Quilts for Cats

In September 2009 I suggested to sew little quilts for cats to sit on and to donate them for a bazaar benefiting the animal shelter where we found our cat Kimmie.

We had no idea that so many quilters from all over the world would participate in the benefit for the Tierschutzverein Oer-Erkenschwick with such enthusiasm, effort and creativity.

In the end, we collected nearly 200 cat quilts! Fortunately, a lot of them had already passed the cat test, because Kimmie could barely keep up with sitting on each and every one of them. More than one hundred people sent quilts, as well as materials and money.

Of course, Kimmie is sitting on this pile of quilts only thanks to a little trick. The tower, however, really only consists of donated quilts. None virtual ones were added.

I put a care label on the back of every quilt explaining how to take care of it and what a quilt is in the first place (in Germany quilts are not very common). Above all there are some hints on how to use the quilt i.e. as padding for the cat's basket or on the window sill or even as a wallhanging.

On November 26th the quilts were presented to shelter, represented by Mrs. Wittka. I looked around a bit - it's a small place behind the public works buildings. Modest, but very well kept up. They really need the funds!

The local newspaper's reporter was present. So there was an article the day before the market started. The headline says: "Too Precious For The Cat's Behind".

The hangars turned museum at the old dockyard in Henrichenburg lend an especially wonderful atmosphere to the 2-day Christmas market which is very well frequented.

The quilts added neatly to all the things the club members made themselves. There where painted mugs, hand crafted greeting cards, stamped gift wrap paper, sewn totes and cushions and many more cute things. All very pretty and well arranged; each item was related to animals one way or another.

The several example quilts were displayed on their own rack. At another place there was a poster to explain the campaign to the visitors. A sign invited visitors to rummage in the piles and baskets. Thus customers could choose their favorite colors and get in touch with the quilts. As quilting is not very common in Germany this was important for those who had never touched a quilt before.

Of course, not all quilts could find a new owner during these two days but about 80 of them are already sold. Over the coming months, the remaining ones will certainly be turned into cash at various other events.