I see many cute little pets roaming around sewing rooms, lounging on quilts and perched on machines. For personal and health reasons, pet and smoke free environments seem to be a big thing in the quilting community. If you sell your quilts, how do you address this concern - do you tell all your potential customers that you have smokers and pets? I see many members mentioning that they have received fabric with these orders. Just wondering how you handle this if you have pets/smokers.

I wash all my quilts when they are finished. I don't sell my quilts. My pets are allowed anywhere they like, and there are worse things than a pet wandering around the sewing room. Anyone who doesn't like it is welcome to stay away.

we have never allowed smoking in our home but we do have pets- i try to keep our cat at a distance...but...
i always wash finished projects- if it is a quilt to be sold i then fold it and put it in a pillow case to keep it clean until it goes where it's going- I do let people know we have a cat-
normally the quilts i sell are special orders and it is known that we have a cat.
we have a niece who is very very allegic to our cat- when we make anything going to their home it is placed in a plastic garbage bag-labeled very well- they take it directly to their washer/dryer- even if i had just washed it----they know we have the cat and take no chances- we know this.

long & short-
you should always let it be known if selling (or even giving) that there were pets- or smoking- or anything else that tends to cause reactions--so customers can make decisions they can live with.

I think the person with the sensitivity is where the responsibility lies. I have a cat, and he *is* free to roam. However, he doesn't jump up in the fabric closet, "spray", claw, or otherwise defame my work.

I don't smoke, but I can see where people that do wouldn't advertise the fact that they do. Because I've received some VERY smelly, brand spanking new fabric that smells like a bar when I open it. For me, it's a difference between having to wash it right away versus tucking into my stash asap, like I would if I purchased from a store.

There's no way to know which buyer will be sensitive to what environmental allergen. There's a difference between being sensitive and just annoyed. And, if they're severely allergic, they have been that way for a period of time and know to advocate for themselves and what they introduce into their environment.

being allergic to lots of things, i agree in part with this statement. however, the person buying should know in advance of the potential for difficulties for them, and choose to buy/accept or not. if it is not revealed, then there is no choice available to them.

my sewing room is in a finished basement and our two doxies cant maneuver the stairs , their legs are too short! Blessings come in many ways hahahah
We dont smoke either, never have.

If its going to someone else, I let them know there are pets. As for smokers, sometimes my DH wanders in with a cigar. Does that count?

My animals have pretty much free reign in our house, though I do try my best to keep them off my fabrics. One of our male cats is a stinker, though, and has figured out how to get into one of the shelves to nap.

I have never had a problem with any of them spraying or marking, and I wash everything before it leaves my hands. I also take a lint roller to items before I package them.

My studio door is closed when I am not in there, and my websites all say 'not pet-free environment'. Noone is allowed to smoke in the house, ever. (I am a non-smoker, hubby is quitting, but we have friends who smoke, so they're relegated to the back porch for butt breaks).

I have a lot of allergy issues, so I just make sure to launder anything that could stir them up when they come into my house :D
I think most of us that have problems like this are used to doing the same :D:D:D

Most professional LA quiters operate in pet-free and smoke-free environments. If you are sensitive to either, make sure you ask.

If you smoke or have pets, please do your best to remove the odor and pet hair before sending your top to the quilter. Smells and pet hair can end up on the leaders and cause problems for the quilts that follow.

Good advice :thumbup:

I find cigar smoke to be more offensive than cigarette smoke (which I can't stand). Strong fragrance is bad too for anyone with sensitivities or allergies.

I have a small poodle and she is free to go where she wants, typically people are not as sensitive to poodles as other dogs.

As you can see from my avatar, I have a very large fluffy girl! I have gifted and sold to family and friends who are well aware of pet hair. If I were to sell to someone even though I would use a lint roller to remove pet hair, I would still inform the buyer/recipient. It's just polite, most people say they are fine and have pets but some do have rather severe allergies.

I have two dogs and while they don't hop up on my fabric like cats do, it is inevitable that a hair gets in here or there. While we don't smoke, I do work in a house with a fireplace and kero heater, I cook smelly things like cabbage, and sometimes my husband or son will burn something (passive aggressive when they're asked to cook!). How do I handle it? When I send out veils, they go with a rose/lavender sachet. Hopefully the scent overwhelms anything else that might get in there. I also have a proviso on fabric and related items: If you have a nose like a bloodhound, go shop somewhere else!

AMEN from Texas! I feel sorry for people who don't allow room in their hearts for a pet. I will respect allergies, and really don't like my cats on my fabric because of the shedding - it's so difficult to get it all off and black fabric is the worst! They are, however, allowed almost anywhere else in the house, except for countertops or tables - the rule is that no cats go where food goes.

I only make quilts for family and friends and they're all allergy free. I'm the one with the allergies and I had 3 cats in the sewing room with me all the time. I do wash before giving anything away. so far no complaints from the giftees.

No smoking at all in our home or even in our yard. I have a dog and cat that are indoors. If someone is very allergic to pet hair then I don't give them a quilt. I can't guarantee no pet dander/hair is not somewhere on the quilt. I'd never pick fabric over my pets.

Oh My don't tell my 2 Doxies that their legs are to short. GGG! They just won't believe you at all. I can't believe some of the stunts my 2 do with them little legs.

Verna

both DH & i require a pet free environment for our art and we have a studio set up the covers an entire floor of our home and our 4 cats are never allowed onto this floor.

when i'm doing work that isn't for sale i move my sewing machine to the family room to be with the cats.

no one is allowed to smoke in our home. actually i don't even know any one who smokes. its beyond me why any one would be smoking any longer considering all the health risks.

My dogs have free reign in my home.
(and i have never caught them smoking,but they do get in the trash occasionally! )

most of my friends are animal lovers..

I don't make quilts to sell.

i smoke, but never in the house. (yes, i know..it is so bad)

i wash everything i make, before i bless someone with it..

I note on my sale listings that I have cats. I do generally wash my quilts before they leave my house.

Ha ha ha..yeah that's my two little fellers..... but they sure can do steps. Our two doxie's will NOT even attempt to come down the basement steps, but..uses the steps to go upstairs to bed everynight and comes back down those steps in the morning. Strange, we have no idea what the difference is.

I have to kinda chuckle over people with pet smells and smokers smells... so many people are focused so much on just these two aspects. What about perfume odors? I work in the public sector and have to wait on guests daily all day long. I have had to walk away and stop waiting on guests because they smell like they took a shower in their bottle. Most who wear it, are fine..but some..I really think they shower in it. When your in the back of a restaurant, and can smell them as soon as they walk in..that is horrible.

I am one of those dreaded smokers. And I have 2 dogs that are allowed anywhere in the house. I don't sell anything. When I give quilts as gifts they all washed, sprayed w/Fabreeze (sp) and packaged before they are gifted. And all recipients know the circumstances of my life/house. When I do blocks for swaps (rarely for the above reasons) they are Fabreezed first and sent in a plastic ziplock. I always include a note stating the pet/smoke with apologies and if the block can't be used for those reasons I understand. Haven't had any adverse comments yet.

And I also partially agree with YOU! :D

I think it depends on the degree of difficulty, really. If cat dander gives you a little twitch in your nose and washing fixes the problem, the buyer can pretty much buy whatever they want knowing they might need to wash it asap. If it will cause anaphylactic shock, they MUST clarify whether or not the seller has pets.

Then, the person that is owning the fabric could have purchased it from someone else who had a pet, since they don't have the sensitivity they would be none the wiser, and so even if the buyer asks "Do you have pets" the answer is no, but there may be an allergen on the fabric.

"The choice available to them" is to purchase or not purchase. If there is an allergy concern, they must protect themselves and cannot depend on others to be up on all the allergens out there. Cats, dogs, ragweed, peanuts, shellfish....who knows if someone went to the flea market and picked up some (new) fabric one day, and stuffed it in the bag with spanish peanuts? I *will*, however, try to remember to mention my cat if I ever sell in the future! :thumbup:

I grew up in a family of smokers and with pets. I don't care if someone smokes.

Right now, we don't have any pets living with us, my dog now lives with my mom since my Dad died. My pup keeps Mom happy, and he's bonded strongly with her. However, he does come over our house all the time.

Mom smokes, but not in our house, and DH and I choose not to smoke.

Every quilt I've sold has been washed before mailing.

I don't like Febreeze - it can kill small pets and it's harmful to little children (which I have). So if a quilt is going anywhere, I just let people know that we have a pet friendly home. No complaints so far.

Its Fabreze and perfume that I can't stand. Some of the most popular brands have me wheezing in the checkout line. I always let people know about pets.

I have 2 Dogs and a Cat, they are quite like Children and mind better than Children. If you are like one woman who came to my door uninvited and was yelling "get these Dogs off of me,"Then I would also say "you are welcome not to come. All you have to say to my Dogs is "sit". They will sit and leave you alone

Just common courtesy - I always let people know that I have a cat. Some are cat people, some aren't. Some are allergic, some aren't. I wash everything before it leaves my house and I attach a note to everything I make - letting the recipient know that it has been washed because some people may even have allergies to my laundry detergent.

Wow....this is a touchy topic and I just have to reply but will try to be tactful.....lol.

