I read those and its was awful. I then read the one someone posted about her sister saying how cute a wall hanging was with her doggie laying on it. People who don't quilt don't get it unless they watch you day in and day out working. Those who are in their own world need a wally world quilt not a hand made one.

There are just as many happy stories however and people who are thrilled to receive something hand made for them. I am of the belief everyone in this swap is going to be so respectful of what they get, and treasure it for the gift that was given. DONT WORRY. Tam moo I think I make a good quilt top, its the quilting I am horrible at lol so everyone is of a different level I think and its perfectly fine. the more we make the better we get :) and I happen to know a local quilter here (JABA) who helps me out with quilting when necessary. ITs not against the rules to have it quilted by someone else nor is it a requirement. I stitch in the ditch ok :) .

I believe when you are gifting a quilt to a quilter they know how much time, thought and care was put into it and will cherish it for that reason and also the fact that it was made for them which doesn't happen everyday for quilters! We Know! We Value! We Love Quilts and those that make them for us:)

We Love Quilts!!! That should be our group name. :) We have 25 swappers!!! Woo hoo!!! :)

1 oldcatlady
2 zzmom
3 Nexxus831
4 TwinRiverFarm
5 The Mama Hauser
6 emc1118
7 Short an Sweet
8 lovngrandma
9 roseirish48
10 CarolynMT
11 Elisabrat
12 Rodney
13 Applique
14 J_cody
15 mamawalsh
16 Crqltr
17 Annaquilts
18 Gannyrosie
19 ljdugas31
20 jaba
21 Boop56
22 Tam…Moo
23 QuilterMomma
24 mumukate
25 sewmany

i made a quilt for our veteranarian one year for Xmas as she and her SO had become good friends over the years. When she opened the gift and saw the quilt, she remarked to her SO that "this quilt does not get used with the dogs,it is much too beautiful". A few years later I was at her house and sitting on her couch, when i realized that I was sitting on the quilt folded so that the backing was on hte outside as it lay on the sofa. I was covered with cat and dog hair from her numerous animals. I wanted to scream but remembered it has her quilt now and she could use it anyway she wanted. i silently thanked the higher powers that be that she at least only exposed the backside of the quilt to the animals.
On a happier note, that box of scraps i rec'd has been raided and one top done as a baby quilt. now to get it actually quilted.

If you are my partner I would LOVE that fabric!!! Red, love it,i don't match my quilts to my décor,i have quilts everywhere all colors because I like themLOL

I love making quilts I have made one for every friend, family member ect..... I have 6 grandchildren all have 3 or more.Well my son got married last year and I made a quilt for my new daughter in law to be. She picked out pattern and fabric came out beautiful. She said she loved it and didn't want to use it,kept it on couch to look at. Big fat lie!!! I saw picture on her facebook that beautiful quilt took me 4 mos to make her two dogs laying on it on the floor!!! Well I just let it go ,but I will never make her another!! On a good note all other quilts were welcome with love and are still being used and look great...

In all fairness, :p I am more likely to let the dog/cat lay on something nice like that than my son :p
I am sure the dog/cat are cleaner lol they are my babies and sleep with me in my bed, snuggle with me on my couch and generally make me happy. Whereas my 22yr old son is "Mr. Personality" (said with heavy sarcasm) :p so if you ever see my dog/cat on something you make me...consider it a compliment, if you see the son on it :p call me and let me know cause I will smack him with my snow shovel!!!! LOL (jk)

Too Funny!!! I do have a sweet 5 pound pomerian who is our baby she has her own quilt,but I know what your saying.

Hmmm I have an 8 lb baby dog, Havanese, that is super clean and if I nap she might be with me under or on the quilt either that or one of my people "babies". The dog is hypo allergenic, indoor only, combed daily and washed weekly. Come to think she is probably cleaner then the kids. She also causes less wear and tear on quilts then the kids or me. I do think there is a difference between a quilt thrown in a dog house outside and one co used with a cared for pet. Also some quilts have a more utilitarian use while others are the type that are on the bed and you don't even sit on for fear of popping stitches. I made a quilt for SIL and she shares her quilt with her cat. She is super sweet, divorced and lives by herself. I am glad she uses it and enjoys naps on the couch with her cat even though the quilt is all hairy.

I hope I'm not too late for this. I signed up because this swap seemed fun and I enjoyed all the comments. This will be my first swap here. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. If I am too late to join, I hope everyone has fun and I can't wait to see the finished quilts.

