Viewer’s Choice Finalist!

Posted on May 26, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

The spring Blogger’s Quilt Festival voting is happening this week over at Amy’s Creative Side!

I’m happy to announce that my mini butterfly quilt made it into the Viewer’s Choice category as a finalist.

Viewer’s Choice Finalist!

If you have the chance, hop over to the site and check out all the quilts in many different categories. You can vote for up to 3 quilts in each category. Each photo takes you to the quilt maker’s blog so you can read about individual quilt details.

If you’re inclined, I’d love your vote!!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Spring Blogger’s Quilt Festival: Mini Quilt Entry

Posted on May 15, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone!

Today, I want to reveal this beautiful butterfly mini quilt that I made for an Instagram-based quilt swap.

I used Cotton & Steel prints and Kona solids to create this stunning, paper-pieced butterfly. The pattern is called Take Wing by Lillyella Stitchery. It finishes at 24-inches wide by 15-inches high, but you could increase the size by adding borders.

I did free-motion quilting using my HQ16 and white Aurifil 50 weight thread. I think the wavy quilting adds to the fluid, fluttering nature of this pretty butterfly. For the antennae, I hand-quilted using purple Razzle Dazzle thread by Superior.

Here’s my completed butterfly:

Beautiful Butterfly!!

Beautiful Butterfly, Side Angle

Butterfly on a Lavender Bush

Beautiful Butterfly!

Here’s a look at the wings prior to assembling with the body. The Cotton & Steel fabrics work so wonderfully with the Kona solids!

Beautiful Butterfly wings with pins before attaching to body!!

I loaded it onto my HQ16 for the quilting (late at night, but a gal has got quilt when she can!!):

Quilting the Beautiful Butterfly!

I really enjoy paper-piecing and the process of making this beautiful mini quilt. In June, it will be winging its way to a new owner, and I hope she enjoys it as much as I do!

Please hop on over to Amy’s Creative Side and the 2015 Spring Blogger’s Quilt Festival and check out all the entries. I’d love your vote in the mini quilt category!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Forest QAL, Weeks 7 and 8 plus Giveaway Winner!

Posted on April 27, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I hope that you had a great weekend! I had a little time in my sewing room to catch up on week 8 of the Forest QAL by Janeen of Quilt Art Designs. I call this an epic paper-piecing journey because it is a 12-week QAL with lots of pieces! If you are an intermediate paper-piecer, you can do this pattern! Plus, Janeen just announced on her blog that she will be adding a lake portion that is an optional add-on to attach under the forest portion. The lake portion will start this July!

Here’s my progress so far. I set a 24.5-inch by 6.5-inch ruler next to the flimsy for scale.

Forest QAL, weeks 1-8

I just love all those cute bird and forest critters. Did you notice the little mouse?

And, now for the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks, Volume 11 Giveaway! I used a random number generator to pick . . .

Pauline!

Congrats! I will send you an email with the details.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Forest QAL, Weeks 5 and 6

Posted on April 15, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hello, everyone!

I caught up on the Forest QAL this weekend by completing weeks 5 and 6. This QAL pattern is by Quilt Art Designs and you can buy the pattern from her and do the project at your own pace.

This project is entirely paper-pieced and there are some really tiny pieces. In week 6, we made a little frog with pieces almost too small to measure. I had fun challenging myself to make the frog, and I’m pleased with how he turned out, nestled in the lower portion of a tree.

Here’s a look at my project so far. I haven’t stitched weeks 5 and 6 to the weeks 1-4 piece yet.

Forest QAL, Weeks 1-6

The finished quilt will be 38-inches by 52-inches so a pretty good sized, landscape-oriented art quilt! Just look at all of those cute birds and animals!!

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Social. Check out her cute pigs and corn cobs!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Charley Harper Mini Quilt Swap

Posted on March 25, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi quilty friends!

I’ve got 4 Instagram mini quilt swaps due in late March and April. I’ve finished 3 out of 4 so I’m going to start sharing what I created.

For the Charley Harper inspired mini quilt swap, my partner indicated that she liked the penguins from the Nurture fabric line so I decided to create a penguin mini.

First, I started by creating a larger sized penguin and chick by making my own applique pattern. I used Kona snow, black, and yellow for the adult penguin body. For the chick, I used Kona black, snow, gray and a piece of medium blue Charley Harper fabric.

Next, I created the background piece by stitching together 2-1/2 inch squares, using some Charley Harper fabrics and adding in other fabrics from my stash. I decided to use aquas, blues, and neutrals with the aquas/blues starting in the upper left-hand corner and fading slowly into the all neutrals. The bottom gray portion resembles the ground and is also Charley Harper fabric.

