What a wonderful quilt, and the heart is perfect. So sorry about you losing Lexie, they become much more than pets over time, they're family.

Awwww, I love your quilt. That doggie is precious. Please leave the heart on it since it will be donated to a rescue.

this is a great quily.

Love this...(I, too, have a Maltese. Aren't they cute??) Anyway, I would remove the heart.

I personally like the heart there. I think the maker's license is in order here. It ties the outside blocks in with the image. Once it is quilted, I would add a sheer French wired bow on the doggies head or ears.

Gorgeous quilt - am so sorry to hear about Lexie. I like the idea of the heart but perhaps it could be done in a softer color thread. The red seems to bright to me.

Really cute! Nice work!

Your quilt is beautiful. I like the heart as is. Having a Maltese myself, I can only imagine the grief you are going through and have gone through. Only those fortunate enough to have a Maltese can understand how totally precious and sweet they are. I am so sorry for your loss.

Well done...I agree that the heart does distract...can't wait to see if finished!!!

Awwwwww. soo sweet!!

It is a lovely tribute to a family member Maltese are so loyal and loveable. My heart goes out to you

Adorable work

Thank you...they are definitely the dog of my heart. I will miss her forever. I have to change my avatar, but just haven't been able to bring myself to do so. My husband was duly warned, as long as I'm able to care for one, there will always be a maltese in my life, therefore I have a new baby in the house. She's a year old, which is very different for me as I've always had puppies, but she's a little clown and keeping me busy as well as being the best ever playmate for Bayleigh (the yorkie). Bayleigh needed her little white fluff as much as I did. Meet Georgie :)

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My dear, you have my sympathy about your little one. To me there is no reason to take the heart out as it is a tribute to the love shared between the two of you. You quilt is absolutely beautiful, wish I could do such!:hunf: As for as how to quilt it, have you looked up this kind of quilt making on the computer or on the board to view how others have quilted theirs. Yours is unique and personalized and of course you want the quilting to enhance all your work. Excellent job!:thumbup: :thumbup:

Thank you all so much for your input and sweet comments regarding both the quilt and the loss of my baby girl. I still haven't decided for sure, but I'm leaning towards removing it and incorporating it into the label as some of you have suggested. I have it hanging on my design wall and everytime I walk into the room my eyes gravitate to the heart, so I think it may be a bit distracting.

yngldy; I love your idea"In loving memory of ..." or something like "Dogs leave their paw print on our hearts. Made in loving memory of ...", etc. (All of a sudden, I miss my baby. Funny how they can become a part of you) I know, I think we'll miss them always, but it was worth every tear for the years we got to spend with them.

Thank you so much! I'm actually thinking of quilting an orange peall grid pattern in the background lining up with the outer blocks and quilting a heart in (maybe a little trapunto?) instead of the pink fabric. I'm just not sure whether to extend it into the outer blocks or do individual designs in them...decisions, decisions...

nicely done! I'd drop the heart and make the bow red.

Awe how cute. What a great memorial.

Can't have 4 legged friends due to allergies, but I sure would take one of these. You mad a FANTASTIC work of art!!!!

I just saw this thread! What a great job you did on your beautiful little friend. I am so sorry for your loss.

I am glad that the technique worked for you, and I love doing this technique as condolence quilts too.

Personally, I like the heart on the front, since it is in red, it really pulls together the corner blocks (which BTW the border is fantastic!). I liked the suggestion of makeing the hair bow red too.

Totally Adorable!!!
Did you cut the hair in the curvy shapes, and appli... or is it a different technique???
Love it!

Thank you so much, she was the love of my life. Now I have another maltese with a totally zaney personality, love her too, and the yorkie has a much younger playmate...she's now the "old girl" at 4 1/2.

I probably didn't use your technique (but I am buying the book, so I can next time)! I did another one by cutting out the top fabric and laying over a darker fabric, but since I used white on this one, it would show thru, so I actually used fused applique this time. I just really love the idea of it and especially the way you use so few lines to capture the essence of a portrait :)

I did take the heart off, every time I looked at it my eyes were drawn to it, so I will fmq it in instead.

What a tribute to one of your furry family members.

I love the quilt. You did a fantastic job on it. The heart is one of those things that you will have to decide about. Its good, either way.

Maltese Quilt FINALLY finished...woooohooooo!
 

I couldn't get it to hang quite straight on the hangers, but you get the idea...I'm so excited to get this one finished and can't wait to see who the winner of the Spoiled Maltese Rescue Raffle is :) This was a fun project :D

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=493112&stc=1

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=493113&stc=1

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=493114&stc=1

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...d=493115&stc=1

That is so sweet and I like the heart on it. I don't have any quilting suggestions as that's the part I always struggle with myself. I'm an animal lover too and know how much it hurts to lose a pet. I lost my Min Pin girl 5 1/2 years ago and my heart hurts just as much now as it did then. I hope the quilt will help raise a lot of money for the rescue.

I love your quilt... I'd try the heart in the lower right corner white block. Bet it wouldn't read as strong there as the eye starts at the top!!!!!

I'm really liking it as is...I think I'll keep the front this way and do a paw print for the label in the dk blue surrounded by the pink heart...

love the heart, but can it be faded like the dog?

I'm leaving it off of the front and putting one on the back as the label :)

I agree. Leave it there.

OMG! What a beautiful quilt! I am owned by 2 maltese fur babies, so I can also say that they are the dogs of my heart as well. I am sorry for your loss, but happy for your new baby. Hope the raffle brings lots of money!

Aren't they though?! Thank you, I hope it will bring lots of donations too...so far so good :) I'm just adding the label, a paw print in the dark blue with the pink heart around it..."for the LOVE of maltese, they leave furever footprints on our hearts".

Your little quilt is great. I like the little heart. A surprise makes it special. Please leave it there.

congrats on being the quilt of the week on the home page this week

As someone who has lost pets, my heart goes out to you. I had a cat that I had taken in as a stray. She was almost feral when I found her. It took awhile for her to trust me. Her previous owner had been abusive. They had moved away and just left her. When she was ready to give birth, she came to get me. I followed her, but I thought maybe she'd like her privacy, so I left and went to another room. She came and got me again. She had her kittens under my bed and I watched them all being born. When she died, I felt as though someone had ripped the heart right out of my chest. I cried for days.

Yor quilt is beautiful. I love the border. I don't like the red heart where it is because I think it's distracting. I would rather see it on the back.

cut work? Is that the same as reverse applique? I love the results and would like to hear more about how it is done. Better read the rest of the posts incase it is in there.

Adorable quilt!

Cute quilt and I think you should leave the heart-it is a symbol of love. So sorry for your loss. I know our fur babies sure do work their way into our hearts.

that is so cute.