Brown Stripey Blanket!

Here is the big unveiling...finally!
It has grown from this

and yes, I know that is a miserably bad photograph. I have posted about this blanket multiple times and it is good to finally have it complete.

to this...

It is made out of Vanna's Choice yarns, 100% washable. It is very masculine with all the men at my house wishing it was theirs. It is a big 65" x 42" rectangle which makes it a perfect size for the recliner. I love the basket weave pattern. It has taken me a long time to get this one finished but the wait was worth it. I put a very simple border on it of a blue stripe followed by a chocolate brown stripe.
I am so pleased that it is as beautiful completed as it was  a joy to make.
Talk to you later,
Karen

Yes, it is available in my  Chocolate Dog Studio shop.

Ticker Tape placemats

Hey, I posted this project on Pinterest awhile back.

It is from this blog: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2009/10/scrap-buster-project-tiny-ticker-tape-quilt-tutorial-from-amanda-jean/

 I finally started some projects for us. My mom had given me some vintage fabrics that were cut into strips. She had used them for a quilt and they were left over. Well, week before last I started on these place mats. I wasn't sure that I wanted to make a quilt with the ticker tape design. My goal when I started making these was to not have to purchase any of the materials to make them.

I made this pink one for our youngest dd. She is excited. I then made the red one below. I have yet to make any more placemats, but I did completely finish these in one weekend. 

I really like the fact that they are going to be different colors. Mom was really kind and had packaged the fabrics up according to color families so trimming and sewing the fabrics was simple. I do think I prefer the quilting on the pink one. So this is what I finished recently.

Christmas Ornament #3

Pink hearts are always good for Christmas or Valentine's day. Here is my next installment on hand sewn felt Christmas ornaments. This is a heart with beading. I used recycled beads my daughter had removed from a formal. The whole point of these ornaments is to use what I have on hand and not run out for more supplies.



I ran into a few snags since I didn't use a super thin beading needle. I would suggest using one if you make this at home. This is so simple that I don't feel that you need a pattern to make one yourself.

See you later,

Karen

Future plans

Ok, so here is where I tell you all my great and wonderful future plans....

I am going to make at least one large size afghan like this one.



I am going to finish this diagonal afghan. The brown one in the middle.



I know that the above picture leaves a lot to be desired but the afghan is so incredibly soft and beautiful. I will have better pictures soon. I am also going to make some more football team cup sleeves. Like this one only different teams than what I already have...

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="456"] https://www.etsy.com/listing/89660331/coffee-cup-cozycoffee-cup-sleeve-coffee[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="337"] https://www.etsy.com/listing/82106339/cup-sleeve-cup-cozy-green-bay-packer-cup[/caption]

I am going to clean out the studio...well, unpack it better and set it up. I am going to get ready for the Christmas buying season by creating more Christmas ornaments and cozies. All of this planning is making me hungry and tired at the same time. So I best get to work.

talk to you later,

Karen

Chocolate Dog Studio has moved!

I've moved...no not out of state or to a new house, thank goodness. We are in the process of moving the blog back to Blogger and away from Word Press. I say "We" as hubs is helping me with the technical aspects of this. So things are a bit mixed up and I hope to get all the old posts moved back over here soon! I will be posting here in the future and I hope that I have some new things to show you soon. I have been really busy sewing and making some fun new things. I have been making some demos to see if I want to put them in the Etsy shop or if they are just for fun.

This has been in the back of my mind as I work on another lovely custom order. It is a gorgeous granny square, nice a big and warm. It will be a perfect size and quite possibly the largest I have ever crocheted. It is being crocheted out of these beautiful shades of yarn.

Well, I had better run and go fix dinner as almost everyone is home. We are missing the college girl but she will be in soon for Fall Break.

See you later,

Karen

Aprons....

When I was learning to cook, aprons were a thing of the past. Grandma's wore them and my Mom had a drawer full of them. We used one apron for years because it was handy. It was also a full apron and covered more than our jeans. These aprons are styled after then one that we used for so many years.









I love these aprons. A perfect size with an adjustable neck strap and long waist ties. Some of these are available in the www.chocolatedogstudio.etsy.com shop. Others are waiting to be listed. Aprons make a perfect hostess gift or Christmas gift for the cook in your family.

See you later,

Karen

Finding your Passion.

