Black Cat Crossing Blog Hop + Giveaway

Posted on October 21, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

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Greeeeeetings, my dears! Today is my day to share with you the creations that I stitched up in my cauldron for the Black Cat Crossing blog hop. Many thanks go to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt for encouraging people of all skill levels to brew up something to share with us. I also want to thank our fabulous cheerleader, Wendy of Why Knot Kwilt, for organizing this blog hop!

I picked up some of the Black Cat Crossing fabric by Maywood Studios at a local quilt shop that recently opened in town. I love supporting my local shops!

For my first project, I decided to do a wool felt project with just an accent of cotton fabric. One can never have too many pin cushions, right? Sew off I went to stitch up a little witch hat to keep me company in my sewing room. The hat band uses a strip of fabric from Black Cat Crossing. I used black Aurifil thread for the piecing and midnight glitter hologram thread by Superior to add some sparkle to the brim. The finished pin cushion is about 4.5 inches tall.

This pin cushion is designed by Jennifer Clemen of Cottonwood Creations.

My stitching assistants ensured the quality of this little pin cushion:

Tiger likes the witch hat

Cow is planning his revenge

Now that I had a pin cushion ready to go, I stoked up my cauldron and set to brewing up a special creation using only Black Cat Crossing fabric!

For this project, I stretched my skill levels by creating a mini quilt and by practicing some heavy free motion quilting. I used an Aurifil cream thread for all the piecing and quilting. The pattern is Mini Swoon by Thimble Blossoms.

I modified the pattern slightly so that I could add the Black Cat Crossing border fabric in between the swoon blocks. I’m calling my finished mini quilt, “Black Cat Swoon!”

For the backing, I used left over pieces plus my label:

I just love how this mini quilt looks, and I can easily display it in various locations around the house during the fall season.

For more inspiration, please visit my fellow Black Cat Crossing participants today:
Creatin’ in the Sticks
Living With Purpose
Moose Stash Quilting
The Quilted Cat (you are here)
Lines, Colors, and Art

For my giveaway, I’m offering up 2 fat quarters from Black Cat Crossing. Just leave me a comment on this post for an entry. You get a bonus entry if you tell me how you follow my blog, and I’ll draw a random winner from all comments on Halloween, October 31st. I’m willing to ship internationally. Sometimes WordPress and Blogger do not communicate well together so make sure that I have a way to contact you!

Black Cat Crossing Giveaway

I hope you enjoyed my Black Cat Crossing projects, and that they inspire you to make something beautiful!

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Star Light Star Bright Quilt Finish!

Posted on October 16, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Thursday, quilty friends!

Back in January, I joined a quilt-along called Star Light Star Bright designed and hosted by Melissa over at Happy Quilting. For the most part, I kept up with the project and then set it aside once the quilt flimsy was completed. You can read about my fabric selections using some of the Charley Harper fabrics in this post.

Recently, I decided to finish this project by quilting it and binding it in time for a very special birthday surprise gift! The recipient is my sister, and I’ve kept it under wraps until now since she reads my blog. Now that I’ve given her the quilt, I will show the finish!

For the quilting, I did random free-motion swirls from edge-to-edge. The backing fabric is from Moda’s Forest Friends designed by Ingrid Slyder. I used some of the Fox Fun Pebble Grey (#23142-11) and alternated it with the Birch Trees Pebble (#23143-11).

Star Light Star Bright Quilt and the Fall Leaves

Star Light Star Bright Close Up

Star Light Star Bright Backing

Another View of the Star Light Star Bright Quilt

I think the fabric colors and patterns will look wonderful in my sister’s log cabin style home. I hope to take some pictures of it there soon to share.

I’m very happy to have another project crossed off the to-do list. Now, on to the next one!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aurifil BOM, October’s Block

Posted on October 15, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Hi everyone!

On this first really raining evening of the season, I decided to work on my October block for the Aurifil BOM. I’ve been keeping up with this BOM since January and you can read about my last block here.

My constant color is Kona Shadow, and I’ve been picking different reds and blacks to make each block.

For October, the block is called “Circle of Love” designed by Jane Davidson. I used a little bit of Sweetwater’s new Elementary fabric for the black pieces and some Mama Said Sew fabric for the darker red. The red polka dot fabric is from a scrap bag that I picked up from a local quilt shop.

