Animals In Our Lives

[ifyoucantfixit]

     Those are the coolest.  No sew pillows and blankets..  Kelsey's big sister, from her sorority Delta Gamma, made her a blanket like that..

   O so cozy.

  And if we are voting on the pics...I like the second one.  She looks like she is wondering if that thing is going
to hurt her?

[Penthesilea]

I was feeling creative, so I spent the last couple of days making a dog bed.  It's one of those no-sew fleece ones.  It was supposed to be for Forest -- I went with an autumn leaves print so it wouldn't be too "girly" -- but Ember seems to have claimed it. 

Since the photo was taken, I undid some knots and added more stuffing, so it's a lot fluffier now.

The dog bed looks gorgeous. Never heard of no sew pillows, but I just googled them and read the instructions. Great idea! The things you learn on BetterMost.
Still love Ember's baby seal eyes.


On this side of the Atlantic, another quiet night and no accidents in the house for more than 24hrs! Hope I didn't jinx it with saying so.


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Can you believe it? She just peed in the living room, even before I could hit the send button. Guess I did jinx it.

[Sason]

Fran, she looks very comfy in that bed! No wonder she claimed it! 

Is that two little "buddies" I can see next to her?

And the colours are gorgeous with your kitchen!

[Sason]

I had never heard of the no sew pillows either.

Just googled it, and found a totally new technique of textile handicraft!

[Fran]

Thanks for the compliments on my handiwork.

Tying the knots was the hardest part -- well, retying them since some of them weren't tight enough and Forest kept trying to get his nose in there to get at the stuffing.  

The project is based on McCall's Pattern M5410 (which I didn't buy, just used the dimensions for the medium-sized bed).

http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m5410-products-8778.php?page_id=909&search_control=display&list=search

This tutorial helped me figure out how to do the cutting:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=236744.0

My starting circles were 46 inches in diameter, and the fringe was around an inch wide by five inches long (give or take).  

Figuring out how to tie the knots was a bit of a challenge.  Square knots didn't work for me because I couldn't get my contrasting color to end up on top after the knots were tied.  I ended up using the "balloon knot" method used here:

[youtube=425,350]krtXzSQ8FzQ[/youtube]

I just might attempt a no-tie blanket next.  (For me, not for the dogs.)    Cutting fringe on something rectangular would certainly be easier.

I think if I had to do it over, I would cut larger circles and make the fringe longer (and a bit wider) and just trim the fringe to the size I wanted when I was done tying the knots.  I would also practice tying knots on some of the leftover fleece first to get your technique down.  (Otherwise, you'll be doing a lot of untying.)   I would also do my shopping for materials over multiple days to take advantage of the "40 percent off one item" coupons at the craft store.

[Fran]

Is that two little "buddies" I can see next to her?

Yep, they're little squirrels.  We have three of them, and they came in this little tree stump.

And the colours are gorgeous with your kitchen!

Thanks.

[Sason]

Thanks for the tutorials, Fran!

Looks like a very simple and useful technique, with unending possibilities.

I want to try it, just have to think of something I need to make. 

[Meryl]

My family increased by one today!  I adopted a 6-month old black kitten.  Here he is getting checked out by the vet, and then getting checked out by Vinny via the smell test.  I haven't settled on a name yet, but he's mighty cute! 

[Penthesilea]

Aww, how cute!
Look at that face in the box, the huge eyes, anxious little thing.
Congratulations on the new family member!

[ifyoucantfixit]

   Aww I love solid black cats.  I like tuxedo cats too.  So cute.  So elegant. 
Maybe Eartha, for the original catwoman.  Eartha Kitt.  If it is a girl.   I reread, and see you said a he...

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On this side of the Atlantic, another quiet night and no accidents in the house for more than 24hrs! Hope I didn't jinx it with saying so. 


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Can you believe it? She just peed in the living room, even before I could hit the send button. Guess I did jinx it.
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  That is what pets and kids are for.  Making a lier out of you...well done Tina...