4 New Kitty/Puppy Beds Ready for the Humane Society

Just thought you might like to see my 4 finished pet beds. I have been getting lots of scraps from my quilting customers and had fun making these. I can't wait to get them down to the local humane society. The top ones were made with only a 1/2 yard piece. I turn down the top edges and sew them down about an 1/2 an inch before I sew up the sides. Then I sew up the sides and stuff. I simply have to close up the open top and sew it closed. The bottom beds were made a little larger with 24" in width and the wof  (width of fabric) folded in half.

 

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Repurpose your fabric scraps for kitty

 While Stumbling the web one day, I saw a website that suggested making kitty beds from old pillowcases and fabric scraps.I of course cannot find the website again, so can't provide a link.. sorry about that. However, having about 5 stray kitties that live behind my store myself, I though this was a fantastic idea. I produce my fair share of scraps and being a pack rat have the hardest time throwing away even the smallest scrap. I have plenty of sale fabric around so I made a simple sack big enough for a cat bed. I then lined a trash pail with the sack and I'm working on filling it up. When it is full, I will turn under the ends and sew shut. As long as I fill it with fabric only, it is washable. What a great way to repurpose something typically headed for the trash. If you don't have a kitty or puppy that needs a bed, you can donate them to the local humane society.

Sewing for a Change!

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Alex Anderson’s Favorite Tote

Alex called me the other day asking me if I would make a tote for her to take to Houston market. She just got samples of her new fabric line Elizabeth Anne .   I Love Them!!! So here is her tote. I have written the pattern and you can find it at my etsy website: BunnyRoseco.etsy.com. Hope you like it!

 

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Guess what I’m doing……

Anyone that knows Alex Anderson can tell you she is an industry unto herself… She has so many cool things going on, and thankfully in my case cannot do everything herself. So I get to help! Alex is redoing one of her many books with beautiful bright fabrics… I can't wait. But today I'm doing paper piecing clean up.. here is a peek at one of the quilts redone….

Ok so it's the back… I'll give you a sneek peek at the front. Only if you promise not to tell!!

Keep a look out for when it comes out...C & T Publishing will have all the news… tell your local quilt shop to keep an eye out too.. you won't want to miss it!

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Cutting continuous fabric strips for knitting

I looked and looked for a good tutorial on this and couldn't find one so I'm attempting this myself. Let me know what you think. First shore up the edge of the fabric so you have a nice clean edge.

I put the folded edge of the fabric at the top and the salvages at the bottom. Using your ruler, and rotary cutter, cut through only the top folded edge. Start at the bottom but not at the edge. Cut up from the bottom a little.

Move your ruler over every inch or however wide you are cutting your strips and cut up from the bottom and through the folded edge at the top all the way across your fabric. 

Ok, so I didn't do a great job of perfect measuring, but you get the point.

This is what your fabric should look like when you are done. Now open up your fabric so each end looks like this. You will then want to cut through every other joint.

Now do it again at the other end. But pull the first strip down so you can see where to cut. It will be the second cut over.

The first strip on the right is from the other side. I moved over two slits and cut… then skipped a slit and cut the last one.

You should now have one continuous strip of fabric. The joints will look like this.

I cut a little closer to the edge. Don't cut too close or you might rip the fabric and then have to join it together either by sewing or tying. 

So ends my first tutorial! Hope it helps someone out there in internet land!

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We are the Economy!

Every year usually the second weekend of September, quilt shops in my area from Auburn to my shop in Groveland have what we quilters call a Shop Hop. Ours is the Mother Lode Fabric Frenzy. This year we only had 7 stores. It was nice because it seems every year participants complain that there are too many stores and it is 2 hours from the two furthest points. Quilters go to every shop participating and carry a passport to have stamped at each store. A winner is drawn and prizes are awarded. This year our event was on September 11 to the 13th. It is always nice to meet new people and see participants from previous years.  The one comment I kept hearing is with the bad economy.. we aren't spending as much. I finally decided to educate some of my shop hoppers on the economy. "What is the economy I asked." Not many could answer. "The economy is You!" Every time you decided not to purchase something because of "the economy". You add to the problem. People don't understand that the economy is not some mysterious entity  floating around in space somewhere. It is all of us! When we decide not to spend..there is a ripple effect far reaching to everyone. Even back to your paycheck. A customer decides not to buy that quilting kit, so I don't buy coffee for the next week at the local coffee shop, so they don't spend as much on school clothes for kids, and so on and so on… So next time you complain about the economy, remember what it really is… it is all of us. Always was and always will be.

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