project #1 Cozy Dog Bed-day 1

I decided to go with the cozy dog bed for my first project since I just got a puppy, Gunner. He is an English Bulldog and he is super sweet.  I had some heavy weight (upholstery fabric) in my stash. I was going to use it to make a baby carrier. Since, I never got around to making the carrier, I will make a cozy bed for Gunner.

Let me start off by saying grrr I hate cutting....this is one of the main reasons I quit quilting...I hate cutting.  I know this book is all about stuff you can make with 1 yard, but I wanted to make this dog bed bigger.  Sounds pretty easy right?? NO! well ok, it's not hard, but working with a piece of fabric that is over a yard bugs me.  Especially when it comes to cutting. I would cut, then it would be crooked, then I would recut, ant it would still be crooked, but the opposite way. GRRR Oh, well, I finally finished cutting!!

When a recipe or pattern says something is optional, I usually opt out. Onions--optional, I hate onions...mushrooms--optional, I hate mushrooms.  This pattern calls for piping--optional, I like piping, but I hate going to the store with kids...so I'm opting out.

So my updated pattern goes as follows:
starting fabric size---don't ask me, it was in my stash and it was really big
top and bottom panels---35"x42"
side panels---4.5" x 35" and 4.5" x 42"

These are the pictures I have. I was in a brown mood, if you can't tell ;)  As this process goes on I will get better at taking better pictures.