The pup is stylin' now!

Few things in this world make me as happy as making something that is pleasing to the eye AND functional.
My latest project has met both these criteria and I'm extremely happy with the turnout. 

What is this latest project? A new harness for Appa :). 

Her trainer had brought one of these to a session and it fit her perfectly and unlike other mesh harnesses I've seen it didn't have a lining in it so it wasn't hot (she has enough problems with being hot in El Paso as is). I guess you could say I've been on a quest to find the perfect harness. It's pretty hard to outfit a corgi with one, turns out. Their chests are broad and their legs are short, bodies long. Most of them just don't work well. What I liked about this one other than it being cool was that it doesn't pull at the neck at all and it doesn't slide around the body, ending up with the d-ring on the bottom/leash on the side, etc. Anyway, when I went to buy one from the website what stopped me was the $30 price tag (not bad for a good harness but..when you're trying to pinch pennies...well ya know) and the fact that they had no colors I liked. 

So what do I do? Put on my creative cap and say to myself "Hm...I'm pretty sure I can make that." 

I wouldn't say it was complicated so much as time consuming. And maybe part of that was figuring out the how-to of it. At any rate, I plan to make a tutorial for this. I ended up paying $8 (and that was for a yard of the athletic performance fabric--aka sports jersey fabric--and I have a ton left over). Beats $30 and it's a custom fit. 

And yes...it matches the collar I made her--she's oh-so-stylish ;). 

The super great thing is--she's not afraid of it! For whatever reason she freaks out majorly with step-in harnesses, which have worked...eh, ok...for her. This one--she doesn't run away from me/i don't have to chase her down...good stuff all around. Gonna go try it out right now and do some training.

Tutorial soon!

CHRISTMAS!

Ah, I know it's not anywhere near Christmas. But I started pinning ideas for Christmas decorations last night on pinterest...and...now I'm kind of obsessed.

I really like the idea of making a bunch of Christmas decorations myself. I think it makes them way more special, especially in the future. I asked Noah the other night if we could put a tree up before he leaves (mid December). Guess we'll just have to have Christmas a couple weeks early.

Anyway, think I'm going to get started on some decorations soon. I'm really liking the hand sewn felt ones:

Something along these lines.
And if you're not the DIY type, you can buy
these lovelies here:
 

I love this!! Except I'll be making a
 corgi! :D
Found here. 

Twisted Felt Garland

Tutorial here

Those are just a couple of ideas. Plenty more over on my pinterest if you're (p)interested....yeah, i just went there. Don would've appreciated my lame attempt at a joke if he were here. I'll take comfort in that fact. 

Anyway. I also made Appa a dog collar and I intend to work on a harness once the athletic mesh fabric I ordered comes in. (Her trainer had a very cool one for her pup that she tried on Appa and it worked better than any of the ones I've gotten her thus far. I just don't feel like paying $30 for it when a)I know she's going to grow out of it and b)it was so simple i KNOW I can make one. I used this instructable to make the collar, except I just used fabric (I only use her collar to have her tags on her--I think harnesses are way better for dogs to walk with). Pretty simple. And way cute, if I do say so myself :

Yeah, so that's about it. Lots of sewing projects lately. Made new couch pillow covers also but...I feel that I've taken up enough space with photos. I need to do some tutorials on here. Otherwise this thing is purely me rambling and nothing else. 

Needle and Thread

Lately I've been sewing a lot. I took a trip to San Diego with a friend and her aunt had all these lovely quilts she'd handmade. Quilting is something that's been in my family for generations. My grandmother makes fabulous quilts and gave each of her children one specifically made for them. She also gifts all of us grandchildren with our own quilts when we get married. It was one of my favorite wedding gifts, by far. I remember picking out the color and pattern for my quilt--of course green and of course, of course--a star pattern. My grandmother made the first block and said "Please let me start another one." "Why??" I laughed. "I HATE the color." It's just funny to me because I loved the color so much and I wouldn't let her make it any differently than the way she started. It turned out great and I have to say--none of the other grandkids have one similar to mine ;) (ah, always gotta be the black sheep, don't I?).

Anyway, I've been wanting to tackle quilting for a long time. If nothing else just to keep something alive that's been with my family for so long. I'll soon start sewing the blocks together to form the quilt and then put it altogether and start hand quilting it. I've been hand stitching everything so far. I like it better that way...plus I can watch TV and veg out a bit while I do it. If my hands are busy, my  mind is calm. This is good. ;)

I went home to North Carolina for a month while Noah was on a training mission in California. I got a lot of great inspiration while I was there and I have sooo many projects in mind to start! One at a time, Leah, one at a time. <-- I always get too excited and start too many at once and then have trouble finishing any. So...I've gotta finish one and then move to the next this time, I think. Noah's cousin gave me a workbench for building stuff for my birthday! I know that sounds like a weird gift for a girl but...again...black sheep, here. She and I built "portable decks" for the backyard a couple months ago and they turned out great and it was a fun project! I visited Ikea while I was in NC and found a couple of things I really really want to try to make. Not that Ikea is incredibly out of my price range but...I'm cheap, I'll admit it. And I have the skills to make my own things and like to so..why not, right?
I want to make Ikea's LACK shelves, ya know--the "floating" ones that have no braces that are seen and all. Yeah, they look super cool. Andddd I saw them arranged around a TV on the display floor and I think if I can do that it will bring my living room together the way I want. And I'll probably add color...I like the looks of this. And here is how I'm going to build them (only shorter and MORE!)--thanks to Ana White, the goddess of DIY. Do yourself a favor and check out her blog.

When I get the quilt pieced I'll post a picture. And a picture of my other odds and ends of endeavors.