There are many self help courses to help you find your interests, and talents. The problem with many is that they depend on your schooling and past experiences to figure out what your "talent and interests" are. That is a problem when you haven't pursued any formal training at all or have been afraid to venture out into the dark unknown. How can you know you have a talent if you haven't expressed it yet? How can you know if you are interested in something until you HAVE to try it? Many, many people are skillful at a task without having a passion for it. Being skillful at a task is NOT the same thing as being passionate about it. Rather, it simply shows that you have been successful at learning how to do it. I have been spending some time finding out how to find your passion. There are some questions that you need to ask yourself.

1. Do you get totally involved in your passion and loose sense of time?

2. Who do you envy, why? Ok, now is it because you could see yourself doing the "it" you want to do or is it because they have some aspect of "it" that you want; for example time freedom, no boss, ability to make decision of how to spend your time. The reverse is also true. What is about what they do that you would hate...the I can't drag myself out of bed to do?

3. If you had a gift certificate for a free magazine which topic would you choose? YOU choose, not which magazine would you get for your children. What topic interests you?

4. Can you test the water? Can you volunteer, take a class, start slow in order to make sure that you are on track?

5. Is it what you dream about day in and day out?

6. Would you have to do your passion no matter what happened in your life?

These questions feel ambiguous but they are meant to be. If you have a wide view to finding your passion, you will be able to narrow it down as time passe. The point to remember is that all specialists start as generalists. So don't be afraid to start in a general direction. You can always change your focus over time.

talk to you later,

Karen

I am really giving myself a pep talk in all of this! :0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things I will do with scraps!

I know, I have pinned a bunch of things that I will do with scraps....lots of ideas. Well, I have started looking at different ideas and I have come up with some ideas that I definitely want to do...and some that I have tried. So here we go!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/07/his-hers-personalized-baby-quilts.html[/caption]

I have this things for quilts. I like these but in a large size without the names. Unless it is our last name.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="307"] http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-quilt-giveaway.html[/caption]

This quilt is gorgeous! I must have one soon. I think that I would use fabric strips but not selvages.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://www.i-do-it-yourself.com/2008/11/spools-bird-softies/[/caption]

I can just imagine what my family would say. I love the birds and the different fabrics that they are sewn out of. What a great idea for Christmas ornaments! Hmmm...I would love  a tree like this in my den. It would be fun and light hearted!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2011/08/-playing-with-dresdens.html[/caption]



I love this quilt, it is only surpassed by the ticker tape quilts.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="549"] http://sewfun2quilt.blogspot.com/2010/05/ticker-tape-quiltsgreat-scrap-buster.html[/caption]

I just found these place mats. I have just decided since we moved that I need to replace ours. These are gorgeous and I could get the feel of what it is like to make a ticker tape quilt before I commit to cutting out all those little squares. I could also see how it wears.



and this....

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] http://www.mygirlthursday.com/2011/05/diy-scrap-busting-pot-holders.html[/caption]

and then there are  these....

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="728"] https://sew4home.com/projects/table-linens/kitchen-confections-modas-vintage-modern-patchwork-napkins[/caption]

Well, I had better stop. The list is going on forever. I think this is turning into a form of procrastination.

See you later,

Karen

 

 

 

Photo Monday!

Who needs anymore stress on Monday? So here are some beautiful photos of a baby blanket that I just finished and shipped off on Saturday!





I simply love the beautiful colors and it is wonderfully soft. It is 36" square.  It was a custom order and started from these beautiful yarns. It was a super quick crochet job as I started it on Sunday and shipped on Saturday!



I am working on another custom order now and it is huge. I believe it is going to take 150 crocheted granny squares. Yes, 150! Yikes, I have a plan though and it is happening pretty quickly. I have about 80 centers worked now. I will show you more at a later this week.

See you on Tuesday!

Karen

Christmas Ornament

Here is another Christmas ornament. I sewed this using the same pattern as the star. I love this little house it is so cute.



I know that some of the embroidery is wonky but I think it just adds to the handmade look. I really like the shape of the roof on the cottage.

see you next week.

Karen

 

Christmas Trees

These are new to the shop. A very close friend gave me a bunch of fabric. She sews for a living and often has the most wonderful scraps and pieces left over. Here is a photo of a small portion of what she gave away.



Here is what I made from them. I still have a huge number of squares left. So I will need to figure out what to do with the rest. I love these little trees and they are even more fun as they are made out of reds and neutrals.

These are a few of the new I have been creating. I have these listed at http://www.chocolatedogstudio.etsy.com if you want to know.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

As always the photos were shot by Stewart Photo Tulsa.

