Jake the Rottie

The challenge: convey the (adorable) personality of this Instagram-star-pup in a gift for a special couple. Having never met Jake…having never actually met a Rottie in real life…hmm. What I did have was (lots) of amazing photos from his Instagram account; after much deliberation I chose this one:

…and decided to flip it horizontally for my composition. I like to use relatively simple backgrounds comprised of interesting hand-dyed fabrics, and had found a green that is the groom’s favorite color (go, Packers!). Fur colors I have in abundance in my fabric and thread stash, so these were easy to select:

More than I would need, of course, and all MistyFused and ready to go. I printed the image in 4 cells to expand it, and away we went with the rotary cutter…

…generating just a few scraps along the way!

Once Jake’s head and neck were roughed out, it was time for some ink and pencil to begin the process of blending the areas…

Then, time to decide on the composition. I needed a couple of props in piece to accompany him, and decided (with the help of a few awesome friends in the SAQA network :)) that the suggestion of a park behind him, via a stone wall and some tree branches, would frame his face nicely.

I love putting texture into a piece with tree bark and “stone” walls!

Then, lots and lots of “fur” stitching…and the addition of an extra layer of batting for his snout (another reason to love MistyFuse – the ability to lift layers and compose as you go!):

 

For the background quilting, a simple lasso/leaf pattern seemed to work. Whew. I really must meet the real Jake soon 😉 💜🐾🐾.