Dog Blankets And Cats Blankets For Handmade Monday

The last things i had a chance to make before the chaos of moving house took over my life were the first in new range of pet blankets and this week i've finally been able to get them listed for sale! As always, i look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

BTW... What do you think of the price? I know its not cheap but it reflects the cost of the materials i've used... i'm just wondering if, as a potential customer, you would feel its worth it. Your feedback is invaluable so thank you in advance!

Pet Blankets/Comforters/Furniture Protectors

As the title suggests, the idea behind these is that they're multi functional - they can be used to create a comfy spot for your pet to relax in style either at home or on the move.

They work well as furniture protectors too - no more dirty paw prints or shedding fur on your sofa/bed/car seat!

One side is durable linen/cotton blend fabric (with a Free Spirit Designs print of course :)) and the reverse is organic bamboo fleece - soft, absorbent, eco-friendly and said to have antibacterial properties too!

Both the dog and the cat blanket measure 92 x 66cms, here are some pics...

Running Whippets Dog Blanket

Cats In Love Cat Blanket

They are both available now from my Etsy shop, website and other outlets priced £38. If they prove popular i intend to offer a wide range of fabric prints but i chose a couple of my favourites to start off with, i hope you like them too!

Squeaky Dog Bone Toy

Regular readers with a good memory may recall i showed you this squeaky dog toy a few months ago...

...i always intended to list it for sale at the same time as the blankets and its taken me this long to catch up with myself!

It is made with the same durable linen/cotton blend as the blankets, with organic white cotton canvas on the reverse side. It is stuffed with sheep's wool, a natural and sustainable product with a comforting smell that happily both dogs and humans enjoy! It comes with a squeak for extra fun (also available without for more determined chewers :)). I gave my doggy one for Christmas and he still regularly gets it out of his toy box for a game!

They are available to buy now from my website, Etsy shop and other outlets priced £8.99. As with the blankets i'm planning to offer these in a range of fabrics in due course.

Other than that i've spent the week getting the house in order and getting to know my new neighbourhood... before i hand you over the the wonderful crafting hotspot that is Handmade Monday, i thought you might like to see some pics i took of some of the locals...

Thanks for visiting! x

Hug A Pug Fabric And Free Spirit Designs In The press! ForHandmade Monday

Another (mostly) sunny week in Wiltshire... and a new bouncing baby for the royals! Awww so cute :)  And apparently set to kickstart a boom in the baby products industry... get knitting those baby booties crafters!

I've been working on my latest 'Dashing Dogs' fabric (more on that in a minute), first though i must share the latest Free Spirit Designs press feature!

Free Spirit Designs In The Press!

Lovely as it is to have my creations featured online from time to time, nothing beats the thrill of seeing them in 'real life' print.

This week its the turn of my nesting birds lavender pillows

which are featured in the most recent edition of Period Ideas magazine - yay!

Here's a pic :)

'Hug A Pug' Fabric

After that little bit of excitement, here's the latest of my 'Dashing Dogs' fabrics. Its pug dogs in the limelight this time, there is something so endearing about them i think and i love the 'hug a pug' slogan often seen on t-shirts etc so thought i'd adopt it for the inspiration for this design.

Here are some of the components (hand drawn then uploaded to digital form)...

...and here's the finished pattern. I have to confess to wrestling for a while with how to fit it all together but i'm pleased with how it turned out in the end. This represents a 10x10 inch swatch. I look forward to hearing what you think!

Here's some other colour options (as always there are some differences in colour representation between how they appear on a monitor and when they're printed on fabric) - the green of the dogs in this one is not so bright and 'limey' on fabric...

...and with this one the background colour is more yellow rather than orange as it appears here.

You can view the whole 'Dashing Dogs' collection so far over at my Spoonflower store. If you would like to be notified when they become available for sale just let me know!

Handmade Monday

Before i hand you over to the capable hands of Wendy over at Handmade Harbour (home of the fabulous Handmade Monday linky party), i know you're all keen to hear what i made with this little selection of home grown lovelies!

Thank you to Ginx Craft for your fantastic suggestions of a salad and summer pudding - i did indeed make a lovely cold chicken salad with the lettuce, spring onion, thyme flowers and the courgettes sliced and sautéed with some tasty home grown garlic - delicious! (we're getting two or three courgettes a day now so eating this dish a LOT! :))

Much as i love a summer pudding, wheat is not my friend so the bread component isn't really feasible. However, i have found another delicious accompaniment to summer fruit - frozen strawberry yoghurt - and this is how i make it!

Frozen strawberries, yoghurt and home made strawberry jam - blitzed in the blender, 20 mins in the ice-cream maker and it done! Sooooo delicious with some freshly picked berries - yum!

Thanks for visiting today :)  See you next time! x

Bamboo Fleece Hot Water Bottle Cover And Running Whippet Fabric For Handmade Monday

Thank you to all who left lovely comments about my cosy cat blanket and dog hanger last week - as always, your kind words were much appreciated :)

This week's makes kind of lead on from last week's so hopefully you will like them too!

Organic Fleece Sleeping Cat Hot Water Bottle Cover

There were a few requests for a human sized version of the last week's cat blanket (made or gorgeously soft organic bamboo fabric). I didn't have enough fabric left over to make a large blanket so instead of buying in more just yet i thought i'd make something equally snuggly and cosy - a hot water bottle cover!

Before you ask, yes i have noticed that temperatures are currently soaring outside! Its a crafters job to think ahead though, consider this the start of my 'winter collection' :)

The applique cat matches the blanket - how cute to be coordinated in cosiness with your kitty!

It is available now from my Etsy shop and other outlets, priced £20.

Running Whippet Fabric

This is a cushion design i came up with quite a while back,

when i was excitedly anticipating the arrival of my very own little whippet puppy, River, who is all grown up now... and of course, loves to run!

They are such beautiful creatures to watch, and seeing as the cushion has been one of my most popular, i thought it was high time i had a go at designing a running whippet fabric!

As always i started out by photographing some of my drawings.

I then used a photo editor to adjust colours etc and added the swirly 'go faster stripes' - lining them up to create a cohesive pattern was the hardest bit but i got there in the end!

First i created a pattern with colours matching the original cushion cover,

then i added this 'girlier' one.

I'm really happy with how they've turned out and i'm so looking forward to making things with them!

They are the first of my 'Dashing Dogs' collection. I'll be adding more designs over the next few weeks - not all whippets i promise! :)  If you'd like to be notified when these designs are for sale just let me know and i'll keep you updated.

Handmade Monday

Okay Handmade Mondayers, i know some of you enjoy my little games, so here's one to get your creative juices flowing...

I'm lucky enough to be harvesting some very tasty home grown fruit and veg from our garden and allotment at the moment - every day there is a little collection of goodies waiting in the kitchen to be turned into something delicious for supper! Here's an example from one night this week...

...what would you make with these goodies? I'll tell you what i made next time!

I'm off to Handmade Harbour now to see this week's superb crafting - do pop along if you've never visited!

Thanks for dropping by :) x