“Straw for strays” and “Flannel for fuzzy ones”

A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected with Connie, my friend and work associate in New Jersey, who rescues feral cats. I’ve sent Connie a few scrappy kitty quilts in the past for her inside and outside cats. Here is a "3-kitty pile-up" on one of the quilts I've sent her.

A 3-kitty pile-up on a kitty quilt.

In our conversation, Connie was telling me about two elusive young outside cats that were escaping capture. She’s enticed them several times with tuna fish (yes, sometimes one must resort to “people food”) but they had somehow avoided getting caught in the cage carrier. Her cat-trapping escapades made me chuckle. 

Flannel for kitty quilts

As the weather has begun to turn chilly where she lives, she mentioned she would soon be getting straw to begin insulating a shelter for the ferals. “Straw for strays. Hay for horses.” is her mnemonic device for remembering which to buy. Our conversation got me motivated… so I headed to my stash of flannel fabrics because... well... "Flannel for the fuzzy ones."

Getting ready to pin-baste a charity quilt.

Between last weekend and this, I got 6 scrappy kitty quilt tops pieced, basted and quilted.

Kitty quilts pin-basted and ready for quilting.

The larger, all-flannel quilts have a poly batting for more loft and warmth. They will go to Connie for her cats, and the smaller ones will be donated to my local Cat Clinic.

Six scrappy kitty quilts quilted and ready for binding.

This is another of Connie's cats that "claimed" one of the quilts I sent her last time.

"This is MY quilt!"

Using large free-motion quilt patterns

I use larger designs on my charity quilts which makes the quilting process go quickly. Larger "unquilted" areas allow for more loft (good for kitty snuggling) and more drape in the quilt. A few of my go-to patterns are shown here—concentric circles, flowers, and feathers.

Circles (far left), flowers, and feather quilting patterns on charity quilts.

Quilt stats

I do choose an appropriate thread color for quilting these charity quilts. 40 wt. variegated threads were used for the top thread for these (gotta make it fun for the quilter, right?). 

• Top thread: 40 wt. cotton (YLI and Superior Threads King Tut)
• Bobbin thread: 50 wt. cotton
• 6 bobbins
• 4.25 hours of free-motion quilting. With these larger motifs, it takes an average of 45 minutes to quilt a small cat-size quilt.

Binding by machine

The final step is to add bindings (by machine) and get these flannel quilts shipped off to all the fuzzy ones at the "Connie Cafe." 

By the way... after 4 hours in the rain early one Saturday morning, the two kitties mentioned at the start of this post were caught with the help of the local Cat Rescue organization. The kitties have been neutered, vaccinated and returned to the neighborhood. Connie's persistence and her love for cats paid off!

Strike Zone: a raw edge applique flannel quilt

Welcome to October... and the last day of the regular baseball season. This is another quilt from the archives, called Strike Zone.

"Strike Zone"

Strike Zone is a raw-edge appliqué flannel quilt I made for my husband in 2010. After 7 years of use and a number of washings (and dried in the dryer), it has held up well.

Strike Zone, 64" x 56", completed March 2010

The weather on this beautiful first day of October is prime for either outdoor or with-the-windows-open indoor activities. At 3:15 pm (Eastern Time) today, however, all the last MLB [Major League Baseball] games of the season will begin... and

• baseball fans will be glued to TV screens or the field,
• baseball widows/widowers will be enjoying other activities,
• baseball fantasy league participants will be checking play-by-play and end-of-game points to reveal their final ranking.

Have fun and good luck to all!

Going to the Dogs: upcycled retired flannel shirts

With Valentines Day on the horizon, February is an appropriate month for spreading the love around your community. My guild, the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild, will be working on its community service project this month and spreading Puppy and Kitty Love by making blankets for animals in local shelters and care facilities.

Along with a few of my fellow guild members, I'm coordinating this program and we're collecting old towels, flannel shirts, flannel sheets and pillow cases for the project. Here is a way to upcycle those retired flannel shirts and give them a worthwhile second life!

Upcycling those Retired Flannel Shirts

Supplies: rotary cutter, cutting mat, straight pins, sewing machine, fabric scraps, flannel shirts. Optional: old towels or batting scraps. A walking foot and a free-motion quilting foot is also useful.

I scavenged the back of the shirt to acquire the largest useable piece of fabric. Step 1: Lay the shirt flat on your cutting mat and cut off the side seams.

Cut the side seam off.

Step 2: Continue cutting the back piece from the shirt, cutting below the collar or the yoke (some shirts have a yoke, some don't). Do this on two shirts. DO NOT CUT the lower (finished) hem. You will benefit from this finished edge... read on.

Cut right below the collar or yoke seam.

Now you should have two shirt backs. Step 3: As the shirts will likely be different styles and sizes, lay the smaller piece on top of the larger piece on the cutting mat. Trim the larger piece to the same size as the smaller one. (Note: the brown shirt in my sample here was a pre-quilted flannel shirt.)

Trim both shirts to the same size.

Step 4: With right sides together, pin along the three cut sides. Leave the bottom side with the hems unpinned.

Pin three sides of the shirt.

Step 5: Sew along three sides. Backstitch at the beginning and end to secure the stitching. I used about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch seam allowance and a 2.3 or 2.4 stitch length. I used a walking foot (even-feed foot) here because one of the shirts was a pre-quilted fabric and had the extra layers.

Sew three sides, backstitching at beginning and end.

Step 6: Turn right sides out through bottom (hemmed) opening. Now that the shirt is right side out, pin the hems together. Topstitch to close the opening.

Pin and topstitch the opening to close.

If there are any worn spots in the fabric, or a hole, use an appliqué to cover and mend.

Use an appliqué to cover any holes in the shirts.

To make a fabric heart appliqué: 
Using fabrics scraps, cut two hearts from fabric. Make them by folding two pieces of fabric in half and cutting out a half-heart shape—just like when making paper hearts.

With right sides together, sew the two pieces of fabric together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance and a small stitch length (2.0 to 2.2 stitch length). After sewing all around the heart, clip the top of the heart close to the stitching line. Trim the seam allowance at the bottom of the heart to minimize bulk.

Sew heart appliqué. Trim excess seam allowances.

Use scissors to cut a small slit in ONE of the fabrics. Cut this slit on the fabric bias and it will not fray. Turn the heart right side out through this hole. Smooth curves and press. Place the heart over the hole or worn area and sew to secure. I free-motion stitched the heart to the blanket when I did the quilting.  

Slit back to turn right side out.

Here is the finished blanket. I free-motion quilted the layers but you could straight line quilt with a walking foot or omit the quilting if preferred. The curve of the shirttail hem is mirrored on the opposite side. You can trim these blankets square if preferred. The dogs and cats will love them all the same.

Quilted dog blanket with appliqué heart.

Optional: use quilt batting or an old towel for a middle layer if you want the blanket thicker, cushier or more substantial. Cut the batting to the size of the shirts (Step 3). Add this layer to the top of the "quilt sandwich" (Step 4) and sew the three sides. Trim away any excess batting before top stitching the opening closed (Step 6). If you add this additional layer, it is a good idea to add some quilting to secure the three layers.

Fuzzy Flannel Bull's Eye quilt

Besides getting organized, Sorting the Stash has the benefit of finding quilt tops you forgot you had. Some of you may laugh—you know who you are—because you know it's true. (Truth is always funnier than fiction). After collecting flannel fat quarters, I had enough variety to make one of those raw-edge flannel quilts. Remember them? The kind that after several cycles in the washer and dryer, the raw edges fray and "bloom." The top was completed some time ago and recently resurfaced. All that remained was the quilting and binding.

Now it is finished! My husband, a baseball fanatic, likes this one. So, I named it "Strike Zone." China, our little kitty, likes it too. They both share it.