Aviatrix Medallion Border 2 + Oregon Coast

Posted on May 26, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

My Aviatrix Medallion quilt now has colorful border 2 added, and I’m working on stitching the units together for border 3 today. You can purchase the pattern and follow the quilt-along on Elizabeth’s blog, Oh Fransson.

Border 2 went together fairly quickly as the piecing was simple.

Aviatrix Medallion, Border 2 Added

Before I had the chance to add the sashing border to border 2, my cat inspectors arrived. I think my little grey kitty likes it!

Cats Inspect Aviatrix Medallion

My family and I took a nice day trip this holiday weekend to visit the Oregon Coast, specifically the Newport area to tour several tall ships, the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain. The weather was gorgeous!

Tall Ship – the Lady Washington

Later that afternoon, the tall ships were scheduled to take ticketed passengers on special tours. We drove over to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse Natural Area to see if we could see the ships. Although we didn’t have binoculars, we did spot them out in the ocean.

Yaquina Head Natural Area with Tall Ships in the Distance

The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is a great place to visit with walking paths, tidepools, a visitor’s center, and the light itself. The fee is $7 per car. Near the lighthouse, we spotted 2 bald eagles on a tree. We saw them in flight carrying meals back to the tree. I wish I had a better camera lens for close-up photos!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

We walked down to the tide pool area. Our 8-year-old loved this part of our trip! We saw quite a few critters in the tide pools.

Tide Pool Area and Agate Beach in the Distance

Tide pool critters

We ended our day trip by walking along Agate Beach, searching for treasures. We didn’t find any agates, but we had a fun time walking the tall ships sail out for a second excursion. The dog loved it too!

Dog on Agate Beach

Hope you had a safe and happy holiday weekend! Thanks to all who have served our country.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Blogger’s Quilt Festival 2014, Art Quilt Entry

Posted on May 23, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday!

Many talented quilters are linking up some fabulous quilt projects this week over at Amy’s Blogger’s Quilt Festival for 2014.

At first, I was uncertain whether to add a project that I worked on this past year that has special meaning for me. I did blog about this art quilt earlier so long-time readers may recognize it. The art quilt is a fabric portrait of my very special cat and quilt inspector, Tiger. This is my first time entering the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, and I’m loving all the entries!

This quilt is my own design based on a photograph that I took of Tiger. I used different orange fabrics to imitate the orange stripes in his fur. I also accented the piece with free-motion quilting on my domestic machine. This quilting really accents his fur, the clouds in the sky, and the illusion of grass in the lower background.

I did some paper-piecing on the corner border blocks to draw the eye into the center of the quilt and to accent the colors in the cat’s fur.

I really love how this project turned out, and I now use a cropped image of the cat face as an avatar for various social media sites.

Here’s a view of the whole quilt:

Tiger, A Quilted Portrait

Here’s a closer look at the free-motion quilting:

Tiger, quilting close-up

And a look with Tiger himself!

Tiger inspects his quilt

Close-up view of a paper pieced corner:

Fan block

I hope you enjoyed my entry into the art quilt category. I really loved making this unique quilted portrait of my cat buddy!

You can pop on over to the festival here and look at all the wonderful entries in many categories in the festival and vote starting May 24th.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Vice Versa BOM, May Blocks

Posted on May 21, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I have quite a few little projects that I’m working on right now – several BOMs, a quilt-along, and more. It’s definitely fun for me to work on multiple projects and different fabrics at the same time while watching these projects come to life, month after month.

I stitched together the May blocks this week for the Vice Versa BOM, hosted by Anne Marie at Gen X Quilters.

Here are my May blocks, side by side:

Vice Versa BOM, May Blocks

We now have 10 blocks in total completed:

Vice Versa BOM, 10 Blocks Completed

I’m doing the smaller, lap sized version with 9″ finished blocks. We’re over 1/2 way finished with this BOM so it’s exciting to see the blocks come together.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Singer Featherweight Find

Posted on May 20, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I hinted in earlier blog posts about my wonderful thrift store find. I found a Singer Featherweight 221-1 with its original case with key, instruction manual, presser feet and bobbins!! I do not have any antique sewing machines so I was so happy to finally get one.

