Last year, I participated in a weekly tiny house sew along designed by Quilt Art Designs. These are 6-inch blocks with very small foundation paper pieced sections with a total of 36 houses. This project was designed as a scrap buster, but my scrap bin is still overflowing!!
I kept up with the weekly sew a long and you can find all of my individual houses posted to my Instagram account @nwquiltedcat or by searching on the hashtag #meowvilletinyhouses.
For my houses, I decided that I wanted to incorporate little cats into each house. I fussy cut various cat faces and cat bodies and pieced them into each block.
I put these blocks to the side for a few months to ponder how I might finish this project, and I recently put them up on my design wall. These are all of the tiny houses pieced together in rows, but the rows are not yet sewn together.
I decided to call my little village, Meowville! I used paper pieced letters designed by Sam Hunter in her book, Quilt Talk.
Meowville banner for my tiny house village!
I’m leaning towards adding an inner solid border around the tiny houses, and then adding a wider outer border with the Meowville banner, some paw prints, and maybe a paper pieced cat or two. Stay tuned!
I needed a fun and useable container to place all those little threads and small fabric clippings that seem to pile up while sewing. Fortunately, I happened to come across a swap for a quilt-as-you-go thread catcher on Instagram recently with a fun group of quilters called @modernpalooza.
For this swap, each person created a thread catcher using a free pattern by The Sewing Chick. The swap organizers matched us up with a secret partner, and sent us some hints as to their fabric likes and dislikes.
I decided to pull some Libs Elliott fabrics from my stash as my modern, bright fabrics to use for the patchwork scraps. I changed up the pattern slightly by deciding to add a black and white border to the top and lower edges of my colorful patchwork strip. I then added a smaller width of a dotted gray fabric for contrast.
I also didn’t have duck canvas on hand as called for in the pattern. Instead, I fused some Pellon Shape Flex to my lining fabric before adding the quilt-as-you-go fabric pieces.
For the binding, I used the same black and white fabric to echo the borders. I took my little completed thread catcher basket on a hike to central Oregon, and I think it looks great resting on this old juniper tree.
Thread catcher basket that I made for my partner
We were also asked to send a favorite treat or snack along with the bucket. I sent some Moonstruck chocolate made by an Oregon company along with some fabric and other little goodies. I didn’t think to take a picture of the complete package before I mailed it.
In return, I received a wonderful thread catcher basket from my partner!
Thread catcher basket that I received
My partner made me this super cute basket using Tula Pink’s Daydreamer fabric! Isn’t it bright and cheerful? She also very thoughtfully included some super rare out-of-print Tula Pink fabrics that I do not own. I’m very excited to use them in a future project just for me.
What I really loved about this little thread catcher basket swap is that the project was pretty small and not too time consuming. Sometimes, swaps can be overwhelming for people because they try to make something too complicated or underestimate how long it might take to make a larger item like a mini quilt. I do enjoy swaps because it gives me a chance to try new projects, learn new skills, and make new friends!
I took my completed Sea Glass quilt to the ocean for a few pictures several weekends ago. It was beautiful weather, although the wind made it pretty tricky to get good pictures. We rented a yurt for camping and had a great time! We were so glad to be in a yurt instead of our tent because it did get below freezing at night. Brrr!
I did free-motion quilting using Glide thread in Cool Mint. I used large, open swirls that reminded me of the beach. For the backing, I used Luxe Cuddle in Seal Aqua Sea. My HQ Avante handled the cuddle backing perfectly!
Free-Motion Quilting on My Sea Glass Quilt
For binding, I opted to use a fabric that wasn’t part of the BOM. I had some Zuma High Tides in Aquamarine by Tula Pink in my stash that complements the blues and turquoises in the quilt. I think it really accents and frames the quilt very nicely. Those little anchors are too cute!
Sea Glass Binding
I did machine stitch the binding to both the front and the back because it is pretty difficult to hand sew through the cuddle fabric. I knew that this quilt was going on a bed so I also liked the extra durability of machine stitching.
Here’s a look at the completed quilt with the Pacific Ocean in the background:
Completed Sea Glass Quilt at the Ocean
We found some interesting cliffs a little farther down the coast so I asked my hubby and son climb up on a log to hold the quilt for a picture. It really helps having a teen who is now taller than me!
