Happily Gone to the Dogs

I had a wonderful visit from my daughter last Sunday.  We'd not seen each other since Christmas due to the pandemic, but now she and my husband were both fully vaccinated (my own vax is delayed due to recovering from shingles).  So we planned a get-together to visit and catch up (on hugs, especially), as well as exchange a few things.  

Namely, I had some kennel quilts for the animal surgery and recovery clinic where she works as a veterinary nurse.  It had been awhile since I'd made a batch of them (you can see previous ones HERE).  She reminded me of the size dimensions of the ones that get used often, on gurneys and such, so I pulled out the fabric I had left and got to work.

(Streak of Lightning Quilt)

What I mean by "the fabric I had left" is that whenever I can, I like to use repurposed scrubs for these small quilts.  It seems to wear well and stand up to frequent washings, even with bleach.  I had a lot of scrub jackets left that were all out of the same bright, multicolored fabric, as well as a some light green patterned scrubs fabric and some solid pieces in various greens and blues.

(Square in a Square Quilt)

Here are three of the quilts that came out of that.

(Stacked Coins String Quilt)

One is a streak of lightning type setting, the second is a square in a square, and the third is a stacked coins quilt.

I have to say, my favorite is the stacked coins.  It's string-pieced on 5x11-inch telephone book pages.  I was down to just strips and snippets of the solids by then.  Perfect for string piecing.

(Back of Streak of Lightning Quilt)

Backings are always a chance to get creative with leftover bits, too.

(Back of Square in a Square Quilt)

Along the way, I found some older fabric that had been donated to me this past year that said "doggy" on it.  It wasn't as sturdy as the scrubs fabric, so I began another streak of lightning quilt with the intention of making a baby quilt for donation.

When my daughter saw it, though, she said they'd definitely be able to use it at her work, so she took that one along with her as well.  

The apple pie fabric was another fun donated piece that got used up for the backing on this one.  

She says these quilts are already in rotation this week, which makes me happy and hopefully the dogs a little more comfortable, too.

They have apparently been very, very busy at the surgery clinic this past year.  Perhaps a silver lining in pandemic times has been that people are home more, spending more time with their pets and being able to prioritize to their pets' health needs. I know the staff at the surgery and recovery stay clinic are considered heroes by their clients, working hard to meet the needs of beloved furry family members at a time when their companionship is so important.

I said earlier that we were exchanging some things, and what my daughter brought for me were two big bags chock full of fabric from one of her coworkers, whose daughter had been making masks last year and had leftovers to spare.  Oh my goodness, what a generous infusion of fabric goodness!  I'll have some pics and more on that in another post.  She also brought me a new infusion of solid colored scrubs from a coworker, which have already been washed and cut apart for the next batch of kennel quilts.  And so the circle continues!

Linking to:  Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Recognizing our Hometown Heroes

April Table Scraps Challenge - Mug Rugs from Leftovers

After seeing the 45 record mug rugs I made in last month's challenge, a friend asked if I would make her a set of four.  She told me the colors in her living room:  gray, blue, black, beige.  I found some scraps and made some that I thought might work.  I'll be getting them to her soon and I hope she likes them.

As I was finishing those the other day, it prompted me to get something together for this month's link-up.  I had recently sent most of the contents of my orphan blocks box to my quilter friend Marei (at her request; I didn't do it for spite, I promise), but I set aside a couple things to finish myself as mug rugs.

I had four leftover HSTs from a flannel and corduroy quilt I made a few years back that had such a lovely, soft texture.  I put them together in an hourglass-type configuration and straight-line quilted them.  It's the kind of mug rug you want to pick up and handle now and then just to get that tactile fix.  :)  I'd say it's no longer corduroy and flannel season here, but after this week's late spring flurries and graupel (think Dippin' Dots kind of sleet), that wouldn't be entirely correct.

The other one is from a sample block I made from neckties when I was working on a memory quilt for a friend a few months back.  (You can see how that project turned out HERE.)  In particular, I had tried out a quilting idea, which I didn't end up using in the end.  I saved the block, though, and put a purple batik border on it this week so it's usable as a mug rug.

A couple quick and easy finishes, but it's all good!

Linking to The Joyful Quilter: Table Scraps Challenge.