Woof, Grrr, Meow

July of last year I purchased a child's rag quilt pattern that has a bear, dog and cat.  They all look the same except for the ears.  Last July I made the bear and this week I finished the dog.

Last month my darling D. caught a hot deal on Amazon and bought me a Brother sewing machine with 99 different stitches.  I knew immediately that the dog quilt would be a perfect project for trying out many of those stitches and helping me learn my new machine.

The cat will eventually be made; this pattern is too cute and too easy not to do them all.

As with most projects I had to re-cut two 'squares' leaving two odd pieces that I quickly found a use for.  

This barrel bag was listing as a cosmetic bag.  It seemed small but the right size to use these defunct, quilted pieces.  My intention was to recycle a red sweater with a super zipper but my initial cuttings were off (measure twice cut once...eek!) and that idea got tossed.

This alternate refashion had to include a lesson for installing a zipper.  Not a difficult task but one that does take a bit of finesse.  I'm happy with how the overall bag turned out, D. thought it was a sufficient size for cosmetics, but it is small.  

A trip to Goodwill today garnered a lined jacket of a lovely color and fabric with a double zipper that will become a larger barrel bag after a quick enlargement of the current pattern.

(I put the jacket, marked size S, on my form to take this picture and thought, 'this fits my dummy, it should fit me'.  Currently rethinking the use of this jacket.)

The summer is looking good on all fronts with a line up of a number of refashion ideas...sew on my friends.