Photo by OCPetPhotos on Flickr

I adore the two “fur people” in my life. They provide me with hours of entertainment and companionship. Our cat Dink has been with us since his beginning, and Raider was a rescue cat that our daughter found at the local college parking lot. They like to take turns sleeping in the window of my studio or jumping on my worktable to provide their opinion on a just-laid-out pattern or a freshly poured paint.

“The boys” really aren’t one for store-bought toys… though I faithfully keep trying! Oh, they humor me for a minute or two—literally—but they have more fun with twigs from the garden or bringing furry surprises to me late at night. That is until last week….

I helped a friend clean out her sewing studio and came home with a number of sewing-related treasures. Unbeknownst to me, I also came home with a few cat toys! Raider, the more curious of the two, didn’t want to have anything to do with the fuzzy mice or catnip-infused balls that spilled out from my tote full of treasures. He did seem, though, to be quite taken with what I thought was simply a fat quarter of fabric.

After further investigation, it turned out to be two pieces of fabric sewn together. The trick was, catnip had been sprinkled on batting that lies between the fabrics! It was a 10″ x 10″ catnip quilt!

First, Raider hugged it, then bit it, then ignored it all together… only to turn and pounce on it, attacking it with his back legs. It was fantastic to watch. (Oh to have known where my camera was hiding at that very moment!) For 20 minutes, he played with this little quilt ’til the poor guy was worn out entirely. He collapsed right there on the spot and chose to take a nap with one paw on the quilt… just in case it tried to get away.

Since then, Raider “plays” (I say) or “attacks” (he says) this poor quilt at least once a day. If I had only discovered this earlier, I would have saved lots of money on those other, now inferior, cat toys (and justified more fabric purchases to boot)! Like all cat toys, there is a time and a place. But for the catnip quilt, anytime is the right time!

The one is quickly getting a little, shall I say “worn,” so I came up with the following instructions so I could make another one (or maybe two).

Materials

• 2 pieces 11″ x 11″ of cotton fabric
• 11″ x 11″ piece of low-loft batting (I use scraps of cotton batting)
• Coordinating thread
• 1 Tablespoon or so of good-quality catnip

Instructions

1. Place your fabric right sides together and place the batting on top of the stack.

2. Using your presser foot as a guide, sew along the edges of the stack, leaving a 3″ opening along one of the sides. Trim away all the excess batting; clip your corners and turn right side out. Press.

3. Add the catnip through the opening, spreading it out evenly on the batting. Turn the raw edges at the opening to the inside, and pin closed.

4. Using your presser foot as your guide, stitch all around the edges of your catnip quilt. Done!

May your cat enjoy its quilt as much as mine do!