I have a dog and both my DH and I smoke in the basement. Yes, pet dander can be a problem for people with allergies. But this should not be a problem if completed article is laundered or dry cleaned.

Smoke oder is simply an annoyance - and that comes straight from an allergist! This, too, can be alleviated with laundering. The flip side of the coin is fabric that is perfumed for those of us with perfume (musk) allergies.

I recently moved from CA to MN and joined a quilt guild to make new friends and enjoy the sharing. They meet twice a month and I was traveling 45 miles one-way to attend. At first I thought people were different in the midwest because no one seemed interested in getting together or "allowing" me to attend their retreats. Finally, a member took me aside and told me the reason was because I was a smoker. I explained that I don't smoke around non-smokers or at retreats. Her response was that I would still smell like smoke! I didn't reply (and no longer go to guild) but couldn't help but think about all the women who use perfume that I am allergic to and yet I never said anything - just tried to hold my breath or avoid.

Thank you for allowing me to vent!

How hurtful and inconsiderate of those guild members!
It's their loss, not yours.

Let's think of the times that we all used to heat our homes with wood or coal fires, when we weren't able to change all our clothes every day, when we shared our living quarters with animals other than cats and dogs ...

The most beautiful of our antique quilts were probably sewn in those kinds of conditions.

Too bad for them - they are missing out on YOU! You'd be welcome around all the people I know :thumbup:

My dog is not allowed in my sewing room - too dangerous for him and although I am a dog lover, I can't stand dog hair in the house. I don't plan to sell any quilts but may give as a gift one day and I would tell the person that I have a pet "just in case". When my husband smoked (he stopped over 4 years ago), he never smoked in the house because my son and I are highly allergic to cigarette smoke, so my house is smoke free. Now that he has stopped, I am even more sensitive to cigarette smoke so I can understand the smell issues. Perfumes, fabric softeners, refreshers are also an issue since some can be very overpowering.

A very sticky subject.

I agree with you 100%. In our house the dogs come first.

My kitty is my sewing buddy. I couldn't quilt without her right next to me. So if someone doesn't like her fur on the quilt then they can give it back to me. I don't sell my creations so that is not a concern.

that actually is a very good point. My husband and I are allergic to smoke and he allergic to cats. We love pets of many kinds but when we are with clients in their home and a cat is relentless about being in his face I am left with trying to entertain the cat because the owners never seem to get the clue when someone says they are allergic to the cat that it may be nice to just close the cat out of the room temperarily. If we are working on a sewing machine having the cat present at times becomes a safety issue as cats in particular tend to get right in there and don't realize the danger to themselves.
On the flip side I must share a humorous interaction. Many years ago we had work done replacing windows on a 1929 English tutor. The agreement was 1/2 down until all work completed. The manager of the project realized my husband was out of state for a long period and began trying to pressure me to pay the remainder immediately. At the time we had a beautiful male red and white siberian husky with icey blue eyes. Everytime this guy came to the house Josh would walk over sniff his shoes casually them nail him by bringing his head up with full force right in his crotch. The guy demanded I put the dog away but I refused as he was my protector and this was not a friendly situation. After that everytime the man came to the house he walked sideways with his knees pinched together. In normal situations where there is a matter of allergy though we cetainly would close the pet off for the time being. We restore wintage machines and we are very careful to make sure nothing we use or any itme that leaves here has hair on it.

I had a situation where a friend of my daughter sent me a large box of t-shirts that she wanted made into a quilt. The box was never opened and stayed underneath the staircase, downstairs from my room, which is where I smoke. She knew I smoked prior to sending the shirts. After haggling and realizing that she didn't want to pay anything for three t-shirt quilts, I sent the box of shirts back to her, still unopened. When she received them, she e-mailed me and said they reeked of cigarettes and "what was I going to do about it." She claimed she had washed them three times and they still smelled. I told her I thought that was very unlikely, since the shirts had been downstairs, under the stairwell, and sealed since I received them and since smoke rises, I found it very unlikely that the smoke had traveled down 17 stairs, made a u-turn and gotten into a sealed box. Told her I had no intentions of doing anything. I worked with an individual for several weeks before she knew I smoked and that was only because I told her that I was going down for a smoke break. Smokers don't always smell.

For people who are sensitive to pets or smoke, it is a nice gesture to let them know beforehand, but usually the only ones posted are those that are pet/smoke free. I would ask before I buy if I needed to know

I hate to tell you this but, every single thing in your house smells like smoke. Every fabric, every book, magazine, picture, box, furniture, you name it smells. No matter where it is in your home, if you smoke anywhere in your home it smells like smoke.

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