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Hound dog handkerchiefs

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Rutland, Vermont - October 1, 2010

Lynda Harris has been in business behind her sewing machine for almost 20 years now. And she credits her love for animals as her inspiration.

"I really wanted a puppy," she said. "I spent weeks looking for a dog."

She adopted Cayenne after she graduated from college and immediately fell in love.

"She was tiny and little and beautiful," Harris said.

Harris quilted as a hobby and used spare fabric to dress up her pup.

"So I made her little kerchiefs out of my extra fabric, and she got as many remarks about how cute she was as did the little scarves," Harris said.

Harris was approached by the Chaffee Art Center to set up a display at Art in the Park, and says the rest is history: Pawkerchiefs was born.

"(Art in the Park) was my springboard," she said. "I sold hundreds of them. That is when I quit my job."

While her business has grown across the states and internationally, her technique and materials have stayed the same.

"Quilters know it to be the best cotton. It has a high thread count. It works really nice. They are always cotton," she said.

But her patterns change with the seasons.

"Let's see, we have Halloween, some Christmas, winter. Oh and pumpkins," she said.

Harris starts each project by finding a paring.

"Here is the front. And it coordinates with the back," she explained. "We have two separate pieces that I sew together."

And then it's off to her old reliable Singer sewing machine.

"Almost as long as I've been in business," she said. "It cruises for its age. I mean it is vintage now."

While her patterns and sizing are particular for canines and cats, she has had some strange requests.

"I've made one for a horse, and for a cow and for petunia the pig. Actually I have some women who wear them too, as an ascot," she said.

All of the Harris family pets wear Pawkerchiefs now, and while Cayenne is no longer with us, Lynda Harris says she owes it all to her.

"She is the whole reason I have a business," Harris said.

A canine creation Made in Vermont.

You can find Pawkerchiefs in pet stores across the state for around $8. They are now sold internationally as well, in the Virgin Islands, New Zealand, and Germany.

Click here for more.

Molly Smith - WCAX News

MiVT: Hound dog handkerchiefs

A Vermont woman says her cuddly companion Cayenne helped her start her career. And now she's making pet-products right here in Vermont.

Rutland, Vermont - October 1, 2010

Lynda Harris has been in business behind her sewing machine for almost 20 years now. And she credits her love for animals as her inspiration.

"I really wanted a puppy," she said. "I spent weeks looking for a dog."

She adopted Cayenne after she graduated from college and immediately fell in love.

"She was tiny and little and beautiful," Harris said.

Harris quilted as a hobby and used spare fabric to dress up her pup.

"So I made her little kerchiefs out of my extra fabric, and she got as many remarks about how cute she was as did the little scarves," Harris said.

Harris was approached by the Chaffee Art Center to set up a display at Art in the Park, and says the rest is history: Pawkerchiefs was born.

"(Art in the Park) was my springboard," she said. "I sold hundreds of them. That is when I quit my job."

While her business has grown across the states and internationally, her technique and materials have stayed the same.

"Quilters know it to be the best cotton. It has a high thread count. It works really nice. They are always cotton," she said.

But her patterns change with the seasons.

"Let's see, we have Halloween, some Christmas, winter. Oh and pumpkins," she said.

Harris starts each project by finding a paring.

"Here is the front. And it coordinates with the back," she explained. "We have two separate pieces that I sew together."

And then it's off to her old reliable Singer sewing machine.

"Almost as long as I've been in business," she said. "It cruises for its age. I mean it is vintage now."

While her patterns and sizing are particular for canines and cats, she has had some strange requests.

"I've made one for a horse, and for a cow and for petunia the pig. Actually I have some women who wear them too, as an ascot," she said.

All of the Harris family pets wear Pawkerchiefs now, and while Cayenne is no longer with us, Lynda Harris says she owes it all to her.

"She is the whole reason I have a business," Harris said.

A canine creation Made in Vermont.

You can find pawkerchiefs in pet stores across the state for around $8. They are now sold internationally as well, in the Virgin Islands, New Zealand, and Germany.

Molly Smith - WCAX News

http://www.pawkerchiefs.com/