Author: Michelle

Two Misses In A Row

~ Michelle

A few weeks ago, when my husband and I went away for our anniversary, he was sick. The week before that it was my DS1’s turn. Well, when we got back from our trip, it was my turn. Sadly, my sewing has really been affected.

The first mistake I made was last week. I was all ready to make some matching panties for my new bra. I decided to make a new pattern from some RTW panties, and everything was looking good. I traced out the pattern, and was all ready to cut out. I even thought everything looked pretty good when I finished cutting them out.

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It wasn’t until I picked up the back of the panties that I realized something really didn’t look right.

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There was no fixing that, and there isn’t enough material left for a second back to be cut. Sigh. Note to self – don’t try to sew when you don’t feel well.

I did dig out my beige cotton spandex from my stash. Nope, there wasn’t enough material there for a pair of panties either. I saved it thinking it would be great to use for making the gussets for panties. I do the same with ends or bits of Duoplex  – save them to make bridges.

So, I put all my sewing aside and rested for most of the week.

I was starting to feel better and wanted to get sewing again. So out came the cowl neck top I’d started to work on.

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I’d used my knit sloper and traced out a pattern that was ‘curvier’ than the original pattern to better fit me.

It was coming together quickly and looking wonderful. Then I sewed up the side seams and thought, ‘Hmm, that looks small.’

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Yup, it’s too small. I didn’t add in ease, or at least not enough. I am thinking too small is a nice change from too big… I don’t think I’m quite up to sewing just yet. I think I’ll give it another few days.

The one highlight of my sewing right now is my companion:

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Here’s our adopted pup, Tiberius. He often looks for a spot of sun on the carpet, but will settle for a spot under my cutting table just to be close.

Happy creating!

The Flexible Wire Experiment

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I did a little bra-wearing experiment. I still wasn’t 100% happy with my fit. Do you get the idea I’m looking for perfection? I am!

At the end of the day, I could see when I undressed, the wires I was using weren’t fitting me perfectly. I also knew from experience that a size smaller felt like it pinched a bit. So, if the size I’m wearing is too big, and one size smaller is too small, where did that leave me?

I’d read something recently about the flexible wires available at Bravo Bella, Needle Nook Fabrics, and Sew Sassy. I decided to give them a try and see if they’d solve my wire problem. I ordered three sizes from Needle Nook Fabrics – 36, 38, and 40. Anne St. Clair was so very helpful. I must say, women like Anne and Beverly Johnson are a tremendous help to us non-professional bra-makers. Thank you!

I could tell with just a glance that the 40 wires were the same size I’d been using, so I ruled them out, initially. The 36s felt perfect but were too short for me to use. That left the 38s. I popped out the Vertical wires I’d been using from my most recent Black Butterfly bra and wore the flexible wires for a day. (Here’s a confession: I didn’t even sew the seams up!)

Here are the two 38 wires  – one regular and one flexible:

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And this second photo shows just how much these flexible wires can flex:

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That’s tremendous. There’s no way a regular wire is going to move like that! As well, the flexible wires don’t splay outward anymore than the regular wires I’d been using did – I checked. They flex inward.

Just before I popped those new wires in, I pressed them together to make the curve a little narrower. On the Bravo Bella web site, Monica Bravo has a couple of videos about the wires, and on one she explains how they can be shaped. That sounded perfect to me.

At the end of the experimental day, I could see these wires were a much better fit for me. Yay! I now have a nice little stash of flexible wires on their way to me.

Now to adjust my pattern to help with the wire fit. I’ve learned though, change one part of the bra pattern, and it means changing something else. Now I decided to look at the cradle those wires are fitting into. What I’ve been using is drawn from a 38 wire cradle that I lengthened to fit the 40 Vertical wire. I wanted to change that. Clearly, the channel that fit a 38 wire was too big.

In this photo, you can see the bridge and then the 36 and 38 cradle lines. There’s not a lot of difference between the cradle sizes, but I think one size will be just enough to make things a little more comfortable and fit better. The main problem with a cradle that’s too big is the weight of the breasts will push the bra frame down and you won’t get the support you need. The cradle really needs to fit.

I traced the 30E on this pattern (the smallest cradle size on it). I’d been using the 32E cradle for my last few bras. I’d even tried the 34E cradle, which would normally take  a 40 wire, so I would have fewer cup alterations, but I found it really didn’t help with my fitting issues – just my alteration ones.

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So, out came my pencil, eraser, and medical exam table paper. I traced of the 30E cradle and then laid my custom pattern pieces over that to add those aspects to the pattern – the narrower and lower bridge, adjusting for a flat spot, thinning out the elastic under the bust, and raising up the side 1/4″.

At this point all the alterations were good to go. In fact, you’ve seen them! I used them all on my last bra – the Sewyfied Shelley. That bra is my best-fitting bra! There are only a couple of cosmetic changes I want to make at this point. What a great feeling that is!

Happy creating!

A Pin-Up Girls Shelley with a Sewy Rebecca Twist

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I’m still trying to decide which bra pattern I like better. It’s a very close match between Beverly Johnson’s Pin-Up Girls (PUG) Shelley pattern and Sewy’s Rebecca pattern. They’re quite similar – both feature a lace upper cup and a power bar. Shelley has a split lower cup as well where the Rebecca doesn’t.

Here’s the Sewy Rebecca photo from their web site. I’ve been to their site a number of times and am getting used to where things are even though I don’t speak any German. However, if you open their site in Google Translate, everything is much easier. You just can’t place an order on their site using Google Translate.

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Oh, that’s a lovely bra!

And here’s Beverly’s Shelley pattern from the Bra-Makers Supply web site.

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Absolutely gorgeous!

One difference I’ve noticed is when the patterns are both flat, the upper cup along the cross cup seam is straighter on the Sewy Rebecca than the PUG Shelley. The Rebecca is on the bottom, Shelley is on top. See how much more curved the Shelley is? But they are both the exact same length.

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According to Beverly in the Bra-Makers Manuals, a straighter bottom edge on the upper cup will give more lift. Who doesn’t want more lift? However, to be honest, when I’m wearing the Rebecca, I don’t notice any difference.

So, which bra wins out? I’m still undecided. I do know one aspect of the Rebecca that does win hands down – the enclosed seams on the inside of the bra! I love that! It does take a fair amount of work, but is so worth it.

Due to my immense fondness for those enclosed seams, I Sewy-fied my Shelley this week. I added lining and followed the instructions for sewing the Rebecca to completely enclose my seams. I even upped it a bit and added a lower cup lining, so the whole inside of the cup is now lined with no seams showing. The only fault with the inside is I forgot to change thread colors and there is beige thread from top-stitching very evident on my black lining. I noticed it too late to change it.

Here’s a photo of the bra’s inside.

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Oh, those enclosed seams. That is so pretty and, I think, more professional. On one Prima Donna bra that I owned, wore, and then took apart, all the seams were enclosed. I’m still trying to figure out how they did the strap and made it enclosed too. But they did.

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Here’s my Shelley from the outside. I think I’ve figure out the best way to stuff the bras for Catherine. I use the cut and sew foam cups I made that are the same size and shape as the bra cups, AND the pre-shaped foam cups, which are sturdier. Finally, a mostly wrinkle free photo.

This is a fabric kit from Merckwaerdigh‘s Etsy shop. I really do love her laces. I’ve backed everything up here with sheer cup lining, Duoplex, Power Net, and elastics from Bra-Makers Supply.

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Here’s my Shelley from the side. Again, I added another touch from the Sewy Rebecca and used lace on the power bar. The lace here looks so different from the same lace with the black sheer lining behind it on the upper cup.

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A very basic back.

For alterations on this bra, I made a smaller cradle, narrowed and lowered the bridge, adjusted for a flat spot on the bridge and cups, made the underarm area smaller, I shortened the wire line seam (with gathers again), added linings to the cup, and used a flexible wire.

Happy creating!

My Sloper Versus A Couple of Patterns

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

This week was a non-bra week, in keeping my hubby happy. Even though he loved my last bra, he does let me buy material without grumbling about it, so I don’t mind honoring his request – that I sew with all the material I have.

I have some lovely material for a cowl neck top. And I bought Deby Cole’s Cowl Neck Top from her Craftsy store. I think I’ll really enjoy wearing it too. I love this material paired with my denim Flirt Skirt.

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However, if you’ve followed me for any time at all, you know I usually have two, or three or more ideas and projects on the go. Before I jumped into the cowl neck, I wanted to re-visit my Ann-T-Top from Style Arc.  I printed off the next size down, and compared it to my sloper.

