Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pets On Quilts 2010




SewCalGal is hosting a virtual quilt show featuring pets on quilts.  For all the information , click here.


"Rex the Hamster"
This is a quilt that I made for a shop sample at Stitcher's Crossing.  To see the whole thing, click here.


"Rosie the Ever-Patient Berner"
Rosie in her super-hero guise wearing another shop sample from Stitcher's Crossing.  I made this quilt in summer 2007, before I started blogging.


I finished the thread work on Flora.  Unfortunately, I guess she doesn't really qualify as a pet on a quilt for me -- we can keep chickens in our back yards here, but no cows.  Yet.  And  no, I don't have any chickens.


"Kool Kat House Quilt: with Apologies to Fons and Porter"

I made this from a pattern in a Fons and Porter magazine a couple of years ago.  I had a blast using all my brightly colored cat and music fabrics.

When my husband was trying to get me to marry him, "pitching woo" you might say, he used to sing "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young to me.  We each had a cat when we married and so it was especially apropos.



"Our house is a very, very, very fine house,
With two cats in the yard, 
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy 'cause of you"
                                                                           -Graham Nash

Yeah, I know that they're leopards -- but I didn't have any lions and don't all cats think of themselves as big cats anyway?

I also want to take this opportunity to point out a few of my favorite animal rescue sites.  First is A Place to Bark.  This is a dog and cat rescue operated by Bernie Berlin.  I had the pleasure of meeting Bernie a couple of years ago at a quilt show and I was terribly impressed by her dedication to this cause.  She makes and sells her artwork to help fund the shelter, but she always appreciates donations.  Please take a moment to visit and make a donation.  

The second site I want to draw attention to is The Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project.  Sadly, here in Wisconsin, puppy mills are not against the law.  Dogs are raised in horrible conditions for sale to unwitting buyers and pet stores all across the country.  Unlike farmers with cattle, sheep, or other livestock, puppy millers have no incentive to breed carefully or even care for their animals.  Once a dog is sold, it's gone.  Dogs must be socialized properly and are uniquely people-oriented; puppy-millers do not care. I know that some of the pictures are gruesome, but please take a look and help.

The third is an organization that is near and dear to me, Bernese Mountain Dog Rescue.  You can find the local rescue organizations from here.  These dogs are not for everyone, so think carefully before you take one on -- or any dog for that matter.  It's a lifelong commitment.  It would be more fair, perhaps, for the dog to choose the person.  It's the best deal you can get: 

"Unless a man has a natural love of dogs he will never make a success of keeping them, for he must be willing to cheerfully sacrifice his comfort and leisure hours doing what is necessary for them. He must see in them something more than simply a means to an end. The best animals in the world have always been bred for the love of them or the love of breeding and caring for them, rather than purely for the profit they bring; and the person who does not like dogs had better not attempt to keep them at all." 
-Milo G. Denlinger, "The Complete German Shepherd"

To see the other quilts in the show, click here.

20 comments:

Cynthia Stockdon said...

Beautiful quilts! I especially love Rex the Hamster. My other favorite is your cow quilt.

SewCalGal said...

What a great post and excellent entry of quilts to the Pets on Quilts show. I smiled and my heart warmed when I first saw your cute hamster. But when I saw all the other beautiful quilts I was in absolute quilt delight. Lovely. Just lovely. Thanks so much for sharing. Great job! Amazing!

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I love the picture of Rex and the cow is beautifully done.I wonder what Mr.Hamster would say if he knew he was on the internet!And Rosie is so cute and i love how she looks like super doggie with the quilt over her!!

SheilaC said...

Thank you for the rescue information and for a wonderful post! I love your "cat house" quilt and your pets are adorable :)

SheilaC

Diane H said...

A wonderful post full of great animals, great quilts and most importantly a very heartfelt message to all.

QuiltSue said...

There's some lovely quilts there, and you pets are great. Thanks for showing them to us.

Linda in Calif. said...

WOW! Great quote from Milo G. Denlinger. As a dog lover and former breeder I appreciate that and your listing the rescue sites. And isn't Rex a surprise? I was expecting another dog or cat. He's adorable! Quilts are beautiful too. Your cow looks so real - except for the ears which are too cute!

Michele Matucheski said...

Flora came out beautiful! I want to reach out and touch her!
I totally agree with you on the puppy mill thing. I don't know if you were reading Sweet Leaf Notebook in 2007, but here's the story about my Comeback Kid : http://sweetleafnotes.blogspot.com/2007/06/fiber-part-2.html
Ah, what we do for our pets!

Nanbon44 said...

I love the hamster and the dog looks so bored posing with the quilt

hetty said...

Cute pets! I love your quilts, especially the Kool Kat House Quilt. The only problem is... Now you have me singing that song in my head all day!

Wacky Woman said...

Lov your pictures. Rosie looks like she is trying hard to put up with the silliness of this whole thing. LOL What a sweetie. You house quilt is very CUTE.

Chris said...

I'm taking some time to look at all the Pets on Quilts...Rex is still my favorite!

Gretchen said...

Great post! Rex is a cutie and your Bernese is so sweet.

Nina Marie said...

You know that when I saw your cow quilt I thought OMG her and I are on the same wave length - its great to see it done!!

Becky said...

I absolutely love the photo of your hamster on the quilt :)

Dana Gaffney said...

Those quilts are beautiful, I like the way you put the quilt on Rosie, my dogs would love that.

Kim said...

Your hamster is so cute. Your quilts are all beautiful and the quilting on the hamster quilt is gorgeous.

Nancy Sue said...

Here Rosie! Here Rosie! What a great picture! Your quilts are wonderful and I so appreciate you taking the opportunity to spread information on your local rescue organizations.
Well done!
nsue21702 at gmail dot com

Talin's Corner said...

Love your quilts, Rex is definitely a show stealer though. The really like your cow quilt, I have never seen one like it.

The Vegetarian Hunter said...

Karen, your quilts are amazing. Thank you for posting about the pet rescues. It is so very important that we do put a stop to these puppy mills and make sure the worlds animals are cared for.