Quilts for the animals and Make Nine 2026 finish #6

We’re making another trip to local animal organizations to make a donation—of these scrappy quilts.

Pile of 8 charity quilts for the animal centers.

There are eight little quilts for the cats and dogs to snuggle—five quilts finished this week and three others completed earlier this year during the Winter of Care and Repair Challenge. I’m counting this as my 2026 “Fun and Functional” Make Nine project.

Sorting through the scraps

These charity quilts are perfect for using my scrap stash and discontinued fabric samples to create something colorful, fun, and functional. I love scrap quilts—admiring them and making them—so I never need much of an excuse to dig into the scrap bins!

Scrappy kitty quilt using a fabric panel. 24.5” x 26”

This quilt uses part of a fabric panel, which provides both a focal point and a source for a color palette. 

Dog and kitty quilt sizes

The Cat Clinic of Chattanooga likes a kitty quilt size of around 25” x 27” which fits their cubbies. The McKamey Animal Center, however, has larger crates for their dogs, so I’ve made four quilts a bit larger.

Batik quilt from an orphan quilt block sample: 37” x 29” 

These quilts let me play with improvisational patchwork to give leftover fabrics a second chance. They also let me try out new free-motion quilting designs and practice my favorites.

Batik quilt from discontinued fabric samples: 41” x 31”.

The bright colors of this batik quilt looks like a party on the beach.

Bright batiks: 35” x 25”

Every quilt is different and I love seeing all the colors and prints come together into something useful and fun. This red-white-and-blue quilt is probably my favorite from this batch.

Scrap quilt in a patriotic colorway: 39” x 27.5”

Using fabric panels for small quilts

Fabric panels are a great complement for fabric scraps. I picked up two fabric panels from the sale shelf at a quilt shop and made several small kitty quilts by cutting up the panels.

One block from a fabric panel is the center of this quilt: 27.5” x 24.25”

The panels can serve as inspiration for the color story for the quilt. It also makes for a faster quilt top assembly.

A fabric panel combined with coordinating fabrics: 28” x 26”.

Kitty quilt from a fabric panel: 27.25” x 25.75”.

The finished quilts are full of cheerful colors and playful novelty prints, and they’re always a hit with the animal center staff. Walking through their doors with an armful of quilts is one of the best parts of this process! Seeing the smiles as the staff looks through the quilts reminds me that handmade items can bring joy to people as well as comfort to the animals in their care. 

What’s making your day today?

Make Nine finish

Charity quilts for the animals are fulfilling my “Fun and Functional” prompt for Make Nine 2026. 

Fulfilling the Fun & Functional prompt, Make Nine 2026.

Make Nine 2026 tracker, July 18, 2026.

For me, this project perfectly captures the spirit of “Fun and Functional”—enjoying the creative process while making something that serves a purpose and brings a little extra comfort and happiness to others—the people at the animal centers as well as the animals. It’s a wonderful reminder that even the smallest fabric scraps can be transformed into something meaningful. 

It makes every stitch worthwhile!

Stan Leigh approves of the kitty quilts, too!

———-

Quilt Stats

I tracked the process for completing the five most recent quilts.

• layout and patchwork: 8.5 hours
• basting: 2.5 hours
• free-motion quilting: 4 hours
• binding prep and binding by machine: 4.25 hours
• total bobbins [Premo-Soft 50 wt polyester thread, matte finish]: 6

Total: 19.25 hrs = 3.85 hrs/quilt

From the scrap basket to the beds at the animal center

When my husband forwarded me an e-newsletter from McKamey Animal Center with an urgent request for blankets, towels, and pillowcases, I knew my fabric scrap collection could become something useful.

Scrappy quilts for the animals: 23.5” x 35” (left), and 25.25” x 35” (right).

After reading the email, I contacted the Center and the associate said they were looking for items that could be used for bedding for crates and cages for the animals they house—both dogs and cats. She told me that their crates are all different sizes and dimensions, so any and all sizes of bedding is needed. 

Smaller scrap quilts: 25” x 28.25” (left) and 24.5” x 26.5” (right).

