Monthly Archives: December 2013

Toes in the Sand BOM Update + Upcoming Blog Hop!

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Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday and had time to work on some quilty projects this week.

I finally got caught up on the last 3 months of the Toes in the Sand BOM!! There are just 3 blocks left before assembling the quilt top. This is a project designed by Julie of Jaybird Quilts, and I signed up for the BOM via the Fat Quarter Shop.

First up is block #7 from October and the one with the most pieces. Hmm, maybe that’s why I fell behind!! It is called Pebble Beach.

Pebble Beach Block

Pebble Beach Block

The next one is block #8 from November and is called Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Block

Santa Monica Block

And finally the last block is #9 from December and is called Long Beach.

Long Beach Block

Long Beach Block

The fabrics are all from Basic Grey by Moda.

In January, I have a fun surprise for you using 13 different Kona cotton solids! I’ve finished piecing the top and now need to wrangle it into my domestic sewing machine for quilting. It’s about a twin-size which is pushing the limit for how much I can quilt on my machine. We’ll see how it goes! I’m participating in the Wake up to Kona blog hop, beginning on January 7th. My day to blog is January 20th so I do hope to see you then!

Here’s a little Christmas picture greeting from my quilty helper:

Meowy Christmas!

Meowy Christmas!

Tiger’s picture reminds me that I need to finish cat block #25 in Elizabeth’s Catvent Quilt-Along!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Quilty Holiday House and Cat Quilt-Along #3

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Happy weekend everyone!

As everyone finishes up their last bit of holiday sewing, I thought you might enjoy this needlework and quilt store from my little Christmas village:

A Holiday Needlework and Quilt Shop

A Holiday Needlework and Quilt Shop

I’ve been keeping up with Elizabeth’s Catevent quilt-along featured on her blog, Oh Fransson!

This week I made the following cat blocks:

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 3

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 3

On the top row, from left to right are: Max, Amelia, Boogie, Victor, and Monica. The bottom cat is Violet. I haven’t made today’s cat block number 22, Maslow. I will make that block today! Then, we’ll be down to just 3 cat blocks left before joining them together.

For the first time, both of my indoor cat quilt inspectors decided to get a closer look at these intriguing cat blocks. Usually, they’ll inspect edges of blocks or perhaps even walk across the blocks, but this time, the inspectors decided to just hang out on the blocks for a while!

Quilt Inspector Duo

Quilt Inspector Duo

My sister is also following along with this quilt-along. She doesn’t have a blog, but did send me a phone picture of her blocks so far.

Scrappy Cat Quilt-Along

Scrappy Cat Quilt-Along

I love the scrappy look of her cat blocks! I’m thinking of making some themed variations of this quilt using Halloween fabrics, Christmas fabrics, and patriotic fabrics.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 2

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Meow, Meow!

I’ve finished working on the cat blocks for week 2 of Elizabeth Hartman’s catvent on her blog, Oh Fransson! These cute little cat blocks have been a delight to sew this week in between some of my last minute Christmas projects. I definitely encourage you to join in on the fun! See my first post here.

Here are my cat blocks from the past week:

Cat Quilt-Along Blocks from Week 2

Cat Quilt-Along Blocks from Week 2

In the top row, from left to right are: Toby, Cannon and Jennifer.
In the bottom row, from left to right are: Lucy, Zeke, Barley, Marty, and Helen.

And here are the first 15 cat blocks:

First 15 Cat Quilt Blocks

First 15 Cat Quilt Blocks

There are 10 cat block left before final assembly. I can’t wait!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Frostman and Santa Bottle Wraps

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We’ve been experiencing colder than normal temps for the past week or so like much of the country. This morning while walking my son to school through a frozen fog wonderland, we noticed many beautiful ice formations by Jack Frost. However, we also came across a kid-made formation that we decided to call a “frostman” since it was made by scooping up the frozen fog ice crystals from the ground rather than snow.

He’s a tiny little frostman!

A little frostman!

A little frostman!

I’ve been working on some quick and easy quilty projects to give as Christmas gifts. I recently completed 3 Santa bottle wraps that will add a festive touch to a table setting or any holiday display. The pattern can be found in the book Cottage Charms by Art to Heart. These are Nancy Halvorsen designs so you may recognize her styling in the Santa faces.

Santa Bottle Wraps

Santa Bottle Wraps

Aren’t they cute?

I placed my Santa wraps onto clean, dry 2 liter Coca-Cola bottles. I added a cup or so of dried rice to the bottom of each bottle for a little balance. The mustache is tied around Santa’s head to anchor the wrap to the bottle. These Santas bottle wraps are a great way to use some of your holiday fabric stash and come together in about an hour or so, depending on how much extra detailing you want to add.

Hope you are staying warm!
~Jennifer

Cat Quilt-Along

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Hi everyone,

I started working on the one-block-a-day cat quilt-along project by Elizabeth of Oh Fransson! She has created a cute sampler quilt that is the perfect scrap buster. The completed project will be 30-inches by 35-inches and features 25 different patchwork cat blocks.

I finished up the first week’s batch of blocks today. Each block comes together very quickly. It takes me longer to choose the scraps and fabrics from my stash!

You do need a yard of fabric for the background. I had a piece of Painter’s Canvas by Michael Miller in gray (#CJ-4816) in my stash that I’m using. I love the subtle texture to the fabric.

Here’s a look at the first 7 cat blocks:

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 1

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 1

Elizabeth has also named the cats so I’d love to somehow work the names into the finished project. I’m not sure how yet!

In the photo, the cats in the top row from left to right are: Ferdinand, Bernadette, Sunny, Mia, and Ralphio. In the second row, from left to right are: Chowder and Krista.

Of course, I tried to ask my quilt inspector what he thought of this project. I think he loves it!

Tiger Likes the Cat Blocks!

Tiger Likes the Cat Blocks!

I’m really enjoying this project since the blocks are so quick to make, and I can wedge them in between my other projects! My goal is to work on them as I can throughout the work week, and then play catch up on the weekend. I will keep my blog updated with photos of my cat quilt-along blocks.

If you’re participating in the cat quilt-along, I’d love to see your blocks!

Meowy quilting!
~Jennifer

Cow Cat, Another Quilted Portrait

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Happy Wednesday everyone!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my family traveled to visit with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. We had such a great family time and enjoyed yummy homemade apple and huckleberry pies!

In August, my sister and I worked on making quilted fabric portraits of two of my cats – Tiger and Cow. I finished the Tiger Quilted Cat portrait (and mascot of my blog!) earlier and you can read about it here.

My sister finished up the quilted Cow cat and gave it to me over Thanksgiving. There was just one teensy, weensy detail that I added – Cow’s whiskers. He’s a cat who is very proud of his long, white whiskers so I just used plain white thread and a basic straight stitch to add them to the portrait.

Here is the inspiration photo that I took of Cow this past March:

Cow cat

Cow cat

Here is the finished quilted Cow cat wall-hanging:

Quilted Cow Cat

Quilted Cow Cat

And a close-up of his face:

Cow Cat Face Close-Up

Cow Cat Face Close-Up

Isn’t he a handsome fellow? He usually “helps” me take outdoor photos of my quilty projects. Today, I think he was off enjoying the sunshine before the next rain (or snow) shower appears.

Thanks to my sister for this beautiful project. I have the perfect place to hang it!

Hope you enjoy the second quilted cat!
~Jennifer