T-Rex's Winter Coat

I have made quite a few dog jackets for T-Rex over the years. The first one was red and zebra print and was too small. The second one featured dinosaurs on one side and dog bones on the other and fit better. After moving to Chicago I made one in red, small paw prints and another in plaid, but I guess I never blogged them.

These addressed two problems: the past ones were either too long or too short, and they closed with velcro. In the snow, velcro gets full of snow and stops sticking together. Oh, make that three things: he also wears a harness now so that he doesn't choke himself pulling. The harness hook for his leash is farther back, so the jacket would fall off. 

Looking good, Mr Wiggles

 It closes with snaps, which will stay closed in the snow hopefully. However, I had to get Andrew to help me because they were so frustrating! We always joke that putting together IKEA-style furniture is the "divorce-maker" due to the bickering that comes with....but putting in snaps might be on the same level!! Much bickering was had, in part because I got him to help me right after work under the claim that it would take "only ten minutes." Boy was that a gross underestimate.

Giving me the "why are you so slow" stank eye

 This food stand at the park always reminds me of Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo from Southpark.

 The coat is reversible and the other side has pictures of bacon, hearts and the word bacon. Hee hee.

 And to close, a scandalously naked T-Rex laying on his sheepskin in front of the fire radiator.

I am back to having two classes online and working full-time as a long-term substitute for art, but I do have some good (and awful) things to post! It is just dark after work and there is no good light in my house...or uncluttered surfaces that are not too embarrassing for a background.

T-Rex's Merry Christmas

I bought T-Rex a sheepskin at Ikea for Xmas. He loves it a lot.

 My mom sewed some dog pajamas for him ans mailed them- how cute are these?

 He refused to look even the slightest bit happy when I put them on.

 They are so cute! Thanks, mom!

Here is a video of him walking like he's being tortured. Hahaha. It reminds me of this video on youtube that I find hysterical.

Tiny Napoleon Bonaparte- dog costume part I

If you were following my blog last year, you know that I had planned on making T-Rex a Napoleon Bonaparte Halloween costume. My costume took a long time, so it got put on the back burner and I just forced him to wear his Chiquita Banana costume instead. 

With all of the restaurant training (5 days, with 2 more to go!), I only had time to make this this week. 

Crying because he jammed his ball under the sofa. What a fun game!

 As you can see, it is a blue velvet coat with tails and some very fancy details. He still needs a white cravat (lol) and a tiny blue tricorne hat. So it's not quite complete, but still!

Looking at Andrew with sad eyes and refusing to look at me or come onto the porch. 

Sad dog hates his costume, but too bad- I love it!

 You can see his epaulets, made from gold ribbon.

I had all the trim and buttons, I bought the velvet and the white fabric for his cravat last year.

I can't wait until it's finished. Anyone have any ideas on how to make a tiny tricorne hat?

The Greatest Photo Ever Taken

This is probably my favorite picture ever. I took it on my cell phone last year, at the end of February. Those are my birthday flowers on the table. It is so excellent, and T-Rex looks so regal.

If you remember my frame that I refinished, this is the picture Andrew promised to paint in oil paints and then hang it in the living room.

He looks so stately, until you notice his tongue hanging out of his mouth a tad.

Enjoy!

PS I finally made a muslin for my military dress, and I am going to use it, but it looked so terrifying that I didn't take a picture of it. I hope to at least cut out the pieces tomorrow. I helped with Cooking Club's first meeting today, where they made a pizza bagel, and Sewing Club is on Wednesday, and tomorrow morning is my doughnut party for kids who have ten or more homework passes (One HW pass is for a week of completed homework, and only replaces one assignment- these are the eight kids who do so much homework that they never use their passes and just save them up. I love them; I would have been that kid too, saving them just in case! I used to save stickers and never use them. That kid!) Long and busy week ahead, but I want to get some sewing done!

Adios!

A fleece jacket for the wienie dog

Somehow the dog knew I was making this for him and spent the whole evening giving me baleful stares, aka the Stank Eye. I traced his previous jacket, which was much too short. If I remember correctly, it was a medium sized dog according to the pattern. It was tiny and only covered his back about 2/3 down, and not his sides. Here is the first version.

Same as the other one, it is two different types of fleece, so its reversible. It closes with velcro. After I made it and tried it on him, the butt part stuck out oddly. So I added two tucks along the top stiching seam, so it curves down like a dog saddle.

This side is dinosaurs, and I cut it out so that there is a big T-Rex right over his back. Hee hee!


