Okay, as most crafters are aware, we love to change up what we're doing. I have so many quilts going right now that I actually have to keep a list of them! I even created a sheet called a "Quilt Journal" to track my items from start to finish. Well, the newer ones are from start to finish. The old ones just got added when I created the journal in the first place. All I do is print out a page for each quilt and put it into a 3-ring binder. I add information to the quilt's sheet when I work on it. It's also a great way to keep track of all I have around here needing worked on. Not only that, it's fun to read later on, either when the quilt is finished or when I have stalled on it for a long time. *grin*
However, back to what I want to do versus what I should be doing. I volunteered to help make bags for my mom for her craft fair. Lovely little gift bags that her stained glass items will go into when she makes a sale. I also made a whole slew extra for her just to sell on the side if someone wants one. I really need to get to work on those and finish them up. She needs them by Nov. 1. I'll give myself until the end of next week to finish them up. Actually, if I devote an entire day to them, I'll get them all done.
So, there's what I SHOULD be doing. But what do I WANT to do? Of course I'll tell you! *grin*
Last week, I finally "broke down" after 2 months of deliberation and we added a cute little kitten to our household. He is black with silver guard hairs and one white spot on his belly. He's so cute. (I know, at this point, a normal blogger would post a picture. I'm not a normal blogger, so get over it! *grin*) His name is Shadow and we adopted him from our local shelter. Many people don't like black cats because they scare them or they're superstitious and think the worst of the poor things. Well, I think black cats are beautiful. Though I'll tell you, trying to walk down a dark hall and see the kitten before whalloping it can be difficult. LOL
Anyway, yesterday I remembered a lovely project out there for shelter animals. They're called "Snuggles." What you do is create a small quilt and take it to a shelter. (Call first and make sure they accept them!) Then they put those small quilts into the cages with the animals to help comfort them while they're there, not to mention getting them off of those cold floors they're usually on in shelters. We walked our entire shelter before settling on Shadow. We got to see first hand what all those cats (and dogs) are going through in there. Most of the time, the floors are all cement to allow them to be washed easily and quickly. Even our kitty was up in the front office in a metal cage with 2 of his litter mates.
So, back to Snuggles. What you do is you make a small quilt and donate it. They will get washed a lot, so make sure they're very well made and can handle a lot. I personally will be making mine out of 100% cotton all the way through. I'll probably cross-hatch quilt it as that's a very sturdy quilting pattern. That, and if a few threads break, it won't come apart.
Quilt sizes for these little things:
14" X 14" for cats and small animals
24" X 24" for cats and small to medium dogs
36" X 36" for medium to large dogs
Oh, if you do this and talk to your shelter about them before bringing them in, they might not know what "snuggles" are. Just ask if you'd be "allowed" to donate a few small blankets for the animals. There is a directory here that is worldwide and shows if various shelters are already known to accept them. You're looking for a little kitten logo next to the shelter's name and information. That is the "Snuggles" logo. The shelter I will be donating to accepts them. I already know this because I even talked to them last year over the phone. Told you this was an idea that came and went. LOL Only now, it's more personal to me since we got our kitty there.
Just think, while they should be well-made so as not to fall apart on the poor animals, they don't care if you messed up! This is the perfect place for all those blocks you made and then you started thinking, "What in the world was I thinking?!" You can now put all of them to good use. I promise that an animal won't care if you think you made a mistake on it. *smile* I'm also thinking that this is a great way to get through some of my scraps I have. String blocks are fast to make and create such great patterns. I personally enjoy them because I love how they look when they're finished.
So, have fun and feel great when you're finished! Try out those new blocks that you're not sure of. Take your trial blocks that you made for another quilt before cutting into the "good" fabric and turn them into "Snuggles." Hey! We all have batting lying around here that won't work on another quilt but was too large to throw away. Backings are another great use of scraps. Not to mention a great place to put that fabric you're looking at now going, "What the heck is that?!" LOL
When I get a few made, I'll even post a picture or 2. Aren't you lucky? LOL I really do need to get better with my camera and use it more.
So, go forth and make a charity quilt or 2. No matter which charity you choose, it will be worth it when you're finished.
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