Gathering leftover patchwork pieces and myriad colorful fabric bits, I turned the fabrics into four scrappy lap-size quilts to donate to McKamey. 

Four new quilts for the cats and dogs at the animal center.

From tote bag to an animal bed quilt

One quilt was made from patchwork that originally was going to be a tote bag. I think this new use—bedding for a dog or cat crate—will be much more beneficial!

Patchwork for a tote bag.

The tote bag was cut into two pieces and other fabrics were added to convert it into a larger quilt top.

Patchwork for a tote bag cut in half and reassembled into a quilt top.

Quilted and finished by machine

The quilts were free-motion quilted and finished with scrappy machine-sewn bindings, making them sturdy, washable, and ready for lots of use. 

Scrappy quilt bindings attached by machine.

Quilt Stats

Quilting 

• 3.5 total hours of free-motion quilting
• 50 wt solid and variegated cotton threads (top threads) for quilting 

Binding 

• 4.5 hours making and attaching bindings for the four quilts
• various 40 wt and 50 wt threads for the zigzag stitching on the bindings

Interesting… it takes me longer to bind the quilts than to quilt them.

Continuous line Stream of Consciousness quilting

After doing FMQ [free-motion quilting] exercises with students in my recent Intro to Free-motion Quilting class, I’ve used a spontaneous, continuous line, reactive quilting design concept to quilt one of the quilts, which made quilting surprisingly quick! 30 minutes vs. 60 minutes.

With the busy fabric prints on these quilts, the design is difficult to distinguish…

Continuous line free-motion quilting.

Continuous line free-motion quilting.

… so below is a warm-up sandwich of the concept: a continuous line, filling the space, reacting to the previous stitching. Maybe it should be called, “Stream of Consciousness quilting.” The kitty and doggie quilts are perfect for practicing this kind of quilting pattern.

Practice sandwich of “stream of consciousness quilting.”

I love the thought that these bright, cozy quilts will bring a little comfort and warmth (and color!) to animals at the McKamey Animal Center while they wait for their forever homes. Sometimes the best projects come from using what we already have—turning scraps into something practical, cheerful, and snuggly.

Winter of Care and Repair: carrying the process forward

From the quiet stillness of the winter solstice in December 2025 to the first breath of the spring equinox this past Friday, March 20, I participated once again in the Winter of Care and Repair Challenge. It's a simple but meaningful practice to care for what we already have. 

Winter of Care and Repair: mending blue jeans with an inside patch and running stitches.

Mending: a stitch in time…

Over these past three months, I worked my way through a variety of mends (my favorite form of C&R). Each mend may be small on its own but is powerful in accumulation. These are my successes:

• I strengthened a pair of my soft-with-wear jeans through slow stitching (shown above),
• patched holes in several socks, 
• extended the life of a favorite purse by repairing its handle, 
• gave new structure to bath towels with fresh hems,

Mending socks with Scanfil mending thread.

• hemmed a pair of jeans for a BIL (who has a very short inseam),

Shortening a pair of jeans.

• and mended a silk drawstring travel bag that hold my slippers in my suitcase.

Repair of my drawstring travel bag for my slippers.

Some repairs felt especially satisfying. The most meaningful project was repairing a quilt that I made for a BIL (Brother #2) by adding new appliqué patches to worn blocks and attaching a new binding over frayed edges where needed.

Worn fabrics and holes in a much-loved quilt.

Each new patch was carefully needle-turned and appliquéd to match the seam lines of the patchwork below. After the new fabrics were applied, I re-quilted the areas, trying to blend the new quilting with the previous quilting motifs and join the new quilting lines with the existing.

“Checks and Balances” with new appliqué patches attached.

An additional (new) label documents the repair, so this quilt now carries both its history and its renewal.

Original label (right) and new label to document the quilt’s story.

Home maintenance

The Winter of Care and Repair extended beyond fabric. We turned our attention to home, specifically the kitchen. We repaired a door hinge on the refrigerator and I tightened the screws on a wiggly door handle. It was practical work that ultimately saved a significant expense by avoiding the need for replacement. These moments of maintenance reinforced just how much value lives in a little attention. 

