I had planned on using the fabric I bought on Monday for the quilt so I could practice my quilting, but decided I just wanted to get it done, so I did a basic quick piecing pattern.
Ya, it was pretty quick alright. One day to cut, sew, quilt and even wash and dry it.The photos aren't great (as usual), but here's a picture of the backing fabric:
I had one moment of panic when I thought the one way pattern of the dogs was going to be going in the wrong direction, but they ended up right. Oh, and black might not have been the best choice to mask dog hair... lol!I used some old batting that I had taken out of a commercial comforter (Matt thought it was too warm) so it's nice and fluffy, just what I wanted for a sleeping pad. Not a batting I would use for something else.
This pattern was a lot of fun to make and I can see a lot of uses for it... especially for Project Linus. Some fun novelty prints (better batting) and a day's worth of work (or probably more like: 2 half days). The only problem is that I would want to make it a bit bigger for Project Linus, meaning I would need to cut longer strips (and therefore not cut it out by the width of the fabric) or do some extra piecing.
Jake's still not feeling very well. He's in a lot of pain. The vet put him on some medication, but we're not seeing it working as of yet. He cries every time he moves, can't do the stairs (and since we're in a split level... there's a lot of stairs) and he's very stressed (heavy panting and shaking). It's very frustrating, as I hate to see him suffer like this, but there's really not much more we can do. The inflammation will eventually go down and we're trying to keep him from too much movement so fingers crossed, he'll feel better in a day or two.
I hope Jake is feeling better. We are dealing with some pet health issues too this week.
ReplyDeleteI have a great book on aging cat health, and the author also wrote one on Complete Care for your Aging Dog (Amy Shojai) if you are interested. I looked up arthritis in the cat book and they had a few suggestions that might help, if you haven't already tried them! First they mentioned using a heating pad or electric blanket in the dog bed to help with pain, and/or dry rice put in socks and microwaved to give the dog a little heat. Also they said massage helps -- I know there are books out there but I haven't tried it. For cats, they say glucosamine HCL or chondroitin supplements work well at easing inflammation which eases pain, but I'm not sure if it would also help with dogs. There is also a great pet supplier, Drs. Foster & Smith, that has products to help, like a raised stand for food and water bowls, and stairs for cats so they don't have to jump so high.
I hope something here might be useful. I hate to see animals in pain -- so hard when we can't talk to them!!!
I agree with the little heated dog bed. In Australia they have just released heated dog beds that you plug in I think. Very good for arthritis, and joint pain in pets. I hope that Jake is feeling better soon, and that the quilt helps. Maybe put a heat bag next to him wrapped in a tea towel so it does not get too hot on him, and see if it eases the pain.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Jake will appreciate the warmth and love in his new quilt. Hopefully the meds will kick in soon to give him relief. We started giving our dog (now age 12 or 13) over-the-counter glucosamine pills at the vet's recommendation when she started getting a little stiff. They have helped her quite a bit and she moves around well.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about Jake. I've been there as well with an arthritic rabbit of all things. We did all the things mentioned - heating pad, microwaved rice in an old sock, glucosamine/chondroitin, etc.
ReplyDeleteI know how hard it is to see them like that so I'm sending healing thoughts to Jake. Good luck!