She’s in pretty good condition with some of the decals partly rubbed off. The light turns on and she runs well. The case is in pretty good condition with some minor scuffing. I’ve signed up for a Singer Featherweight maintenance class at a local quilt shop in June so that I can learn how to care for her properly!

Based on the model number, she was manufactured on November 18, 1949. I really want to give her a name – any ideas?

Here are some pictures:

Singer Featheweight

Singer Featherweight Side View

Singer Featherweight, Front View

For now, I have her sitting on a side crafting table in my sewing room. I only have one other sewing machine – my trusty Bernina Activa – so it feels really good to have this beautiful machine to use on future quilty projects.

Have you made any good quilt or sewing related thrift store or garage sale finds?

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aurifil BOM, May Block

Posted on May 18, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

The rain has returned to Oregon, and I spent a few hours sewing today. I worked on my Aurifil BOM block and finished up my Celtic Solstice top!

The May block for the Aurifil BOM is designed by Amy Smart, called Nine Patch on Point.

I’m continuing my theme of using black and red fabric scraps from my stash with Kona Shadow as my neutral.

Here’s my finished May block:

Aurifil BOM, May Block designed by Amy Smart

If you’ve been sewing along with this BOM, we’ve now finished 5 blocks!

Aurifil BOM, Months 1-5

Well, housework awaits on this rainy day so I will post again soon about my antique sewing machine find with pictures.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aviatrix Medallion, Border 1 + More

Posted on May 16, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone!

It’s been a busy quilty week for me, in between work and the kiddo’s school schedule. I’ve made great progress on my Celtic Solstice top and should have all the borders added this weekend!

I also made a great antique sewing machine find at a local thrift store. I’ll take some pictures of my find and blog about it this weekend. So excited!

For the Aviatrix Quilt-along, our assignment this week is to add border 1. This border went together so nicely and took much less time than the gorgeous center block. Go check out all the details on Elizabeth’s blog, Oh Fransson.

This border has 32 HST units in 5 different neutral colors. Although my medallion colors are different, I did stick with the original neutrals as listed in the pattern. I’m using Aurifil Light Sand (#2000) for all the piecing.

Here’s a bit of blurry phone picture of the neatly trimmed HST blocks:

Trimmed HST Units in Neutrals

Here’s my center block now framed with border 1:

Aviatrix Medallion with Border 1

I just love how this quilt is coming together! We’ll work on border 2 next week.

Finally, have you heard about the Supernova Friendship Block Swap? You can find all the details on Stephanie’s blog, Late Night Quilter. I posted in the comments about needing a partner and found one within hours. I’m happy to say that I’m partnering up with Cindy of What’s One More Project. We’ve selected Denyse Schmidt’s Ansonia fabric line for our quilt.

Here are the 2 colorways. I’ll be working with the greens and Cindy will be working with the pinks.

Ansonia Fat Quarters in Green

Ansonia Fat Quarters in Pink

There is still time to hop aboard this fun swap. You’ll meet a new friend and have fun making quilt tops together. The first blocks are due June 15th.

”
Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aviatrix Medallion Quilt-Along Fabrics and Center Block

Posted on May 7, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I’m participating along in the Aviatrix Medallion quilt-along and wanted to share my fabric selections and completed center block. This fabulous quilt is designed by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson and you can purchase it directly from her store. This is a relaxed quilt-along, where you can follow along at your own pace but Elizabeth does post helpful hints each Monday for a particular portion of the quilt.

Here are the colorful fabrics that I selected for my project. I’m using a combination of solids and patterns and you can see each fabric in the photos below. I’m using Aurifil #2000 for the piecing.

Violets
Kona Cotton Thistle
Girly Girl Swirl Purple, Henry Glass
Seasons Best Spring Random Squares Purple, Andover
Paisly Please Connect the Dots Purple, Jacki E Studios
More This n That Aurora Royal Purple, Bernatex

Oranges
Kona Cotton Peach
Hot House Flowers Floral Small Orange, Andover
Medium Dots Orange, Riley Blake
Scenic Route Dot Orange, Riley Blake
Tiny Tiles Clementine, Michael Miller

Greens
Kona Cotton Wasabi
Always Blooming Flower Green, P&B Textiles
Let’s Play Dolls Daisy Flower Dot Green, Andover
Peppered Cotton Emerald, Studio E
Mission Space Craters Green, Quilting Treasures

Blues
Small Dots Aqua, Riley Blake
Rocket Age Rocket Blast Light Blue, Riley Blake
Zebra Print Turquoise, Wilmington Prints
On the Rocks Blue
Dark Teal, Palette Solids

For the remaining fabrics (the neutrals, white background, and gray background), I’m using the fabrics listed in the pattern.

Last week, we cut out our fabrics for those following the quilt-along. This process did take quite some time, so I spread it out over the whole week so my hand wouldn’t get tired and so that I wouldn’t mix up the fabrics! I did keep them labeled as I went along.

All the cut pieces are in individual bags, just waiting to be stitched up! I have the center points of each color along with my helpful cheat sheet in the photo.

Aviatrix Medallion Fabrics

Aren’t these colors just so pretty??!! I love looking at these early stages of quilt projects and envisioning what the end result will look like.

For this week, our assignment is to create the center block (aka the most complex piece of this quilt!).

Here are my pieces placed on my cutting table:

Aviatrix Medallion Center Block Pieces

The center block is a challenge, and I enjoyed stretching my skills with this one. Not all of my points are perfect, but I did get better with each section. I’m pretty happy with my center block and look forward to making it again in the larger, pillow size to coordinate with my quilt.

Aviatrix Medallion Finished Center Block

Although the background fabric looks tan in my photo, it is Essex Yarn Dyed in Steel. The gray color is a great choice to contrast against the white and colorful fabrics.

Next week, we’ll start on border 1 so there is definitely time for you to join in on this quilt-along! Yes, I have many projects going at once but it makes life exciting and provides me with a creative counterpoint to my corporate desk job!

I’m linking up with the Wednesday WIP hosted by Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Celtic Solstice, Part 5

Posted on May 5, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday, quilty friends!

I finished up all the individual block units for my Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt this past weekend by completing part 5, the split triangle units! This mystery quilt is designed by Bonnie Hunter and all the instructions for this quilt are available on her website until June 1, 2014. After that date, the instructions will be included in one of Bonnie’s future books.

Here are my completed split triangle units (100 of them) for the small quilt. I also stitched together 1 sample of each block that will form the body of the quilt: the Birthday Girl block (originally from Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 Blocks, volume 2) and the 54-40 or Fight block.

Celtic Solstice, Part 5, Split Triangle Units

For this quilt, I’ve used scraps and pieces from my stash. I’m hoping that I have enough of the same fabrics left for the borders. The only fabric that I will probably need to purchase for this quilt is the backing, although maybe I can hobble something together using scraps. We’ll see!

I have about 1 month until I get to take 2 workshops with Bonnie! I really want to have the quilt top finished, at a minimum, so that I can take it to the workshop. This is my first large-size, all-scrappy quilt!!

In between sewing these split triangle units, I’ve been working on cutting out my fabrics for the Aviatrix Medallion quilt-along, designed and hosted by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson. I will post my fabric selections for this project soon.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Triangle QAL Finish!

Posted on May 1, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I’ve been following along with Paula’s Triangle QAL over on her blog, The Sassy Quilter, for the past few weeks.

Our last assignment was to finish up those quilts! We had 2 weeks to finish up the quilting and binding for the final photo link-up.

My beer themed Triangle quilt is for my husband. Here in Oregon, we are surrounded by many great brew pubs, and I thought this quilt was the perfect choice for a “manly” quilt! You can read about the fabrics in this quilt here.

I decided to use straight-line quilting on my domestic machine by using my 1/4-inch foot and echoing the outside and inside edges of the triangles to create a large lattice effect. I used Aurifil 50 wt thread in a beautiful gold brown color (#2372) that perfectly complements the fabric.

In this photo, you can see the lattice/diamond quilting:

Up-Close Look at the Quilting

Here’s my hubby holding up his completed quilt. He picked the name, “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” after our 8-year-old suggested it.

Triangle QAL Completed!

Triangle Quilt, Blowing in the Wind

For the backing, I used up most of my left-over Brewsky fabric:

Back of Triangle Quilt

I’m really happy with how this quilt turned out, and really enjoyed following along with Paula and many other talented quilters during this quilt-along.

Cheers!
~Jennifer