I get your point and I do agree sharing your quilt with your fur baby is fine. But my sons two dogs are not small and it seems that the quilt was there bed. Mighty fine bed it is,they are cute dogs and they love me ..

MDQuilter...welcome to the party!!!

woohoo mdquilter joined. i was so excited i told her about it. :p

Yeah, sewmany is exactly why I need to watch more after school specials on peer pressure. ;)

Lol...too funny!!!!!

We have 26 swappers!!! 4 more or Friday at noon (CST)!!! If all goes well...I will have swap names out either Friday afternoon or Monday!!!

I love Octonauts. Never seen any of their toys though. I'm going out shopping today. I'll pick up if I see some here.

Elisabrat, I'm with you. Can't FMQ. You're lucky you have a mentor near by. I've not done any quilts with difficult points, triangles etc yet. I want to start trying paper piecing, or whatever you call it, where you sew on the paper to make a block. ( Don't laugh, my brain works on pictures, not vocabulary). Okay is it
Friday yet?
As to whether a quilt should be used by a fur baby. If they are your children, yes! To me as long as the children can respect it. lol.

a dear friend and her sister came over one day (years ago) and as we were chatting together in living room, she glanced down and sa a mock Cathedral Window lap quilt on the floor in front of the fireplace. She immediately jumped up and picked it up off the floor and laid it across the end of the couch. Two minutes later my black tomcat came in and started crying so i put the quilt back of floor. My friend hadnt seen me do so and went to pick it up again thinking it had slipped off the couch. i told her it was okay to be on the floor. she said it was too pretty to be on the floor to which i answered " but its the cat's blanket". "but the cat will get hair all over it" she replied. "but it IS the cat's blanket". She finally realized what i was saying and let the kitty have his blanket back so he could take his nap.

Ok...so...yep, I totally laughed at this. I've see this happen before. :) WOW!!! Thank you for the images. I needed it today. :) I'm in the process of making puppy quilts for my furbabies. :) They need their own quilt for these cooler nights.

Love all the quilts and animals stories. I have made quilts for most of my family, including my step-daughter who recently asked me "Would it offend you if I asked you to make a couple small quilts for my babies? Nothing fancy, just something so they can have their own " (She was referring to her very small dog and two cats whom are her children)

I chuckled and told her I wasn't offended, I was actually tickled that she thought enough of my quilts to ask. Needless to say, there are three little quilts in line on my "to do" list.

dragonfly are you joining us?? my cats sit on the couch. the couch has cat hair. when company comes I take a wet sponge to it to remove as much hair as I can. but they are my cats, my couch, my blankets. I love the quilt I have from you Twinrivers to pieces. I also have to admit it has cat hair on it. I don't mind, they don't mind and nothing gets harmed from the making of it. Is as pretty as ever just needs to be rolled sometimes to make it brand new again. THE QUILTS I MAKE FOR YOU while maybe exposed due to the cats living in the house will be and always are rolled for all hairs before sent out and also I never ever allow them to lie on the things I am working on. its an absolute get off the table/counter if there is a project in the making. that is the best I can offer you. Currently I am finishing a project with kona black. I will take it next door when its done to roll there.. no pets nothing will land on it before its packaged to go home. Nexxus you should be safe from the kitty hair :)

ps if this quilt is being made for your pet this is fine with me but be prepared it might not be as fancy as if I make it for you so let me know straight up. no ones feelings get hurt :) ok this is a funny question but how on earth did we get stuck in this animals will ruin our quilts and everyone is terrible with quilts we give them? yikes. can we go to positive things and good hopes and good wishes now? please?

Alice is excellent on the quilts. In fact, she really likes it when they are all wadded up after Doogie gets up in the morning - she burrows in and goes back to sleep for a few hours. She'll lay on the bed at my feet once the sheets are made but if the quilt/sheets are a mess, she's all up in wherever they are piled.

Every quilt I make which leaves this almost always covered in Alice hair - I lint roll to high heaven but I know better than to think I get it all.

Sooo... whoever my partner is, you're going to end up swapping with me & Alice (she'll contribute the extra fur-batting).

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Alice is beautiful!!!

I love Alice too. I am going to send her a 16 squeaker toy soon

alice is an adorable monsterously sized dog that is a little sneaker. She sneaks around and magically makes food disappear right before your eyes! she can hair up my quilts any time. wonder about her feelings on cat hair? we have three dogs. ok we don't have three dogs. they simply knock at the front door once or twice a day looking for the doggie treats I buy. they are adorable little yorkie mixs (pound puppies) and I love it. I have dogs without any responsibility at all. no vet bills, no food bills, no cleaning up after them.. yup love those dogs of mine lol.

