A Snack Time Quilt Finish!

Posted on March 31, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

Last March, I took a class with Julie of Jaybird Quilts. She had finished up her Snack Time pattern, and I was able to purchase a copy of the pattern from the wonderful Quiltmaker booth of goodies outside the classroom area.

I started working on piecing the top sometime last summer and finished it during the fall. Then, other projects popped up, and I never finished the quilting!

This weekend, I finally finished my Snack Time and took some photos of my completed quilt at my sister’s beautiful cabin in the woods!

I used a Bali Pop (2.5″ pre-cut strips) from Hoffman Fabrics in Rum Raisin. I really loved the look of the purples and greens together. For the background, I went with Kona white, which really makes those batiks pop!! The piecing and quilting is with white Aurifil thread.

Here are some pics of the quilt front:

Snack Time at Cabin

Snack Time Close-Up

For the backing, I went with Kona cotton in Lupine with some left-over Snack time blocks, Kona white, and a label.

Snack Time Back

Naturally, this quilt had to be inspected professionally and so Miss Gracie gave us her paw of approval!

Miss Gracie

I still have the original quilt top from that class, Boxed In, to finish. I’ll get it done eventually!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright QAL Top Completed!

Posted on March 17, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Good evening, everyone!

I finished up my quilt top for the Star Light Star Bright QAL hosted by Melissa over at Happy Quilting. A big thanks goes to Melissa for designing such a fun project and her generosity in sharing the pattern with us, week by week!

Although some of my points are not perfect, I continue to improve my piecing skills by working on quilt-alongs and BOMs. These timed projects give me a definite goal, and I love quilting alongside people from all over the world.

To see a complete list of my fabric selections, you can read my original SLSB QAL post. I pieced the top using Aurifil thread, #2000.

My husband assisted with some outdoor photography as we tried to catch the quilt in the fading evening light. I think these pictures don’t do the fabrics justice. You can see my pretty plum tree blooming in the background.

STSB QAL Quilt Top, Outside

SLSB QAL Quilt Top Outside with Cat Inspector

Then, I brought the quilt top indoors and placed in on the floor and took a couple more photos.

SLSB QAL Quilt Top, Indoors

SLSB QAL Quilt Top, Indoors with Cat Inspector

I hope to be able to quilt it and bind it in time for the grand parade of finishers. Right now, I’m leaning towards using one of the dark brown fabrics for the binding.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Happy Worldwide Quilting Day!

Posted on March 15, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Did you know that today, March 15th, is Worldwide Quilting Day? Yippee – a special day devoted to our love of all things quilty.

I celebrated the event by purchasing some gorgeous fabric from a local quilt shop having a 20% off sale this week. I was drooling over the new Sunnyside line by Kate Spain for Moda. You can purchase this fabric online from Fat Quarter Shop if your local shop does not have it.

I didn’t have a specific project in mind until I saw the Reach for the Stars quilt on Dawn’s blog, First Light Designs. This quilt pattern features a medallion in the quilt center, something that I haven’t yet tried in a quilt. The design is by Terry Krysan and can be found in the Quilter’s Newsletter magazine as a 7-part series. Look for the October/November 2013 issue for the fabric requirements and the medallion instructions.

For my quilt, I’m using the Sunnyside line plus 2 Bella Solids (Night Sky and Porcelain) and 1 color weave in turquoise. I’m using Aurifil in Light Sand (#2000) for all the piecing. I really need to get an Aurifil thread color chart so I can pick out the best thread color for the quilting.

Here’s a quick iPhone picture of my medallion before I had it sewn together.

Tiger on Medallion

I finished sewing the borders onto the medallion this evening and tried to catch the last of the light. These pictures are a little grainy due to the low-light conditions, but I hope you see the beautiful Sunnyside fabrics!

Reach for the Stars Medallion

Some of my points do not quite match up, but I can see definite improvement in my piecing skills over the last year.

Of course, one of my cat inspectors could not resist sitting on the medallion during my photo session. I could hardly keep him off the fabric so I guess he approves!

Cow the Cat on the medallion

Once I finish piecing the top for my Star Light Star Bright QAL project, then I hope to be able to work on the next blocks on this Reach for the Stars quilt.

