Soft and Fluffy Pet Bed

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image image image imageI was putting around the house last weekend, picking up items and doing laundry when I had an idea. I’d seen a tutorial on Missouri Star Quilt Company for a pet bed in which you saved your scrap pieces of fabric and filled a fleece “pillow case” with the to make a pet bed. And then I remembered the character Cameron on Modern Family tossing socks and stating he was going to start over. I am very picky about my socks and have a large laundry basket of unmatched socks… so I thought, hey – why not put Jenny’s tutorial together with my unmatched socks and instead of sewing my pouch shut, put a zipper in, so if by chance I need to see if I have found that long-lost mate, I can retrieve it?

I should clarify that my favorite socks are SmartWool and Darn Tough – easily $15/pair. You can see why I keep the basket and hope alive…

So, I found some fabric that I knew would appeal to my four very spoiled cats, and a zipper.

Here is my pet bed/mismatched sock container. I’m hoping the cats find it cozy!

My first attempt at a weighted blanket

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Fabrics_for_weighted_blankets.JPGA coworker of my husband’s asked me if I would make her son a weighted blanket.  She is hoping that it will help calm him and help him to sleep. 

I chose two fleece fabrics that were extremely soft and, I hoped, appealing to him and started out by making a “sack”, or sewing up the sides and bottom.  I then sewed channels for the weighted beads.   I calculated the total number of individual sections I’d have based on the length and width of the blanket and calculated how many beads should go into each section.  After filling and shaking the beads to the bottom, I’d sew across to seal the section and start over, repeating the process until I reached the top!

Sadly, it proved to be too warm for him to sleep under regularly, so maybe two layers of fleece aren’t the way to go in a more temperate climate.  My technique, however, will certainly translate to other fabrications, such as one layer of fleece, one layer of quilting cotton or flannel.

Christmas Quilt

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My most ambitious quilting project to date was successfully completed and well received by the recipient. I had asked my sister last year if she would like a quilt for Christmas. She indicated she would, and then I was off and running. I knew she liked scrappy-looking items, so the Rainbow Connection quilt seemed perfect. 

I completed assembly of the quilt top and debated on how to complete the quilting. Ultimately, I decided upon a stipple pattern for the actual quilting, I loaded my machine with a variegated King Tut thread and my BSR and dove in. 

I did have a few issues with some bubbling or pulling along the outer borders, but steaming the sections worked well to resolve the issues. 

things I’ve been creating lately

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I realized that I hadn’t posted for quite a while, but I actually have been quite busy sewing various projects!  Here’s an update on what I’ve been working on since last spring. We had a farmer’s market at work to raise money for Toys for Tots.  I busily created a number of things, including 15 baby bibs, some pacifier clips, and a number of lavender sachets.  These were all a hit, and it was fun to work on various small projects. 

In addition to the farmer’s market, I’ve been working on a quilt for my sister’s Christmas present. I’m two rows away from finishing assembling the blocks, then it’s just the outer borders.  

My latest project

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This weekend was Mother’s Day and I got to thinking, what could I get Mom that she’d really enjoy? Flowers? Nice, but they don’t last long. Take her to lunch? Also a good idea but again, fleeting. Instead I pulled together a medium sized throw quilt in happy polka dots and jazzy pink and white four-patch blocks. She and I haven’t gotten together yet as she was under the weather yesterday, but here it is.

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I’ve started a blog… now what?

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I’ve never really given a lot of thought to writing a blog, but I’ve been doing an increasing amount of quilting, so it seems it might be a good way to get feedback and suggestions on projects.  I have at least four quilts in process right now, which makes me kind of nuts, I know.  I don’t have tons of free time, but I do like to create.  I recently read that Project Linus had donated quilts to those impacted by the Oso landslide here in Washington state and that prompted me to want to help out, so two of my four quilts in various stages of completion are for Project Linus.  I mean, I can help people, I use up some of my fabric stash (that’s another topic we may get to someday), and I get to hone my skills since I’m still something of a novice at quilting.  Seems like a win-win, right?

In addition to quilting, I work full time at a rather stressful job.  See, there’s another reason why I need some sort of outlet.  I like the work I do and the people that I work with, but it’s hard to get to everything that I need to do since I’m fielding questions and phone calls a lot of the time.

I’m also a breast cancer survivor.  The first couple of years out, I let that define me.  Now, it’s just a part of me.  It sucked.  I’m sorry it happened.  I’ve been cancer-free for three years, and every month that it is a little farther in the rear-view mirror makes it better.

I love color, make-up and all things girlie, including shoes and purses.  This frustrates my husband a little – or maybe more than a little.

Thanks for stopping by…  I’ll be posting some photos of what I’ve been working on in the next day or two.