Soon-to-be snowman and Santa mug rugs. |
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Living in Two Seasons Instead of Four
Monday, October 11, 2021
Carry Your Vaccine Card in Style with a Fabric Cardholder
Monday, September 27, 2021
How to Make Handmade Bookmarks from Fabric Scraps - Great Last Minute Gift Ideas Sewing Pattern
If you are looking for quick and easy ways to use your fabric scraps, or need a quick little gift for a book lover, check out this week's 20% off sewing pattern. It's a four pack pattern bundle of some of my most popular bookmark patterns!
You'll get written step-by-step directions, photos, templates, and links to the tutorial videos. Remember to add NEW20 to get an extra 20% off the pattern this week.
Click this link or on the image below to get your instantly downloadable patterns now!
Monday, August 9, 2021
Sewing My Way Through Life
The last you heard from me I was in the middle of trying to get little foster kitties healthy and ready for adoption. From when I got the three boys as one day old kitties way back on May 7 until the time they left my home, it was a rough go for all of us. For them it was a life of oral antibiotics, antibiotic ointments, three separate rounds of oral anti-fungal medications, and never getting to leave the isolation room (AKA my bathroom). For me it was a whirlwind of multiple changes of clothes a day, boxes and boxes of disposable gloves, gallons of bleach, and containers of laundry detergent. When we finally got the ringworm at bay, they headed to Simply Cats' adoption floor. Unfortunately, two of the three have still not been adopted. So they sit - and play and run and climb - at Simply Cats as they continue to wait for a loving forever home. A bit of a bummer situation.
Only one thing to do to keep my mind off those kinds of things I have no control over...
Sew. Well, sew and write. And goodness, have I been doing a lot of both!
As for sewing, the popularity of the vaccination card holders I've been making has exceeded anything I could have ever imagined. As of today, I have sewn - and sold - 1,283 of them. Wow.
Sew, sew, and sew some more! |
If you're interested in getting your own vaccination card cover, I have 100+ fabrics available over several listings:
- Dozens of fabrics here
- Dozens more here
- Animal fabrics
- Cats and dogs
- Pinks and purples are here
- Blues are here
- Kids and teens novelty fabrics are here
- Slim holders are here
- Kitchen sewing patterns
- Holiday sewing patterns
- Kids and kittens sewing patterns
- Summer sewing patterns
- Travel accessory sewing patterns
- Bookmark sewing patterns
Friday, June 18, 2021
All of the Work and None of the Fun - Foster Kitten Friday
One of the biggest benefits to being a foster parent to bottle baby kitties is they think you're their mama. They love on you and snuggle with you and follow you wherever you go. You have a constant companion and a constant source of entertainment.
But not so with these little fellas.
With the boys still in the isolation room (also know as my bathroom) I don't get to see them all that much. With their ringworm - and since they aren't bottle babies anymore - the contact I have with them is limited. Feed them, clean their litter and blankets and tub and floors, and give them a bit of loving. Each time I step in there I have to change my clothes, get gloves on, and have bleach water on hand and washing machine at the ready. It's a lot of work without a lot of payoff for the foster parent.
But the payoff for the kitties will be huge. They'll be ringworm free (hopefully) and ready to go into their forever home someday. They are just so darn cute someone will be thrilled to snap them up.
Just like most weeks, I'm only taking my phone in (and sterilizing it afterwards of course) one day a week to get some photos. Today's pictures are pretty representative of what I see every day when I'm in there.
Face full of food? Yep. |
Trying to find a way out again? Yep. |
Boxes are the best play toy. |
Foster mama just can't keep my white fur white! But I'm still a cutie, right? |
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Party in Your PJs Tonight!
Remember, tonight is the Quilted Cow's Party in Your PJs Facebook Live Party. Fun fabrics and patterns for sale - including my most popular vaccine card holder pattern - and giveaways as well!
Get registered and be ready at 7 PM CST (6PM for those of us in Idaho). I don't have Facebook or I'd share it properly, but you can find them right here: www.facebook.com/thequiltedcowmo
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Make a Decorative Pocket Tissue & Hand Sanitizer Holder - Tutorial Tuesday
- main fabric
- lining fabric
- pocket fabric
- pocket tissues
- hand sanitizer
- Pins or Clover Wonder Clips
- Iron
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
- Rotary cutter
- Cutting ruler
- Cutting mat
Friday, June 11, 2021
Foster Kitten Friday - Movin' on Up
Naptime, perhaps? |
Yes, please. |
Most definitely! |
Friday, June 4, 2021
Foster Kitten Friday - The Ups and Downs
It was almost three years ago when I made the 10 Reasons You Should Foster a Cat video.
