Needle Felted Dogs

 Just before Christmas I attended a virtual workshop on how to make these tiny needle felted dogs.  The workshop was run by The Makerss for the Dog Trust, so half the fee went to the Dog Trust and half for the kit which had everything I needed to make a little dog.

 

I've only done a little bit of needle felting before and wasn't that happy with my end creation, but these little pups were too cute not to have another go at it!

 

And they really are quite simple to make.  I've found it takes about an hour (and they are pretty good for those meetings where you just have to listen - nothing to look at and no comments expected.)

 

The workshop itself was run over Facebook and our lovely host ran through everything nice and slowly so we could all try it as she showed us.  She also showed us different examples, for instance if we want floppy ears or pricked ears.

 

I very much enjoyed the workshop and the little dog I made, and now I find myself making more of them to see what the next one will look like.  I haven't quite decided what to with them next though...

Dog Bells

We're finally working on our kitchen which is really exciting.  I can't wait to have it finished!  However we have come to the conclusion that we won't be able to have a dog flap in the new kitchen. 

Milo has a trick of opening doors, which is fine in the summer, but less good in the winter as he's not very good at closing them after himself.  So we put in a dog flap for him which meant he could come and go as he pleased and we didn't have to keep getting up to close the door after him.

Talking to a colleague they told me they were training their dog to ring a bell when it wanted to go outside.  I did a bit of research and found this is a thing!  So I bought some bells from the local wool shop, and attached them to a broken lead (he chewed through it) to create a set of bells that can be hung from a door.

The idea is that he will then ring the bells when he wants to go out and won't scratch the new doors.  It also has the added benefit of being able to take it with us when we visit people and hanging it on their door.

So the only thing to do now is to teach him how to use it.  Fingers crossed.

Purly Paw Print Patchwork Blanket - Red

I had a tidy up of all the 'craft' stuff (mostly knitting and crochet) downstairs and came across a second Purly Paw Print Patchwork blanket, started but very much not finished.
I don't like unfinished things, and as we're still in lock down and its harder to find the materials for new projects I decided to get this one finished.

In the end it didn't really take long, its not a very big blanket, and now its done it can be send off to Battersea Dogs Home as intended when I first started the project.  I'm sure they will appreciate it. 

Purly Paw Print Patchwork Blanket

Ages ago when I didn't have a dog and I was just learning how to knit I came across a pattern for a blanket made of squares for the dogs at Battersea Dogs Home.  A good project I through to practice on and the sort of thing I could take with me when visiting family which would keep my fingers busy but wouldn't need too much thought. 
So I got started, but soon other things cropped up and it got forgotten at the bottom of my knitting bag.  
Trello changed this!  As I went through all the links and printed patterns I have, I came across this one.  As I looked through it to see where I was at I realised I was about half way through.  Suddenly I had a record of where I was.

Even though I had bigger and better project on my list I needed to finish this one - I couldn't let it sit there half finished.  So when I ran out of wool on the project I was working on I got cracking on these little squares.  And now its finished and ticked off my list.
To be honest it's not a very big blanket so I can only assume Battersea have some tiny dogs.  I'll be sending if off to them in the next week or so and hope they find it useful.

Happy Gotcha Day Milo

Dreaming of being Usain Bolt

 A year ago today we made our last trip to Shoreham dog trust to pick up Milo! I can't believe it's been a whole year!
 

Yogurt? Don't mind if I do!

We've all learnt a lot in that year, and while we've been to the vet a couple more times than I would have wanted, we've been very lucky indeed to have this chap in our lives.  I still can't believe someone decided they didn't want him.

 I don't think I realised before, quite how much character each dog has, for instance he loves to come for a run with me, and won't meet me at the door if I go for one without him!
I'm glad he came to join us, even with all his mess.

A Little Black Dog

Earlier this year I found a pattern for a tiny knitted dog.  Once I'd made one I wanted to make more, and as my sister had a tiny black dog wouldn't it make the perfect Christmas gift?  
I love making tiny things like this.  Really quick to make and fun too.  Who doesn't want a dog they can keep in their pocket?

Milo

Me and 'im outdoors have been talking about getting a dog forever.  But in the flat it wouldn't have worked - a whole set of steps and a garden gate to go through before being free to roam.
Now we have a house with a nice big garden and a woodland behind, it suddenly became a possibility.  And with the utility room finished we started talking about it seriously. 

Although we would have liked a puppy we decided that there were so many dogs that need rehoming we should start by looking there.  So one Sunday afternoon at the beginning of June we made the trip out to the Dog Trust centre at Shoreham, being our nearest centre even though it's still over an hours drive away.

There were many dogs who we liked, but most of them wouldn't be able to deal with going to work with 'im outdoors, which was the only way we can have a dog.  No one wants to be left by themselves for 8 hours every day.
After registering our interest and having a good chat with the ladies at the centre we left wondering how long it would take to find someone to live with us.

3 days later and I received a phone call from the Trust.  Were we still interested in a dog.  Yes, I say.  Then they had a 3 year old black Lab called Milo who might interest us.
So the next weekend, on nearly the hottest day of the year so far, we drove down to meet him.  Apparently he is a stray from Wales so Milo isn't his real name, which is why he ignored us when we called him by it.  Otherwise he is a real sweetie.  Very quiet, loves a ball, polite with other dogs but pulls on the lead a bit.  I can't believe anyone would have let him go, but the Trust ladies told us that while it could just be someone had got fed up of him, it was more likely that they had lost their job and couldn't look after him any more or something equally sad.

After visiting him again, having a house visit to make sure the garden was safe and secure and attending an adoption talk - all about dog behaviour and how to help him settle in to his new home, we were able to bring him home.

My car will never be the same!  But mostly he will travel in the truck so that will be better.
Then we had a quiet weekend to bond, mostly with a set of tennis balls and a squeaky chicken. He's a little under weight at the moment so he's on 3 meals a day until he puts on 3kg and I hope to build him up to running with me.
So while we know our lives will never be the same again we very much hope that Milo has now found his forever home.