Tula Nova Flimsy Completed

Posted on September 7, 2021 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I haven’t blogged much this summer, but I have been doing a little sewing, a little gardening, and a little hiking. I will share some of these experiences over the next few posts.

One project that I did complete is the hand-piecing of my Tula Nova quilt. This quilt is an English Paper Pieced (EPP) design, meaning that all sections are individually stitched together by hand rather than by machine. Hand piecing does take much longer than machine piecing, but EPP projects are portable. I enjoyed being able to work on this project while traveling, camping, sitting in the backyard, or watching TV.

I worked on my last block while in my backyard, with my dog sitting lazily in the grass and my cat snoozing in the chair beside me. Here’s a look at my last block:

Yep, that light blue print is really little cat eyes and the white center is a tin of cat food! I decided to do a cat theme for my Tula Nova by using many prints from her Tabby Road line (now out-of-print) that I had in my stash.

Once I stitched in my final block, the main body of my quilt was completed. I took it with me for some photographs while hiking earlier this summer.

My Tabby Road themed Tula Nova quilt at Fort Rock, Oregon (before basting to a background fabric)

See those feet in the photo? I asked my husband and son to hold up the quilt so I could get a picture of it with the rock formations in the background. With a few eye rolls, they agreed.

To finish the quilt flimsy, the pattern instructs you to applique the blocks to a background. I auditioned 5 or 6 different fabrics, but settled on a deep purple Grunge background. I first spray basted the top to the backing, and then machine basted using a very long stitch. I didn’t want the top to shift while I hand-appliqued the blocks.

What you don’t see in the picture below is my cat, Romeo, sitting under the quilt and “helping” me!

Hand-appliquing the top to the background

After I finished the applique work, I removed all of the machine basting stitches. Here’s a look at the completed quilt flimsy:

Tula Nova appliqued to the Grunge background

I really love how this deep purple background accents this quilt overall and pulls out the deep purple stars in the flimsy.

Next, I carefully cut a circle on the backside of the background, about an inch or so inside the applique stitching line. This step is not only to remove the excess background fabric, but also to remove the EPP papers from the last round. Here’s a look at the backside of the quilt flimsy with all the papers removed:

I have not yet quilted my Tula Nova, but this quilt flimsy is first in my to-quilt pile this fall. I will show you pictures when I finish the quilting!

If you want to piece your own Tula Nova quilt, you can purchase the pattern, paper templates, and acrylic templates from the Fat Quarter Shop. I highly recommend purchasing the acrylic templates because they include the seam allowance and make it so much easier to cut out the pieces.

Happy quilting,

Jen

Prince Cherrywood Challenge Finalist!

Posted on December 20, 2018 by nwquiltedcat

This past year, I entered a quilt into the annual Cherrywood Challenge for the first time. Cherrywood makes beautiful and unique hand dyed fabrics with a suede-like appearance. Each year, they sponsor a challenge where contestants can submit 20-inch by 20-inch quilts in a specific theme using a limited palette of Cherrywood fabrics.

For 2018, the challenge theme was Prince. The Prince Challenge fabric bundle contained 3 purples and 1 black. While we could use other Cherrywood colors as accents, our quilts had to “read” as purple. We could also use embellishments to enhance our quilts.

For my entry, I wanted to feature Prince and his wonderful performance at the Superbowl. In particular, I wanted to highlight the song “Purple Rain” because it was such a stunning moment for him and the audience.

Here’s a look at my completed quilt with a ruler to show the judges the 20-inch size:

Prince Cherrywood Challenge Completed Quilt

I used holographic thread for the swirly quilting in the black background. In person, the thread has a beautiful shimmery look to it. The black background also has little beads with silver metallic threads to represent the camera flashes from the stadium audience. I used a purple Razzle Dazzle thread to give a hint of the “purple” rain during the performance.

For the purple background, I used metallic thread in the straight-line quilting. I used the thread to accent the guitar, guitar strap, and to add music notes.

The Prince symbol represents the stage while Prince faces the crowd in a decorated purple jacket.

Here are some close-up pictures:

There were 388 submitted quilts for the Prince challenge. Out of those 388 quilts, there were 165 finalists.