 

 

WIP: Works in Progress Update

You are my accountability partner. Did you know that? I need accountability to finish what I start so today is my day to show you my current status on some long standing projects. I do have to say in my defense that I have been working diligently but have had some custom orders come in, in addition to regular http://www.ChocolateDogStudio.etsy.com sewing of cup sleeves and cup cozies along with all the aprons I have been finishing up for the shop. So here is my list of accomplishments.

• finished sewing 10 aprons have three left


• finished embroidery of one pillow top


• finished 5 - 3" embroidery hoop wall art.


• finished two crocheted baby blankets


• almost finished this blanket, I have run out of the blue yarn and I am searching for it.

• Started on this little beauty for fun and there is no deadline.

• Started this out of sock yarn, it should work beautifully for its purpose. (Shhh, it's a surprise!)

• Turned these into something new and fun. Which I will show you later.

• I am working on these to create a beautiful custom blanket for a friend and customer.

• And these to create a warm, cozy, baby boy blanket for a different friend and customer as well.

So that is my accountability list. I hope to have at least four of these off the list this week! I have a bunch of cozies that need to be sewn up and some shipping to do today, but other than that the crochet hook will be flying as I  wait on kids for different activities. I am not even going to start on the all the house chores sitting in front of me this week. I am pretty sure that you have a pretty good idea of what kinds of work it is.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

Find Your Voice

Find your voice, find out who you are. These are both phrases that designers and artists hear constantly. This is somewhat true. I say somewhat because true artists change and grow. I would use the word evolve but I think it is over used these days. I like the word grow because it is a truer picture of what we are doing as artists. Perhaps it is a choice determined by marketplace. We have to make a choice based on economics,

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/103093232/baltimore-album-style-wall-hanging-quil[/caption]

what we are creating isn't selling, or the market is flooded. Many times artists grow as they master advanced techniques or decide to grow in a particular direction. Almost all artists struggle with paying bills and making creations that will sell. I say almost because there are the few that create for themselves, but they will at some point run out of room on their walls for more paintings and you can only wear so many scarves or hats.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/98296729/watermelon-malaysia-jade-and-dark-brown[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/61198767/miss-elsie-mouse-archival-print-nursery[/caption]

So, the problem is how do we listen to the marketplace and still be true to the artist inside us. It is a fine line. The bottom line for me is do I enjoy creating it (whatever "it" is) and are people willing to purchase my creations.  I have read the Quit your Day Job posts on Etsy. I have read many of them over the years and the thought throughout all of the posts is "Follow your passion". Are you passionate about what you are creating? Would you create it regardless of what the world says? How to make it marketable is another question for another day. So find your voice, create what makes you happy. Why spend your time making things that you do not have a passion about! Why create things that make you frustrated or worried. Your joy in creating and your passion in your art will translate itself into sales. If you wonder why on earth anyone would pay for "it", you should not be trying to sell "it". If you create something and then say "I love it" this is great. I have such a hard time selling this because I love it so much. Then you are on the right track.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Do you agree or disagree?

 

Baby Granny Blanket

This is a fun little granny square baby blanket that I crocheted up quickly a week or so ago. I started it during the move and then ran out of yarn as I only picked up one skein. So I added the green and pink to make it large enough. It starts with a 20 round granny square of the multi-color yarn. Then it has a row of green, another variegated round and two rounds of pink. I then added sweet little two round granny squares to the ends to make the blanket a rectangle.The whole thing is bordered with two rows of green and the pink scalloped border. Here is a detail photo of the cute little granny squares. 

I apologize for the snap shots of the baby afghan. I have lost my good camera sometime during the move. I really think it is hidden in a box that is not unpacked yet. Hopefully it will turn up soon. This pretty little blanket will be in the shop as soon as some decent photos are taken. It was really just a quick little fun project! The good news is that I used up the variegated yarn.

What have you been working on?

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. I can always make one in blue and white for that baby boy in your life!

 

 

Link Up!

Hi all I am linking up with Tip Junkie for the Tip Me Tuesday!

Here are some new coffee cup sleeves from Chocolate Dog Studio. I have been busy sewing some new cozies and photographing some that never made it to the store. So for a quick Christmas preview here they are.





I love this cozy created from Laurel Birch's cat fabric. I love how the button matches the purple in the cozy.



And then last but not least.



There are only one of the Noel cozy. So if you have fallen in love go ahead and shop now.

Things have been a little wild at our house as we adjust to a new Autumn schedule but I am sure that things have also been busy at your house too!

Talk to you later,

Karen