The surprise I received was this adorable and velvety-soft, 24" square felt quilt which was made by Tracy's mother, Linda Ahrens. It's no surprise that Tracy grew up with a love of animals, she quite likely inherited that love from her mother.
Linda's love of cats began when she was rewarded with a cat named "Timmy" when she was 7 years old. He was presented to her as a result of her being brave when faced with having to have her tonsils removed. Since that time she has loved dozens of cats!
The quilts that Linda makes aren't just adorable, they serve a special purpose. Linda has painstakingly created more than 300 cat quilts. All of the quilts were created to raise money for cats (and small dogs) who are in need. Specifically pets who need medical attention.
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| The quilt that we received |
Linda donates her quilts to help fundraising efforts that help the Illinois Kankakee County Animal Foundation, the University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic and its Humane Fund and New Beginnings Shelter for Cats
(a cageless shelter). Linda's quilts have raised over $2,000!
Much of the funds that were raised were used to help families who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford some life-saving treatments for their pets.
Linda says she makes hundreds of cat quilts because she loves cats and cats love the softness of the quilts. When we heard about Linda from her delightful daughter Tracy, we can't help but love HER for the good she has done for so many.
See the little baby sock above? Well, Linda's daughter Tracy puts these little baby socks in Christmas cards for her friends who have cats. She fills them with homegrown catnip and sews them shut. She says they are the perfect size to place in a card. Cody loved his, hence the blurry photo!
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| Cody loves his quilt and sock! |
To all of the other selfless mothers, be they mothers of human children or furbabies, who sacrifice and tirelessly give of themselves to help others. We salute you!
Happy Mother's Day!
What an inspiring woman with a special cause! And how cute are those little socks?
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day to you, too, Caren!
Linda is AWESOME! And I love the idea about the catnip socks too - what cool gifts!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic lady! Linda sounds like an angel to so many kitties and cat lovers.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day to you, Caren!!
Ohhhhhhh you know how I love quilts. Thanks for showing that one. It's great.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
pawhugs, Max
How super special and Sammy ADORES anything that's fleece so no wonder Cody's so happy! Tracy and her Mom do wonderful work. Blessings to them.
ReplyDeletePam (and Sam)
What an inspiration, and the quilt looks beautiful. Happy Mother's Day to you, Caren!
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to know that there are so many wonderful people in the world like Linda! What a great lady!
ReplyDeleteHow super! I love quilts. My Aunty is a champion quilter :)
ReplyDeleteHappy mothers day! We had it in UK back in March lol
Wow, that is so great that Linda does those quilts to raise money for the shelters. They sure are pretty and the socks is such a good idea. Happy Mother's day to you too. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post and Linda is one special lady! How wonderful and amazing that she has raised over $2000! Wow! And I LOVE the little sock - what a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice quilt. There will be good snuggling on the bed at your house.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I'm smiling from ear to ear!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post Caren. Too bad Mommy threw away all the lost socks on lost sock Wednesday! Me thinks they should all be filled with catnip and passed along.
ReplyDeleteKisses
Nellie
Love the kitty Kat quilts
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
How cool is that! WHat a wonderful thing Linda does! And we love the sock idea - we agree, perfect size for catnip playing!
ReplyDeleteCody you get all the best stuff for cats you luck cat!
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