Dear FMLers, Last week I posted about New England Ferret Foster, Education, and Rescue (NEFFER), Inc's upcoming Hammock Bee, and I thought I'd give an update: Our Hammock Bee was GREAT!!! We had 7 busy "bees" all afternoon, cutting, pinning, sewing, and ironing. In a five-hour stretch, we turned out 30 completed hammocks, and still have a pile cut out and ready to be sewn! We had three machines going at once so at times all you could hear was the whirring of sewing machines as the stitchers seamed up piles of material into cozy ferret beds! These hammocks will be distributed amongst the ferret shelters of New England as part of NEFFER's holiday gift to the ferrets in shelter care! This project turned out to be a great way to get ferret folks together, and I would highly recommend it to any group looking to involve members in a fun activity. It's not necessary for anyone to be a highly trained seamstress to put together hammocks - we had one person who cut, one person who pinned, one person who turned things right-side-out after they'd been sewn, and the three stitchers. Once we got into a rhythm, the hammocks started piling up, and the time flew as we had movies going and snacks floating around. And, of course, the conversation as always turned to the funny antics of our fuzzy friends. What better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon? So, for any gorup looking for a bonding activity that will also produce some great results for fuzzies, consider putting together a Hammock Bee! Ask people to bring their own machines, and see if anyone has scraps of fabric they'd be willing to donate. It only takes 1/2 yard of fabric to make a hammock! Even a small group of folks could make a pile of hammocks for a shelter in just one afternoon - heck, we made 30! If any group is interested in doing this and would like some help on organizing or some instructions on making hammocks, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to give any advice or assistance I can. Dookings, Heather Wojtowicz New England Ferret Foster, Education and Rescue (NEFFER), Inc. www.neferrets.org [Posted in FML issue 3953]