My finish this week is not a sports-related team. I'm not a big sports follower. However, there are non-sports teams that I wholly support, and one has to do with animals, The Windsor Humane Society.
Isn't that a cool logo? It took me a second to see all three animals... When I saw their colours were blue and white, I knew immediately what I'd do: a second challenge quilt for Island Batik, well, actually a third, because the first one is THE quilt I originally had planned, and it IS a flimsy as I type this post...
One of my non-published goals for 2020, which now is about to be public, is to double last year's amount of cat mats I donate to either the Windsor Humane Society and/or the Leamington Kittenaide Programme, a foster programme for cats. This means I intend to make a total of eight for the year, or two per quarter. Finishing two mats for this quarter is on my Q1FAL Instagram post. So four activities have come together here: hosting TGIFF, the Island Batik Challenge, a goal for the Q1FAL reached, and another 'check!' for Project Quilting, in these first two cat mats for the year. I love that.
The Windsor Humane Society's logo colours are blue and white, so I made my mats in a bunch of blues from my first two years of being an ambassador, and added in a couple of white squares. As soon as I cut out the two white squares, I knew one would get an appliquéd paw print and the other a quilted paw print.
I looked in my stash of leftover Crafted Appliqué fabrics, and was I happy to find a black and then the leftover grey from my Om Coasters, (first IB and first PQ project). Both Island Batik! I cut a bunch, well 24 to be exact, of 5" squares, two of each, four of the whites, laid them out, stitched them up, and appliquéd a pawprint on each top.
Lovely sprinkling of snow for the photo!
Back inside, I tried to perch Bella on them. Any other quilt in progress, she always has to test it out. Maybe it was because I put them on the kitchen counter where she knows she's not allowed, but she hopped off in short order.
Back in my sewing space, I put a few scraps of batting behind the appliquéd paws and FMQ-topstitched around them to secure them. Generally this method doesn't need the top-stitching, and holds just fine, but these will be getting a lot of washing, so best to be secure.
I slipped some more scraps of batting behind the blank white squares, freehand drew a pawprint with a blue line erasable pen, and FMQ-ed those.
Why did I do this before layering the mats and quilting? Because I stuffed them with...
Leftover trimmings of fabric and batting! Can't exactly quilt through them. Some of these went in one, and polyester craft stuffing went in the other. I lightly stuffed half of the mat, quilted down the centre, and then stuffed the other half. They're still fairly poofy, but I know kitties will smoosh them down once they spend hours each day lying their little tushies on them.
One of the mats was sewn rights sides together and then turned rights sides out. The other was done with the technique I used on all the placemats I made last year, bringing the backing to the front and stitching it down so it looks like a binding. I took a bunch of photos for a tutorial for a few of you who asked, so stay tuned for that to be on the blog later this month. It makes really nice mitred corners.
I hunted through the stash to find some animal-themed prints. I knew I had a few, some of my own and some given to me by a friend who did a ton of sewing for pet shelters. I was ecstatic to find two blue fat quarters! Perfect for backings! Usually we don't show the back if it's not Island Batik, but these are old lines of regular cotton from a few years or more ago, so I think it's okay this time!
I remembered my label for each one. 😀 Thank you to Island Batik for supplying the fabric for the tops, to Aurifil for the thread I used to piece, FMQ and quilt down the centre of each one. I also used Schmetz Microtex needles, awesome for batiks and other fine fabrics, which I purchased. They are one of our new sponsors this year.
Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Original design
Size: 18.5 X 13.5"
Fabric: Island Batik
Backing: unknown
Batting: cotton scraps in one, polyester stuffing in another
Quilted: on my Bernina
Threads: pieced, appliquéd and quilted down the centre on my Bernina with Aurifil 50 wt
Linking up
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
The Madd Quilter
Alycia Quilts-Quilty Girl
Now let's celebrate your finish this week! Hope you'll visit a few of the links below and spread some comment love.
Blue and white has my heart right from the start, lol. The paw prints are an adorable addition and I imagine the kitties will love those cozy mats to lie on :) Thanks for hosting TGIFF this week!
ReplyDeleteI can see that they have received the "paw of approval" from the quilt inspector. They look very comfy.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a happiness project! Your Bella is a beautiful model.
ReplyDeleteI love your cat mats! Have you made one for your cat? Mine used to love sleeping on a pillow and then he must have decided they are too poofy. Those are going to a great cause.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a grand slam with all of your project bases covered, so many scraps used up well and kitty beds to boot!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra! LOVE every darn thing about this post. I am going to call our humane society (non-kill facility) and ask them if they need mats like this. I was SURE you were going to show a Detroit Lions project of some sort. Poor Brady. He doesn't know what he's missing. Those paw prints!! Brilliant, and of course Bella wasn't going to pose on those mats. A) they were on the kitchen counter and she isn't going to be caught there only to get yelled at, and B) they weren't for her and she knew it. She wasn't going to get all attached to them only to have them whisked away. Come on - she's way smarter than that. These turned out just great and some kitties that need some extra love are going to enjoy them. Happy Friday and I enjoyed your four-fer so much. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteThose kitty mats are cute. I like the addition of the paw prints!
ReplyDeleteI love your kitty mats! Your story behind that is wonderful and I love that you use fabric scraps to fill each one. Scraps add up fast!
ReplyDeletelove the variations of blue you used.
ReplyDeleteI swear I read this post the other day. Re-reading today I saw what I had missed or maybe it just didnt register, the prints are applique. Duh.
ReplyDeleteI have a question about your filling. Do you put it in a separate bag inside for washing? If not what keeps all those bits from settling on one side when they are washed? Great idea for using scraps.
ReplyDeleteI would struggle picking out "team" colors as well, but the humane society is perfect (purrfect?). I love your big heart.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much into team colors either; hadn't given thought to going outside the box on that idea. I like what you've done very much! I'm over here, trying to straighten my squirrel queen tiara; it's quite stressful, really. :-P Can I get it done in time to post, along with the other projects and posts? Hmm.
ReplyDeleteLovely blues for those kitty mats! Hope Bella enjoys them
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. So glad you gave PQ a try this year. I had an idea all week, but only got around to cutting fabric tonight. LOL
ReplyDeleteKitty Beds? SEW sweet!! Kudos for remembering your label, Sandra. That's always one of the hardest parts of any project! :o))
ReplyDeleteI love these kitty mats, especially the paw prints! Great idea to use your trimmings! I save mine and give to a friend who makes pet beds with them--I'm glad not to have another project, she's glad to have the trimmings!
ReplyDeleteOh I love these - such a great way to help out.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra, those are cute kitty mats. Congrats on your second Project Quilting finish, and thanks for hosting TGIFF.
ReplyDeletewonderful!
ReplyDelete