Here’s a look at my block for October:

Aurifil BOM, October Block, Circle of Love

I now have 10 total blocks with just 2 more to go:

Aurifil BOM Blocks, Months 1-10

You can still download all the free Aurifil BOM patterns from this year. Each month, one lucky winner wins a box of Aurifil thread!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Little Flannel Critter

Posted on October 13, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

This past summer when my sister and I visited the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, we also took the opportunity to go quilt shop hopping in the area.

At one store, I picked up a copy of Countryside Softies by Amy Adams. This book contains patterns and instructions to make 28 little woodland creatures from wool.

This weekend, I decided to make one critter but I didn’t have much wool felt on hand. I substituted some flannel for the body instead since this first creature serves as my practice one. I had a scrap of wool felt for the little fish.

I made the otter, although it almost looks more like a bear to me. This little guy is about 6-inches tall and could be used as a pin cushion or just a fun decoration in the house.

I used quilting cotton for the accent pieces like the tummy and underside of the snout. I only had 1 variegated pearl cotton 8 in red on hand so I used that for all the hand-stitching. There are also buttons on the arms connecting the arms to the body that you can’t really see in these pictures.

I’m going to give this first little otter as a gift. I’m also going to look for some wool felt for future little woodland critters.

I had fun making this small project in between my larger, quilt projects. Sometimes it’s fun to mix it up!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A New Quilted Bag

Posted on October 6, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Monday!

I’ve been using a small, store-bought purse for my day-to-day needs, but decided that I really need to make my own.

I fell in love with the new Elementary fabric collection by Sweetwater and recently picked up a charm pack and some coordinating half-yard pieces. I love how the colors look together in this collection and the back-to-school theme is perfect for fall.

I used a bag pattern called the Oak Park Bag by Loft Creations.

For the base, I wanted a heavier material than cotton, but still something that would look nice with the Sweetwater fabric. I picked up a gorgeous piece of espresso-colored faux leather. I think the leather really adds some character and style to the finished bag!

I used Aurifil 50 wt in brown (#2372) for the piecing and straight-line quilting. The lining is fusible fleece, but I really want to try Annie’s Soft and Stable when I make this bag again. The fleece will work fine, especially once the bag has a few items inside it. But, I saw the Soft and Stable product at a quilt show recently and now really want to try it out!

I did use a leather foot and a leather needle. I stitched really slowly on my Bernina since the leather, especially on the handles, was so thick. I did break 2 needles in the process so I probably will not use the faux leather on the handles again. However, on the base, the faux leather worked fine since it was just 1 layer.

The finished bag measures approximately 13-inches wide by 19-inches high. The inside is lined with the Elementary fabric as well and has 1 pocket.

Here’s a look at the finished bag, hanging in the gorgeous 80 degree weather that we had this weeekend:

I have only made a few bags so this project really help me improve some skills. I hope to make it again since it came together pretty quickly.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

National Quilting Month – Color My Heart Quilt

Posted on September 24, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

We’re into the final stretch of September, which just happens to be National Sewing and Quilting Month! I heard about this over on the Jolly Jabber blog for the Fat Quarter Shop.

The Fat Quarter Shop has a quick and easy free pattern to celebrate the month called Color of My Heart. It is a 1-block quilt that uses a charm pack and a solid background to make a very cute quilt.

I decided to make my own heart quilt that I could hang up in my office at work. Instead of using a charm pack, I opted to scale the quilt down by using a mini charm pack! My quilt finishes at about 12-1/2 inches square and is so adorable!

Here are the materials that I used:
1 Moda Sphere Mini Charm pack (by Zen Chic)
Moda Cross Weave Woven in Grey for the background and binding
Moda Sphere Grey yardage for the backing
Aurifil #2784 (dark blue) for the free-motion quilting

I followed the piecing instructions exactly as written in the pattern, but I just used the smaller charms to turn the quilt into a mini. The Moda Cross Weave Woven fabric has a really nice texture with some color variety that really appealed to me. I made sure that all my HSTs used the horizontal orientation of the background fabric so that the mini quilt had a consistent look.

Once I pieced the top, I made my quilt sandwich using some left over batting and a piece of the Moda Sphere yardage. I did a quick spray and pin baste on the sandwich.

