Crazy Dog Lady (Patient Zero) Has Cabin Fever!!

So, Nashville got a little bit of snow and ice this week.  

The view from my back porch.  Ice trees!!!

Combine that with a gnarly sinus/headcold and that put me in the situation of being house-bound for 5 days straight.  Not that I'm complaining.  I love a day off just as much as the next guy.  And you stack 5 together...hell, I'm down!  But by day 5, I was feeling a little antsy.  Usually with that many days of freedom from work, I can be a proper American and go purchase things I don't need or find other trouble to get into.  But not this week.  Nashville is a city ill-equipped for ice.  Also, being sniffly and sneezy kept me pretty glued to the couch and not feeling extra excited to be out in the world or buzzing with creativity.

Chicken Pho>Campbell's ever could be

But yesterday afternoon rolled in and I couldn't sit still any longer!  If I were still 300lbs, I think I might have actually become one with the couch and needed surgical assistance to get up, but I'm a little more lithe than I once was.  My car was encased in ice, so I couldn't leave.  And my nose was a dripping faucet so I didn't want to work on any of my current quilt projects.  Tula Pink does not deserve to have my mucus on her at this point.  I'd prefer she stay clean until I finish my WIPs that bear her name.  So I went upstairs to the craft den to see what kind of miracles I could create.

Betwixt my boyfriend and me, we have 4 dogs.  He inherited his mother's hound dog, Howard.  The other three are all rightfully mine: Finn the muttley Doberman, Willoughby the retired racing greyhound, and Simon the hyper shichon.  If you have ever seen a Greyhound, you know they are very thin and very short haired, so I have always had a habit of making sweaters and coats for Will for him to stay warm.

Willoughby (formerly Dancin' Dudley) was rescued from a track in Florida in 2005

The other boys haven't ever needed outerwear since we live in a relatively temperate climate.  But it is COLD this week.  So I decided to start slapping together dog coats.  I didn't take pictures of my process, because when I do this, it really is like a Jackson Pollack painting.  I use the dog in question to measure and form.  I decided that these were going to be grungy, utilitarian, rough looking quilted pieces so I wasn't worried about finished edges or neat seams.  It's bad enough I dress my dogs, I don't need them to look froo froo at the same time!  And away I went.

I used fleece for the base layer.  The fleece is the one piece that I didn't use scrap or remnants to construct.  It is always easiest for me if I have a solid base layer of sturdy fabric that I can build on to. On top of that I used quilt batting scraps.  Like a lot of sewers and quilters, I don't throw anything away, so remnants were the name of the game.  I made Simon's coat first--smaller equals faster.

Simon, in the nude.

So for his top layer, I used Flannel scraps that I had left over from my nephew's Eye Spy Quilt.  Everything got sandwiched together and held tight with a couple pins and then straight line quilted for a couple passes.  Criss-cross quilting and making sure any free edges were tacked down on the over lapping pieces were really what I was all about.  I wanted it to stay rough looking.  After everything was tacked/quilted down enough, I trimmed the edges of all the layers to match the original fleece base and then used a blanket stitch to finish the edges.  I found an old stretchy belt that was too big for me that worked perfectly to cut up and use as a closure for the coat.  So, I cut it up, attached it and finished off the edges for a fairly functional and fairly quick project.

It's hard to catch him standing still.  But you get the idea.  And after wearing it for a while, he actually liked it.  He got excited when I put it on him this morning, but I think that's because he knew he could go outside and eat more snow.  After I had success with the little guy's coat, I moved on to a new super heavy duty one for Willoughby.  He's getting old and needs some extra protection from the cold.  I used a heavier fleece, extra layers of batting and a corduroy for the outer layer to help repel water and wind.  His went together quickly, but I broke the needle on my machine just as I was getting close to the finish line.  It was time for a new one anyway.  So I stopped for the night.  Maybe I'll take some better pictures and see if Will will play fashion model.  

The upside to my madness in the craft room is that the other two crazy mutts inherited Willoughby's old coats.  So now even Howard and Finn are chasing the neighborhood ruffians all suited up in winter coats.  I'm sure it will give some of the kids a laugh to see those big goofy dogs out in the yard with jackets on whenever Metro Nashville finally decides they'll hold school again.