I Love 2 Quilt – Pattern Tester and Reveal

Posted on June 27, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone!

Several weeks ago, Lorna over at Sew Fresh Quilts asked for some pattern testers to try out 2 new mini quilt patterns. I selected the “I Love 2 Quilt” pattern, and off I went into my scrap bin to find bits and pieces to use on this cute quilt.

I quilted mine on my Bernina Activa 145 using Aurifil 50 wt in Light Sand (#2000) with a combination of little flowers in the white border, an all-over stippling in the other white areas, and straight-line quilting on the colorful fabrics.

I added an extra outer border using this fabulous green tape measure fabric from the “She Who Sews” line by Quilting Treasures. I used the same green fabric for the binding. The background fabric is Kona Snow, and all the solid and patterned fabrics are from my stash.

My mini quilt finishes at about 34″ by 19″ with extra border.

Here’s a look at the completed project:

I Love 2 Quilt Completed Mini

Photography Assistant!

Close-up view of free motion quilting

For the back, I had another piece of fabric from the She Who Sews line that I think really works well with this quilt.

I Love 2 Quilt – With Backing Fabric Showing

Back of I Love 2 Quilt Mini

I had fun making this mini quilt, and I’d like to thank Lorna for the opportunity to be a pattern tester. I’m going to keep this one and hang it up in my sewing room.

Check out all the other quilt tops and finished quilts over at the linky party at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Supernova Friendship Block Swap, Month 1

Posted on June 24, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

Thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes on my little leg surgery from last week. I’m doing better each day and will be back to normal in time for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show coming up soon!!

So Stephanie over at Late Night Quilter and Sandra over at One Million Stitches came up with a fun twist on the typical quilt-along. For those who missed out on Lee’s (from Freshly Pieced) Supernova original quilt-along, why not get together with a fellow blogging quilter and make a quilt top together??? Genius!

The idea is to meet a new quilter and exchange blocks over a 5 month period. Each month, you make 1 Supernova block for yourself and an identical one for your swap partner. After 5 months, each swap buddy will have 10 blocks, enough to complete a Supernova quilt top.

I posted to the original thread searching for a partner. Bam! I had found a great partner that same day. I think we are kindred spirits because not only do we both love piecing quilts, but we also love the great outdoors. My partner is Cindy from What’s One More Project.

Our first blocks were due to be sent out by June 15th, and I didn’t want to reveal pictures until we each received our swap block! We’re using Denyse Schmidt’s Ansonia line, with Cindy using the pink colorway, and I’m using the green/blue colorway.

Here is a look at the blocks that I made:

Supernova Friendship Blocks, Month 1

And here’s a look with one of my blocks next to the one that Cindy sent me. Aren’t they great together?

Supernova, Month 1 Blocks

Our next blocks are due to be sent by July 15th so I need to get started and finished before heading over to Sisters in early July!

Also linking up with Lee’s WIP Wednesday!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Aurifil BOM, June’s Block

Posted on June 20, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Greetings everyone!

Well, I had a minor leg surgery this week, and am recovering slowly but surely. I have to limit my time spent sitting so I have only worked on 1 block this week. I hope to do some handwork on a quilt binding over the weekend.

I stitched together the June block for the Aurifil BOM called Chain Links by Heidi Pridemore. You can read more about Heidi and the Whimsical Workshop Studio on her blog.

For my Aurifil BOM, I’m using Kona Shadow as my neutral and my colors are all reds and blacks. I found a fabulous Japanese import at a local quilt shop in Portland called Cool Cottons several months ago. It features a black cat head – fabulous! It is from the Trefle line by Kokka. I plan to use the rest of my 1/2 yard piece to make a bag.

The other blacks and reds are pulled from my stash.

Here’s a look at June’s block:

Aurifil BOM, June Block, Chain Links

We’ve now completed 6 blocks:

Aurifil BOM, First 6 Months

I really am enjoying this color palette and stepping out of my comfort zone and really experimenting with colors and patterns.

Well, I’ll keep it short and will update the block soon with photos from the Supernova Friendship Block swap.

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Aviatrix Medallion, Border 4

Posted on June 16, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I finished adding border 4 to my Aviatrix Medallion quilt. I love how it keeps growing and growing! We have just 2 more (larger) sized border to add to it over the next month or so.

You can follow along and make your own Aviatrix Medallion quilt. Just hop on over to Elizabeth’s blog and pattern shop, Oh Fransson.

I love the bright, cheerful solids and prints in my quilt. I can envision making the quilt again up until border 4 in a different color scheme and perhaps as a picnic quilt.

The difficult part now is that I can no longer attach the quilt top to my design wall for photographs. I’m using the floor and, curiously enough, no cat happened to wonder by during this picture!!

Here’s Aviatrix Medallion with border 4 added:

Aviatrix Medallion with Border 4 Added

I have my fingers in quite a few quilt pies at the moment so I’ll be blogging updates on a few of my projects later on this week.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Bonnie Hunter Workshops!

Posted on June 11, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Wednesday, quilty friends!

I had a fun-filled two days this week as I attended some Bonnie Hunter workshops sponsored by the NW Quilter’s guild. I took 2 vacation days from work and got to play with fabric, meet Bonnie in person (woo hoo!), and meet some fabulous quilters as well.

On Monday, we worked on the Cathedral Stars quilt blocks. This quilt is available as a free pattern on Bonnie’s blog here. For my blocks, I wanted my brights to be really bright so I selected different batiks to use.

