Guess Who's One!

Well, we had a special birthday over the weekend. Someone special turned one years old. Our sweet Belvedere is now one... I even baked him a birthday pup cake. My hubby just shook his head and smiled. Yes, I have turned into the crazy dog lady in my neighborhood... I admit it. Belvedere has me totally wrapped around his little paw, and he knows it.  Now I didn't have the full blown puppy birthday party with puppy party hats... so I'm not totally off the edge or lost the cheese off my cracker... I have to admit it was fun just making a homemade muffin for my big ol' sloppy basset hound. I found the recipe HERE. I did leave the vanilla out, I just didn't think Belvedere would really mind. I also cut the recipe in half. He sure loved the treat but wasn't too sure about the birthday candle.

 I also had fun this weekend making a new design that features a sweet little basset hound going on a truck ride. He's on his way to the 4th of July parade! I have two versions of this pattern, one is on a striped tea towel and the other is an adorable mini quilt. It was a fun project to whip up to decorate for the 4th of July. I'm planning on leaving mine up... it's a cute patriotic design. I just love decorating with seasonal items. So here is how I made this summertime design featuring Belvedere the basset hound...

I was super blessed with a bundle of wool from Marcus Fabrics. I thought some of the colors would be perfect for this project. You don't have to use wool for these designs, you can also use fabrics from your stash! I traced the design elements onto my Wonder Under. I've trace two of everything because I am working on two projects.

I cut all the pieces out using my applique scissors from OLFA. Let me just say, my boys better leave these scissors alone! You all know what I mean.... the last thing I want this baby to cut is some insulation or oily old twine in the garage. These scissors are super sharp and perfect for cutting applique designs.

I have layered all my pieces referring to the pattern placement on the pattern. Notice how the flag pieces over lap. (I laided the white piece first, then the red strips, blue piece and gold flag pole) I carefully ironed everything into place.

Because I am working with wool, I decided to do my stitching with Lana Wool from Aurifil. But you can you a dark brown thread too. It's up to you.

I like to machine stitch my buttonhole stitch instead of hand stitching with wool. I'm not a great hand stitcher and am still practicing. But this can certainly be a hand stitch wool project.

I embroidered Belvedere's face using Valdini 12 wt pearl cotton.

~Parade Day!~

I have ~Parade Day~ on display in my mud room off the entryway. I don't always put tea towels on display in the kitchen. I like to tuck them here and there around my home. Draped out of a basket, used as a table runner or as shown here, draped over the door of my pie safe.

I also decided to put together a mini quilt featuring the same design that is on the tea towel. I also used wool for my applique pieces but you could use fabric too. The flag design overlaps a little into the border. I think it looks cute so I left it. 

I machine appliqued around all of the pieces before I layered it with the batting and backing. 

My mini quilt is on display on a side table in my dining room. I added my basset hound salt and pepper shakers to the display for an added touch. If you look closely at my mini quilt you can see that I have quilted stars along with my meandering stitches. I also used yo-yo's for the truck's tires. I like the added dimension that the yo-yo's add to the design.

~ I Woof the USA! ~

Both designs are currently available in my Etsy shop as instant downloads. The tea towel design is called 'Parade Day' and the mini quilt is called 'I Woof the USA!'.

I hope that you enjoy these designs as much as I have making them!

Happy quilting,

Cindy and Belvedere