Halloween Cat in the Pumpkin Challenge Block

Posted on August 29, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

As a member of Carol Doak’s online group, I was so excited to see her posting a new miniature block for Halloween with a cat!! I had my orange quilting cat with me, and he “assisted” with picking out the fabric.

This block is tiny, measuring 3 inches by 3 inches before I added the green fabric border. Since it is so adorable, I’ve decided to make some more of these blocks, sew them together, and create a whimsical wall hanging for my front door for Halloween this year.

You can join Carol’s group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolDoakQuiltingGroup/.

Enjoy!

~Jennifer~

Deer Country Quilts in Seeley Lake, Montana and Hiking!

Posted on August 22, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

Since my last post, I went on a long journey to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Montana and then over to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for some sightseeing and hiking. I traveled with my husband, son, and nephew. Since the guys outnumbered me, I managed to convince them to stop at 2 quilt shops during the trip.

The first quilt shop was Deer Country Quilts in Seeley Lake, Montana. While all the guys went fishing, my sister and I got to spend some quality time with all the wonderful fabrics in this shop.

Quilt Shop in Seeley Lake, Montana

This shop had a great selection of batiks that I drooled over for a while before selecting a few pieces to add to my stash. I’ve also been really interested in paper piecing lately so I picked up a kit featuring some vibrant purple and green fabric called Twilight.

I tried to take a picture of the inside of the quilt store, but it came out a bit dark.

Inside the Shop!

The interior just invites you to explore all the great fabrics! Wish we would have had more time, but we had to meet up with the guys and have dinner.

During the next week, we spent a good portion of each day hiking in Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. We experienced quite a bit of smoke in the area due to wildfires throughout the west so our views were obscured, especially in Grand Teton. We definitely had a great trip!

Happy sewing!

~Jennifer~

Halloween Dracula Vampire Block

Posted on August 7, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

In my continuing quest to finish a Halloween quilt, I have finished a second block from Amy Bradley’s Happy Halloween pattern.

See my Bat block post to see the first one that I created a couple of weeks ago.

Presenting a very cute and fun looking vampire for a change! Nothing scary or creepy about this Dracula:

Vampire Block – Happy Halloween Quilt

I used a purple print with satiny dots for his collar to give him a bit of sophistication. I think he looks really charming with his muppet-like nose and little pointy teeth. The button eyes won’t be sewed down until I’ve finished the quilt.

Hope you enjoy and happy sewing!

~Jennifer~

Hulk Birthday Card

Posted on August 1, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

My son was recently invited to a birthday party. Boys in his age group are over-the-moon for superheroes. I went to the store to find a suitable greeting card, but didn’t see a card that grabbed my attention. Plus, birthday cards are getting expensive at $3-$4 a piece.

I decided that I could put together a birthday card pretty quickly with supplies on hand. First decision – the design! The birthday kid will be receiving this awesome superhero toy:

Hulk Birthday Present

Why not make the birthday card match the gift? Now I’m not an artist, but I managed to free-hand draw some basic shapes using the picture on the toy as a guide. I ended up with these pieces:

Hulk Pieces

Next, I selected some cardstock from my stash and set out to trace the pieces and cut them out. I glued them together, added some ink detailing, added a Happy Birthday sign, and here you have the completed card: