Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop




It's fun.
It's fast.
It's free.
It's for my furbabies. 

What could be more fabulous? 

It is a Kennel Quilt for my quilty kitty pet carrier.

It is sew much fun to make,
 it is hard to make just one, 
and best of all ...
you can sew as many as you want because 
you can make one for every furry friend you love
and it can also be given for a good cause
to furry friends in need who are
 waiting for their forever home ... 

TQPM Kennel Quilts Program

Their free how-to patterns
may be found here:

TQPM Free Kennel Quilt Patterns

 I followed the free "Orphan Block"  pattern to make my first kennel quilt
for one of my pet carriers.

I chose to make one of those fabulous free quilt block patterns
that has been on my list for a long time ...


Free Cheddar Jack Quilt Block

from Pam @ Mama Sparks World



Since this block measures 9.5," I added two borders,
the first of 1.5" orange strips
and the second 2.5" paw print strips to the top and bottom
and 4.5" paw print strips to the sides
and I squared and trimmed the top to
12.5" by 18.5"

Then I sandwiched ...


Here are my kennel quilt layers:
(1) backing ... right side up.
(2) top ...  right side facing right side of backing,
(3) two layers of warm cotton batting for extra padding.


Here is my finished kennel quilt ... shown with a little help from the Nutmeg paws.


This quilt was scrunched, chomped, clawed. loved and quilty kitty tested by Maestro.

(Note:  For Kennel Quilts that I am donating I do not let my kitties sleep or play with them
so they will not smell like my kitties when they are given to their new owner.)


This quilt was made to fit my small pet carrier.


Just in time for Maestro to really test it out!
Kitty was due for her one year check-up and booster shots at the vet.
Maestro, Nutmeg and Katniss all had their own check up day and all are well.

Then it was time to make a stack of these quilts to give to other furbabies ...


I made these nine 12" by 18" cotton Kennel Quilts over the weekend.


For this purpose I pulled a box of orphan HSTs and bright washed scrap fabrics
and this colorful kitty print.
I used two layers of cotton batting leftovers for the padding.


I used this colorful Cleopatra Superior Thread  (affiliate link) 40 weight King Tut Thread
for the sewing and quilting.

King Tut is my favorite top stitching and quilting thread.

The large spools last for many, many quilts.


I used my heavy duty walking foot on my Janome
and a Schmetz Chrome Needle (affiliate link)
for all the steps as this sews easily through all the layers of batting and fabric.


These Kennel Quilts are going to a shelter in Redding, CA,
which is helping critters displaced by the terrible fires in California
and has requested kennel quilts for these furbabies in their time of need.
I learned of this effort from

TQPM Kennel Quilt FB Page

There are addresses for two other shelters in need of help in California.

California Shelter Addresses Here

Please read and follow their guidelines if you are making quilts for their charity initiative.

You can also make a donate kennel quilts to a local shelter.
All fur babies deserve a quilt.
Call your shelter and ask what sizes they need.
I have made larger ones for canine crates.

Be sure to find all the fabulous freebies today: 



Tuesday August 21

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

This fabulous freebies hop is sponsored by

Joan @ MoosestashQuilting

There are sew many fabulous free quilt patterns in the online world of quilting.

Before you go, be sure to check out my 


I love sharing with all the wonderful online quilters who have helped me so much. 

My all time favorite free quilt pattern?




My Pink and Green Hugs and Kisses Baby Quilt

My favorite free quilt pattern is

Hugs and Kisses from Quilt Pox

It also makes  a good group quilt ...



This fabulous scrappy version was made with a lot of help hands by some of my online quilty friends.

What is your favorite fabulous freebie?  

27 comments:

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

Oh my goodness, you've been busy! I love all of these little kitty quilts. What a wonderful cause.

Beth said...

Thanks for this. I'm a TPQM quilter, too--it feels good to know I can do something to give a little comfort to cats and dogs who are experiencing trauma due to natural disasters or just because they are alone, waiting for their new families. I also think that knowing that other people care must give some encouragement to the volunteers who are caring for the pets during such a stressful time.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

What a wonderful idea to help give comfort to those traumatized fur babies! Thanks for sharing the links and your colorful quilts.

Dorian said...