My quilt made it as a finalist! It is now traveling the country to various quilt shows as part of the Prince Live Tour. I will get to visit the show in person in 2019 when it travels to 2 quilt shows near me: the Clark County Quilt Show in March and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in July. Cherrywood will likely have book signing events at each of these shows, and I hope to be one of the artists signing books.

Here’s a look at the Prince Cherrywood Challenge book:

You can order a copy of the book, featuring all of the finalist quilts, from Cherrywood directly or you can buy a copy at the traveling exhibit.

Happy quilting!

~Jen

Bountiful Mini Quilt Challenge

Posted on August 22, 2017 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I’m excited to share with you my mini quilt entry for a collaborative contest between the Portland Modern Quilt Guild and Art Gallery Fabrics. We used the Bountiful Fabrics collection by Sharon Holland. Our challenge was to create a mini quilt to celebrate the beauty and scenery found across the mid-west.

My entry is called “Bounty in Every Direction” and is inspired by all the wonderful farms and ranches that I’ve seen while flying. The arrows are my own foundation paper-pieced design. I used free-motion quilting in a circular shape to represent the center-pivot irrigation system used on many crops.

The dark brown border is made from faux leather and represents the ranches in the mid-west. The appliqued flower with beaded center represents the farms and growers.

I hope that you enjoy this little quilt! It will be on display, along with all the other entries, at the PMQG Quilt Showcase on October 19th at the Lagunitas Community Room in Portland so come check it out if you’re local.

“Bounty in Every Direction “Mini Quilt

“Bounty in Every Direction” Mini Quilt

Close-Up of “Bounty in Every Direction” Mini Quilt

“Bounty in Every Direction” Mini Quilt

“Bounty in Every Direction” Mini quilt

Happy Quilting!

~Jennifer

MQG Riley Blake Fabric Challenge for 2015

Posted on June 17, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I made an original design for my entry into the “Modern Quilt Guild 2015 Fabric Challenge with Riley Blake Designs” contest.

The rules for the challenge are:

Make something fantastic that is quilted.
Make something you have never done before.
Challenge yourself to learn something new.
Use only Riley Blake “the Cottage Garden” fabrics and coordinating Riley Blake basics and solids.

I used the fabric sampler pack that MQG members could sign up for and receive in the mail. I added just 2 fabrics – a Riley Blake shade (granite) and a Riley Blake solid (off-white).

I’m calling my entry “Sisters in Bloom” because the quilt features the Three Sisters mountains with a nod to all the beautiful, blooming flowers that you can see while strolling through the town of Sisters (particularly during the upcoming Outdoor Quilt Show in July!!). There is a fussy cut bird from the fabric perched on one of the flowers. Look on the right-hand side!

The flying geese are a paper-pieced, spontaneous creation that I made up as I went along!

I used red floss for a punch of color in the flowers, on the bird, and in the quilt name. The quilting is all free-motion on my domestic machine. If you look closely, the sun is radiating out from just behind the mountain on the far left-hand side of the quilt. I used a variegated thread in the bottom portion of the quilt to add color and movement to imitate a flowering alpine meadow.

Sisters in Bloom Quilt Entry for the MQG Challenge

Close-up of embroidery

Little bird close-up!

Spontaneous, paper-pieced flying geese!

If you are an MQG member, you can view other entries into this challenge via the online forums. Anyone can view entries in Instagram using the #mqgfabricchallenge hashtag.

I hope you enjoy my entry!

~Jennifer

Spring Blogger’s Quilt Festival: Art Quilt Entry

Posted on May 16, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I hope you’re having a great weekend and have a little time for sewing.

My regular readers will recognize my entry into the Art Quilt category for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival.

It is a penguin mini-quilt based on Charley Harper’s original artwork! I made this mini quilt for an Instagram-based, Charley Harper themed swap. I made the design up as I went along so there really isn’t a pattern for it.

I started by gathering up blue, aqua, and low-volume neutral fabrics. Some of the fabrics are from the Charley Harper fabric lines by Birch Organic. I created a background by stitching together 2.5-inch squares, with the darker blues in the upper left-hand corner fading towards the low-volume neutrals. The bottom piece represents the ground.

For the penguins, I was inspired by the Charley Harper Nurture penguin fabric. I made my own applique pattern and used individual pieces of fabric to represent the parent penguin and the chic. I then carefully stitched around each fabric piece. The yellow accent lines are straight-stitched using Aurifil thread.

For quilting, I used my Bernina and my walking foot and did some simple, straight-line quilting using white Aurifil thread. I really love the results!

Here’s a look:

Charley Harper Penguin Mini Quilt

Penguin close-up

The backing piece uses all Charley Harper fabrics plus a label:

Hop on over to Amy’s Creative Side and check out all of the wonderful entries in the festival. I’d love your vote in the Art Quilt category!

Happy stitching!
~Jennifer

Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 11 Giveaway!

Posted on April 20, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday everyone!

I have some exciting news to share with you. My block, Snow Cat, is featured in volume 11 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks magazine! This magazine will be on newsstands soon so you can pickup a copy!

My Snow Cat block is appliqued using white wool felt for the cat body and red Kona fabric for the scarf. I made the round, white snowflakes from Fairy Frost. I did a machine button-hole stitch using silver thread by Superior around the cat body, the scarf, and each round snowflake.

The cat’s facial features are hand-embroidered using black floss. The buttons are attached with the black floss as well.

Here’s a look at the whole block:

Snow Cat, Block 1001

Close-Up of Snow Cat’s face

For my blog readers, I’m giving away a free copy. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a random winner on Thursday morning. You can have a second chance to win a copy over on Instagram (@nwquiltedcat).

Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 11

Good luck!

Thanks,
Jennifer

Charley Harper Mini Quilt Swap

Posted on March 25, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi quilty friends!

I’ve got 4 Instagram mini quilt swaps due in late March and April. I’ve finished 3 out of 4 so I’m going to start sharing what I created.

For the Charley Harper inspired mini quilt swap, my partner indicated that she liked the penguins from the Nurture fabric line so I decided to create a penguin mini.

First, I started by creating a larger sized penguin and chick by making my own applique pattern. I used Kona snow, black, and yellow for the adult penguin body. For the chick, I used Kona black, snow, gray and a piece of medium blue Charley Harper fabric.

Next, I created the background piece by stitching together 2-1/2 inch squares, using some Charley Harper fabrics and adding in other fabrics from my stash. I decided to use aquas, blues, and neutrals with the aquas/blues starting in the upper left-hand corner and fading slowly into the all neutrals. The bottom gray portion resembles the ground and is also Charley Harper fabric.

Then I carefully added my penguin appliques to the background and used a blanket-stitch in matching Aurifil thread colors to secure all the individual pieces to the back. I used yellow Aurifil 40 wt thread to add some detail stitching o the adult penguin (mimics the Nurture fabric).

Here’s a look at the completed mini:

Charley Harper Penguin Mini Quilt

Closer look at the penguin:

Penguin close-up

I added a few extras to the swap package, including a open wide pouch that I made from the Charley Harper Nurture fabric. I couldn’t resist adding a little stuffed penguin plus some chocolates and wildflower seeds to represent my home state of Oregon:

I hope my partner loves this mini as much as I do! I had so much fun making this quilt, and it was very hard to take it to the post office yesterday for mailing.

I received a wonderful red cardinal Charley Harper mini in return. I’ll show pictures on my next post!

Until then, happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Technicolor Galaxy BOM, Block 1 Color Wheel

Posted on February 18, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I’ve been posting regularly on Instagram under the name @nwquiltedcat. I’ve joined a few mini quilt swaps and have been busily working on those fun projects. I have 3 due by late March/early April so I’ll blog about them one my partners have received their packages.

In the meantime, I started working on a fabulous new block-of-the-month for myself. This BOM is called Technicolor Galaxy by Alyssa over at Pile O Fabric. It’s a stunning quilt that you can do in your choice of color scheme. I’m going with the rainbow color scheme because I really love the look right now.

The BOM is designed to teach new skills throughout the year. I’m also participating via the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, which has a discount code for the pattern if you are a guild member. If you are a member, send an email to the guild for the code.

For February, our assignment is to make the color wheel for block 1 using a bias tape applique technique. I’m using Kona Snow for my bias tape and a combination of 2015 Sun Prints by Alison Glass and Kona solids for the color wheel.

This is a quilt-as-you-go BOM so I used a Superior variegated King Tut thread on the top and Aurifil white in the bobbin. I did free-motion quilting using my Bernina.

Here’s a look at the front of my color wheel:

Technicolor Galaxy BOM, Color Wheel

Close-up view of the free-motion quilting:

Color Wheel Close-up

I really love how the Aurifil white thread blends into the Kona solid backing in this picture:

Color Wheel Back

This is a vibrant and cheerful quilt that I’m excited to work on over the course of the year in addition to focusing on mini quilts.

Recently, I had some sad news. My best buddy and hiking dog, Brutus, was diagnosed with cancer. It’s an advanced form and pretty aggressive. I met with a veterinary oncologist today, but I fear that chemotherapy treatments will be too expensive. We’re probably going to focus on palliative care for him and give him the best last few months that we can. He’s not in pain currently so that’s great, and I’m also grateful he’s still active and enjoying life.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Quiltmaker’s Blog Hop Starts Today!

Posted on November 16, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday, everyone!

Quiltmaker’s blog hop tour for volume 10 of the fabulous 100 Blocks issue starts today! My blog date is tomorrow where I will feature my block and have a giveaway.

For today, I want to show you what I made for this issue as a block tester. In all, I tested a dozen blocks over the course of a few months. I then had the opportunity to make a sample quilt using 3 different blocks. I called my quilt “Bali Posies” and it appears in the Block Tester’s Gallery section on page 95 in the magazine.

If you happen to be in the Golden, Colorado area between December 2014 and February 2015, all the block tester quilts are on display at Quiltmaker’s office. Wish I could go see them in person! If you do go, I’d love to see a picture.

I used 3 different blocks in the layout:
#947, Nine-Patch Posies by Kay Mackenzie
#989, French Twist by Celine Perkins
#999, Diamonds are Forever by Susan Work

The fabrics are Bali Paradise and Bali Batiks from Hoffman California Fabrics.

Here’s a look at Bali Posies:

Bali Posies Quilt Front

Bali Posies Quilt Back

I added some interest to the center block (#947) by applying some crystals to the center of each flower and along each leaf.

Here’s a close-up of the center block:

Bali Posies Center Block

I did free-motion quilting using Aurifil 50 wt. cream thread with an all-over pattern over most of the quilt. I did some echo-quilting in the posies petals, circles in the posie centers, and some other detailed stitching in the leaves and flower pot.

I was also excited to see that Sandy George, another block tester, made a quilt using my Butterfly block (#958). Her quilt is called “Butterfly Kisses” and you can see it in the Block Tester’s Gallery on page 94 in the magazine.

Come back tomorrow and see the inspiration behind my Butterfly block and for your chance to win a copy of the magazine!

Enjoy,
~Jennifer

Charley Harper Inspired Trunk Show

Posted on September 12, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone! It seems like it was a really long week at work for me, and I’m so looking forward to getting some sewing time in this weekend.

I am working on a couple of secret projects that I can’t reveal – yet!! One is for Quiltmaker magazine and the other is for the Black Cat Crossing Halloween blog hop (link in my side bar). And, just maybe, there is a birthday present in the works for a special someone.

Today and tomorrow, one of my favorite LQS, the Pine Needle, is hosting their fall open house. I stopped by today at lunch to check out all the great new projects and classes.

I’m particularly excited about meeting Violet Craft and purchasing her Forest Abstractions quilt pattern. I’ve been eyeing this pattern for sometime so I decided to go for it! I love paper piecing so I think this pattern will be up my alley.

I also chatted with Dawn of First Light Designs. She’ll be teaching a Dancing Churn Dash class at the Pine Needle this October with the Quick Curve Ruler. Of course, I did pick up that ruler and pattern! Oh my list of to-do projects keeps growing.

There is a wonderful display of quilts inspired by Charley Harper’s designs during the open house event. I neglected to write down the maker of these quilts so if anyone knows, please let me know!

I just love, love, love the cat quilts:

Fall Cat

Winter Cat

Spring and Summer Cats

Here are some more of the featured quilts:

Koala Quilt

Giraffe and Cheetah Quilts

There were several more quilts, but my photos didn’t turn out very well.

Of course, the fall cat is my favorite because it reminds me of my Tiger (aka the Quilted Cat). These quilts have encouraged me to make my own Charley Harper inspired cat quilt in the future.

Only 3 more weekends to go before the NW Quilting Expo!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer