to the dogs..oh well
 

My dear friend's son let it slip recently that they use the quilt I made them in their dog bed.
Most might hear that and flip a lid. But I've been a member of QB for a while now and I knew it would happen eventually. lol..I've arrived. *bow*

I know where it lands won't matter. But keeping someone warm (be that a stranger or a fur baby) is what truly matters. And in that, I don't even care.

:cool:

Some loves it and that is what counts! I bet the furbaby sure does appreciate it!

Puppies need quilts too. But if it were me, they wouldn't get another quilt. Just sayin...

Yeah, they got knocked off the list. But the dog is getting put on. So HA!

My mother gave my brother a hand made quilt she got in a raffle. When she went to visit him he had given it to his dog. She also gave him a Afghan she made and found it on the floor stuffed under a door. From that point on we don't want to make him anything. If we do we put as little effort in to it. He is getting married in two weeks so I had fabric of the double wedding band. I had a piece cut that I know is too small for his bed. We pillowed cases it together. And used the machine to quilt it really fast nothing fancy. Gonna tell him it's a wall hanging.


He will remain off our list for while until he can prove to us he will take care of the stuff we make him.

I keep telling myself, that when you give a gift, you no longer own it. The receiver can use it or dispose of it if they want. this is really hard to accept when you have made a quilt with expensive fabric. I put more money into the quilt than if I had just gone out and purchased something.

One of the very first quilts I made I gave to my collie I used it to practice free motion quilting and loved seeing her be cozy with it (she is one of those types of dogs that will walk through the house until she finds some fabric on the floor - a small dishtowel or one of the kids' sweatshirts - and then snuggle on that -- she really loves fabric!). Maybe your friend's dog was equally drawn to the love and comfort of your quilt...

I know when you give a gift, it is gone. it really hurts when you spend alot of time and they do not appreciate. I am very careful about giving my quilts. i would rather give one to charity or even a raffle for the church or school.

I had the same experience. I gave a quilt to a friend and yep... it ended up in the dog bed. I was hurt .. but I just crossed them off the quilt list .. it made room for others who are more quilt worthy.

Kudos to all of you who are so graceful about your quilts being given to the dog. In all honesty I would be a tad offended, would have to have a bit of a pout and scratch them off my list for future handmade gifts.

well mine were sold on Ebay. at least they went for money to someone else who might actually enjoy them.

when i give a quilt, i hate to hear "it's so pretty, i'll never use it". i tell the person, ok, then give it back! i want the quilt used/loved, and if in a few years it's the dog's quilt. ok then! :) but truly, i'd like it to be used for a few years by the humans first <g>.....

as far as the person selling the quilt on ebay....oh, that would hurt!

Welcome to the club! We will all belong eventually and many may not know they are long time members already. LOL

I gave a wonderful Lady a quilt and she likes to tell me how much her two cats love laying on them. I just cringe and tell her nicely that my cats are not allowed on my quilts. I know she washes the daylight out of them. When I give a quilt away I try not to think about it's treatment. Easy to do unless they tell me about it.

I would be more than a little miffed if someone gave the quilt to their dog. However I would have no problem making a quilt for their dog if they asked me to.

Some people just don't understand the effort and love that goes into a quilt. Their loss.

About twenty years ago, I made my DS a quilt (it was one of my first ones). It was a simple one, but very striking in black, white, and a touch of turquoise. Anyway, the dog tore it to shreds. I was really upset. Fast forward to today -- I am working on another quilt for him for his 40th bday. I know the new dog may get it, but hopefully the significant other or DGS will convince how much work and love went into it. And maybe he has grown up a little... I'll post when it is finished.

Linda in Missouri

One of the quilts I made is protecting a sofa from their dogs.....the dogs love it! Another is protecting a sofa from spills...the owners of these quilts are best friends....
I figure that at least they are using the quilts...

My Tinkerbelle has 2 quilts...and she is only 10#. Both were made just for her....she loves them...but she also loves to be on my chenille pillow shams.

Oh well, at least it is being used!

A few years ago I made a quilt for the baby daughter of a wonderful therapist who was helping me through a very rough patch in my life. When I gave the quilt to her (to give to her daughter) she said it was too beautiful to use, she'd have to figure out a way to hang it. I said oh no no no. I WANT this quilt to be on the floor with a baby on top. I want it barfed on, peed on, washed many times, and wore out. Two years later she told me her daughter LOVES that quilt and has to sleep with it every night. The binding is pieced out of different colors of fabric, and she said her daughter picks a different color to hold on to every night when she goes to sleep. That made me so happy, I cried.

On the other end of the spectrum is my SIL. She's strongly hinted about a quilt, but I am reluctant. She is very conscious of how things look; everything has to be perfect. She changes her deco every 18 months or so. She sells things at garage sales when she is done with them. I'm afraid I'll make a quilt for her and it will be gone after 2 years, and I will resent that and it will affect our relationship.

One thing about it,my doggie loves all my quilts ( I find him sucking on them!), never bugs me about the time or money I spend quilting,and sits on my feet while I quilt. The DH doesn't get any more quilts,as he doesn't appreciate them.