I hope you had a little time to do some sewing today!

Enjoy,
~Jennifer

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 Centers

Posted on February 22, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

There was some sunshine streaming in through my sewing room this morning while I finished up my last three block centers for the Star Light Star Bright QAL hosted by Melissa.

My quilt inspector decided this bit of streaming sunshine was the perfect spot to nap, and he happily agreed to pose with one of the block centers:

Tiger with SLSB Block Center

Once I had stitched together the last of my blocks, I placed all nine blocks randomly on a design wall.

Here’s what my QAL looks like so far:

SLSB QAL Block Centers

There is still time to join this QAL so hop on over to Melissa’s blog and check it out!

If you want to know about my fabric selections for this QAL, I posted each fabric and line on my post here.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aurifil February BOM

Posted on February 11, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Tuesday, quilty friends!

During the snow and ice storm that we had in Oregon this past weekend, I got in some extra sewing time. In addition to finishing up my flying geese for the Star Light Star Bright QAL, I also finished my February block for the Aurifil BOM!

February’s Aurifil block is designed by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock and is called “Mother’s Day.” It is such fun block to make featuring half-square triangles.

Here’s a look at my block in the snow using red and black fabrics from my stash. My background fabric is Kona cotton in Shadow.

Aurifil February BOM

Here are my January and February blocks side-by-side:

Aurifil BOM: January and February blocks

I’ve recently been experiencing with a new smartphone app called Waterlogue. It takes your pictures and turns them into watercolor paintings – very cool! I used this app with my February Aurifil block when two of my cat inspectors decided to check out the block. I’ll post the before-and-after pics together. What do you think?

Romeo with February block

Romeo and February Block in Waterlogue

Tiger with February Block

Tiger and Feb Block in Waterlogue

The great snowstorm has now melted and we are back into our regular winter pattern of rain and wind!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Toes in the Sand BOM, Month 10

Posted on February 5, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I’m caught up again on my Toes in the Sand BOM project! I recently finished stitching up the blocks for month 10 – Hermosa Beach!

This BOM is designed by Julie of Jaybird Quilts and uses her fabulous Hex n’ More ruler. You can read about some of my earlier blocks here.

I really love the versatility of this BOM and the happy quilty feeling I get each month when I finish the blocks. I’m looking forward to summer more and more each time I work on this project!

Here’s a look at my Hermosa Beach (month 10) blocks:

Toes in the Sand BOM, Block 10

Here in the Pacific NW, we’ve had several years of mild winters. We’re predicted to get our first snow/ice storm this coming weekend. My quilting inspector is soaking up all the sunshine he can before the storm arrives. This block is cat approved!

Hermosa Beach block is cat approved!

Here’s wishing you a quilty week!
~Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright QAL Fabrics

Posted on January 31, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone!

Melissa over at Happy Quilting has once again designed a great quilt-along for everyone called Star Light Star Bright. This is a weekly QAL with the cutting instructions posted this week.

For this project, I’m going to make the 3 block by 3 block baby quilt size. I found some wonderful Charley Harper fabrics that I’m going to use along with some other bird/fall themed prints that I think will work well together.

Here’s a look at my fabrics before cutting. They looked so pretty that I almost hated to cut them!

Star Light Star Bright Fabrics

See the beautiful red cardinals peeking out in the back? I’m saving that piece for something special!

You know that you need to take a break from cutting fabric when your quilt inspector jumps onto your cutting table and gives you this look:

Time to Stop Cutting Fabric!

I finished cutting all my pieces this afternoon. Here they are all lined up nice and pretty:

Star Light Star Bright Pieces

These are the fabrics in the photo:

Background is Essex Yarn Dyed in Flax by Robert Kaufman.

Brown twiggy fabric is Bark from Birds of a Feather Nest by Michael Miller.

Yellow/gold fabric is Meadow of Gold from Reminisce by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics

Bird and colored dots fabric is Bank Swallow Fall from Charley Harper for Birch Fabrics.

Red arrows fabric is Feathers Sun Print A-7244-0 from Andover.

Brown with white swirls fabric is Brown Rings from Honeycrisp by Dear Stella.

Multi-floral fabric is Flea Market Fancy Posie in Grey for Freespirit.

White with brown swirls fabric is Cream Rings from Honeycrisp by Dear Stella.

Grey floating floral is Twig Fall Shroom by Charley Harper for Birch Fabrics.

Colored leaves fabric is Octoberama Fall by Charley Harper for Birch Fabrics.

I really hope that these fabrics work well together!

There is still time to join the QAL and follow along. We’ll start sewing beginning next week so come join in on the fun.

Happy rotary cutting!
~Jennifer

Celtic Solstice Part 1 + Cat Approved Quilt Fabric Confetti Tutorial

Posted on January 27, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Greetings everyone!

I had that nasty stomach bug this weekend that seems to be going around. Ugh! The good news is that I finally managed to finish piecing, pressing, and trimming my pieces for part 1 of Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice mystery quilt! You can read about this mystery quilt in my earlier post here. Many people have already finished their quilts and you can see some beautiful finishes on Bonnie’s blog.

I’m making the smaller version of the quilt so I have 96 neutral (cream) units and 92 orange units:

Celtic Solstice Part 1 Units

For this quilt, I’m using leftover scraps from other projects plus random fat quarters and half-yard pieces in my stash. I used 7 different oranges, 5 different creams, and 7 different blues to make the units in part 1.

Once these units are finished, the next step is to trim off all the little left-over dog ears.

You end up with a pile of quilty fabric confetti!

Quilt Fabric Confetti

Now, you may be thinking that this fabric confetti isn’t too useful in future quilty projects, and I agree! However, if you have a cat quilt inspector, you can use this leftover material to make a cat-approved project.

Cat Approved Quilt Fabric Confetti Tutorial (aka a catnip toy)

Cut two rectangles at 4 inches by 4.5 inches from denim, canvas, or other sturdy material.
Cut a 6-inch piece of rick rack (for the tail).

Catnip Toy Materials

Pin the fabric pieces, wrong-sides together.
Sew using a 1/4-inch seam allowance and make sure to leave a small opening along one edge.
(Optional): Sew a zig-zag stitch around the outside edge for extra reinforcement. Remember to leave a small opening for stuffing.
Stuff the quilt fabric confetti and dried catnip into the opening.
Insert rickrack about 1-inch into the opening and pin close.

Stuff the Catnip Toy

Stitch opening closed with a 1/4-inch seam and optional zig-zag stitch. Be careful! This is a step where your quilt inspector will try to help.

Tiger “Helping” Me Finish the Catnip Toy

Clip any loose threads and present the quilt fabric confetti project (aka catnip toy) to your quilt inspector for approval!

Tiger loves it!

Catnip Toy is Approved!

I’ve made a few of these catnip toys for my quilt inspectors, and they are pretty sturdy. I have one cat that picks it up and carries it around like prey, meowing all the while. My orange cat loves to grab the tail in tight and then hold onto the body of the toy while rubbing his face all over it. He becomes very affectionate!

I hope you enjoy this little project and have a quilty week!
~Jennifer

Vice Versa BOM: January Blocks

Posted on January 8, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

AnneMarie over at Gen X Quilters has designed a very creative BOM using traditional blocks juxtaposed with inverse blocks! Come check out her blog and join the fun!

For my colors, I really wanted to incorporate Pantone’s color of the year – radiant orchid.

I took this pic using my camera phone so the quality is not great, but gives you an idea of the colors I’m using. I’ve listed the fabrics below the photo.

Vice Versa BOM – Fabrics

A: Kona solid in Snow
B: Kona solid in Lupine
C: Mesh Texture Taupe (03437-70) from Cachet by Benartex
D: Suede Violet by P&B Textiles
E: Studio Stash in Pistachio (AJS-13573-52) by Jennifer Sampou for Robert Kaufman
F: Small Flower Pink Taupe (03435-70) from Cachet by Benartex

The small flower print is a larger scale print that I hope will work with this project. I’m fussy-cutting pieces from my yardage (which I got on sale for 1/2 price at a LQS!!).

The January blocks came together pretty quickly and AnneMarie’s instructions are a perfect balance between text descriptions and photo diagrams.

I’ve decided to make the 9″ blocks to make a lap sized quilt.

Here are my two January blocks: the traditional block and its inverse.