Interim Update

It's been a while since I posted anything, and that's mainly because I haven't been working on any big projects! It's supposed to be a nice weekend, so I think I'm going to start working on redoing my telephone table. I still haven't decided on a color to paint it, but I have a few fabric remnants I'm going to try out and pick a color from one of their palettes.

I have now signed up for TWO craft shows/fairs in August where I will be selling my cat beds! I mentioned before that I had some sweater stock to work through. I forgot to take photos before packing the new ones away, so instead I thought I would show this photograph evidence that my Lily insists on trying out each and every bed I make. These pictures were taken over the past 7 or 8 months. 

And the current work in progress:

I've also been doing a little fun crocheting as you may have noticed, between my baby bat and penguin... Here's the latest little one to add to the mix. I found this pattern through Pinterest and it used a thinner yarn and smaller hook size than I had ever used before, so I thought I would give it a go. He's only a few inches tall. It took about two evenings to get him finished, so if I get through all my cat beds before the craft shows, I might quickly make a few of these guys to try to sell. 

The craft shows I'm selling at are on August 16th and August 23rd. I'll post some info on location and time when they get a little closer, in case you want to stop by or spread the word!

Craft Show Stock

I signed up for a craft show in August to sell my sweater cat beds! I have a decent amount made already, but I also have a bunch of sweaters I acquired at sales over the past couple of months. These are really cute colors and patterns too, so I'd like to try to get most of them done before the show. I finished two today, so I thought I would show some in progress photos with a mini tutorial. 

This is the sweater I started off with. It has a mock turtleneck, which is perfect for this project. Turtlenecks or mock turtlenecks are best, but crew neck also can be used. 

First thing to do is sew up the neck hole. Flip it inside out and sew with a big needle and piece of yarn. I usually pin these first so I keep it even as I'm stitching. 

Once that's finished and tied off, flip the sweater right side out again and pin across the chest of the sweater from arm to arm in an arc shape. Sew through both layers of sweater to create a long pocket connecting the arms. 

After that, stitch the inner edge of the arm to the side edge of the sweater body on both sides. I work about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way down the side of the sweater. 

Here's where it starts to actually look like a cozy bed. Start stuffing the pocket you created and the sleeves with fiberfill or scrap fabric, and continue stuffing until there are only a few inches of empty sleeve left. 

Then the sleeves need to be connected. Stuff one inside the other and pin closed to prepare for sewing. 

The last piece of this project is to fold the bottom edge of the sweater up around the sleeves and sew in place. This creates the finished bottom of the bed surrounded by the cosy sweater. 

This is a relatively inexpensive project if you have basic sewing skills and can find a cute secondhand sweater. I think it looks like a hug for your cat!

And on an unrelated note, this little guy came to life today! 

Makes you smile, doesn't he? 

Upcycled Sweater Kitty Beds

As promised, I'm going to post a few entries of past projects. First are my kitty beds made from old sweaters. This was a project I found on Pinterest, and initially tried with a very thin V-neck sweater stuffed with a pillow. It was not the most attractive, especially on the reverse side, but my Lily loved it:

From there I branched out into making some out of old sweaters that were donated to me by my parents, and some inexpensive thrift store finds. They were stuffed with a variety of fabrics - scrap pieces of fleece, yarn, whatever stuffing material I could find. The idea is to upcycle the fabrics into something beautiful and useful - so I avoided buying any brand new materials. Here are some of my favorites:

I had so much fun creating these that I joined a few craft shows to attempt selling them. I have to say I did pretty well! But I still have a closet full of cat beds for future shows. 

Once we entered spring and thift stores stopped selling sweaters, I started hunting garage sales and estate sales. I've been getting some pretty good deals in those venues! Such as this yellow and gray 100% cashmere sweater I acquired for $1.00... I felt guilty about turning cashmere into a cat bed, but decided as long as it was made for Lily, it was totally acceptable. After all, she had watched me making bed after bed that weren't for her and was getting jealous. 

So for the moment, cat bed creation is on hold while I enjoy sprucing up my apartment. I have a few sweaters waiting in the wings, but I'll pick them back up when craft show season gets busy. Next time I make one, I'll show some step by step photos.