Here’s a picture of me (in the blue), Bonnie in the middle, and my quilt blog friend Beth of Words and Stitches who I got to meet face-to-face!

Meeting Bonnie and Beth!

By the end of the class, I had 5 blocks completed:

Cathedral Stars Blocks

I attended Bonnie’s lecture and trunk show on Monday evening. So many beautiful quilts! I took pictures and hope to create a slideshow to upload soon.

On Tuesday, we worked on the Smith Mountain Morning quilt. This pattern is from Bonnie’s book, Scraps & Shirttails II. I used pinks and grays for my colors. Two of the students brought in this “Quiltzilla” dinosaur, and I took a picture of it next to the completed quilt. So fun!

Quiltzilla with Smith Mountain Morning

I got 3 blocks finished in this class – two star blocks and 1 log cabin block. The second picture is from my iPhone so it didn’t capture the colors too well, unfortunately.

Smith Mountain Morning Star Blocks

Smith Mountain Morning – 2 star blocks and 1 log cabin block

I highly recommend attending of one Bonnie’s workshops! You’ll learn great techniques, sew some fun blocks, and meet new friends. Now, I’m back at work wishing that I was stitching.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Celtic Solstice Finished!

Posted on June 7, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Whew – what a binding marathon for me this week! I finished the quilting and binding on my Celtic Solstice mystery quilt just in time for Bonnie’s classes in Portland this coming week. This quilt is designed by Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville. As of June 1st, the pattern is no longer a freebie, but will included in a future publication.

For my quilt top, I kept to Bonnie’s suggested color palette of greens, oranges, yellows, and blues. The fabrics came from my stash with the exception of the green outer border and the blue backing.

I do have a couple of piecing boo-boos on this quilt top, but I’m really happy with how it turned out in the end. There are literally hundreds of individual fabric pieces comprising the blocks in this quilt!

The entire quilt is pieced and quilted with Aurifil 50 wt in Light Sand, #2000. The batting is Quilter’s Dream Poly in Mid Loft. I did free-motion quilting using a domestic machine.

Here is the quilt front with my little guy:

Ian standing in front of my finished Celtic Solstice quilt

The quilt front by itself:

Finished Celtic Solstice Quilt

I used a solid blue for the back and attached a label to the lower corner. The binding is the same green fabric as the outer border.

Back of Celtic Solstice

I’m so happy to have another quilt finished!

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Aviatrix Medallion Border 3 + Celtic Solstice (Almost Finished!)

Posted on June 4, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

This week, I’ve been catching up on a few quilty projects in the evenings.

First up is border 3 on this amazing Aviatrix Medallion quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. Each border keeps adding to the awesomeness of this quilt! I have a few errors and piecing mishaps in this border, but overall I’m pretty happy with it and using it as a great skill builder.

Here’s the quilt top with border 3:

Aviatrix Medallion with Border 3

Next, I finished quilting my Celtic Solstice top. I used an all over meandering stitch using a domestic machine and Aurifil thread #2000. After quilting, I placed it on the floor to measure for my binding. My cat had to come inspect!

Romeo inspects my Celtic Solstice quilt (before binding)

Celtic Solstice is designed by Bonnie Hunter and was a free pattern until June 1st this year. Since we’re past that date, the quilt instructions will be included in one of her future publications. If you missed out on this one, she will offer the next free mystery on her blog this fall.

I’m now feverishly working on hand stitching the backside of the binding before getting to see Bonnie in person next week in Portland for a class! Woo hoo!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Doggie Poo Bag Holder Tutorial

Posted on June 2, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

This weekend while walking our dog, we discovered that our usual doggie poo poo bag holder was missing. In the past, I’ve tried the plastic ones that you can buy at the store, but they always break or I can’t get them open in certain weather conditions.

I decided to stitch up a little bag this weekend. It is the perfect size for a holding a roll of doggie poo bags plus some treats.

I used a cute dachshund dog print fabric for the main bag body and an Essex Yard Dyed Linen in Black for the trim. I used black 1/4″ cording that I had on hand and green Aurifil thread for a fun pop of color.

Here is what you’ll need:
(1) 9 x 6 inch piece of print fabric
(1) 9 x 3 inch piece of trim fabric
(1) 21-inch length of cording
Thread
Basic sewing supplies

Doggie Poo Bag Holder Supplies

Assembly instructions:
1. Sew the trim to the print, right sides together, along the top edge. Sew with 1/4″ seam allowance.
2. Press the seam towards the trim.
3. Add button holes or other sturdy stitching on the lower portion of the trim, about 1/2-inch away from the raw edge. Cut the button hole slot opening with scissors.

Trim Stitched Down to Print Fabric

4. Fold the unit in half, right sides together, and stitch around 3 sides but leave the top edge open for turning inside out.
5. Keep the unit wrong sides out, but fold the trim down to the previous seam line to form the casing. Sew along the casing edge.
6. Turn the bag inside out so that the right side is facing out.
7. Press.
8. Insert the cording through the holes in the casing.
9. Optional. Tie the cord ends together after securing the doggie poo bag to a leash, backpack, or belt.
10. Add in your doggie poo bag roll and treats and take your pooch for a walk!

Doggie Poo Bag and Treat Holder

I use a carabiner type clip to attach my doggie poo bag holder to the leash handle. The doggie poo bag holder is removable so I can later tie it to a backpack or belt, if needed.