Sea Glass Quilt Near Cliffs
I have a full size futon bed in my guest room so this quilt will make a nice covering. The luxe cuddle backing is so soft and feels so good against your skin. I’m sure my guest (aka my sister) will love sleeping under this quilt during a future visit.
This Sea Glass quilt finish is the result of a year long block-of-the-month program through Fig Tree & Co. Although the BOM program is over, you may be able to purchase a pattern on their website.
I really enjoyed making a quilt with this soothing color palette, and I’m really glad to have another WIP completed!
Grab a cup of coffee because this post will be longer than usual with a few more pictures! I’m so happy to cross off my first official quilty finish of 2021 by completing a WIP that started its journey in 2018.
In 2018, I signed up to do a 100 blocks in 100 days project, hosted by @gnomeangel on Instagram. The goal was to make each block from the book, Tula Pink’s City Sampler Book: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. Each day, starting in July 2018, and for 100 days in a row, we posted the designated block for that day. We could make the blocks in advance, but we had to post the blocks in order on the specified day.
Here’s a look at my first and last blocks (on little design boards). You can find all my blocks by searching the hashtag #nwquiltedcat100blocks on Instagram.
Once I finished all 100 blocks, I put the project aside for awhile. In January 2020, I was lucky enough to secure a spot in a Tula Pink class set for July of 2020 at the Quilter’s Affair event, which takes place the week before the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Little did we know that a pandemic was looming!
In February 2020, I decided to pull out all the blocks, arrange them, and decide on a setting layout.
Each of my blocks stuffed into the book!
I decided to use all 100 blocks with Kona White and Kona Lighthouse for the sashing. I started piecing in March 2020 and finished in April 2020, still with the hope that I would be attending Tula’s class in July.
100 Modern Quilt blocks layout, light gray and white sashing with quilt inspector, Romeo100 Modern Quilt Blocks, the quilt grows while quilt inspector, Romeo, approves!
Of course, we all know that all quilting shows and events did get canceled for the rest of 2020. Once I had finished piecing the top, I lost my enthusiasm for the project as I knew I wouldn’t be able to ask Tula to sign my quilt in July. However, most of the instructors, including Tula, agreed to postpone their classes for July 2021! Yeah, hope renewed my ambition to get this quilt finished.
This is a large quilt, maybe queen size plus, but not quite king size. I had to piece the backing so I used a beautiful Neptunia Von Black portrait (from the Nightshade line) backing from I Heart Tula Pink at 54″ x 72″. I then added some of Tula’s 108″ backing from her Linework line called Sketchyer Paper along with some Fairy Dust in Whisper from her True Colors line. My label is a scrap of Kona White fabric, pieced directly into the backing. I left a large open space on the label where I hope to get Tula’s autograph eventually.
In December of 2020, I decided to quilt it using Glide thread in Bone and a hand-guided pantograph called Modern Twist by Urban Elementz on my HQ Avante. I selected this simple panto to keep the quilting in the background and the focus on the blocks.
Finally, I was ready to bind this giant quilt! I went with the same Fairy Dust in Whisper that I used on the backing. It picks up all the colors in the quilt without detracting from any of the blocks.
This past weekend, we took the completed quilt for a little photoshoot to Battery Russell at Ft. Stevens State Park at the Oregon coast. My hubby and son held the quilt while I took the photos. Our dog, Pepper, helped too!
Unfolding the quilt for pictures, January 2021100 Modern Quilt Blocks quilt front at Battery Russell, January 2021100 Modern Quilts Blocks back at Battery Russell, January 2021A close-up view of my 100 Modern Quilt Blocks quilt at Battery Russell, January 2021A close-up view of my pieced backing at Battery Russell, January 2021
I love this quilt! It is so bright and cheerful, and the backing is just as fun as the front. With a little luck, we’ll be able to have in-person quilt events this summer, and I just might get to take my class with Tula and show her this completed quilt.
I’ll leave you with one last picture from our day trip. We also stop to visit the Peter Iredale shipwreck when we visit Ft. Stevens. It is ever so slowly eroding away and, with this visit, we really noticed that a larger piece of the bow had disappeared since our last visit. I really need to dig up some of the pictures of this ship when I visited as a little kid to compare the differences.
Now I’m on to my next WIP, which is my Sea Glass BOM by Fig Tree. I will post an update soon!
