Jake, A Work In Progress

My special pup, Lola, has a playmate, and it's Jake. Jake is a Wheaten Terrier, who had a bit of a hard start in life. Jake's "mom and dad", Edry and Bob, have taken Jake into their lives, hearts and home, and have given Jake heaven on Earth. What a lucky boy! Because Jake is somewhat fearful, he doesn't do well around other dogs, but he and Lola just love each other! So, Edry and Bob have been kind enough to "adopt" Lola 2-3 times a week so Jake can have one on one time with his special pup pal. How can Lola and I ever thank Edry, Bob, and especially Jake, for these mid week play sessions that leave Lola as drained as an old wet rag?! Well, we are trying. We sure hope they will love a special needle felted pillow of Jake, made with heart and soul, and Lola's sniff scent all over it. We're making sure of that! Take a look at our progress:

Here's the start of the needle felting, where I lay down the colors of roving, and get an idea of the general shape of the subject matter, in this case, Jake! I follow a photo during this process.

When I'm ready to work on the face, I attempt to follow the photo as closely as possible, but it often changes quite a bit. In this portrait, I'm loving how Jake's face is interacting with the viewer much better than his face in the photo.

After the design is fairly well set, I put the entire portrait through my needle felting machine (Yea! I am SO loving my new needle felting machine!) The machine really felts the roving in place, so there's less worry that the roving will start pilling and coming off, like there is when I hand needle felt.

Now, I double check the pose to make sure everything looks like it could pass for Jake. I see that his face needs to be longer on the right side, and I need to reposition the angle of his back. He's also missing his tail, eee gads! So, I add these things, check the colors once more, and, I'm done with Jake's portrait! This entire process takes me several hours.

Now, I need to sew it up into a pillow, stuff it with heavenly natural bamboo, and he's ready to be presented to his very deserving "parents". Lola and I will make sure to wrap it with a dog bone, and a big tail wag. It will be a special day when we present our Jake pillow to this deserving family!

Just so you know, I can make a custom pet pillow for you, or for anyone you know with a special pet. All I need is a photo (email them to me), and for you to answer a few questions about the home's decor. I am able to needle felt portraits of cats, birds, and of course, dogs! You can find a listing for this special purchase in my etsy shop, click here, or just email me and we'll work out the details directly. Thanks for your interest and support. This is truly one of the most touching gifts you can give, I have tons of testimonials to the fact.

I will be at a fundraiser for the Helen Woodward Animal Center on Wednesday, April 14, from 5-7 pm at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by to see me and say Hi! Some of my other pet and dog pillows will be on display. I will have some to sell, as well as scarves, sweaters, and the like. I hope to see you there!