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Here’s the Ann T-Top with my sloper over top. I outlined the side of my sloper in black so it shows up better against the pattern. This size is much better. I still have a hard time believing how far off I am from the size charts. On this, I might want to shorten the upper bodice by 1/2″ so the underarm is hitting where my underarm hits, which will also help the waist hit at my waist. However, I do think this is a much closer fit, and one more size down would be too small. And although it doesn’t show, the neckline is much better too. There’s a 1/2″ difference, and I think I’ll like the little bit looser neck. I think I’ve found my size! I will need to make a hip adjustment, but if the base of the garment fits better, the rest can be done.

Carmen, one of my blog readers, mentioned using the upper bust for the pattern size, and this is something Kathleen Cheetham teaches in her Craftsy class, Adjust the Bust. I just picked up that class, and I’m sure it will be useful. Thanks, Carmen!

I also started to work on Deby Cole’s Cowl Neck Top.

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I have my sloper laid over Deby’s pattern. Again, what I’m dealing with is I don’t fit into just one size, or even two. I’m three sizes in all! For this pattern, I started off tracing the small shoulders and neck, and then loosely followed my knit sloper for the rest of the pattern, so my cowl neck top will be more shaped than the original.

Everything for my cowl neck top was cut out, and that’s as far as I got. I didn’t get any sewing done. I don’t even have a photo to show you – the cut material is pinned to my dress form. And I can’t even take a photo for you. I’m not anywhere near my sewing room. I’m in the mountains enjoying my anniversary. Any and all sewing will have to wait until I get back.

Here’s the view from our room. Oh, I love the mountains.

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This is my view from sitting at the kitchen table. We’re here in the mountains celebrating our anniversary, but my DH isn’t feeling wonderfully right now, so we’re having a quieter afternoon.

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I have windows on three sides, and there are mountains out each window. Oh, how I love being here.

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And the last view. Oh, I’m enjoying my time away, but if I want to submit a bra in Erin’s challenge this week, I’m going to be very busy sewing when I get home. That means a top and a bra in a couple of days! I don’t know if I’ll get all that done, but it will be fun to try.

Happy creating!

Basic Black Butterfly

~ Michelle

This week started with me drawing, re-drawing, and re-drawing vertically seamed cups. I think I have a good pattern to cut out, but after all that work, I wanted to sew something that I was sure would fit – back to my Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern. So once I test the vertical cups, my next bra just might be my Prima Donna Milady copy. I don’t have the bra, so can’t make a clone, but will just make something similar based on their lovely bra.

I went back to basics colors this week, but wanted a little something special, so I added a Butterfly Effect. It’s really a lovely effect, and doesn’t take a lot of lace.

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The lower cup on this bra has been split, which I’m told is always helpful to someone with an Omega shape. I also made a few fitting alterations to the pattern. On this bra, I took in the lower part of the cup along the wire line so it fits into a smaller cradle – no gathers this time. I put darts in along the wire line to take out the excess. The cups really do look a lot smoother in the bra. Those tiny gathers aren’t anything that would be visible under clothing, but I like that little extra of the cup fitting perfectly in the cradle.  I also made the underarm area smaller by putting a dart in the pattern there. I used my custom bridge, which is altered for a flat spot and also lowered 1/2″, and I thinned the elastic under the cup.

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Here’s a close up of the Butterfly Effect. It really does look quite a lot like a butterfly. I think the lace I used, which has a clear border, helps to outline that effect nicely. The upper cup is trimmed with loopy elastic, but it’s not showing very well. It seems to want to curl inward on Catherine.

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Here you can see how smoothly the cups go into the smaller band. (Here I go again.) I do really like that. The gathers, however, are an easier option, and really hardly show at all. If anyone reading this is making that adjustment for an Omega shape, do yourself a favor and do the gathers initially.

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I did change one part of the back. I made the back strap elastic join the bra with a slider attached to elastic on the band rather than attach directly to the band, so the back strap elastic is done in two parts rather than just one. This method seems flatter on the back.

From the comments I’ve been hearing this week from my dear hubby, this is the prettiest bra I’ve ever made! He really likes it. Then, I think he doesn’t want to upset me and says all the other bras I’ve made are pretty too, but this one is really pretty. He’s so cute.

I do want to do this effect again and cut away the Duoplex from behind the lace. That gives a sheerer look to the butterfly effect. I think that would be really lovely too.

I have some of the leaves from the lace cut out and ready to be sewn onto some matching panties, but didn’t have as much time this week to sew as I might have wanted. That will have to wait until next week.

A friend of mine came over yesterday to take some photos. She’d made a lovely shawl and wanted to use Catherine to display her shawl. I was happy to let her and took a few photos too.

