Pet bed day

Yesterday 14 students and I got together and made pet beds and squeaky toys and donated them to the local animal shelter.  We worked for 4 hours and made a huge mess.  We watched two Christmas movies, ate pizza and donuts and had a lot of fun.  The kids put their sewing skills to work hand sewing the seam on the toys and talked about boys, their favorite teachers, upcoming finals and world religions.  It's amazing what you can learn from a bunch of teens!

We were supposed to meet at a different quilt shop than we normally meet for our Binky meetings, but I think I scared them a little with how enthusiastic my students are.  I got more volunteers than they had room for so I moved the venue to my classroom.  I was the only one using the sewing machine and these kids kept me busy sewing up the pillows.

We made 55 squeaky bones, 24 finished pillows, 41 unstuffed pillows for next time, and at least 30 cut pillows that didn't get sewn.  There are bags and bags of stuffing that need to be processed.  I found out that the leftover strips and bits of fabric need to be cut small enough that if a dog eats it after ripping a pillow apart, it won't get tangled in their gut.  Good to know.  So, we used the Accuquilt Studio cutters to slice and dice those leftover bits into small pieces.  Worked like a charm!

The kids are already looking forward to the next pet bed day!