Then I carefully added my penguin appliques to the background and used a blanket-stitch in matching Aurifil thread colors to secure all the individual pieces to the back. I used yellow Aurifil 40 wt thread to add some detail stitching o the adult penguin (mimics the Nurture fabric).

Here’s a look at the completed mini:

Charley Harper Penguin Mini Quilt

Closer look at the penguin:

Penguin close-up

I added a few extras to the swap package, including a open wide pouch that I made from the Charley Harper Nurture fabric. I couldn’t resist adding a little stuffed penguin plus some chocolates and wildflower seeds to represent my home state of Oregon:

I hope my partner loves this mini as much as I do! I had so much fun making this quilt, and it was very hard to take it to the post office yesterday for mailing.

I received a wonderful red cardinal Charley Harper mini in return. I’ll show pictures on my next post!

Until then, happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Forest QAL, Weeks 1 & 2

Posted on March 15, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

Hope you’re having a good weekend, and working in a little bit of sewing time. We’re having a windy and rainy Sunday afternoon in Oregon so it’s the perfect weather to sit in and sew.

I’ve joined a new quilt-along by Quilt Art Designs called the Forest QAL. This is a 12-week QAL, and I worked on weeks 1 and 2 this weekend. It costs $1 per week for the pattern, and there is still time to catch up if you want to join. This is a paper-pieced pattern, and I’d recommend that you have some paper-piecing experience since some of the pieces are small.

For week 1, we pieced together some trees and sky:

Week 1, Forest QAL

I’m using a combination of modern print fabrics and solids for my quilt. My goal is to work entirely from my stash for this project.

For week 2, we pieced together more trees plus a little red bird and a chameleon, both hiding in the trees. Look how tiny some of the pieces are in the chameleon’s face!!

Week 2, Forest QAL

Tiny pieces!!

Here are the first 2 weeks, sewn together:

Weeks 1 and 2, Forest QAL with Tiger

For week three, we get to work on the flying geese in the sky section!

I’ve also been working quite a bit on mini quilts for some Instagram swaps. I’ll be able to blog about these soon and show you some pictures.

Linking up with Paper Piecing Part #10!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A NY Beauty Finish for February

Posted on February 28, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Happy last day of February!

We had a beautiful spring-like day here in Oregon. I finished up a mini quilt that I’ve been working on this month featuring paper-piecing and a rainbow of colors!

The pattern is called NY Beauty Circle of Geese by Janice of Better Off Thread. I’ve been admiring this pattern on my Instagram feed for a while and finally decided to tackle the curved piecing!

I started out by selecting a range of rainbow fabrics from the new 2015 Sun Print line by Alison Glass and some Kona cottons. Just love these! My backgrounds are all low-volume prints from my stash.

Here’s the start of the paper piecing:

Paper pieced segments

The quilt has 4 quadrants with some small curved piecing on the insides of each unit. I finally used a 1/4-inch fusible tape technique to help with these curves rather than pins. Much less trouble! After finishing all 4 quadrants, I joined them together and quilted the mini on my HQ16 using Aurifil white thread and free-motioned some wavy, radiating rays from the flying geese out to the edges of the mini quilt. I did some tiny free-motion swirls on the inside low-volume fabrics and concentric circles in the middle.

Free-motion quilting close-up

Once I finished the quilting, I set the mini down on the floor for a quick picture when this guy showed up! My quilting inspector.

Tiger on the NY Beauty Circle of Geese

I think Tiger likes the mini quilt! I convinced him to let me have the quilt back so I could add the binding. I selected a gray print so that it framed the quilt without detracting from the rainbow fabrics.

Here’s my completed NY Beauty Circle of Geese mini-quilt!

Completed NY Beauty Circle of Geese Mini Quilt

I really enjoyed making this mini quilt. It’s so cheerful and bright in my quilting space.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Technicolor Galaxy BOM, Block 1 Color Wheel

Posted on February 18, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I’ve been posting regularly on Instagram under the name @nwquiltedcat. I’ve joined a few mini quilt swaps and have been busily working on those fun projects. I have 3 due by late March/early April so I’ll blog about them one my partners have received their packages.

In the meantime, I started working on a fabulous new block-of-the-month for myself. This BOM is called Technicolor Galaxy by Alyssa over at Pile O Fabric. It’s a stunning quilt that you can do in your choice of color scheme. I’m going with the rainbow color scheme because I really love the look right now.

The BOM is designed to teach new skills throughout the year. I’m also participating via the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, which has a discount code for the pattern if you are a guild member. If you are a member, send an email to the guild for the code.

For February, our assignment is to make the color wheel for block 1 using a bias tape applique technique. I’m using Kona Snow for my bias tape and a combination of 2015 Sun Prints by Alison Glass and Kona solids for the color wheel.

This is a quilt-as-you-go BOM so I used a Superior variegated King Tut thread on the top and Aurifil white in the bobbin. I did free-motion quilting using my Bernina.

Here’s a look at the front of my color wheel:

Technicolor Galaxy BOM, Color Wheel

Close-up view of the free-motion quilting:

Color Wheel Close-up

I really love how the Aurifil white thread blends into the Kona solid backing in this picture:

Color Wheel Back

This is a vibrant and cheerful quilt that I’m excited to work on over the course of the year in addition to focusing on mini quilts.

Recently, I had some sad news. My best buddy and hiking dog, Brutus, was diagnosed with cancer. It’s an advanced form and pretty aggressive. I met with a veterinary oncologist today, but I fear that chemotherapy treatments will be too expensive. We’re probably going to focus on palliative care for him and give him the best last few months that we can. He’s not in pain currently so that’s great, and I’m also grateful he’s still active and enjoying life.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

We Support You blog hop!

Posted on February 9, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my blog where I’m happy to be participating in the We Support You blog hop to encourage, support, and inspire all those who have been touched by cancer, particularly breast cancer. My mother-in-law passed away several years ago from complications due to breast cancer so I definitely know this cancer touches so many lives.

Thanks to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt for encouraging us to make something cheerful and beautiful in this hop using her pattern and to Pat, our wonderful cheerleader for this hop. You can purchase the “We Support You” friendship pattern for $12 from Madame Samm directly by emailing her at madamesamm@me.com.

I’ve been participating in quite a few Instagram mini swaps lately, and all the beautiful rainbow colored quilts inspired me in my project for this hop.

I started by selecting a text print for the block backgrounds. This text print has encouraging phrases such as “No regret” and “Dream big.” Next, I made 3 little bras in colorful print fabrics to applique to the text backgrounds. The bra straps and hangers are hand embroidered using DMC black embroidery floss.

Next, I pulled some Kona cotton solids in various rainbow hues to create the borders and bound the whole mini using black weave print. I used a Superior variegated thread to do the quilting, alternating wavy horizontal and vertical lines.

I had this really cute little wire heart hanger so I added a sleeve to the back for a perfectly finished little project!

We Support You Rainbow Mini Quilt (Outdoors)

I now have this little mini hanging in my sewing room, above a project table for inspiration.

We Support You Rainbow Mini Quilt (Indoors)

Here’s a close-up photo of a block so you can see the text print background:

We Support You Close-Up

Please hop on over and visit the other ladies with projects today:

I hope my little mini quilt inspires you today! As a Gen-X’er, I encourage all my 30 and 40 something quilting buddies to get mammograms too!

Take care,
~Jennifer

Schnitzel & Boo Round 3 Mini Quilt Swap!

Posted on January 19, 2015 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone and Happy Monday to you!

I recently participated in my first Instagram (IG) mini quilt swap ! This swap was organized by Kristi (IG is schnitzelandboo) and you had to be an IG user to participate. My IG name is nwquiltedcat if you want to follow me.

My partner has received the mini quilt and extras that I made for her so I’m going to share them here. I haven’t yet received my mini in exchange but the mailing deadline isn’t until this Friday, the 23rd so I need to have patience!!

I used a pattern called “Candy Dish” by This & That Patterns and used April Showers fabric by Bonnie and Camille with a little white dot solid for the background by Michael Miller. I didn’t take a final measurement, but this mini quilt finishes at about 18 x 18 inches. The binding is also from the April Showers line. I did straight-line quilting using white Aurifil 50 weight thread.

Here’s the mini:

Schnitzel and Boo, Round 3 Mini Quilt

For extras, I used the free pattern “no guts” boxy pouch by So Chick. For this pouch, I used fabric from Violet Craft’s Brambleberry Ridge line and paired it with some pink polka-dot fabric for a contrasting zipper pull.

I also made a little pin cushion using Sweetwater fabric scraps and no pattern. I just winged it by starting with a 2.5 x 2.5 inch piece in the middle, and then adding little strips of fabric to the sides and tops.

Here are the extras:

Swap Extras: No Guts Boxie Pouch and a Pin Cushion!

I really had fun with my first IG swap! I’ve signed up for 3 more with 2 being due at the end of March and one in mid-April. I like using these mini quilts to help hone my skills and work from my stash!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer