Best Dog Fabric Ever: I Shoulda Bought 30 Yards

Here are two of my most adorable creations, one age 19, and the other one born in mid-December: 

(Note DD's winter fashion boots, designed to simulate bare feet.) 

(Just kidding, we're in Southern California, she's barefoot and didn't get frostbite.) A closer look at the purse:

Whatever you're eating. they want:

I encountered this fabric while rifling through the remnant bin at the legendary Britex fabric store in San Francisco a couple of years back. The half-yard was cheap and discounted - I think it was $15 - but they also had yardage, which was much more expensive. So I resisted buying more - big mistake!

Over Christmas vacation, while searching my stash for something else, I came across it, and the joy of it waylaid me. Before I knew it, I'd made two tote bags. Actually, I made one tote bag, and my DD, on vacation from college, strolled barefoot through my sewing area (despite pin hazards), spotted it, and requested one of her own.

I kept the big one on the left, and gave her the one on the right. She's petite, so she needs a smaller purse, I rationalize. Plus, I'm so old/old-fashioned that I carry around [a paper] notebook and freakin' PENCILS. 

I loved my new tote - and so do my friends - but I didn't have enough fabric leftover to make them their own. I scoured the Internet for more, but no luck.

However, I discovered that the fabric printing site Spoonflower is selling a similar AndyWarholesque pug fabric, here (no financial affiliation). As you can see in the picture below, its colors are less restrained than the brocade:

Spoonflower ain't cheap, but neither was Britex. If you buy the print on regular cotton (around $18/yard), you can turn it into a cheater quilt (add borders). If you invest in one of Spoonflower's heavier fabrics - like canvas, denim, or twill ($30+/yard) - you could make your own sturdy purse. Don't buy too little, I guarantee that one or more of your associates - dog owners or not - will want something made from it.

Through Spoonflower and Sprout Patterns, you can also buy the design printed on stretch fabric, with directions to sew it into leggings!

They may seem frivolous, but you will need them this year, because February 18 marks the start of the Chinese Year of the Dog! I learned this yesterday, as soon as my husband and I started strolling through our neighboring city, San Gabriel's, Lunar New Year Festival, and detected a theme to the chalk artists' drawings: 

Any one of the sidewalk masterpieces would make great fabric. People were wearing dog-themed clothes, and we even saw a dog wearing red satin embroidered Chinese New Year attire! My pug purse fit in beautifully. Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy New Year, more or less.)