NW Quilting Expo – Two Rivers, Three Sisters Traveling Exhibit

Posted on September 22, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

The NW Quilting Expo takes place this week in Portland, Oregon, and I took a day of work to go see it today with my mom. There were so many great vendors and quilts on display! I picked up a few cool new projects, some beautiful batiks, and a fun new tool or two.

One of my favorite portions of the show was the Two Rivers, Three Sisters Traveling Exhibit. It features many quilt panels by different artists representing two rivers in Oregon plus the Three Sisters Cascade mountains. I tried to list the artist of each panel, but had a hard time reading some of the names on my photos. If you know the name of a missing artist or if I’ve misspelled a name, please let me know!

You can find more information about this traveling exhibit at this website.

It was impossible for me to take one shot of the entire exhibit so I took many!!

Here’s a little overview display card with thumbnail pictures of the various quilts in this project:

Quilt Display Card

The first picture features the first three quilt panels. Artists from left to right are: Sheila Finzer, Jean Wells Keenan and Valori Wells Kennedy, and June Jaeger.

The second picture shows the 4th and 5th quilt panels. Artists are Catherine Moen and Janice W. Hearn.

First Three Panels

4th and 5th Panels

This next group shows the 6th and 7th panels. Artists: Pat Welsh and Mary Stiewig. Then the 8th through 10th panels. Artists: Sarah Kaufman, Helen Erisson, and Beth ?.

6th and 7th Panels

8th, 9th, and 10th Panels

Up next, you’ll see the 11th and 12th panels. Artists: Tonye Belinda Phillips and Cindy Young.

Then, you’ll see the 13th, 14th, and 15th panels. Artists: Mary Nyquist Koons, Judy Johnson, and Donna Cherry.

11th and 12th Panels

13th, 14th, 15th Panels

And the final panels are shown below. Artists: Carol W? and Donna Rice.

16th and 17th Panels

Paper Piecing Tool Caddy

Posted on September 20, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

My sister’s birthday was this past week so I decided to make her a gift. Since we both enjoy paper piecing, I thought it would be fun to make her a tool caddy. This caddy is a great way to travel with your paper piecing tools to workshops, classes, and quilt cruises!! (Yes, we are already talking about doing another quilt cruise together in 2014!).

I used Carol Doak’s free Tool Caddy pattern which is available on her website. Since my sister’s nickname is related to birds, I decided to use bird themed fabric.

Here’s what the tool caddy looks like rolled up. Notice the cute little bird footprints on the fabric!

Tool Caddy Rolled Up

When you unroll the caddy, you’ll see a 9-patch star block on the top plus a lower sectioned portion for all your tools!

Tool Caddy Full View

My fabric selections include:

a blue/green batik for the border and center of the 9-patch star
a dark blue bird print and a light blue bird print for the star points
a white-on-white print featuring little birds and footprints for the background
the same blue bird footprint fabric as the backing
the ribbon is a medium blue color with a little green accent for fun

Here’s a picture of the caddy with a few paper piecing tools:

Tool Caddy with Tools

This little tool caddy comes together pretty quickly using fabric from your stash. Now that I’ve made one for my sister, I need to make one for myself!

Happy quilting!

~Jennifer~

Ghost and Witch Halloween Blocks, plus completed first row!

Posted on September 12, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

In several of my earlier blog posts, I mentioned that I’m working on a fun applique quilt by Amy Bradley for Halloween. The quilt has different famous characters featured on each block.

I’ve completed the ghost and witch blocks! I’m having so much fun with this quilt because each block is so unique.

Here’s the ghost block. He has the cutest nose!

Ghost Halloween Block

And here is the witch block. Don’t you just love her hair? I also couldn’t resist fussy cutting fabric for her hat band so she could have several black cats.

Now that I have the first four blocks appliqued, I decided to add the borders and cornerstones before tacking the second set of blocks.

Here’s the completed first row with just the inner borders and cornerstones. There will be outer borders once all the blocks are completed.

Top Row of Halloween Applique Quilt

You may be wondering – what happened to their eyes? Yikes! Don’t worry – the eyes were only placed temporarily for photos. I’ll add the eyes and other embellishments once the quilting is complete.

Hope you enjoy!

~Jennifer~

September Mystery BOM

Posted on September 3, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

I finished my September paper pieced block as part of an online group. The quilt is designed so that we get 11 blocks. During the last month, the mystery is revealed as we learn how the blocks fit together.

September Mystery BOM

This is the 5th block that I’ve made for the mystery quilt. This month, Carol posted our block a little earlier in August, but I was visiting Yellowstone so did not get the chance to make it until this week. I really like how the triangles combine to form a pinwheel in the center. The block is designed by Carol Doak.

Happy paper piecing!

~Jennifer~

Deer Country Quilts in Seeley Lake, Montana and Hiking!

Posted on August 22, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

Since my last post, I went on a long journey to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Montana and then over to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for some sightseeing and hiking. I traveled with my husband, son, and nephew. Since the guys outnumbered me, I managed to convince them to stop at 2 quilt shops during the trip.

The first quilt shop was Deer Country Quilts in Seeley Lake, Montana. While all the guys went fishing, my sister and I got to spend some quality time with all the wonderful fabrics in this shop.

Quilt Shop in Seeley Lake, Montana

This shop had a great selection of batiks that I drooled over for a while before selecting a few pieces to add to my stash. I’ve also been really interested in paper piecing lately so I picked up a kit featuring some vibrant purple and green fabric called Twilight.

I tried to take a picture of the inside of the quilt store, but it came out a bit dark.

Inside the Shop!

The interior just invites you to explore all the great fabrics! Wish we would have had more time, but we had to meet up with the guys and have dinner.

During the next week, we spent a good portion of each day hiking in Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. We experienced quite a bit of smoke in the area due to wildfires throughout the west so our views were obscured, especially in Grand Teton. We definitely had a great trip!

Happy sewing!

~Jennifer~

Halloween Dracula Vampire Block

Posted on August 7, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

In my continuing quest to finish a Halloween quilt, I have finished a second block from Amy Bradley’s Happy Halloween pattern.

See my Bat block post to see the first one that I created a couple of weeks ago.

Presenting a very cute and fun looking vampire for a change! Nothing scary or creepy about this Dracula:

Vampire Block – Happy Halloween Quilt

I used a purple print with satiny dots for his collar to give him a bit of sophistication. I think he looks really charming with his muppet-like nose and little pointy teeth. The button eyes won’t be sewed down until I’ve finished the quilt.

Hope you enjoy and happy sewing!

~Jennifer~

6 Year Anniversary Block

Posted on July 31, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

In this earlier post, I mentioned that I’m a member of Carol Doak’s Yahoo group. Her group recently had its 6th year online anniversary and Carol designed a fabulous block to celebrate the event!

I have a small piece of cute butterfly fabric in my stash, and I really wanted to be creative and incorporate the little butterflies throughout the block. I may have been too eager with this block because I’m not entirely happy with it.

Here’s a pic of it (a little crooked since the wind kept blowing it around outside on my lawn):

6 Year Anniversary Block

I really love the purple and blue tones in this block. However, I think the butterflies are a little lost against the white fabric.

Here are my ideas for using this block:

1. turn it into a pillow

2. add more blocks to either side to create a table runner

3. make a small wallhanging

4. give it away

5. other?

What would you do with this block?

Happy sewing,

~Jennifer~

Halloween Bat Block

Posted on July 27, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

In my last post, I talked about my ever increasing stash of Halloween fabric.

One of my favorite applique designers, Amy Bradley, has an adorable ‘Happy Halloween‘ pattern set. I decided that these patterns would be a perfect application for my stash! I purchased the pattern and it arrived a few months back (whoa, how time flies!).

I selected the Bat Block as my first one to do this week. The eyes are only on the block temporarily. I’ll add them later once I have the whole project quilted.

What a cute bat!

Happy Halloween Bat Block

I have 1 out of 12 blocks finished. Who knows if I can finish it for this Halloween or perhaps for next year?

Happy crafting!

~Jennifer~

Halloween Fabric Stash

Posted on July 25, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the traditions and fun associated with kids trick-or-treating and the crispness of the autumn air. I love carved pumpkins sitting on porches and the colored leaves as they blow across lawns.

I really love Halloween fabrics. There are so many cute designs that I just cannot resist adding a fat quarter here and a 1/2 yard there to my stash.

I looked at my Halloween stash recently and decided it was overflowing, and I need to pick a project already!

Part of My Halloween Fabric Stash

Hmmm, are you wondering what I’ll pick? It is a delightful pattern full of whimsy and mischief from one of my favorite designers. I’ve been working on the first block this week and will post a picture of it when I’ve completed it.

Here’s a hint . . . it’s the same designer who created this crazy cat quilt pattern set that I did a few years ago and is now hanging in my sewing room.

Happy guessing!

~Jennifer~

Visiting Center Diamond Quilt Store

Posted on July 16, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

This weekend, I went on a camping trip with my 2 favorite guys – my husband and our son. On the way down to the campground, I managed to convince them that I needed to stop at a quilt store. Lucky for me, they didn’t mind waiting for a few minutes while I browsed inside Center Diamond in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Center Diamond is a great little quilt shop along the Oregon coast. I particularly love their collection of batik fabrics. It’s definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

I was searching for a turtle batik for a while and happened to find one while visiting. I picked up several coordinating fabrics that just feel summery to me. Wonder what I’ll make?