New BOM – Toes in the Sand!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I had the great pleasure of taking a class from Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts at the Block Party hosted by Quiltmaker here in Portland recently. In the class, one of the ladies mentioned Julie’s new BOM. I was intrigued!

I decided to sign up for this BOM through the Fat Quarter Shop. I think the BOM program is now full, but you can buy the full pattern set and pick up your own fabrics to make this great quilt.

Each month, the participants receive the materials to make 2 blocks. April is the first month so we also received the Toes in the Sand pattern book. This book is well laid out and easy to read so the blocks come together quickly and easily.

This BOM also uses Julie’s Hex N More ruler which is a very versatile tool for creating shapes in all kinds of sizes – hexagons, triangles, half-hexies, and jewels. Really, the possibilities are limitless!

I made my two “Baker Beach” blocks last night in about an hour while the hubs cooked a wonderful dinner. I had the opportunity this afternoon to take a photo in the Oregon sunshine with my dedicated cat helper and one of my official inspectors for all things quilt related.

My Cow cat has decided to rename this quilt — “Cat Toes in the Grass” BOM!

Toes in the Sand BOM – Block One

Hope you enjoy these fun triangle blocks, and I’ll post my progress each month.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Block Party with Quiltmaker Plus Ticklish by Moda

Posted on March 16, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I heard about the Block Party sponsored by Quiltmaker coming to Portland next week so I signed up for a class. Unfortunately, I was too late to sign up for Bonnie Hunter’s class called Talkin’ Turkey. Instead, I found another great class called Boxed In by Julie Herman that looks really fun! If you’re in the area, I think you can still register by visiting the Block Party website.

Since I’ve been doing quite a few seasonal and batik quilts the past year, I decided to change things up and go for some bright and cheerful fabrics for the class. I chose the Ticklish line by Moda. Isn’t the name fun? It just seems to evoke happy summertime gatherings and memories.

Here’s are some pics of the Ticklish jelly roll:

Ticklish – All Rolled Up!

A Ticklish Rainbow!

In the class, we should be able to sew some blocks so I will post another update to this project after the Block Party. I also plan on taking lots of photos during the event so you can have a look at quilters gone wild in Portland!!

Anyone else planning on attending?

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Madrona Road Challenge Quilt is Finished!

Posted on January 13, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Just in time for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting this week, I finished my Madrona Road challenge quilt!

I did the quilting and binding last night. The quilt is about 34-inches by 34-inches. I’m calling it “Bird in a Window” because of the cute little birdie sitting in the center square.

Here’s a look at the completed quilt:

Bird in a Window Quilt Top

For the quilt back, I added some interest by piecing together a few more squares and hand-embroidering the quilt details onto the label:

Bird in a Window Back

Two close-ups:

Bird Block Close-Up

Label Close-Up

This has been a fun challenge for me, and I hope to participate in future challenges!

I plan on taking this quilt with me to the guild meeting this week. I think there may be a group photo taken at the meeting so I’ll try to post about it.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer~

More Progress on Madrona Road

Posted on January 10, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I’ve worked a bit more on my Madrona Road quilt challenge and have finished assembling the top.

You can read about my start in this earlier post.

For the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, we had to incorporate a word so I choose to use the word, “bird.” There is a cute little golden bird that appears in one of the prints that I used, plus I decided to use a paper-pieced bird block as my center image for some whimsy!

Here’s a look at the center block:

Madrona Road Bird Block

And here’s a view of the quilt top:

Madrona Road Quilt Top

For the top, I took inspiration from Faith at Fresh Lemons and her Lemon Squares Quilt pattern. I altered the pattern just a bit to include my whimsical bird block and added an inner border from Kona cotton and an outer border using one of the Madrona Road prints.

Of course, my cat had to ask me: “Mom, why a bird and not a cat?”

Why a Bird, Ma?

This weekend, I hope to take the project over to mom’s house to quilt it.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer~

Peek at my Madrona Road Quilt

Posted on January 5, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

In my earlier post here, I talked about joining the Portland Modern Quilt Guild and picking up the Madrona Road fabrics for a challenge project.

I’ve started working on this project and, I must say, it is definitely cat approved! My orange and white cat keeps sitting on it while I re-arrange the blocks! I’ve got some of the blocks created and will start assembling the quilt top soon.

Part of the challenge is to use a word that inspired the quilt. My word is both found within the Madrona Road fabric, but it also holds a special meaning to me and my sister (aka my quilting cruise companion and fellow quilt store junkie!). I will reveal the finished project in the next several weeks.

Here’s a quick peek to tease you just a bit!

Peek at Madrona Road Project

Are you working on any fun projects during this first week of the new year? I’d love to hear about them.

Happy sewing,
~Jennifer~

Madrona Road Modern Quilt Challenge

Posted on January 2, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

With the new year, I decided to stretch my sewing/quilting skills and join a guild. I signed up for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild since I have been intrigued by some of the modern quilt blocks lately. I have a link to the PMQG on the right sidebar of my blog.

I’ve been focusing quite a bit on applique and paper piecing so I’ll return to some traditional piecing techniques for my first modern quilt project.

The project will be for the Madrona Road Challenge – a fun challenge that uses the Madrona Road (Michael Miller) line of fabric by Violet Craft.

I visited a local quilt shop to pick up some fabric from this line, but they only had a few pieces to choose from. I did pick up 4 different prints and then a few solids for accents.

Here are the solids:

Madrona Road Patterned Fabrics

I could order more Madrona Road pieces from an on-line retailer, but decided to challenge myself using just the prints that I found locally. The other stipulation is that it must be a wall or art quilt no larger than 36 inches on any side and must include a word that inspires the quilt.

I’ve worked up some ideas for my challenge quilt and am using a word inspired by an image in the actual fabric itself.

Stay tuned . . . I’ll post a progress photo soon!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer~