Puppy Bow

 Happy Monday morning!  My little puppy quilt is almost complete.  Instead of sharing my quilt top progress today I decided to share how I made the bows for this cute little free Westie quilt block.

My original plan was to hand draw the bow and make applique templates.  Well doesn't that sound like a lot of work?!  Why not just sew a real bow to the block?  Sounds soooo much easier.  

Now remember the fabrics in these blocks are all old shirts.  So I can't tell you how long to cut your pieces, but I can tell you how long to sub cut them.  You'll need one strip that is 1.5" wide by at least 5" long.  And one piece that is cut 1" wide and at least 1.75" long.  On the 1.5" piece, press a quarter inch seam on both long sides.  On the 1" wide piece press the long edges towards the center.  Stitch down both sides of the 1.5" strip after turning the edges.  Sub cut the 1.5" strip into 5" lengths.  Cut the 1" inch wide piece into 1.75" lengths.  This might make more sense if you look at the pictures below.

Okay now that everything is pressed, stitched and cut let's add a few drops of applique glue(washable school glue works too!)  I use these handy close pins to hold them while they dry.  Now would be a good time to have a chocolate and pet some pretty fabrics in the stash.

Or in my case look for my camera tripod....it's still lost.  So lets improvise...cloths pins for fingers.  A picture is a 1,000 words so I'm going let the next group of pictures speak for themselves.

The only reason the pin is in the first picture below is because I needed my hands to take the picture.  You gals understand that you can add the glue without pinning.  Again I used cloths pins to hold it tight.  Or you could use your iron on Medium heat to set the glue.  I let mine dry with cloths pins while I caught up on some wifely chores.

Now that they're dry we can attach them to the cute little puppy using a medium heat setting.

Since the red shirt fabric was kinda thick I also pressed from the backside just to make sure it was good and dry.

It's really hard to see my invisible stitching....hence the name INVISIBLE.   The red dashed line below shows where I stitched.  I wanted the bow to maintain as much "fluffy" as it could and still be secure.

Here's the finished block.   I put the scissors and pencil in the bow just to show where I didn't stitch.

Hope this answered your questions Britney. 

~ Lea Anne ~

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Podunk Pickin's # 19 ~Sew DOG-gone cute~

Did ya'll know I'm a dog lover?  Yes ma'am! And these blocks make me sit pretty and beg for more.    I'm that crazy lady you bump into at the pet shop that asks if she can pet your dog, then 20 minutes later your wishing you had said "NO"  Why?  Because I must pet every dog, love on it, and ask a slew of question about your little fur baby.  I've never met a pooch that didn't make me baby talk until it's owner is totally annoyed.   

Normally a quilt in these dark colors would turn me off,  and quickly become a UFO.  Not this one.  It's so doggone cute!   You can find the template for the FREE dog applique here.    Two free templates are provided.  One large dog and one small.  I'm using the large one for my blocks.   Of course if you need a larger size I'm sure you gals are tech savvy and can figure out to enlarge them.  The bows are my creation and not part of the freebie.  The addition of the little bows took this block over the top.  They  are made with a little stitching and some applique glue, then glued to the 9.5" block and stitched in place.

It's hard to believe that each block is 100% shirt fabrics, even the background.

Here's the quilt layout plan below.  I know it's off balance but it's crunch time.  I'm working with what she gave me ...and at a very fast pace.  It's about memories not perfection.  

Okay that's my Podunk freebie Pick of the week.  You'll want to make sure you come back next Sunday for a new free quilt block design, designed by little ole me.  Here's a hint...You're going to "LOVE" it.

An InLinkz Link-up

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More about the shirts pattern

These little shirts are a hot topic in my email box.  It happens everytime I post pictures of them.  There's been many request for a tutorial.  Well girls, I would if I could.  This is a published pattern.  It's called "Aloha Shirts" By Beyond the Reef.  

It's been a few years since Connie purchased the pattern at a LQS....So...

After a little searching I found the pattern at Aloha Quilt shop, click here to go straight to the pattern. The little buttons were purchased at Joann's a few years ago but I'm sure they still have them. 

Just how big are these blocks? Well they are 9 inches before setting them on point.  My blocks finish at 12 inches.   Now I'd like to tell you they were super easy.  But we had to use the folding instructions for each and every block.  Maybe it was because we were talking and quilting, maybe it's because we're dense.  Whatever the reason I'd definitely make these again even though I found them a bit complicated.

Our quilt is still on the wall collecting dust while I piece the easier quilt patterns from Connie's husbands shirts.

See you tomorrow when I'll resume Podunk Pickin's and hopefully another quilt finished quilt top.

~ Lea Anne ~

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A Flimsy Friday

The decision was made to make the easier of the many quilts first.  If you have no clue what I'm talking about you can read about it here in my previous post.  I've been stealing 5 or 10 minutes, here and there over the last couple of weeks.  It finishes at about 74 x 86.  

After a lot of digging through old picture files I found this hilarious photo of Connie when she first starting making the shirt blocks for the quilt in the previous post.

The next quilt is already in the works.  Being that my time is so crunched and limited I'm opting for easy, and using someone else's pattern.  You can find the Scottie/Westie dog pattern here.  

The cute little doggies are coming along quite quickly. My plan is to use the red shirt fabric below for little red bow dog collars.  Awe...hopefully it will be as cute in real life as my minds eye says it is.

Thanks for stopping by and cheering me on during my quilt crunch month. See you in a few days with another flimsy!  Wish me luck!

  

 ~ Lea Anne ~

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