Adorable! Maestro sure does love his kitty quilt. Thank you so much for helping out the kitties in Redding/area. It was amazing what the people did for the displaced animals. Many ranches around the area gave their time and help to round up animals and give them temp. homes. I love that hugs and kisses pattern too! I had so much fun making them as a group :)

Mama Spark said...

The cat looks GREAT! Seems to be kitty approved too! Thanks for sharing!

tink's mom said...

I also make small kennel quilts for TQPM but none of them are as cute as this kitty. Love it. Will definitely give this pattern a shot for them. Keep up the great work. It was so thougthful of you to send out this info for others who will no doubt send a few little quilts to where they are so desperately needed.

Lori Smanski said...

Your kitty really approves of this. LOL what a wonderful idea. thanks for the patterns and sites.
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

Kay Holm said...

That is the cutest kitty I have ever seen, and the tuxedo cat loves it!

Calicojoan said...

Love love love your orange kitty. Can't imagine why??? LOL! Great post sharing the kennel quilt info too. Hugs and kisses is an awesome pattern. I'm seeing it in Christmas fabrics, Halloween fabrics...scrappy...oh the options are endless!

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

What a great project for worthwhile cause.

Tu-Na Quilts said...

Great post!! Your pink and green hugs and kisses baby quilt is super cute!! Thanks for the link to the pattern.

Carol Swift said...

Those are the sweetest way to spoil a fur baby...so cute! I'm sure they totally appreciate your generosity with all of the mats you've made. Thanks for sharing this freebie!

Charlene McCain said...

Love this kitty pattern! And thank you for the tutorial on how to make a kennel quilt. I am definitely going to start making some of these. You are so sweet to do this.

O'Quilts said...

great job..great idea...

Sandi1100 said...

Your Cheddar Jack kennel pad is adorable! I'm a cat lover (I have 3 cats) and plan to make some for my local shelter.

LJ said...

I think those kitties are living high on handmade quilts!!! You're very generous.

Barb said...

Your kitty is adorable...

Carla said...

Your kennel quilts, well, what a fabulous idea to add to this hop. Your generosity is incredible and your passion shines. Thank YOU!!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Such an adorable kitty block/quilt!! Thanks for the link and for the quilt link as well!

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

I tried to comment yesterday, but I got an error notice. Trying once more on my computer instead of my tablet. That is a sweet and so useful project and will be loved by all the little furry ones. Nice quilt too!

Susan said...

Two cute kitties - win win!

Marian said...

awww so cute.. I have some extra kennel quilts I made last year. I'll send them off to the rescue centers in CA also... Fire is a terrible terrible thing.

Suze said...

Thank you for the kitty block, Pat. I love the hugs and kisses quilt, too. Three of us widows are such good friends that some people refer to us as "the triplets." One of us - Janice - just had a birthday this month. She lost her two kitties in the last year and it is has been very, very hard on her. She is not ready to get another kitty yet, so the other triplet made a donation in her honor to an organization which keeps kitties until they find a home for them no matter their age. I didn't join my quilt guild this year. There used to be a lady in it and she may still belong to the guild that made a quilt each year for the organization. I think they may have raffled off the quilt to raise money to help the cats. The mats for the bottom of the cat carriers might be a good seller at their shop. You just never know what might and not might raise $ for them. The church to which I belong used to have a quilt each year for sale by the quilting group. It got to the point that they could not get a bid that even covered the cost of the fabric in the quilt. Someone would agree to buy the quilt and then that would fall through, so that project was dropped. I don't know if it was a matter of timing and if they could not sell chances or what. That's very, very tricky in some organizations in OK. Again, thanks for stirring the quilting juices in my brain.
Susan

Dione Gardner-Stephen said...

Thanks for this - I haven't made quiltlets for my cat carriers yet. I end up throwing in a towel, but I'd love to have a more permanent arrangement. Maestro certainly gave your kennel quilt a thorough testing, funny kitty. :)

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Mary Ann said...

Definitely a worthy cause and your quiltlets are all very pretty. Thanks for the links.

Joy from Days Filled With Joy said...

Ok, those are too cute and I really "need" to make one for our kitty!! Took her to the vet last week with nothing in her carrier.. poor baby! Thanks for sharing and well done for making heaps to donate! xx