I think I waited long enough, time to send my info in to join!! I am good with extra fur batting, I have two cats that may add so of their own!!!

You had me in stitches there about the extra fut batting.

Jeezzz... I thought you were my friend! She'll just love murdering it 16 times though.

And Brat... you mention food thief - did I ever tell you the story about the pizza? Doogie had a fresh plate of pizza downstairs on the foot-stool part of his recliner. Walks into the bathroom and comes out to no pizza. She's sitting there licking her face like, "Gee Papa that was awesome pizza. Where's yours?"

She really believes she is human.

I made up quilted sandwiches for the new baby pup. She has one in her kennel and one below my desk at work that are her own. My good quilts are up high where the animals can't lay on them and the everyday ones they can with us. they are made to keep us warm. My quilts from the this swap, the last two years, are special and they stay up so the pets can't lay on them. The one annaquilts made me, well, I love to snuggle under it so it is for the pup as well. what can I say, when it is a loved quilt, the pets know it as well.

Good to see we're all human here anyway. I believe life is better with pets. We have 2 dogs here and our yellow lab Tucker sheds like there's no tomorrow. I'm guessing he sheds enough to make about another small dog a day. The dogs will stay off whatever I make for my partner but I can't guarantee there won't be one or two stray hairs.

All this talk of pets does bring up a question: Do we launder the quilts before sending them out?
Rodney

Maybe discuss laundering with your partner. Laundry soap and especially softener is something I am very sensitive too more so then cat dander or smoke. For my own quilts and donation quilts I launder in All Free hypoallergenic detergent and no softeners or any scents. Other people might really enjoy freshly laundered and scented. Last time I did a quilt in the for quilters swap I had to launder to get the marking lines out from quilting. I have another set up right now so do not anticipate needing to launder the finished quilt.

I've been watching this thread for the past couple of weeks and just have to comment on all the fur talk - Mr. Beasley, my avatar, sheds enough fur on a daily basis that had I thought about it sooner there would have been more than enough fur to spin into yarn for a sweater. He's been loving our sub zero temps of late.

well since your all so very bored thought I would toss this out. today I received a phone call from the Porter Transplant team in Colorado. I thought this call might come in two more weeks but here it came. I have, drum roll please.. been accepted onto their transplant list!!!!! oh yeah oh yeah.. kidney here you can come!!! not sure how long but its under 2 yrs now as I am transferring my Stanford hospital time which was 7 to 9 yr wait so my already accrued goes over to Porter and cuts 3.5 down to yrs or less wait. oh yeah!!!! I am super majorly excited. other than that its a regular day of course :)

ialways ash quilts after making them--cold water only ith just regular detergent--it removes any quilting marks, or other dirt, sme;;s, stay cat/dog hair and sets the color.

Congratulations Elisabrat! Wonderful news for you:)

I have to really say I would not want to receive one that had animal hair all over it. Most that I have received have either been rolled with the sticky tape, sponged off or they shook the living h out of it because they have arrived in really good shape. One reason is because this house is pet free and the other is that I'm very allergic to cats. I have to take medication when I go to someone's house that has pets. So for me if you have a pet especially a cat please write something on the outside of the box so I know. Hubby has to open and go through it first to make sure it's okay. Easier than me going to the hospital.

Woohoo. This is the last day. We will soon get to know.
jaba, i think the hostess did an excellent job with the questioner. Allergies is one of the questions she focused in.

Houston!!! We have a problem!!! Yep, ice everywhere!!! Lil man daycare closed...hubby can't get to work because they CLOSED the overpasses...we are still opening in time, unless our corporate office has a heart and puts us on a delayed start. Fun times!!!

Egad stay off those roads no one in Texas can drive in that!!! sorry mean but true. Its like in CA I hated driving in the rain no one could handle the first rains slick roads omg it was a disaster waiting to happen. Here we have ice. Lots of ice on the road. But most people drive sanely on it. Some big truckers drive like bats out of hell and well I think you are an idiot when I see them. Let them pass I don't care. not me. even our monster SUV does a fish tail every so often when entering the freeway at a whopping oh 20 miles an hour.. scares the living bejeebas out of me. sigh.

also good news twice over: my daughter will be out here in the next month! just herself cant afford for both to come but this is such wonderful news. still high on yesterdays news.