Tuesday 13 October 2015

Dog Gone Cute & Simple Free Motion Paw Motif Tutorial

 
It's my turn on the Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop today!  I've been looking forward to this one for ages.  Like many of us in blogland, when I first saw Lorna's pattern I was totally hooked and knew I had to make it.  After all these pups are the spitting image of our Jack Russell Terrier Charly.
And like many more when I first saw this pattern it reminded me of all our past pooches too and I was determined to make a memory quilt of sorts.  Using the smaller blocks in the pattern I made a block for our two previous JRT's Toby & Patch as well.
Same but different!
Over the last 28 years we have only ever had 3 weeks where we without a Jack Russell Terrier.    Toby was our fist Jack Russell and he used to have 1 ear up and 1 ear down so I modified one of Lorna's blocks for him.
When I was a teenager Toby used to sleep under my bed.  I woke one night and could hear breathing and you know when its dark and you just freeze and have to force yourself to be brave and look under the bed, well that's when I saw the furball snoring his head off!  That became his favourite spot and was very comforting, after the first shock to realise he was there!

When Toby died, a week later we got Patch who had a shamrock shape patch on his back when we was small.  It changed to a smudge as he grew so not the best choice as a name really! We had him for 15 years and it was funny, we babied him more as a senior citizen than we ever did as a puppy.   I'd put on an extra handful of pasta just for him!
I used to travel quite a bit with work and every time I'd Skype home, the first question I'd ask was how's the dog?  I didn't inquire about anyone else! 2 weeks after putting Patch to sleep we got Charly.

Seriously!  How does he fit in there?
Working out the design
Charly used to sleep on my stash until Wilbur stole her bed.  My blog is named after her as she is my little pal and finds a space where ever I am, usually on my lap or on the chair next to me when I'm sewing!

She is a very inquisitive dog and when she hears a noise she can't make sense of will do the really cute thing that dogs do: the head tilt .  She's super cute when she does it and I had to include it to make her personality stand out on my quilted cushion.  I oversized the block with background fabric and cut in on an angle.  Not sure if I shouldn't have given her more of an angle - it is quite extreme when they do it!

As we have only had 3 JRT's so far I put 3 hearts in the last corner as we love our dogs to bits!  G did ask which one the big heart is for and I may have given him the death stare look.   3 hearts for all 3 dogs not a big heart for anyone in particular...(not that I'll admit but I think you can guess!)

Charly went on holidays to 2 different houses while we were away in the states and neither would accept anything from me to thank them for minding her.  So of course I'm going to make something!  Originally I had planned on making Dog Gone cute for myself using aqua and pink on charcoal but have since decided I'll be making the pattern as a thank you,  I've only just started the cutting and will be a while yet (hopefully before Christmas!)

So here's my finished Dog Gone Cute Memory Quilt turned into a 24" cushion! 
And of course I couldn't leave Wilbur out.  I have all the instructions written up for a Hound Block and made some changes after making this one.  I've narrowed the head and widened the ears and just need to test some of the angled pieces for the ears this weekend.  I should have the block ready to share before the blog hop ends on October 29th in case anyone wants to make a long earred furball to go with their puppies too!
Wilbur I quilted with a meandering loopy all over pattern.  I think it gives really lovely texture in the face and reminds me of fur.  Something I plan on doing with the bigger Dog Gone Cute Blocks.
For my cushion using the smaller blocks, I just stiched in the ditch the faces and got brave and tried  an all over dog paw pattern in the background (previous post here).  It is a very simple free motion pattern and I thought those getting started with free motion quilting might like to see the steps I used to get this look, so have a short tutorial below:
Free motion quilted dog paw meander!
Tutorial:
Start with a wiggle /meander and come to a stop
From there stitch around a mushroom shape
Trace around mushroom to approximately half way up one edge
From the stop point in step 3 stitch a circle or oval to make the first toe.
Repeat for all 4 around the top of the paw.
Stitch all the way back to the start point and meander off again for the next motif.

If you want to keep this for later I have a downloadable version available here as a PDF.


Thank you Lorna for allowing me to be a part of this hop and celebrate Dog Gone Cute.  I had great fun playing with it and love my happy looking sofa!

To see more today check out my fellow blog hoppers at :
Tanya of Tanya Quilts in Colorado
Laurel of Quilts by Laurel
Kathy of Kathy’s Quilting Blog
Deb of New Creative State

Sew Fresh Quilts

45 comments:

  1. You made a great memory pillow, Ruth! Thanks for the FMQ tutorial.

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  2. You made a great memory pillow, Ruth! Thanks for the FMQ tutorial.

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  3. Hi Ruth and puppies! You made beautiful pillow and it's wonderful memory for your puppies! Wilbur is a big character and his pillow is fantastic, too! Hugs from Nero! x Teje
    www.nerospost.wordpress.com

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  4. What a great memory pillow, so many wonderful memories in your story about your pups. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Heide

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  5. Oh what a sweet way to have all three remembered in one cushion! I love the head tilt and the paw print quilting is really clever :)

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  6. This is so cute. I think most of us are seeing at least one of our precious friends in these blocks, I like the blue background you used, it really makes them stand out. Thanks for the tutorial, I'll be using it.

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  7. Hi Ruth: It was really interesting to hear about all the pups in your memory pillow and hear about how important they were/are in your life. That's a great little tutorial on the paw print and as I am a beginnerish fmq I will try it when I get my quilt finished...sometime in the future.

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  8. Thank you for the tuto, it's the quilting design I choose for mine :)

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  9. What a great cushion! I love how you have made the dogs your own - literally!! The head tilt is a great idea. What lucky people to receive a thank you from you in the future for dog sitting.

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  10. What a lovely pillow and way to remember the love and joy that your pups have brought you. I also really love the paw print FMQing pattern and thing it is the perfect touch for the pillow. :)

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  11. my dog also has one ear up and the other down. I have been wanting to alter the pattern, would you mind sharing how you did that? it is sooo cute

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    1. Hi Michelle which size are you making - drop me a line at ruthbourke(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send you on how I did it.

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  12. aweee three jr's and a basset. Such a fun post of love to read. Good tutorial too. LeeAnna and Cole

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  13. Your puppies are so cute. I love that pillow. Thanks for sharing your creativity.

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  14. I love the stories that you shared about your sweet pups and your pillows are adorable!

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  15. I love the stories that you shared about your sweet pups and your pillows are adorable!

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  16. What a great story behind an extremely cute pillow! And I love that you did not leave your Wilbur out :) I will have to give your puppy paw free motion quilting a try. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. I love these! They're absolutely adorable! Thanks too for the paw print quilting instructions. I'll have to file that away for a future project! :)

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  18. Love the pillow and great idea to put the head tilt in. Stan doesn't do it for some reason

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  19. All your dogs turned out so beautifully, Ruth. I enjoyed hearing about all your furry family members. The quilt and pillow are a great way to commemorate those dogs you love. That paw print quilting is just so sweet! Thanks so much for sharing how you did that!

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  20. Oh Ruth, what a great post. I love hearing about your different puppies! I absolutely adore that you tilted the head!!! My dogs all did that when they were really focusing in. Great cushion to honor all the great dogs!

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  21. They are all so cute. They must be a treasures to you! Love that great b/w photo!

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  22. It's a great cushion. What a wonderful memory. Love the paw print FMQ.

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  23. Oh my!! This is a beautiful cushion.

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  24. Your cushions are just gorgeous and even more so when you read the stories behind them. What a cutie Charly is!

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  25. I love your pillows Ruth! I was reading along, all the while thinking poor Wilbur...no wonder he wouldn't come out of the doghouse! And then you made him his very own tribute pillow! Aww! It reminds me I really need to make this block, well two of them for my fur kids. :-)

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  26. These blocks are too cute. I must follow your lead and make some.
    I like the idea of gifts for dogsitters. Our Lucy had a holiday around the corner with a lovely friend and her small dog while we were away.

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  27. I love all your modifications to the original block, what a great reminder of your furry friends.

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  28. Your doggie paws were the perfect quilt pattern to use, thanks for including a tutorial for them.

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  29. So adorable! I love the hearts with it because every single dog touches your heart. Love it!

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  30. I love how you adapted this pattern to record your own dogs - so nice that it can be so personal, and the cushions look great.

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  31. This is such a lovely post, Ruth! Needless to say that I love the pillows. You could not have picked a better quilting motif. Thank you sharing the tutorial.

    -Soma

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  32. Your cushions are so cute! I love your memory version!

    Susan

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  33. I love your memory pillow ! Sew cute ! And thanks for the paw print quilting tutorial! It is the perfect touch!
    Susie

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  34. LOve what you did with Lorna's pattern, and your doggie stories. Your pillow is also lovely.

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  35. Oh RUth I so enjoyed reading about your life with JRTs!!! Thanks for sharing. ANd your pillows make for a happy couch for sure!!!

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  36. Your puppy pillows are adorable Ruth! I love your pawprint quilting and that's what I'd like to try for my Dog Gone Cute quilt, so thank you for your helpful tutorial!

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  37. OK, the head tilt is awesome. I love the swirly quilting you did on the dogs, it really works well.

    Also, I just read about Wilbur's seizure, and I have to say if one of my cats had a seizure I think I'd pass out. I hope he's doing better!

    ~Brandy

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  38. Very cute projects. Thanks for the FMQ tute.

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  39. We got an early sneak peek of your puppy quilt and think I commented there also, but...Thank you so much for the quilting paw inspiration! Great idea...and sewing your puppy names in the quilting was brilliant!!! I love it!

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