Post #11: Dog collars & fabric & beads, oh, my!

     My dear hubby had been complaining lately. He's not really a whiner, but there was this one thing that had been bothering him for a while, and he simply couldn't let it go...so I finally took action, and now dear hubby is happy again. You see, our little dog has a spiked collar. She is a miniature pinscher and the pink leather with the stainless steel spikes looked so cute on her. But being a small and cuddly dog, she sleeps with us, and sometimes, those spikes hurt!
     I went into my closet and got out my “dog box” where I keep all sorts of things and mementos related to, well, my dogs: Fido, Queen of the Pillows, who was with me for almost 17 years, and now Alice, who has been a part of our family since May of this year.
     I didn't mean for this blog to be about dogs; I really intended to stay on subject and focus only on crafting and fiber arts, but anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am completely obsessed with my little dogs, past and present. But this is related to crafting, really! I promise. Anyway, in the dog box I found an old cotton collar that was Fido's. The fabric was faded and torn and I had kept it only for sentimental reasons and because I'm a crafter who figures “maybe I'll use it someday.” Well, this time I did.  

Fido, Queen of the Pillows, 2 yrs. old

Fido, around 13 yrs. old

Fido's old worn-out collar

     I proceeded to cut all of the pink fabric away, completely dismantling the collar, leaving only the plastic hardware to be reused in the making of a new collar for Alice. I had just shortened a pair of Lucky Brand jeans for dear hubby and the strips of denim I had cut away were just laying on the table waiting to be used. I do not care for nylon or other synthetic material for dog collars; they used to rub Fido's fur off around her neck, and I discovered that natural materials of either cotton or leather did not cause this problem. 

     After I cut, folded, and stitched the fabric on the sewing machine and held it up against Alice's dark fur, it just didn't show up, dark denim against black, so I decided to trim it with some lime green quilting cotton. On one side I hand stitched a gathered piece to add some texture. Then I got out some glass beads and hand stitched them on securely. 

     Dogs are funny when they you put a new collar on them. They're probably just reacting to your excitement and taking their cues from you, but Alice sure acted like she thought she was something special when I put that new collar on her. And you know what? She sure is!

Finding peace in creativity,

Meryl