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I watched as this shawl took shape, week after week, while we had a ladies’ night and watched Downton Abbey.

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Here’s a close up of the two fibers. I like the sheerness the one yarn has.

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This is my favorite part though – the little details are what always win me over. Julia unraveled some of the yarn on the fringe and beaded it. It’s just lovely.

Happy creating!

Size Chart Woes

~ Michelle

I had two experiences this week that I want to share with you. Both were basically the same thing – and both dealt with size charts. I have a question to ask you: Do size charts actually work?

My first experience was when I ordered the Rhonda Shear 3-Pack Pin Up Lace Leisure Bra. I heard on the video how Rhonda said to ‘order your top size.’ Well, great, but when I’d looked at the size chart that didn’t make sense. There was no way my top size, usually a Medium, was going to work, or at least that was what I was thinking. My bust and their size chart put me in the XL range. I was too hesitant to order my top size, so followed their size chart.

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Here’s their size chart. The photo is from The Shopping Chanel.

The bras arrived yesterday, and they’re lovely leisure bras. And they’re too big. Not a lot too big. The Medium would not have been a better fit. I think, judging by how the bras fit me, the Large would be my best fit. However, they are for leisure, so a little loose will be okay. I’ll know for next time.

Here’s one of the bras on Catherine.

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For on Catherine, I’ve added foam cups, so the bra is filled out the same as when I wear it. It’s really lovely and very comfortable. I was thinking when I bought the bras that I just might be interested in cloning them at some point.

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Here’s the back. It’s super smooth on, and again, very comfortable.

My other experience this week with size charts was with Style Arc. Style Arc’s Ann T-Top on Etsy. Again, I looked at the size charts and saw where I fell by my measurements. And I ordered that size for the top.

Nope. Again. Too big.

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Here’s a screen shot from the Style Arc Web site showing the size chart.

This time the size was off, not just by one size, but by two. This time the charts put me in a 16, but when I printed it off and laid my sloper over it, it was way too big. So I contacted them and ‘exchanged’ the pattern I’d bought for a smaller size. I made up the 12, and it looked close when I laid my sloper over it.

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Here’s my Ann T-Top. This top has some elasticized gathering at the waist. I think that little detail is very attractive.

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Here it is from the side. I have the same Rhonda Shear bra under the top to give it a more realistic fit.

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And from the back.

Here’s me, (finally getting a photo) in both my denim Flirt Skirt, and my Ann T-Top.

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And a tired me (it’s almost midnight), in my Ann T-top. It’s too big.

The highlight of my week was ‘a little lingerie surprise parcel’ that came in the mail for me. Thank you, Ginny! What a treat!

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After watching Beverly’s newest bra class on Craftsy, I have lots of ideas for how to use this lovely lingerie fabric!

Happy creating!

A Red Rebecca

~ Michelle

I knew when Erin from The Sewing and Life Adventures of Emerald Erin put out her Bra-a-Week Challenge, I wouldn’t be making a bra each week, but I have been trying to keep up with a submission every other week. And this week I have one.

My Red Sewy Rebecca.

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I can’t say enough how much I love sewing this bra. As the seams are coming together, they’re turned and then hidden between the lace and lining on the upper cup, or the duoplex and lining on the power bar. And the inside looks so very neat and tidy. It’s really a delight to sew.

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You can see here the inside of the upper and lower cup but there are no visible seams. Oh, that is such a nice touch.

The bra came together fairly easily, but I honestly think that’s because I have experience sewing bras. The instructions I have are the English instructions from ELingeriA and they’re not my favorite. I find I’m often looking at what they’re saying to do, and then ignoring it and following instructions from Beverly’s Craftsy class, or one of my Pin-Up Girls patterns.

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There are a couple of things I like about this pattern. One is the lower edge of the upper cup is quite straight. A straight bottom edge to the upper cup gives more lift. I do like that. Another thing I like is the underarm area is smaller and I don’t need to adjust it. The fewer adjustments, the better.

Again, on this bra, I gathered the cup to fit into the cradle. I had intended to adjust the pattern, but my week was going by quickly and I wanted to get sewing and forgot. Next time I’ll make some adjustments and show you what I do for that.

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The back of the bra is pretty basic. I do like the black findings kit with the red, and the red and black lace. All the materials came from Bra Makers Supply. I already plan to order more of that lace. It is so pretty. When I’d ordered the kit, I put it away for a little while and when I pulled it out again this week, I thought it was just black lace. So when I unpacked it, it was a treat to see those red flowers.

This photo is the inside of the bra. Look how neat that is! Here’s a close up:

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Love, love, love this!

Enclosing the cup seams would be quite easy to do on any bra, just use some lining material and ‘sandwich’ it when sewing. Let’s talk about that using the upper cup and lower cup. Place the two cup parts right sides together as you normally would. Then the lining material, which was cut from the upper cup pattern goes on the wrong side of its non-matching part – the lower cup. You make a sandwich of the cup pieces with the upper cup material and lining as the bread, and the lower cup as the filling. Sew, trim, and turn the matching upper cups pieces so they are now together. Press, top stitch and enjoy seeing those enclosed seams hidden neatly inside your upper cup.

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You can see here the seam is exposed still, but has been trimmed. The lining will fold over the seam to meet its matching upper cup and then press and top stitch. It is so neat and lovely.

It’s the same for the power bar. Place the power bar with the cup right sides together – just the same as when you’re sewing it without lining it. Place the power bar’s lining on the wrong side of the cup; sew, trim, press with the power bar and lining together, and top stitch and now your whole cup is so neat and enclosed!

Happy creating!

Panties To Match

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

Here are my panties to match my Sewy Rebecca bra.

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Did you know Sewy actually has panties to match their bra pattern?

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Here they are. This is from the Sewy website. And here’s the line drawing of the pattern from their website.

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Aren’t they lovely?

And on a side note, I’ve found being an English-speaking person, who does not read or speak German, the best way to navigate the Sewy website is on Google Translate. You can read everything translated into English, but you can’t place an order when using Google Translate. Ask me how I know. You can see the Sewy website translated here.

Back to my sewing. The panties I made are from my TNT Kwik Sew 2286, but I altered the front. This time, since I was adding the lace panel and wanted to keep the scallop at the top of the lace, I remembered to add the lace elastic to the waistband before sewing the lace panel on. I love them.

And here is the matching set.

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My intent is to make two pair of panties for each bra I make. So after my Rebecca was done and I got out my cotton spandex, I realized I only had enough cotton for one pair of panties. I already have the lace cut out for the second pair of panties, but it looks like I have to wait for them.

I told my hubby I needed to order more cotton material, and, well, we had a discussion and he suggested that since I’ve bought all this other material with plans to sew other things, I needed to sew something other than bras and panties to match. Sigh. He just doesn’t understand how addictive bra making is. And for a garment I have to wear every day – it’s just such a delight to put my own on rather than anything RTW.

We came to a compromise – I ordered more material and I’ll sew something else before I sew another bra or panty. But… there was the Watson Sew-along, and there’s Erin’s Bra-a-Week Challenge going on right now, and there are patterns to perfect now that I have my size and fit all figured out. I’m having a very hard time choosing another project when I want to sew bras and panties.

So, I told myself, while my supplies are on the way, get something else sewn and then I’ll have both time and resources to sew another pretty matching set.

So, a Flirt Skirt it is.

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This is in a stretch denim. Look at that flare at the back. Such fun. It really is flirty. My skirt’s not quite done. I still have the waistband to finish, but that won’t take long at all. The ‘top’ is simply material I draped over my dress form. I’d bought some of material to make a cowl neck top, so that will be next… after my second pair of panties.

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Happy creating!

Sewy Rebecca Revisited

~ Michelle

This week I’m looking at my Sewy Rebecca pattern again. I do really like the pattern, so wanted to revisit it. However, the hard part was I felt like I was starting all over again with fitting. I’m not, but I’ve had too many ‘doesn’t quite fit properly’ experiences to not be a bit gun shy.

So, the first thing I did was compare the muslin I’d made a few months back to my correctly fitting Shelley bra. I pinned the muslin over top of the bra on Catherine.

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You can see here, the size I’d traced off and sewn up was too big. I wasn’t sure of my size, so actually graded up one size from the largest to make sure I was getting the proper depth of cup. I’m glad I did. I could see I really would be fine with one size down. Also, I traced around the muslin in pencil to show where the seam lines are underneath.

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You can see the lines here at the underarm, and in the first picture at the top and bridge. I also traced the bottom of the cup where the seam is for the cradle. That gave me a clear indication of sizing.

Once I was finished I took the muslin apart and trimmed off the seam allowance. Then I laid those pieces over the pattern pieces to compare those. Again, I was pretty sure I had the correct size. And one last comparison – I measured the wire line length and the cross-cup seam length and they both match up too. I was ready.

