. I thought different backgrounds for each block would be cute and then sash them to tie them all together. I love the grunge line of fabric, so I found colors that I liked for each block's background and the blocks went together quickly. After a small sashing snafu, I got the top together and hated it. Now know it wasn't the pattern's fault, I didn't like having a quilt wider than it was long.  It was a mental issue with me.  So I was trying to decide if I wanted to make more blocks to make it longer or what. But I had decided I wanted to hang it on my sewing room wall and being longer wouldn't really work.

And then we added to the family and I needed 5 blocks not 4. So I decided to change what I was making. Instead of one quilt, I was going to do 5 mini quilts and hang them individually on my sewing room wall. But because I time I couldn't get all 5 done, I've completed 4 of the five and now it time to show my fur baby's in quilt form.

Up first is Cooper, he was such a crazy little dog. He was actually Sharla's dog, but he loved to snuggle with me. He was fierce for a little dog, and told you about it, but he also loved to give kisses. He passed away in 2013 and I still miss him. Here is a photo of him and then the block I did representing him.

Next is my precious Tucker. I still miss him terribly and expect to see him at the door every time I come home. He was my quilt buddy, he loved to sleep under my long arm as I sewed and quilted. I had the hardest time with the fabric for him because he had a golden brown face and I just didn't find a lot of fabric that color. Dark brown or orange brown I could find, but not golden brown.

My third block is of Zoey a princess in her own mind. Mom adopted her and she tolerates us living in her house. She has pretty much gone totally deaf, but she still enjoys sitting outside on sunny days and sleeping wherever and whenever she pleases. I did modify the pattern slightly for her because her white top is not all the way across the top of her head.

The last block I've finished is Hollywood. He has been a character since the day my nephew brought him home. He is the first big dog I've had in a long time and the first shedding dog. And let me say there is "holly hair" everywhere. I can never get it all. But he is a sweet dog and I would give him up for the world.

I so wanted to finish the 5th mini before this blog hop, because he is the reason I changed my layout. Ok maybe I would have changed it anyway, but he has definitely gotten a hold of my heart. He is still very very timid, but we are getting glimpses of personality coming out every now and then. He is Marley, soon to have a quilt for my wall.

You may have noticed that I didn't quilt over the doggie faces, and that is because they were just too cute. I've already purchased some command clips to hang them on my sewing room wall and will do so as soon as I finish Mr. Marley. I did lay all the finished blocks together to give you an idea of what the bigger version of the quilt looked like. The sashing was wider, and I think if I had made it smaller I would have been happier with the layout.

If you are a dog lover, I would really recommend the Dog Gone Cute pattern, the directions are easy to follow and it makes up super cute.  I'm thinking of doing one as a baby quilt in the future. I've been following along with all the different stops on the hop and have see so many different versions that just make me smile. And head over to Sew Fresh Quilts to see the other stops on the hop, there are some awesome quilts that have been shown so far.