At that point in my foster-parent-to-kittens life things were relatively easy going. But these last few years have taught me that fostering is full of ups but is also full of just as many downs. While it's fun and exciting to play with cute little kitties all day, it's also work. And this bunch of babies are work.They always use the litter box at the exact same time! |
Climbers and jumpers? YES! They almost can get out of the tub on their own.
Paws over the side. He's oh-so-close! |
Huey is ready for his closeup. |
Dewey wants you to know the harder you chew, the more that comes out. And he wants you to see his baby teeth. |
Louie wants you to know a gruel face, a pink nose, and baby blue eyes are a great color combination. |
With these kinds of pictures the ups outweigh the downs, don't ya think?
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Make Your Own Passport and Vaccination Card Holder Wallet - Tutorial Tuesday
- main fabric
- lining fabric
- midweight iron-on interfacing
- clear vinyl, 20 gauge
- Iron
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
- Fabric clips
- Teflon sewing machine foot or painter’s tape Tip: If you don’t have a Teflon sewing machine foot, place painter’s tape on bottom of the foot so the vinyl feeds through easier.
- Always helpful for sewing: all purpose scissors, dressmaking shears, rotary cutter, cutting ruler, cutting mat
Friday, May 28, 2021
Foster Kitten Friday - Working for the Weekend
I'm not sure who worked harder this week and needs a break more. Me? My Duck Tales? Guess I'll let you be the judge.
Monday
Monday was weigh in day. As these babes are little they get weighed quite frequently but Monday is the day that counts because it's the day their weights are submitted to Simply Cats. It's also the day my postal scale I use for all my Etsy shipping does double duty.
Side note: In the last couple months my Etsy shop has really taken off. My most popular items are the vaccination card holders - I've already sewn (and sold) 800 of them. (Go me!) The most popular fabric? The bright kitty cats, of course!
Everybody loves my kitty cat fabrics being weighed on my postal scale. But do real live kitty cats like being weighed on the postal scale? Heck no, especially since I make them sit in a little bin for their weights.
Huey tried to squeeze himself under the blanket. |
Dewey proceeded to chew the blanket - and the metal tin. |
Louie tried to make a run for it. |
Tuesday
Tuesday is Tutorial Tuesday here at Deb's Days and Huey was a featured guest. This week we taught everyone how to make holders for plastic grocery bags. While Huey wasn't scheduled to have any speaking parts, he took it upon himself at the 49 second mark to make his noisy presence know.
Wednesday
Two of the little ducklings decided to reenact a prison escape. I partially cover their humble abode with a blanket so it's a bit darker for them during the day but somehow they climbed on top of the blanket and made their way out and about.
Sorry kiddos, the camouflage isn't hiding you a darn bit. |
Thursday
Not only did we have attempted escapees we had a couple over the wall, scampering about like cockroaches when you turn on a light. With the babies outgrowing their prison cell, on Thursday we moved them into a bigger and better joint - my favorite place to corral kitties - these popup pens. No more crawling out the top now!
Friday
Finally, TGIF! Mr. Huey, Dewey, and Louie have become active little ducks and are ready to explore a bit more space. I planned on putting them on the couch to scamper about (and get a kitty cat family photo), but I was a little concerned about something I saw on Mr. Dewey's little leg. After a trip back to Simply Cats, with the lights off and a black light shining on his back leg, the suspicions were confirmed. The green glow on the leg joint tells us he has ringworm.
Hard to see, but there is some fluorescent green there. |
Sorry, kids. But know we're all in this together. |
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Make Your Own Homemade Plastic Grocery Bag Holder - Tutorial Tuesday
Today we're learning how to make our own homemade holder for all those plastic grocery sacks.
For this easy sewing project you will need:
- fabric
- fabric for hanging loop
- elastic
- Safety pin
- Iron
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
- Always helpful for sewing: Rotary cutter, Cutting ruler, Cutting mat, Scissors
Friday, May 21, 2021
Foster Kitten Friday - The Ayes Have It!
What's that smell? Did someone poo and get it everywhere and on everyone else?
Huey |
Dewey |
Louie |