Friday, December 1, 2017

Foster Puppy Finish


I have to say this is a very satisfying finish.  These adorable little puppies will not be staying with me, but instead traveling on to a good home.  I was only their foster mom.  Before you think I've lost my mind, lets start at the beginning.

Back in September, my quilt blog friend Karen (KaHolly) had one simple request for her birthday...Dog Gone Cute Blocks from Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilt's QAL.  Karen hoped to turn the blocks she received into wall hangings and small quilts to raise money to help with the care of animals that are displaced from their owners because of natural disasters.  More specifically the hurricanes that blew through the southern US earlier this fall.

As many of you know, I am an animal lover.  I couldn't imagine losing my fur babies or being separated from them, so I knew I wanted to help.  I emailed Karen to see if there was a need on her part, maybe more smaller blocks than larger ones and she said she would happily take anything.  Anything at all.


I decided on four large blocks using a cute little pastel with gold FQ bundle and gray and white polka dots.  In no time at all, I had the blocks all stitched up.


They were just kind of staring at me wagging their tails like, "what do we do now, human."  So it got me thinking, Karen is probably going to get so many blocks, she will be swimming in puppies for months.  I've made it this far, why not just sew the blocks together and add some borders?  So that's exactly what I did.  It was time to train these puppies to be well behaved and functional dogs.  Ready at the drop of the hat to make someone happy and raise money for those animals that need it.


For the most part they were very well behaved and learned quickly.  There was only one little oopsy one of them bit me.


I decided on Lorna's quick and easy wavy lines in a medium gray thread color.  I tried two new things on this project; the first being Superior Thread in Silver and the second the Handi Quilter Glide Foot.


The Glide Foot came with my Sweet Sixteen when I purchased it.  It is a clear plastic bowl shaped foot that can be used with quilting a quilt with applique or other embellishments.  Because if its rounded shape, the foot can easily pass over quilt elements that might cause a normal hopping foot to snag.  I will say that it did easily glide over my quilt top and probably would work like a dream over applique.  Not sure I would make it my everyday foot, but it was nice for a change.

For the binding I chose to do a scrappy flange with the left over fat quarters from the bundle.


All that I need to do is finish hand stitching down the hanging tab on the back of the quilt and post these little puppies to Karen.




I hope that by sending a finished quilt, it can help take some of the pressure off of her and even free her up for a quilting squirrel if it comes her way.  Stitching for a cause is always heart warming and good work, but you should always have a bit a freedom to work on something for yourself as well.  Being able to help the animals and Karen has brought a smile to my face and I thank her for letting us help with her project.  Oh, and if you are reading this, Karen, I'm not very fluent in other languages, so I trained the puppies in pig latin :)


Today I'm linking up with Main Crush Monday, Finished or Not FridayTGIFF, and Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop!

19 comments:

Cheryl said...

Beautiful finish and it will be going to a great cause.

Preeti said...

Cute puppies and well-trained too. That is the best of both worlds.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Tish,
What a fun post! Those puppies are adorable, and I am sure Karen will be so thrilled to receive a finished quilt. I can't even imagine the undertaking of receiving blocks from others - all the different sizes, colors, fabrics, patterns. Oh my! I sure hope the new owner speaks pig latin. ~smile~ Roseanne

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

What a fantastic cause and how caring of you to take the time to fully train the pups for Karen. The colorful flanged binding is a lovely accent!

Nancy J said...

How to contain an exuberant puppy? Put him in a quilt with his friends. This is wonderful, and a finish for Karen will give her great delight. I know down here when there was a request for heart blocks, after a huge disaster some miles away from where she lived, a friend was inundated, with literally thousands, and asked for help to sew them into quilts, and then quilt them all. Even a little donation is so helpful, and what a wonderful cause.From one animal lover to another.

Lorna McMahon said...

Your pastel pups are beautiful, Tish! You make a great foster mom. Those puppies are so well trained! Love the scrappy flange binding. Makes the perfect finish!

piecefulwendy said...

Those pups are so cute, and what a nice thing to do! Perfect way to end a week!

Stitchin At Home said...

Your well trained pups are so dog gone cute! A satisfying finish is the best kind.

Vicki in MN said...

That was so sweet of you to finish up a quilt for her. They are guaranteed to put a smile on someone's face. How could it not, they are so dog gone cute!!

Jen Shaffer said...

These are adorable and a finished quilt will be very appreciated, I'm sure. Well done!

Louise said...

Aw, what good dogs! They will make someone very happy and raise money to help other good dogs, too :)

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Very cute. And so kind of you to make a quilt. I was only able to make a couple of blocks. Definitely a great cause.

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

well done, I am sure these foster pups will go to a good home, though it will be hard to part with them. For me, way back last Easter I thought I would make a mini for my future dil, her dog looks just like this . And guess what? It is still in my head.

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts said...

She will love it, and the puppies are going to make someone very, very happy! I love all the polka dots. I like using the glide foot on those cross stitch quilts I get, but like you I wouldn't make it my everyday quilting foot.

Jayne said...

You probably saved Karen a lot of time! Your pups turned out perfectly tamed! How could you not love the sweetness of these guys...

Sue said...

This is such a cute finish Tish! I love the dot background. I think I'm going to have to add it to my wish list.

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

I have this pattern.....and I am president of a rescue group in Baton Rouge. Maybe I need to follow your lead and make a raffle quilt!

Sandra Walker said...

Beautiful job, especially adding that scrappy flange binding--genius! I love that you are kindness itself by making her an entire. Finished. Quilt. I think I love you even more than I already do. mwah!

Sandy Panagos said...

How sweet of you to make the wallhanging for Karen instead of sending just blocks. It turned out great! I love the way you wrote this. So clever.

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