Paper recycling

This season also included recycling and creative paper reuse. 

Two junk journals made with discontinued sales boards and recycled brown packing papers.

I made several junk journals from recycled paper and old sales materials, transforming what might have been waste into something both functional and expressive. 

• One journal was used for Junk Journal January, 
• two pocket-size journals hold space for drawing and sketching (shown above), and 
• the most current journal is for my “Scrap a Day”100 Day Project. 

Handmade journal using recycled papers.

These handmade books have already become my go-to books for journaling and drawing. And making them helps me practice various hand bookbinding techniques.

A second life for fabric scraps

Another meaningful project in the Winter of Care and Repair entailed the making and giving from materials I have on hand. Using scraps and discontinued fabric samples, I created several charity quilts—

• three to provide warmth for the outside cats, 
• two for a work associate who cares for her own cats and several outside cats,
• and I have three quilt tops awaiting my quilt guild’s charity Cuddle Quilt workshop where I can get them basted. 

Two quilts made from recycled fabric samples and fabric scraps from my stash.

Two small scrappy kitty quilts for the outside cats.

These quilts, made from remnants, became acts of care that extended beyond my own home, reminding me that even the smallest scraps can be gathered and made into something purposeful and kind. 

Changing a mindset changes relationships

What I’ve learned through this season is that repair is not just about objects. It’s about relationships—to our belongings, our resources, our family and friends, our habitat, and our habits. It’s about resisting the ease of disposal and rediscovering the satisfaction of stewardship… choosing restoration over replacement.

As spring 2026 begins, I’m carrying this practice of Care and Repair forward. It’s a mindset and part of how I want to move through the world: attentively, mindfully, resourcefully, and with respect for what I already have. Because small acts, over time, can make a big difference.

Wanted: more Joy in the world

In these bleak, gray, cold, February days of winter, it seems the world could use some color and comfort to shift our collective mindset. Last week, I foraged time to finish three kitty quilts—all improvisationally pieced from scraps that were ready for a second life. Letting the scraps and color lead the way, the patchwork was built organically around blocks from fabric panels. 

Two scrappy kitty quilts with blocks from a fabric panel.

One quilt is going to a cat-loving friend and the other two are keeping our pack of outside cats snuggly in their cat boxes. The backing fabric is a cute bunny flannel print to make the quilts extra soft and cozy. 

Three blocks from a fabric panel make this scrappy quilt.
Finished quilt size: 27.75” x 24.25”.

All three quilts were free-motion quilted—a simple quiltmaking task that keeps me grounded and renews my mental energy. The bindings were also finished by machine. 

Scrappy binding made with seven different fabrics.
The flannel “bunny” backing fabric can be seen here.

I love the binding on this quilt that was made from scraps from seven different fabrics! Piecing together leftover bits for these quilts and the bindings—turning fabric scraps into something of value—is in keeping with a resilient spirit that is much needed today.

Scrappy kitty quilt. Improvisationally pieced and free-motion quilted.
Finished quilt size: 27.5” x 23”.

I recently read a blog post by a collage and mixed media artist, Lucie Duclos, that stated, “making something with your hands can help regulate your nervous system. It can be art, baking, knitting, stitching, whatever works for you.” 

Detail: quilt block from a fabric panel incorporated into an improv quilt.
Finished quilt size: 27” x 24.75”.

Making and finishing these scrappy quilts gives me a sense of calm and joy. I’m sending this calm and joy to the recipients as well.

One fabric panel yields 5 scrappy quilts

It’s like the story of “the loaves and the fishes”—where one fabric panel turns into five quilts!

Scrappy kitty quilts with a panel block.

I found this cat panel on the sale shelf at a quilt shop in Louisville, KY. Instead of using the panel in its entirety, I’m cutting out the individual vignettes and mixing them with various scraps to make a few improv kitty quilts.

Second quilt top from a panel image.

The first three quilt tops are complete.

Third quilt top from a block cut from the panel.

The two remaining vignettes from the panel will become quilt tops as well… for a total of five.

Cutting up the panel into smaller blocks.

