It's so much fun to finally be holding this book in my hands. There are so many great projects in here; I've already picked out a few I want to make soon. But of course, half my excitement is completely centred on my own pattern and the idea that someone actually liked my idea and sample enough to use it in a book.

I promised to tell the whole story once I had my copy so here you are:

I first heard about the call for submissions for this book on Dress-a-Day a year ago  July or so and I thought it was pretty cool. The deadline was the end of August and I was busy preparing for a friends wedding and a mini vacation so I tucked it to the back of my mind and let it percolate while I carried on with other things. At the same time I was thinking I needed a scrunchable shopping bag to save me when I was on unexpected trips to the grocery store after work.

Once we were home from the wedding I worked on the bag (but apparently never posted about it - here's a picture - if you know me in person you've probably seen me with it) and realized I could easily alter it to be a submission for One-Yard Wonders. I got a 1 metre cut of the same cute cherry blossom fabric in another colourway from the local quilt shop (we're in Canada so even though we do all our sewing in inches we cut and sell fabric by the metre) and scrounged up some notions in my sewing room. I must have checked my pieces three or four times to make sure they were taking only 1 yard of my 1 metre cut but I was okay, there was even some left over (you can see it here, and here, and in the picture at the top of this post).


I took loads of pictures while I was making my bag (the best way to remember instructions in my world) and a few of it all finished and then submitted them to Rebecca and Patricia at One-Yard Wonders. And then I waited.

I think it was a month later that I heard back. They liked my project. I was so excited I could hardly believe it. A little while later I was sent a contract to sign and return and I sent in my pattern, instructions, sample and a disk of pictures so my instructions would make sense. I think that was around last October.


Since then Rebecca and Patricia have sent out periodic emails letting contributors know what was happening and when we'd be able to see the book. It seemed like a long wait (though much shorter in retrospect) but it was so much fun to look forward to. When I finally saw the book in the bookstore, with my pattern in it and my name spelt correctly, I'm pretty sure I squealed (Amy could say for sure). I was very impatient waiting for my copy to arrive (Story Publishing sent each contributor a free copy) but arrive it did, and there is my bag.

It amazes me every time I flip to the picture that something I made is in a real book. Not just my pattern but the actual bag - something I made in my sewing room - it probably has a few of Zeke's hairs sewn into the seems (they really get everywhere). I hope everyone out there enjoys the pattern. I've made it twice more since then and I use the bags all the time.


I have one little request to ask of you.

If you flip to the back of the book you'll find all the contributor bios. When you read mine, and if you're a regular visitor to this space, you'll notice something is missing. I wrote my bio last November when we were waiting to hear back from the SPCA about our dog application. We were pretty sure we'd be getting a puppy but hadn't heard for sure and I didn't want to jinx it so I didn't mention having a dog. About two days later we brought Abby home and my bio was out of date.

So here's what I'd like you to do: grab you very best fine tipped pen, turn to page 292, find my bio in the middle of the second column, and add the words "and dog" to the end of the second last sentence.


Thanks  :)

A year ago last week a litter of pups was welcomed into the world and one of those pups became our Abby.

I am constantly amazed how different our lives and household are with Abby around. We seam to be in a constant state of happy chaos with lots of tail wags, barks, ear rubs and rolls on the floor. We teach Abby commands and tricks and she teaches us a whole new routine and a variety of essential but noiseless signals. We take her for walks and she reminds us how wonderful the place we live really is and we have a new way to watch it change with the seasons. I really can't picture our lives without her.

Walks are not enough to wear out our pup though and there are plenty of indoor games to take up the slack. Top of the list is Eat The Cat closely followed by Hey, That's My Tail. If you happen to be sitting down sooner or later you are going to be roped into a game of Fetch.

Our house is good for playing Fetch. The family room and kitchen run together and create a reasonable fairway for Abby-sized dogs. The laminate floor in the kitchen provides the additional obstacle of uncertain traction and there is always the under-the-fridge trap to be cautious of. One of Abby's toys is particularly good for this game: it's a foot long stuffed dog (complete with squeaker) that Abby got as a Christmas present. It is easy to throw, flies well, wont break things it hits and is easy to pick up and carry - just for the record, it was christened Ralph and Abby knows that. The only problem is that Abby doesn't always want to give Ralph back when she brings him to you.


Enter the Dog Bone for Indoor Fetch. These fly as well as Ralph and are just as easy to pick up and carry (in fact Abby can even get two of them at once). I made three and usually play with two. I keep one in reserve while the first is in the field; when Abby comes back I throw the reserve toy and she drops the first one right at my feet. A perfect recipe for endless fetch - at least until I get tired. They don't stand up to Tug Of War but that isn't so much of an issue when I'm not trying to wrestle the toy back in order to throw it again.


As you can see they also work well in the back yard (we had some incredible weather this weekend).


I thought there might be others out there who would find this sort of thing handy for a puppy or small dog so I'm offering my very first pdf sewing pattern. It's over there on the sidebar under the new "Patterns" heading. Just download the file, print it off (without scaling) and start sewing. Feel free to ask questions and have fun.