Making Martingale Collars for the Greyhounds Rock Booth at the Dog Fair.

We, the ladies of Greyhounds Rock, in addition to planning our own event and fundraising activities, are also on the planning committee for 'Fredericksburg's Gone to the Dogs' the Downtown Dog Fair.  We are in charge of soliciting all of the vendors and animal welfare organizations, and coordinating their booth space and locations.  All of this meshes perfectly with what we already do for our own annual gathering, and we are pleased to be making a contribution to such a fabulous event like the Dog Fair.

The Dog Fair is THIS SATURDAY, and I still haven't finished sewing enough collars to sell at our booth.  (I'm trying not to panic.)  The rainy weather this week has kept me out of the garden, and has made for perfect conditions for staying inside and sewing like crazy.  I'm getting a lot accomplished.

This was the fabric rack at the ReStore.

I already had a lot of fabric picked out to use, and I found even more at the Richmond Habitat ReStore.  I love making collars from discontinued designer decorator fabrics!  The fabric is usually of exceptional quality, and the colors are beautiful.

Most of these are linen or linen blends.

I cut the squares of fabric into strips ....

... and I sew on the lining.  To make the process go faster, I usually sew the strips one after another without cutting the thread.  I end up with a huge heap of strips behind the sewing machine, then I cut them apart and iron them.

When I'm sewing, I can count on having at least one of the cats sitting in the middle of what I'm doing.  This is Amy, taking a quick bath.

Dorothy was sitting behind the machine for a little while.

... and Alice would hop into my chair whenever I got up.

After ironing, the fabric blanks are ready to get their hardware and become collars.

We sell these collars at our booth (and on the web site soon) for $20.  Every cent of that $20 goes to Greyhounds Rock and will be donated to organizations who support canine cancer research and treatment.  I expect to be sewing myself to death for the next couple of days, to make as many collars as possible for the booth. 

Every collar we sell represents $20 more for the cause, and could bring us $20 closer to finding a more effective treatment for canine cancer.  It is this thought that keeps me motivated as I sew.

If you are local, be sure to bring your dog and come to the Downtown Dog Fair this Saturday, October 2. 

To find out more about Greyhounds Rock, to get details about our weekend gathering October 29 - 31, or to make a donation, please visit our web site.  Every donation helps us reach our goal of finding an effective treatment for canine cancer.