For the band, I laid my Shelley band over the Rebecca pattern to find the size. I really did use my whole pattern as a sloper to make the new pattern fit.

I adapted the Rebecca bridge to the right height for me, and added in the correction to the pattern for the flat spot I have. I also made the cradle smaller to fit the smaller wire I use. So the last change I need to make was to adjust the larger cup to fit into the smaller band.

Before I cut into my good material though, I sewed up another muslin.

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There. Almost all the wrinkles are gone. There are wrinkles on the dress form’s bra though, so this is looking perfect. Now to pick out some material.

I’ve bought some lovely material over the last couple of years that I’ve been saving for that day when I had my fit down. It was time to break some of it out!

I picked a gorgeous Black Cherry kit I’d bought from Bra-Makers Supply. I loved this kit and was really looking forward to using it. I’m not disappointed.

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One of the first things to happen was a set back. I went to press my seams and one little touch of the iron scorched my material. I don’t know how my setting dial on my iron was turned to the hottest setting, but I adjusted it and got out my seam ripper. I had some lace on that band and I still wanted to use it.

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Next I want to show you what the Omega shape means – in practical terms, it means the cup is bigger than the cradle. Do you see those edges do not meet? As this was still a bit of a test run – even though I took a lot of preliminary steps – I didn’t do any alterations to the cup pattern. I will take in the wire line of the cup’s pattern on the next one I do. On this bra I did a gathering stitch along the bottom to ease those two parts together.

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You can see here the gathers inside the cradle. But with some serious steam after the cup was sewn into the band, you can’t see the gathers at all.

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And here’s my Sewy Rebecca. I love this color. I love so many things about this pattern. It looks as neat (almost) on the inside as it does on the outside. I really love that. As I was sewing, that was what excited me the most.

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Here’s the cup before it was sewn into the cradle. All the seams are enclosed. The cross cup seam is enclosed between the lace and the lining. The power bar seam is enclosed between the duoplex and the lining. It looks so very neat inside. I’m quite excited about that.

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Here’s the bra from the side. That little piece of lace was unpicked from the scorched section I showed you earlier. I’m really pleased I took the time to do that. I’m loving that little detail. As well, the steam really did make those gathers disappear. You can’t see them.

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And here’s the back. The findings kit isn’t available in Black Cherry, so I used black. The cotton isn’t available in the Black Cherry either, so next week black cotton and lace panties to match.

Happy creating!

A New Family Member

~ Michelle

We just celebrated Valentine’s Day, and today is Family Day in Canada. So, it’s a perfect day to show you all our newest family member.

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This is our new dog, Tiberius; Tibbers for short. Tiberius is a rescue dog. He was found wandering the streets of California and was taken to a rescue shelter there for a month. After that he made the trip up to Canada and another shelter for a few more weeks. Now he’s with us. This photo was taken while he was still in California – you can tell by the lack of snow!

What a wonderful Valentine’s day gift to our family. He came over on Saturday, so our Valentine’s celebration was all about getting to know him and him getting to know us.

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Without seeing his parents, there’s no sure way to tell exactly what breed mix he is, but the pet adoption agency thinks he’s Dachshund/Manchester Terrier mix.

We found a great adoption agency in the city near us. Calican Rescue Foundation. They specialize in adoption of small dogs, which are a lot rarer here. Everywhere else we looked were only large dogs. We just don’t have the room for a large dog. Calican bring them up from California, which has a lot of smaller dogs available. We loved what they were doing.

Something else that really impressed us with this organization was how they don’t even place the dog with you unless they think it will be a good fit. The first part of the process is a phone interview. After that, there’s a one week trial in the home. So our Tiberius has a week to get used to us and us him. I can’t see any troubles though; he is a really sweet dog.

A big inspiration for me came from Novita over at Very Purple Person. Novita blogs about caring for foster dogs, and has had a few go through her home in the few years I’ve been following her blog. That sounded wonderful to me. I thought I’d suggest it to my family. Well, there was no way my family wanted to care for a dog and then let it go. NO way! That conversation did open the door to some talks about adopting though.

He has quite the personality too. He’s very well-behaved and learning commands quickly. He loves to cuddle, and is a bit mischievous. I came home to find only one slipper at the front door when I’d left two there. He’s made off with one of my son’s socks, and pulled a stuffed toy off the shelf. After that, we bought him his own stuffed toy and he’s content to leave the other one alone.

We’re having a wonderful Family Day with our newest family member.

Michelle