It's a super quick and easy project that took around 30 minutes. The dog isn't too happy now, but he loves his jacket when it gets cold. We also recently discovered it makes him much more willing to go out and potty if it's raining. He is such a priss!

A walk around the block

I finished to bodice of my pink dress, and was going to post a picture. I left the usb cord plugged in though, and it always drains the whole battery. Does anyone else's camera do that? Pah.

So, I will instead give you the story of my afternoon walk with the dog around the block. From the perspective of T-Rex, of course.

Exit door, race to the first corner to see if the cat is there to be chased or smelled. Smell cat.

Walk the next side to the second corner, smell things, pee.

At second corner, stop and dig in heels; refuse to walk farther. Act terrified, even though we walk this route every SINGLE day. Be dragged by the neck around corner by Molly, evil Molly.

Hesitantly walk the next side of block, poop. Try to kick it onto Molly. Try to run in the street while she picks it up. Try to walk back the way we came.

Be dragged or encouraged to the third corner, while being terrified by the sounds of high school students playing basketball at the school.

Race around the third corner, with hair on back in mohawk, ready to bark at German Shepherds. Pull Molly like a sled dog.

Bark, be scolded.

Race down the street towards home and around last corner.

Run across yard, go inside and go back to sleep.

The end.

Halloweenie and the perfect pencil skirt

This is the Halloweenie. He was being super cute, so I posed him in my orange chair. Usually my two nice chairs are off limits, so he is making a funny face like I'm trying to trick him.

I had a weird dream. I had a baby, but people were chasing me and I kept having to run away with my baby, who during most of the dream was T-Rex. At one point I had to find him in a motel room full of wiener dogs and escape. I am always having dreams about being chased through large, old buildings with lots of staircases and weird rooms.

Anyone care to guess what that says about my brain? LOL

This is the pattern I like for pencil skirts. I made a 10, but it ended up being loose. How were those white shorts so grotesquely tight in a 8 and the skirt in a 10 is loose? Bah.

It was a comedy of errors making this. I gave no thought to the plaid when cutting out the (first) waistband. Since it is curved, it just made all the lines look off and crooked. So I cut out a new one and re-did it, but didn't cut out the front on the fold. So it's all goofy. Never fear, I will still wear it to school.

Now this picture makes the skirt look like all kinds of hideous, but it looks much better on me. I am going to finish my cape though, and then do one awesome photo shoot with both. I swear the zipper does not look that bad in person!! Nor is the hem violently crooked.

It's cool because it has a double kick pleat and all the seams give it some nice shaping.

This was a good practice and now I will cut it out of my nice black wool. But first I must finish my cape!!!

Doggy Sweater, but fleece

I bought this pattern a year or two ago at a garage sale. It was $1. It has patterns for three sizes of dog beds and jackets. Since it has been abnormally cold in New Orleans the last week or two, it seemed like the wiener dog could use a jacket.

None of those dogs look very happy.

Ball-chasing action

Sewing notes:

The pattern wanted you to bind all of the edges with seam binding. Not only does that seem tedious, I made it out of polar fleece, so I wanted all of it to be soft.

Instead, I made it reversible- one side is red, one side it zebra print- and then top-stitched all edges so it would lay flat and not slide around. It closes with Velcro.

Adjustments:

I extended the chest closure straps by about 2 inches on each side. T-Rex has a barrel chest.

Next time:

When I make this again (which I will since it took me about 45 minutes to make and is really cute) I will probably extend the sides 2-3 inches so it wraps him more. I would also make it about 4-5 inches longer. Right now, it doesn't cover all of his long body.

Notes:

1. I made a medium and it is tiny. If you are making this for a big dog, I would make the pattern much much bigger.

2. The dog mas been wearing it all morning and he looks adorable. In fact, HE JUST WENT AND ADMIRED HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR! hahaha. Seriously.

Happy New Year!

T-Rex's Throne: the Dog Bed

About a year ago, I decided the dog needed his own bed. This was to encourage him to jump onto and off of the furniture less frequently, so I don't end up with a wiener dog in a wheel chair.

I had some leftover jersey I had bought for another project I never finished. He likes to hide food and things in cushions and corners, so there is a nice fold between the base and the sides for him to do that.


The side are stuffed with leftover quilt batting sliced into strips. The base is two old pillows stuffed inside. The back has an overlapping slit to take out the pillows for washing.

He loves his bed, and it was worth the hour I spent making it. My only regret is using such a light fabric- needless to say, the green is no longer so crisp and clean...