Two years ago, I attended a quilt retreat with my sister and some friends. We decided to do a Ghastlie themed round robin, where we would each create our own center block. We determine a round robin order, and then send our centers to the next person. We had 4 total members and had no restrictions other than using Ghastlies fabrics with blenders.
The Ghastlies is a line of fabric by Alexander Henry, featuring a splendidly creepy family including a cat! It is unusual, whimsical, and funny fabric, and definitely outside of traditional quilting.
For my quilt, I really wanted my theme to be Sebastian, the Ghaslie cat. I used a foundation paper pieced pattern by Linda Hibbert of Silver Linings Originals called Miss Teree. I don’t see the pattern on her website, but you may be able to email her if you are interested in the pattern.
Here’s what my center looked like in December 2018:
Sebastian, my center block
Coincidentally, the other 3 members of our round robin all selected the same Ghastlie fabric for their center block, but added personalized details:
All the Ghastlie center blocks for the round robin
Aren’t they fun? From 2018 to 2020, we added rounds and mailed them to the next person. The last round finished up this September, and we each received our completed tops in October.
Our plan is to quilt them and enter them into a quilt show in fall 2021,and we’re hoping for the COVID crisis to be lessened by then so that we can have in person quilt shows again.
We had so much fun with this round robin, and we’re planning another one. The next round robin will be different. Instead of complete quilt flimsies, we are thinking about a Ghastlie themed block swap.
I posted about joining a scrappy summer sew along a few weeks ago here. This quilt uses your scrap bin to make a 9-patch blocks for a scrappy finish!
I used a bunch of yellows plus pinks/reds to make a “Raspberry Lemonade” scrappy quilt. I started sewing my 9-patch blocks as leaders/enders while working on other projects. Then, a bunch of crazy life stuff happened, and I had to stop sewing for a couple of weeks.
Here’s a look at some of my 9-patch blocks, with sunlight filtering in through a side window:
Scrappy 9-patch blocks
Sunday was the last day to post our finished top on Instagram as part of the sew along. I pulled out the 9-patch blocks that I had completed, and I had just enough for a baby sized quilt. My quilt inspector helped me to sort the blocks into rows and columns.
Romeo inspects the 9-patch blocks
I enjoyed sewing these little blocks together as a sort of meditative time for myself. We had beautiful weather here yesterday so I was able to get a picture of the quilt flimsy, fluttering in the breeze, on a nearby little bridge.
Scrappy Summer Sew Along Flimsy – Raspberry Lemonade!
I’m going to back this little quilt with some soft, cuddly Minky fabric and likely donate it.
You can find other participants and fun quilts from this sew along by searching on the hashtag #scrappysummersal2020 on Instagram.
One of the life events that happened recently is a major (and expensive) surgery for our girl, Pepper. She had the surgery one week ago today, and she is doing pretty well with her recovery. We’re hoping that she’ll be back to hiking with us later this winter or next spring. She needs a full 8-10 weeks for recovery plus multiple physical therapy sessions.
If you’d like to help, I started a GoFundMe to offset some of the cost of the surgery and physical therapy.
Here’s a look at Pepper post-op with her poor, furless leg and incision:
Pepper, resting after knee surgery
Each day, she is getting stronger! We just have to keep this very active dog from running or jumping for 8 weeks. Whew!
I have a very large shoe box, the kind that fits boots, behind my sewing area where I toss scraps from projects that are large enough to reuse. These scraps have been growing and growing until my box was overflowing.
Then, I noticed that @thehomebodycompany and @the.weekendquilter were hosting an Instagram scrap busting sew along called the “Scrappy Summer Sew Along” with the hashtag, #scrappysummersal2020. This sew along uses a free pattern, which contains some different sizing options for using the simple 9-patch block for the quilt.
I dumped out my scraps and started sorting into color groups.
Sorting scraps
Wow, that got tiring fast in my very warm sewing room so I took a little break. When I came back into the room, I found my cat, Romeo, decided to reorganize things a bit.
Romeo reorganizes the scraps
I convinced Romeo to let me continue sorting by color. As the piles grew, I started thinking about how I wanted my scrappy quilt to look. I decided to do a limited color palette by using just pinks/reds and yellow scraps for a raspberry lemonade theme. My background will be a white-on-white fabric from my stash.
I’m making the rectangular throw size quilt so I needed to cut hundreds of 2″ squares from my scraps and hundreds of 2″ squares from my background fabric.
