Dog Mittens by Linda Lee Mucha

My passion (beside needlepoint) is in volunteer efforts with Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that trains Labradors and Golden Retrievers for physically disabled people. When I saw these cute mittens in the shape of dogs with Labrador-type ears, I just had to have the painted canvas!

With apologies to the designer, Kathy Schenkle, my dog just HAD to have “fur” ears and hair, instead of being a flat design – and the collar sang requests for Kreinik “glitz”. Because it is a holiday ornament, the piece required some red beside the dog’s tongue. By maintaining elemental stitches, the effervescence of the design shows through illuminating the delightful expressions Kathy puts into all of her work. I chose to stitch the bones only on the cuffs. This makes them less prominent and asks the viewer to take a closer look.