Tiffany

Yes, but allowing an animal to give birth on them is extremely disrespectful. To me it is like spitting on the actual Declaration of Independence. That is, unless the quilt is made for the animal. I think in this instance we are simply going to have to agree to disagree. :wink:

chris_quilts

My girlfriend is aghast that I let me cats and a dog sleep on the bed with us on the quilt that she and I made together for my hubby. I believe quilts are to be used but I do take car of it b/c during "mud" season, the quilt comes off the bed to save it from muddy dog prints on it.

judithb

I will admit to letting the cats sleep on one of my quilts. The first 5 minutes it was on the bed one of them threw up on it. It was a pretty defining moment in quilting for myself. Either I don't use them or suck it up and enjoy the quilts. By the time the quilt was dry I put it back on the bed. I use a clothes brush on it every week to get the fur off and wash it every couple weeks. It looks good. However, there is one quilt I made that I won't put on the bed. It has a white background and has a lot of applique. That one is for special occasions.
I don't ask my daughter about the quilt I made for her and 1 for her DH, nor do I go upstairs to look in the bedroom. They have 3 big dogs. There are things better left unknown!! :lol:

Sandy1951

I've been wondering how many quilters here let their cats sleep on their quilts. Our three cats sleep on our bed every day. And, of course, they shed and throw up on it occasionally and cause me to wash the bedspread much more often than I would have to if they weren't allowed on the bed. I've thought a lot about what to do when I make a quilt for our bed (which I haven't done yet). Do I let them on the bed, knowing what will happen, or start banishing them from the bedroom? I even thought about making a cat quilt to put on top of our quilt for them to lay on. Then I thought that would be a little silly because I certainly hope to make a quilt for our bed that I'll want to look at and enjoy.

I'll probably end up doing like you do, Judith, because I'm too soft-hearted to banish the cats from the bedroom. My DH sometimes banishes them, but only when they throw up when he's in the bed. :-D He usually forgives them by the next night. We'll have a large window seat in the living room of the house we're moving to, so I'm hoping they'll choose to sleep there most of the time and stay off the bed. They love to look out the window and soak up the sun.

I'm trying to get quilts made for my granddaughters and I've already decided to try not getting upset over how they'll be treated. I know the girls will love them, but they may end up getting dragged all over the house and thrown on the floor. Also, my daughter and her husband don't have the best laundry habits. He throws the girls clothes in with his work clothes :thumbdown: (finally figured out a place to use the thumbsdown!) and they both mix white clothes in with anything. They never bleach their whites so they're always dingy and gray. I taught my daughter how to do laundry better than that, but she's evidently forgotten everything she learned. I can only imagine how the quilts will get washed. :roll: I want the girls to use them, so I'm not going to worry about it, but if I make something that I spend a huge amount of time on, like an appliqued quilt, it will be for a wall hanging for their room.

Olivia's Grammy

My cats also sleep on my quilts. I vacuum them (quilts) weekly, but I change my quilts monthly so I don't have to wash them often. This has been a very interesting thread. Still as many of you (I) have said, "when you give a quilt you have to let it go".

SaraSewing

You guys crack me up when you are telling bout your cats throwing up. I thought my girl siamese was the queen of it all, but she's not alone! She always chooses to throw up on the carpet, where we will step on it going to the bathroom in the dark. Or course I let kitty sleep on my bed quilt, and UNDER it!

judithb

SaraSewing, I love your tag line. It say it all.
As for the cats, our Lady has a messed up digestion system because her mom was exposed to bug extermination spray while pregnant. Lady was the only baby to live. She also has stomatitis which doesn't have a cure either. She is about 9 now and has had several teeth removed, and the vet wants to extract more. Her gums are better sometimes and not at others.
After I yelled at her the first time she threw up on the quilt she now throws up at the end of the bed, but on the floor, where my husband goes to his side of the bed, she is, after all, his baby!

Diamonds

After reading all the posts here I realize I am very lucky... Last Christmas I gave every one of my siblings a king size quilt... I made 4 quilts and it took me two years... I shipped them to my sister and they all opened them on Christmas at the family gathering...

They all called after opening to thank me and wish me Merry Christmas... When I went up to Indiana last spring they were proud to show me how nice they looked on their beds.. The quilts are being used and treated with love.... That makes me a very lucky person... Each one of them know what goes into them because they watched my Grandmother quilt for years..

Lneal

Diamonds you are a very lucky person and what a wonderful family that appreciates you!!

quiltstitcher

Billy, I am with you! I would rather see the product of my labor be tossed on the floor for the baby than tightly wrapped in plastic and shoved in a closet! I tell those who receive my quilts "use them, love them, wash them, and more will come."My husband and I sleep under one year round. He has his favorite so it gets washed and dried with great regularity since the dogs sleep with us, too. When it wears out...darn! I'll have to make another!