I've been on a tapestry crochet binge!  After seeing Shelle's Maggie Bag, I decided to try taking a photo of my cockapoo, Bailey, and converting it to a graph suitable for crochet.  I used the photo at left which had been taken right after Bails had been to the groomer.  Normally his hair is quite long in the jaw and on top of his head.  PCStitch software gave me a fair likeness with 48 colors! After reducing the number of colors to 4,  I played around a bit with the graph until it looked like my boy.  I wanted to capture his big nose and his expressive eyes.  As I was working the bag, I noticed that the areas that alternated color frequently resulted in shapes that were not very neatly defined.  In the future I'll confine myself to two colors as in the Wolf Bag. I also whipped up a small Milk Bone pouch and a puppy-sized afghan from leftover yarn. Now Bailey is ready to hit the road again and will prepared to visit all his friends in Florida.

This great tapestry tote relies on the technique perfected by Carol Ventura.  Her Horse Purse  uses thread so Shelle Hendrix Cain adapted the pattern for use with yarn.  She then found a wolf graph and sent me the instructions.  My bag measures 15"X 19" and took about a week to make, working in the evenings as I watched TV.  The wolves march around the bag, 11 of them altogether.  I used Red Heart Worsted Weight Yarn.  This acrylic yarn is perfectly suited for tapestry crochet since it is relatively stiff and holds its shape well when crocheted with a small hook.  I used a G but could actually have gone down to an F.  The lining is black, beige, and ivory plaid and I inserted a flexible piece of plastic between the bag and the lining on the bottom only.  The plastic was cut from the thin plastic cutting sheets available at the dollar store.  I also crocheted over a strand of black yarn when working the straps.  This helps to keep the straps from stretching.  I love this bag!  See Carol Ventura's web page at http://iweb.intech.edu/cventura/