Better-Than-A-Box Pet Bed

A while ago, I saw this post by Heather at Seams of Life.  It prompted me in several areas.  One, it made me realize, "Oh, wow!  I can check craft books out of the library and not spend my own money, only to decide I don't really like the book that much."  (or maybe I could fall in love and put the book on my Christmas list).  Two, I really liked her pet bed that was made out of a vintage sheet. 

So, I ran to the library...wouldn't you  know, my local library did not have a copy of the One Yard Wonders book.  However, there is always the library loan system and I was able to obtain a copy of the book.  To tell you how long ago I did this, I've since had to renew the book because I hadn't made the pet bed yet.  There are tons of nifty ideas in the book, but not so many of them that I love enough to actually buy the book.

Anyway, after several episodes of this (and these are only the times I managed to get a photo before they saw me and scattered...):

I decided maybe it was time to get the pet bed made so that these two could have their own beds.  Of course, who knows how long it will be before either of them starts using it.

I didn't do the thrifty thing and use a one yard cut of fabric that I already had, or even one of the vintage sheets that I have (just waiting to be used)....no, I bought a yard of fabric.  I just fell in love with this print.  It is from the Meadowsweet 2 by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller (I just wanted to put in a little pitch for Hawthorne Threads here, which is where the link takes you.  I did not buy my fabric at HT this time, but I have made multiple orders from them and I just love the prompt service!  I can order fabric and have it with-in 2-3 days, depending on what time of day I place my order.  I highly recommend!) .  Plus, it sort of combines a lot of the colors that are in our family room (added bonus).

I like the way the bed turned out.  It was pretty simple to make and used up nearly the whole yard of fabric.  The only thing I didn't really enjoy was having to make my own pattern pieces...although I had done that part of the process a few weeks ago, too.  I also had a crisis moment when I got to the final stages of construction...some of my pieces were wider than where I was supposed to be attaching them.  I think lack of sleep, etc... did away with all of my reasoning/problem solving capabilities...and I just couldn't figure out what to do (or what I wanted to do...).  I dashed off a quick e-mail to Heather to see if she had the same problem...did a google search...and then let the pieces set for two days.

My reasoning returned yesterday and I made my own modifications and finished my stitching.  It turned out nicely and the photo does not really do justice to the shape of the bed.

Now, let's just hope that the cats get to using it quickly.  I tried the official forcing of my will onto them, but I'm sure you all can imagine how well that turned out.

P.S. I didn't read back thru this post at all, and it's late and I'm tired...so I hope there are too many glaring "mistakes"!