I made both of my step daughters quilts and they did who knows what with them, but neither of them possess them. I am pretty positive that they ended up being left behind during a move or thrown in the trash. I explained to them both that the quilts were theirs, but also took the time to explain the cost, time and especially the love that went into making them. Am I little upset, yes at first, but then again I did give them to them. What they did with the quilts was their choice. I have also tried to imagine what happens to quilts that I donate. Do the recipients really appreciate the quilt for the remainder of its "life" or does it turn into pets bed or used to lay under the car while the oil is being changed? So, I have learned to just let it go!

Yup! I love dogs, but you intended that quilt for humans. ---------------------Use this line to cross them off!

In another life this dog must have been a quilter!!:thumbup:

I made toobrush rugs for all 4 of my kids for Christmas. One the dog claimed before package was even opened. Another puppies claimed as soon as it hit the floor. I lay them on our floor while working on them to make sure they are flat, my toy poodle thinks it is for her. I have one in the works for her.

Many people care more about their dogas then their family. Our furbaby & all of our kid's animals are family. At least what is made is loved.

I have thought about all of this with the dog. You see if my dog had a desire to lay on a quilt and I seen it, the very first thing I would do is remove it and give him another. Then the very next time I seen a quilt I liked at a second hand store I would buy it and give it to the dog. And put the other one up for me to use on the couch while watching tv or reading or anything else. Just my opinion. The thing is it does harden a person up, to want to give anyone anything.

I gave my DMIL a quilt because she loved it when she saw it. Once when I visited her, her dog was curled up on it. She told me that Daisy took it over as soon as she brought it home and that it was her favorite place to curl up. My DMIL loves that dog so much and I could tell how happy she was that Daisy was so happy. I could not have given a gift to please her anymore than a quilt that Daisy loves so much. They are both happy - Daisy is comfy and DMIL takes great pleasure in watching her make her nest in the middle of the quilt that I gave them.

to the dogs..
 

Many find this funny but I made the dogs and I a Ricky Timms Kaleidoscope quilt this year and its PERFECT..in our house they are the kids and we want them to be comfy and happy..as a matter of fact we have quilts on the backs of the lazyboys and the dogs make nests in them over night!!
Diana
Tranquil Quilting-MI

Your dog and ours were cut from the same cloth, to coin a phrase. Bess will lay on a dirty t-shirt if it is on the floor. I made her a quilt big enough to lay on, big enough to cover her up with on a cold winter night. She ate it!!!!!!! Chewed holes all over it.......to the point that it wouldn't keep her warm anymore. She loved that quilt. Now she is older (10) and I can put anything over her to keep her snuggled (which she loves) (especially a down quilt - queen sized - and literally crawls under it,can't even see her. She is happy, warm, content. At least I know she appreciated the quilt I made her. I think our fur babies appreciate their warmth from a quilt more than we will ever know. It has our smell on it!!!!!!! Edie

You have a great attitude. I made a quilt for my nephew and found it stuffed in the back of his closet. I would rather the dogs had been able to use it.

But how do you know that by giving the quilt to his fur baby wasn't a sign of how much he loves the quilt. Maybe his dog is like a special family member to him. For some people they aren't animals they are their children so it might really be an honor for it to go to the dog. JMHO I wouldn't give it to my dog but I know some people that would.

Well in my house / world that's the most highest honor!

Dogs, like cats, looooove quilts. Mine just can't keep away from them.

I love it, My German shepherd loves getting a quilt from me. She usually gets the one I just can't get right. I also have to say that she hasn't gotten one lately, I must be doing something right.

i have found that often quilts live many lives...i've made quilts that have been used to cover wood piles, furniture in the back of trucks, dog crates, kids in the backseat,spread out at the beach for a picnic and even eventually put on a bed...all the same quilt! i guess i would rather it be used for something than stuffed in a box under the bed never to be seen or used....and i don't scratch recipients off my list for using my quilts in what ever way they find it useful at the moment- i take note & make them as durable/washable/functional as i possibly can in the future- but i also do repairs if one is brought back to me because the dog chewed it, or the child caught it in a door, or it was torn on a nail...i do put alot of money into my quilts- but that is my choice & i know that when they are given they are loved...and used...and they know- if they wear it out i will make them a new one---if it's hidden in a box never used good chance they will never get a new one!

Our 3 Goldens lay all over my quilts, and they love it. I don't mind if they get dirty, it's off to the washer then. I would rather have a dog using a quilt than some people. LOL.

The point is, you put your blood, sweat and sometimes tears and always expectations of the recipient knowing how much you cared to go to all this work just for them. If they are too dense to realize this, then further offerings are of no use to either party.

Grin and Bear it. The dog is part of the their family. You gave the quilt to them, and they shared it with the member of the family that needed it. The other side of the coin, just give them quilts or whatever that are made from scraps. Then you will not have a lot of money and time in the quilt. Besides they may just love this one and keep it on the bed.

Just watched an Eleanor Burns program yesterday and guess what she did.....made two quilts for her granddogs! She even featured the two lucky furkids at the end of the program and their tails were a-waggin' My first utility quilt is now used by Emma, our Scottie, to protect a chair that she has claimed. It's still being used by a loved one, so I'm happy.

Since I know how much people love their dog, I could probably learn to accept that. However..........I made a beautiful baby quilt for someone and they NEVER so much as thanked me for it or even acknowledged it being recieved. I know they got it from a mutual friend. Clearly THEY are off the list!