For the background fabric, I used the XL Stripology Ruler by Creative Grids to first cut the 2″ strips, and then sub-cut the strips into 2″ squares. This ruler is a lifesaver! I cut out all my pieces quickly and accurately without any hand fatigue. I highly recommend investing in one of these rulers.
Here’s a look at some of my pretty 2″ squares, just waiting patiently to be sewn into 9-patch blocks.
Pretty 2″ squares
I’m using this project as a leader/ender for other projects that I have underway. I’ll show you some of my 9-patch blocks using these squares soon!
We’ve been having an unusually rainy start to June here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m definitely looking forward to some sunshine soon!
Over the weekend, I worked on my Sea Glass BOM by Fig Tree & Co. The block this month features a cross shape in the middle, to acknowledge this strange year dealing with COVID-19. The participants in the BOM will always remember that we worked on this quilt during a pandemic.
The block is called “Ocean Cross,” and we could choose from 2 different layout options. I decided to make one block using each layout. Due to the rain, I had to take these pictures indoors so the blocks do appear a bit brighter in person.
Sea Glass BOM, block 5, Ocean Cross
Here are all of my blocks together. So pretty!
Sea Glass BOM, blocks from months 1 to 5
We have also been working on large flying geese for the BOM, which will likely form a border. Each month, we cut out extra pieces for the geese and sew a few together when instructed.
I’m happy to say that I’ve finished my project in the 2020 Mini Series sew-along, hosted by Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass. Over the past 2 months, we have made 8 tiny foundation paper pieced blocks as part of this SAL plus a 9th bonus block for registered participants!
This SAL was a great virtual quilting community project to work on during COVID-19. We encouraged each other through our posts on Instagram, which you can find using the #MiniSeriesSAL hashtag.
I completed all the blocks and decided to piece them together into a “skinny mini” horizontal quilt. I added a 2-inch border to the top, bottom, and sides. I did not add any sashing strips between my blocks because I had a special place in my quilting room picked out to display this quilt.
For quilting, I used Glide thread in white and did some simple piano keys in the borders using a ruler. I also stitched-in-the-ditch around each quilt block.
Quilting my “skinny mini”
For my binding, I used a print from Tula Pink’s Zuma line that perfectly complemented the Kona cotton colors that I used for my blocks. This is the same fabric line that I used for the little green print with the seahorses, stars, and anchors in my blocks.
I’m displaying my Mini Series skinny mini quilt above a closet door in my quilting room and attached to a shelf holding some of my antique toy sewing machines. I love the beachy pop of color that it provides in that color. It also coordinates well with the Sherwin Williams Sea Salt paint on my walls!
Mini Series SAL Finished Project, A Skinny Mini!
This has been such a great project to make over the past several months. I’m happy that I kept up with the blocks each week, and that I was able to finish a project on time to get a finisher’s pin. When the pin arrives, I’ll add it to my skinny mini! My thanks to both Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass for hosting this sew-along!!
We are now at week 8 in the Mini Series SAL with the last block called Criss Cross! These past 8 weeks have been very surreal, with time warping strangely due to working-from-home during this pandemic. I’m so grateful to Alison Glass and Giucy Giuce for organizing and hosting this great SAL!
The Criss Cross block is one of the more difficult blocks in the series due to the section joins. I took it slow and careful, taking time to pin the seams together and doing a basting stitch test alignment. I love the itty bitty flying geese in this block!
Here’s a look at my Criss Cross block in a field of lupine:
Criss Cross block
I also completed my bonus block this week, called String Block. This block is very easy and comes together quickly.
String Block (bonus for SAL participants)
I love all these little 4-inch foundation paper pieced blocks! We now have 2 weeks to make a project (or projects) to earn a finisher’s pin.
I’m leaning towards making a mini quilt, but I might also make little fabric baskets. Hmm, what to make!
Mini Series SAL, finished blocks
When I took a walk earlier this week to photograph my Criss Cross block, I took my hiking girl, Pepper. We dodged rain clouds, and we had a marvelous time just being outdoors together, taking in fresh air. I wanted to get some pictures of her in the field of lupine, but she had a hard time focusing with several people walking by and smiling at her. A doggie smile has the power to lift people up, even in uncertain times!
Pepper smiling in the lupine
Pepper laughing in the lupine
Stay tuned for my finished project with these blocks! Are you doing the SAL? Leave me a comment!
NW Quilted Cat 