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

Sewing Cabinet Find and Celtic Solstice, Part 2!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday, quilters!

I’ve been perusing the local Craigslist ad for months, just waiting for a sewing cabinet to replace the tiny table that I have been using. This weekend, a nice cabinet appeared in the listing with a 1980s-era Singer sewing machine.

The cabinet does have a few scratches and dings, but my Bernina (mostly) fits into the cut-out space. On my old little table, it just sat on top and didn’t fit flush with the table surface. As a bonus, it has 7 drawers!! My husband helped me pick up the machine and haul it up our stairs. Then, I spent a good chunk of Sunday organizing the space. That it still a work in progress!

Here are some pictures of the new-to-me sewing cabinet in my spare bedroom (aka my sewing studio).

Used Sewing Cabinet

A few small scratches on the sewing cabinet surface

Sewing Room, Right Side

Sewing Room, Left Side

Oh my, looking at those photos, I see that still need to organize some of my fabric that is on the floor!

I also worked a bit more on my Celtic Solstice quilt top. This is a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt from last fall, but I’m very behind many of the quilters who have already completed their tops! You can see my part one of this project here.

For part two, I needed to make 100 chevron units for the small-sized version of the quilt. Each chevron uses 6 pieces of fabric for a total of 600 pieces on this step! This was my first time making chevrons, and they went together pretty well by following Bonnie’s instructions.

Here they are after a press and trim:

Celtic Solstice Chevrons

I have added the chevrons to my units from part one, and they are living together in this little basket:

Celtic Solstice, Parts 1 and 2

I’ve started part three for this project, and I think it will go a bit faster than the chevron units. You can still get the instructions for free on Bonnie’s site until June!

Hope you enjoyed the look at my sewing space!

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

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

Andover Fabrics Downton Abbey Tea Party + Giveaway!

Posted on February 19, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Good morning, everyone!

I had a little panic moment when my pictures from this event would not download from my camera card to my computer! Fortunately, I found a workaround and I was able to retrieve the pictures – yea!

Last weekend, I was so excited to be able to attend a Downton Abbey themed tea and trunk show by Andover Fabrics and hosted by Fabric Depot. This was a ticketed event that had been scheduled for the weekend before but got postponed due to a snow and ice storm in Portland.

Each place setting was beautifully decorated and we could choose between a Creme de la Earl Grey tea or a Forest Park tea. I went with the Earl Grey and it was delicious! We also enjoyed delicate little bite-sized treats to go with our tea!

Tea Party Setting

Tea Party Treats

During the tea, attendees were invited to show a panel of judges any sewn creations that they had made using the Downton Abbey fabric line by Andover. I saw many beautiful and elegant dresses, hats, and bags that definitely fit the period of the show. Since I don’t really sew garments, I decided to create a little table topper using the Rock Candy pattern by Jaybird Quilts. You can read about it in my earlier post here. I believe that I had the only quilty type project to show the judges.

Towards the end of the tea, the prizes were announced and I won second place (most creative) for my little table topper! The prize was a $50 gift certificate to Fabric Depot that I, of course, spent when the tea concluded.

Here’s a picture of my prize and my entry:

Most Creative Prize

Rocky Candy Table Topper

I had so much fun at this event and found myself purchasing more Downton Abbey fabric! I want to make a bag and possibly a small quilt wall-hanging.

The trunk show included some completed quilts and bags using the fabric line. I took a few pictures so you could enjoy all of the wonderful creations.

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Fabric Depot has posted a summary of this event with more photos on their blog here. There is a picture of my hands and the judges’ hands holding my little table topper about half-way through the blog post.

And now for the giveaway! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. Be sure that I can contact you if you win! The giveaway will be open until Monday, February 24th at 8:00 a.m., Pacific Time. I’ll use a random number generator to choose a winner. If you are a follower, you can earn an extra entry by letting me know how you follow my blog. I will mail internationally so everyone can enter.

The prize is a pack of Gutermann thread designed to go with the Dowager Countess fabrics from the Downton Abbey collection. This set includes a plum thread (#942), a light grey thread (#100), and a dark grey thread (#112).

Dowager Countess Thread Pack Giveaway

Good luck!
-Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright QAL, Half Square Triangles

Posted on February 17, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday!

This weekend, I found time to work on my project for the Star Light Star Bright QAL hosted and designed by Melissa. There is still time to join the fun so pop on over to her blog to check out all the details!

Our assignment this week was to create our half square triangles. I’m making the 9-block baby size quilt so I had quite a few HST’s to sew and trim!

The sewing part went pretty fast as I chain-stitched each grouping. The important part of this step was to keep our groupings separate so we don’t confuse the half square triangles between groups. I labeled each group with a sticky note and only sewed one group at a time.

Next, we trimmed our little HST’s! This part makes me happy to sew all those perfectly square little blocks, but I definitely get a sore left forearm. I cut with my right hand, but seem to hold onto my squaring ruler pretty tightly with my left hand so that the fabric doesn’t wiggle. This seems to lead to soreness the next day when I do lots of trimming.

Here’s a look at my little mountain of trimmed edges:

HST Trimmings

I’ll use these trimmings to make more cat nip presents for my quilt inspectors.

Here’s a look at all my half square triangles, neatly trimmed. I have group 1 spread out on my cutting table next to groups 2 through 9.

Half Square Triangles for Star Light Star Bright QAL

And here’s a look at all my HST’s and flying geese bundled up together in a little tray:

Organizing Tray for Star Light Star Bright QAL

Stay tuned for next week’s post where I will show you my block centers for this QAL.

I also had the opportunity to attend a Downton Abbey tea party hosted by Andover Fabrics on Saturday. I even won a prize – eek! I’ll upload my photos from this wonderful event to an upcoming post so stay tuned!

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

72 Flying Geese and Snow!

Posted on February 8, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy wintery Saturday!

We haven’t had much snow for the past several winters in Oregon, but we are making up for it now! Over the past 2 days, the snow has been pretty constant and we are nearing the 1-foot accumulation mark. The snow looks so pretty falling down from the sky, but I am glad that we only experience this much snow every 4 or 5 years.

While I was sewing some flying geese today, my 8-year-old noticed a flock of beautiful fluffed up robins trying to take shelter in a tree in our background. I took these pictures through the window of an upstairs bedroom. So beautiful!

Robins in the Snow

Fluffed Up Robins

For the Star Light Star Bright QAL hosted by Melissa, our assignment this week was to sew flying geese. I am making the 9 block baby sized quilt so I needed to stitch together 72 pairs of flying geese! These geese went together so quickly using Melissa’s no-waste method.

Here are my flying geese all lined up!

Star Light Star Bright Flying Geese

If you want to know what fabrics I’m using for the QAL, you can read about my selections here.

Since we’re snowed in today, I’m going to keep sewing on my chevron units for Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice quilt. I hope to get these units finished up this weekend.

Enjoy the snow!
~Jennifer