This is one way to use a panel in your quiltmaking to make your fabric go further. This panel afforded a focal point for five projects. Using improvisational patchwork, the scrap basket becomes another resource and puts leftover fabric bits to good use.

Don’t you love these fast and fun, scrappy little quilts?? I do!

Even a “healthy” scrap pile can use new spices

There’s something intriguing about working with someone else’s scraps in a project. What leftover fabric treasures do they have? What are their color and fabric print choices? Are they different or similar to what’s in my stash? How do they add spice to the scraps I already have?

Improv patchwork with new and old scraps.

With my Make Nine 2025 complete, I’ve come back to making improv patchwork and diving into the scrap piles… for kitty quilts and charity quilts… to scratch my fabric patchwork itch. 

Inspiration came from the new scraps

Even though I have my own [healthy] scrap collection, I picked up a couple of scrap bags at The Cherry Pit quilt shop a few weeks ago. Ooooh, baby! It’s like getting new crayons for your 120-color crayon box! Among the newly-acquired scraps were a few orphan quilt blocks, and pieced cut-offs. So I decided that these would be the impetus of a new scrappy kitty quilt top—including the color palette.

Strip pieced blocks and triangle units found in the scrap bag.
Additional fabrics were added to complete the unfinished blocks.

My improv process

Starting with the pieced units and adding triangle shapes to the partial units, I gathered other scraps to add to the “Autumn” color palette. A few scraps of bright pink and red violet pushed the red part of the color palette… but that’s because those scraps happen to be on the top of the pile. That’s how the improv process rolls for me.

Auditioning scraps for the autumn color palette.

The scraps were laid out as if putting together a puzzle. No two pieces are alike… a pumpkin print might land next to a batik or a contemporary print might sit comfortably beside a vintage-looking shirting. I don’t worry much about matching—just let the scraps and shapes find their own places in the improv ensemble. I find that’s the fun of it.

Finished quilt top. Approximately 28” x 25”.

The finished kitty quilt top is playful, freeing, and full of surprises—a lively mix of prints and textures, stitched from the leftover bits from other projects. I intentionally added a few blue fabrics because of the navy print that was already pieced into two of the orphan blocks. And the 45-degree angles of the pieced blocks were intentionally set in different directions to keep the eye moving around the quilt.

As in life, you never quite know what you’ll get in a bag of scraps. But scraps are a reminder that even the most humble pieces—or the most unexpected, wild prints—can be brought together with care and creativity to become something beautiful and useful. Everything will find a place.

Scrappy charity quilts and free-motion fun

There’s something satisfying about turning a pile of leftover fabrics into something cozy and full of heart. Easy patchwork, fun sewing, and a bit of therapy at the sewing machine—it doesn’t get much better than that. 

Kitty quilt with improv patchwork and free-motion quilting.

I brought two “kitty quilt” [charity quilt] tops to my Intro to Free-motion Quilting workshop at the Folk School earlier this month. I used them to demonstrate basting and the Kwik Klip tool. 

Demonstrating basting with the Kwik Klip tool on a charity quilt.

Students also got a chuckle over the “franken-batting” I made by zig-zagging leftover batting scraps together.

Pieced batting using up batting scraps: “Franken-batting.”

Using up scraps, the patchwork for these quilt tops (as well as the batting) is simple and improvisational. These tops are the perfect canvases for some easygoing, free-motion quilting. One top was used in class to demonstrate free-motion zig-zags. 

Two completed charity quilts for the Cat Clinic.

The quilts are finished with scrappy bindings that are attached with a machine zigzag and a variegated thread. 

Scrappy bindings applied all by machine.

Bonus: the flannel trimmings from the quilt backings were pieced together for the back of a future kitty quilt! Hooray for more scrappy improvisational patchwork!

Making do: fabric trimmings were used to piece another quilt back for a future quilt.

In addition to quilting the kitty quilts, I also pieced a cuddle quilt top for my guild’s charity. 

Charity quilt top ready for basting and quilting.

Scrap quilting is always a joyful process for me. It’s a great reminder that even small, forgotten pieces can come together to make something beautiful and meaningful.

Can you envision a scrap-buster quilt in your future? I hope so.