Feeling crafty

Whether it's the inspiration of all the gorgeous fall colors or that fact that, in crafting terms, the holidays are right around the corner I'm becoming increasingly addicted to everything home-made. I'm loving anything you can do with a needle (ok, so that came out wrong), and I'm even reacquainting myself with my long-abandoned kitchen. My favorite cookie and cake recipes are being dug out and dusted off and I've started whipping up giant batches of soup, chili and curry. Some delicious bundles of fabric have been landing on my doorstep and I'm slowly building up my stack of, believe it or not, Christmas presents, which I'm determined will be nearly all handmade this year. I actually started the biggest project back in August!

In the midst of the stitching and baking whirlwind I couldn't quite forget about the pups. With the cold weather coming on my little Flowerpot was starting to get chilly on walks so I took another shot at a jacket pattern. This one's definitely an improvement on the first attempt so I must be learning something. Flower gave it a good test drive in the park, snuffling through the grass chasing bugs! (Excuse the scary looming-giant shadow!)

I'm thinking I might add a love of buttons to my fabric obsession and couldn't resist embellishing her little tweed outfit.

With my exciting new neighbors moving in on Sunday I had to think up some pooch-appropriate housewarming gifts. Poor Fifty's had a bit of a poorly tummy so I'm not sure if he'll actually be able to chomp on his Coconutty Star dog cookies now, but Bilbo went nuts for them and barked and whined his way around the house the whole time they were cooking.

I have to admit they smelled delicious - I even tried one myself - but I'm a sweet-tooth girl so sugar-free goodies didn't quite do it for me. Don't worry, I kept some back for the whining Bilbo too! This recipe did call for flour and rolled oats so although I used mostly rice flour I'm still on the look out for some good grain-free treat recipes. Any ideas?

For Izzy I reached into the fabric stash for some pieces of one of my favorite home-decorator weight prints for a stuffed bone. I bought this one on my first trip to the Needle Shop, a fabulous little store just 20 minutes walk from my house which pretty much single-handedly fanned the flames of my fabric obsession.

Next on the doggy crafting list is a big floor cushion for Bilbo. He loves to lounge across piles of clothes when I'm sorting out laundry so I'm guessing I might get a bit more room on the bed from time to time if I provide him with a bit of comfy floor space. The only problem is, I can't decide on a fabric!

Don't forget to like us on facebook for more pictures of the pups. There are some very cute pooches in Flower's Halloween Fashion Show album so please show them some love and vote for the one you like the best to help them win $ for their favorite animal rescue!