Red, White, and Blue Swapped Blocks

Posted on August 22, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

This summer, I hosted a red, white, and blue paper-pieced block swap on the Carol Doak Yahoo group. Each participant could swap 4, 8, or 12 blocks and the blocks could be any 12-inch pattern created by Carol. We had about 15 participants and around 92 blocks in the swap!

The packages started arriving in the mail, and I opened each one as they arrived to inspect for any mailing damage. Thankfully, all the blocks made it to me in great condition!

RWB Packages

Once I received all the blocks, I then swapped them and made sure that each quilter did not receive one of her own blocks back! It was quite a challenge, but I kept track block-by-block.

Here’s what some of the blocks looked like getting ready to be swapped:

RWB Blocks

More RWB Blocks

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture of the entire group of blocks just due to space. I didn’t want to get the blocks out of order.

I made 4 blocks for the swap and received 4 in return. I got 1 each from Nancy, Mary, Dorian, and Eunice.

4 RWB Blocks

I also received an extra block from Ginny, one of the swappers – how sweet! I plan to take these 5 RWB blocks and make another 4 of my own to create a little patriotic quilt.

I really enjoyed hosting a block exchange and hope to be able to host another one in the future.

Happy block swapping!
~Jennifer

Toes in the Sand BOM, months 3 and 4

Posted on August 19, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Oh my, I haven’t blogged about the Toes in the Sand BOM since May! I got distracted by the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and some another must-do quilty projects that popped up in the last few weeks. I did get caught up with months 3 and 4 when, wouldn’t you know it, month 5 arrived in the mail! Hopefully, I’ll get month 5 finished in the next several weeks. Check out my earlier post on this BOM by Jaybird Quilts here.

For month three, we made 2 Venice Beach blocks. This block has quite a bit of movement since each triangle is cut from 4 strips of fabric sewn together. During month four, we made 2 Sonoma Coast blocks. I really like the half hexies combined with the little triangles in this block.

In the photo, the Venice Beach blocks are the top two while the Sonoma Coast blocks are the lower two.

Toes in the Sand, 3 and 4

I have to share these two pictures of my cat quilting helpers. They just can’t resist examining quilt projects when I try to take photos!

Romeo Inspects Toes in the Sand

Star Surround QAL Centers

Posted on August 16, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

Wow, is the summer going by fast! We’re down to the last 2 weeks before school starts up again. I have all the school supplies purchased for my soon-to-be 3rd grader, and he’s getting excited to see his friends again. I’m having a hard time fitting in my quilty projects, but squeezed in a few evening sewing sessions this week to complete my star centers for the Star Surround QAL. Look for the QAL button on the right-hand side of my blog to join the fun!

I’m using the Mama Said Sew fabric by Sweetwater for this project along with Essex Yarn Dyed in Black for the background by Robert Kaufman. I really like the look of these fabrics together.

Here are my blocks in a “shooting” star formation and then grouped in a 3×3 format:

Shooting Center Stars

Star Centers

Next week, the QAL schedule calls for building onto these center star blocks.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Adding my Blog to Bloglovin

Posted on August 14, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hi everyone,
I’m signing up with Bloglovin as another avenue for people to follow along with my cat-approved quilting, photography, and craft projects!

This post is to get my blog registered.

Here’s a little quilty eye candy for you from the block contest at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year:

Quilt Block Contest

My little block is the birdhourse on a blue background, 4th row down and 4th block from the farthest right-hand side.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

108 Flying Geese!

Posted on August 10, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Whew – I did it! I sewed 108 flying geese this week for the Star Surround Quilt-A-Long. If you haven’t joined this QAL, there is still time! Just look for the button on the right-hand side of my blog and come join the fun!

Here’s a look at all 108 flying geese, sorted into 9 piles:

108 Flying Geese

My next task this weekend is to swap the red, white, and blue blocks for a block swap that I’m hosting on the Carol Doak Yahoo Group. I’ll take some pictures so you can see all of the beautiful blocks!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Star Surround Quilt-A-Long

Posted on August 4, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Happy August everyone! I recently joined an online quilt-a-long designed and hosted by Melissa at Happy Quilting. There is a button link to the quilt-a-long on the right-hand side of my blog so come join us!

For this project, I had to catch up this week with both cutting my fabric and creating this week’s assignment: half square triangles!

Since I just made a quick circle of flying geese project using the Mama Said Sew line from Sweetwater, I decided to use this same line of fabric to create a scrappy version of the Star Surround quilt. For my solid, I’m using Essex Yarn Dyed in Black by Robert Kaufman. This fabric blends in really well with the Mama Said Sew fabric and adds a bit of dramatic interest to my project!

Here’s a look at my 9 groupings of half square triangles, with 1 group laid out in the star shape:

Star Surround Half Square Triangles

I tried to get a photo of one of my quilting cats while I was cutting the squares for my project this week. The photo is a bit blurry, but I think my cat approves of my fabric selection!