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

Toes in the Sand BOM, Blocks 11 and 12

Posted on March 30, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I’ve been participating in the Toes in the Sand BOM by Julie of Jaybird Quilts over the past year, and I’m happy to say that I’ve finished the last 2 sets of blocks! I signed up for this BOM with the Fat Quarter Shop and just loved receiving that package in the mail each month.

The block for month 11 is La Jolla Cove. I love the dark blues in this block!

La Jolla Cove Block

The final block for month 12 is Big Sur. This one has plenty of fun hexagon shapes.

Big Sur Block

Now that I have all the blocks completed, I need to work on the setting triangles and assemble the quilt top.

But first, I really need to finish my Celtic Solstice Mystery top. I’ve signed up to take a class with Bonnie in June so I need to hurry – yikes!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Vice Versa BOM: March Blocks

Posted on March 24, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I did both some hiking and some sewing this weekend to kick off spring break here in Oregon!

I finished up my 2 March blocks for the Vice Versa BOM, hosted by AnneMarie over at GenXQuilters. We made the bear paw block this month, which is one of my all-time favorite blocks.

Here’s at look at the regular block and the inverse block:

Vice Versa BOM – March Blocks

You can read about my fabric selections in my first Vice Versa post here.

We’ve made 3 months worth of blocks, and I love taking pictures of them together. The colors are so springy and make me happy!

3 Months of Vice Versa BOM

I’m working on pictures from our scenic hike over the weekend so stay tuned!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Triangle QAL Fabrics!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

The sun is shining here this afternoon, just in time for me to take a picture of the fabrics that I have selected to use in a new quilt-along. Yes, I just finished up my Star Light Star Bright QAL top, and I’ve decided to jump aboard Paula’s fun triangle QAL over on her blog, Sassy Quilter.

I’m really excited to do this QAL since this will be my first, all triangle quilt top!

There are so many luscious fabric lines on the market today to choose from that I really couldn’t decide. Instead, I decided to go with something a little strange, a little hip, and a whole lot Portland! This one is for my hubby who loves beer and really enjoys sampling all the local micro brews.

The patterned fabrics are from Clothworks Brewsky line, which I think may now be out of print. I actually picked up most of these fabrics last year while doing a quilt shop hop, but didn’t have a specific project in mind. I’m throwing in a few coordinating Kona cotton solids to round out my selections.

Here are the fabrics, all bundled up in this little basket:

Brewsky Fabric

And since my cat inspectors are too sophisticated to have their photos taken next to beer fabric, my dog stepped up to the plate. And really, doesn’t the dog and beer kinda tie for the role of “man’s best friend??”

Yep, Ma, It’s Beer Fabric! Woof!

I hope you’ll mosey on over to Paula’s blog and join us for this QAL. Next Friday, she’ll post the cutting directions.

Have a great weekend!
~Jennifer

Quilted Name Tag and Lanyard

Posted on March 19, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I belong to a local quilt guild, and we have our monthly meeting coming up this week. The guild encourages people to create name tags to wear at the meetings since there are quite a few members. I’ve been procrastinating on this task for quite some time!

I decided to pull out some fun sewing-themed fabrics to use with my name tag.

Fabrics for Name Tag

These fabrics are:
Black: Color Weave by P&B Textiles
Green: Light Green #23070-H from She Who Sews Handmaids line by Janet Wecker Frisch for Quilting Treasures
Solid White: Kona cotton in white
Scissors Print on White: Pattern #600 by The Henley Studio for Makower Andover (can’t find a link)

I decided to make a simple pinwheel quilt block with a finished measurement of 3-inches by 3-inches. Next, I added a small white rectangle below the pinwheel so I could write my name. I used the Handmaids green fabric as a border, and then made my miniature quilt sandwich!

Name Tag Quilt Sandwich

Isn’t it cute! For piecing, I used Aurifil #2000. For the quilting, I used an Aurifil Green to echo stitch around each pinwheel shape and around the white rectangle. I used Aurifil black to stitch on the black color weave binding.

I then cut a piece of black ribbon from my stash and stitched it to the backside of the name tag and turned it into a lanyard. I decided to make a lanyard style to avoid pinning the tag to my clothes and so I could add commemorative buttons from quilting events to the ribbon.

As a final touch, I added 3 decorative buttons: a cat (of course!), a pair of scissors, and a thimble.

Quilted Name Tag Lanyard

I love these quick-and-easy projects!

Do you have a quilted name tag? I’d love to see photos.

Enjoy!
~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

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

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