Aurifil BOM, March Block

Posted on March 10, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

The March block for the Aurifil BOM is called Borders and is designed by Emily Herrick.

In keeping with my color scheme of reds and blacks with Kona cotton in Shadow as my background, I went looking in my stash for a fun print to fussy cut for the block center. Many quilters have “assistants” or “inspectors” of the feline variety, and I have several myself! However, I also have a dog who offers his services as a stunt double for my cats when they are too busy to bother with quilt inspection. So when I found a nice dog print fabric, I just knew that I had to incorporate one of the little dogs into this block.

Most of the dogs were too large, but I did find this one little dog on the fabric that perfectly fit the inner square! I then pulled some other black and red prints from my stash to coordinate with the dog and sewed the block.

I used Aurifil in light sand (#2000) for my piecing. This is my go-to thread for all my piecing projects.

Here’s a look at the finished March block, Borders:

Borders, March Block for Aurifil BOM

Isn’t this a fun block? I just love the little dachshunds running around the black border.

Here are my Aurifil BOM blocks together. You can read about January’s block here and February’s block here.

Aurifil BOM Blocks: Jan, Feb, March

If you’d like to join in the fun, check out the Aurifil blog post here about Emily and the March block.

Although I didn’t get a picture (yet) of this block with my dog, one of my inspectors did wander into my sewing room when the block was finished. His expression seems to say, “I can’t believe you used dog print fabric!”

Hmmm, I think the quilt inspector does not approve!

Have a good week!
~Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright QAL, Block Corners

Posted on March 9, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I finished up the block corners for the Star Light Star Bright quilt-along, hosted by Melissa over at Happy Quilting.

The quilt top is really starting to take shape! Next week, we’ll finish assembling the top.

One of my quilt inspectors fell asleep on the job! When I placed several block corners in his kitty bed, I got this startled expression:

Romeo gets startled by block corner units

Ha,ha, big kitty eyes!

Here’s a look at the block corner units with the other pieces:

Block Corner Units

Once the blocks are stitched together, I’ll rearrange the blocks before adding the sashing strips.

We’re having a brief break in the rain today so I’m going to enjoy while I can!

Enjoy,
~Jennifer

Vice Versa BOM: February Blocks

Posted on March 5, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Yep, I’m a few days late with my February blocks!! Since the March blocks will be sent out this Friday, I figured that I still had time to squeeze by and consider these blocks done in time.

The Vice Versa BOM is designed and hosted by Anne Marie over at Gen X Quilters so come join us!

Here are my February blocks:

Vice Versa February Blocks

I’m doing the 9-inch finished size so these blocks are currently 9.5-inches. My blocks feature Pantone’s color of the year: radiant orchid.

Here are the February blocks next to my January blocks:

Vice Versa: January and February Blocks

The colors in these blocks are making me long for springtime flowers!

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Sewing Cabinet Find and Celtic Solstice, Part 2!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday, quilters!

I’ve been perusing the local Craigslist ad for months, just waiting for a sewing cabinet to replace the tiny table that I have been using. This weekend, a nice cabinet appeared in the listing with a 1980s-era Singer sewing machine.

The cabinet does have a few scratches and dings, but my Bernina (mostly) fits into the cut-out space. On my old little table, it just sat on top and didn’t fit flush with the table surface. As a bonus, it has 7 drawers!! My husband helped me pick up the machine and haul it up our stairs. Then, I spent a good chunk of Sunday organizing the space. That it still a work in progress!

Here are some pictures of the new-to-me sewing cabinet in my spare bedroom (aka my sewing studio).

Used Sewing Cabinet

A few small scratches on the sewing cabinet surface

Sewing Room, Right Side

Sewing Room, Left Side

Oh my, looking at those photos, I see that still need to organize some of my fabric that is on the floor!

I also worked a bit more on my Celtic Solstice quilt top. This is a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt from last fall, but I’m very behind many of the quilters who have already completed their tops! You can see my part one of this project here.

For part two, I needed to make 100 chevron units for the small-sized version of the quilt. Each chevron uses 6 pieces of fabric for a total of 600 pieces on this step! This was my first time making chevrons, and they went together pretty well by following Bonnie’s instructions.

Here they are after a press and trim:

Celtic Solstice Chevrons

I have added the chevrons to my units from part one, and they are living together in this little basket:

Celtic Solstice, Parts 1 and 2

I’ve started part three for this project, and I think it will go a bit faster than the chevron units. You can still get the instructions for free on Bonnie’s site until June!

Hope you enjoyed the look at my sewing space!

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright QAL – Block Sides

Posted on March 1, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I finished sewing the block sides for the Star Light Star Bright QAL, hosted by Melissa at Happy Quilting.

The quilt is starting to take shape, and I certainly have some eye popping colors and fabrics! I’m hoping that once the blocks are completed and joined with the sashing that it won’t be too busy.

Here’s my Star Light Star Bright QAL with the block centers and block sides:

Star Light Star Bright QAL Block Sides

On Wednesday, we’ll get the instructions for building the block corners. I’m looking forward to it!

I managed to squeeze in some more time on my Celtic Solstice blocks as well. I’ve just about finished pressing the chevron blocks from step 2 so hope to finish tomorrow and post some pictures.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer