Hedgehog Sleep Sack

As I mentioned in my earlier hedgehog post, while doing some research online to learn more about hedgehogs I found that they really like to snuggle up and sleep in fleece.  Soon I found sleep sacks that you could purchase and it wasn't long before I came across a tutorial to make your own. Being a crafty kinda gal it seemed simple enough and I decided to take on the challenge.  A very important fact that was stressed is that hedgehogs have small little feet, toes and toenails that can easily become entangled in stitches and they like to dig, which further increases the chance of a toe or toenail becoming entwined which coud lead to serious injury.  Because of this you need to have as few seams showing as possible, simple enough if you are an avid seamstress.  Not so simple if your sewing machine hasn't seen the light of day in several years. Not to be detered I dusted off the sewing machine and set up shop on the kitchen table with all my supplies close at hand.  I carefully read and re-read the very simple five step instructions(complete with pictures). and then attempted to make my hedgehog sleep sack. I say attempted because the first one didn't come out quite right. 
Neither did the second.
Lucky for me the third times a charm. Also lucky for me I had bought extra fabric.  I wanted to make more then one so that we could wash one and still have an extra.  After making one correctly I could easily make another one.
Or not.
It was the whole turning things inside out and having the correct side of my fabric showing but not having any seams showing that was throwing me off.
Out of five tries I did manage to make two cute sleep sacks that I am proud of.  I am not so proud of how long it took me or how much fabric I wasted or how my aspirations of being on Project Runway got flushed down the toilet. ( Kidding. I have no to be on Project Runway.)  I do, oddly enough despite all my frustrations, have a desire to learn how to quilt.  I think I may head over to Skip to my Lou where she's got some cute projects for teaching kids how to sew.

 

Hedgehog Fun

I am not sure how it came about but my husband and youngest daughter decided that we needed a pygmy hedgehog to add to the menagerie of critters we already have running amok around here. Just for the record the menagerie includes 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 fish, 1 rabbit, 12 hens and 2 roosters.
And now 1 african pygmy hedgehog baby named Basil..

In case one is not aware you can't just run to your local pet store and pick-up a hedgehog. At least not around here. After a little research we found two breeders online, one of which promptly replied to our online inquiry. As with most animal adoptions the breeder wanted to ensure we would provide the hedgehog with a good home and within a week we found ourselves invited to an open house in the breeders home to learn about hedgehogs and to finalize our adoption. We learned a lot about the cute and quirky little creatures and soon we were on are way home with an 8 week old hedgehog!

One thing we learned is that despite being prickly hedgehogs love fleece(who doesn't?) and love to burrow under it to sleep. After seeing several products online for Hedgehog sleep sacks I decided that despite my limited sewing experience I could manage to put one together, ...maybe..... IF I could remember how to use my sewing machine. At least it was an excuse to go to the craft store! So off  I went to Joanns to browse through the colorful cloth. Imagine my surprise when I came across some adorable hedgehog fabric!

  It wasn't fleece but it would make an adorable cover for the sleeping bag and I could make the lining fleece. Cute pawprint fleece.
 So I grabbed the cute fabric and went to the counter to get it cut. "So what are you making?" The nice man at the counter asked.
Hint-if you want someone to stare at you like you have three heads tell them you are making
a sleeping bag for a hedgehog.
"Um like a real, live hedgehog?' he asked skeptically.
As opposed to a  dead, squished one? I thought to myself,"Yup a real live one." I smiled.
I guess I never thought that much about it being unusual to have a hedgehog as a pet but I have found that we have gotten similar suprised responses, it's been quite amusing!

It's Finally Spring

It's finally spring here but you can't tell from looking outside.  Fourteen inches of freshly fallen snow currently grace the yard. Our whole family is pretty much done seeing the fluffy white stuff and that goes for the chickens too!  Our chickens hate snow, actully I believe most chickens hate snow.  Their scrawny little feet aren't really made for snow.  I open the coop door everyday knowing this (unless it is really cold) and they all scramble out the door. Then the first few notice the evil white stuff covering the ground and a fourteen chicken pileup on the off ramp ensues.  Wings flap, feathers fly and the quiet morning air is filled with a chorus of excited squawking as they all scramble back inside. This is extremely amusing. Inevitably, one of the two roosters sticks his head out the door and gives me a dirty look as if to say 'how dare you upset my girls?'

I do try to at least keep the snow packed down and that part of the yard gets lot of sun so it doesn't take long for the snow to melt now that the days are getting longer.  The nights have dropped below zero this week though, which means we don't get the around the clock melting that we normally would this time of year.  It won't be long though before it all melts though, right??