I decided to free-motion quilt an off-centered heart shape using my Bernina and a dark blue Aurifil thread (#2784). I echoed quilted the small center heart using the edge of my foot so about a 1/4-inch separation between the lines.

Here’s a look at my completed Color of My Heart mini quilt:

Color of My Heart Mini Quilt

For the bobbin, I used a gray Aurifil thread to blend in with the fabric. I didn’t use my usual quilt label on this mini, but got to use my new satin labels from Ikaprint.

Here’s the back:

Color My Heart back

Ikaprint Label Close-Up

I’m really tickled with how this mini quilt turned out, and I will enjoy looking at the bright pops of color as our weather turns from sunshine to rain.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Aurifil BOM, September’s Block

Posted on September 19, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

I’m so glad that it is finally Friday! I hope to have more time for sewing this weekend, although we may have to take a drive one day to enjoy some of this extended warm weather here in the PNW.

The Aurifil BOM continues this month with September’s block, Stars of My Life, designed by Pat Wys. You can read about Pat’s inspiration for this block and find the pattern here.

I’m continuing with my color scheme using Kona Shadow as my background with blacks and reds as accent colors.

Here is my September block:

Aurifil BOM, September’s Block

This BOM and the Supernova Friendship swap seem to be the only ones that I have kept up with month after month this year. I’m several months behind on the Vice Versa BOM and really far behind on the Reach for the Stars quilt. I really hope to catch up this fall and winter.

Here are my first 9 Aurifil BOM blocks:

Aurifil BOM Blocks, 1-9

This weekend, I hope you enjoy some sewing time!

Happy quilting,
~Jennifer

Chicken Challenge Quilt Completed

Posted on September 16, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to take classes in the week before the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. I blogged about taking the Chicken Challenge class with Ann Shaw several months ago. In that first post, you can see my chicken start to take shape as well as chickens from some of the other students in class.

I finished the free motion quilting over the summer using Aurifil #2000, and then I put the quilt aside for a while. This past weekend, I pulled it out and decided to add the binding to finish it. I used a black/tan chicken wire fabric for the binding, and I like how it frames my crazy chicken just right!

Here’s a look at my completed chicken in the afternoon sunshine:

Completed Gallus Gallus

In our kitchen, we have decorated with chickens so this wall-hanging definitely adds some wild color to this wall:

Gallus Gallus Indoors

Now, my husband spent part of his childhood on a chicken farm so I can’t wait to see his reaction to this new addition.

Ann does have some scheduled classes around the Vancouver/Portland area if you are interested in learning this technique. Go check out her website and click on the Class Schedule link.

Hope you enjoy my little chicken!
~Jennifer

Charley Harper Inspired Trunk Show

Posted on September 12, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone! It seems like it was a really long week at work for me, and I’m so looking forward to getting some sewing time in this weekend.

I am working on a couple of secret projects that I can’t reveal – yet!! One is for Quiltmaker magazine and the other is for the Black Cat Crossing Halloween blog hop (link in my side bar). And, just maybe, there is a birthday present in the works for a special someone.

Today and tomorrow, one of my favorite LQS, the Pine Needle, is hosting their fall open house. I stopped by today at lunch to check out all the great new projects and classes.

I’m particularly excited about meeting Violet Craft and purchasing her Forest Abstractions quilt pattern. I’ve been eyeing this pattern for sometime so I decided to go for it! I love paper piecing so I think this pattern will be up my alley.

I also chatted with Dawn of First Light Designs. She’ll be teaching a Dancing Churn Dash class at the Pine Needle this October with the Quick Curve Ruler. Of course, I did pick up that ruler and pattern! Oh my list of to-do projects keeps growing.

There is a wonderful display of quilts inspired by Charley Harper’s designs during the open house event. I neglected to write down the maker of these quilts so if anyone knows, please let me know!

I just love, love, love the cat quilts:

Fall Cat

Winter Cat

Spring and Summer Cats

Here are some more of the featured quilts:

Koala Quilt

Giraffe and Cheetah Quilts

There were several more quilts, but my photos didn’t turn out very well.

Of course, the fall cat is my favorite because it reminds me of my Tiger (aka the Quilted Cat). These quilts have encouraged me to make my own Charley Harper inspired cat quilt in the future.

Only 3 more weekends to go before the NW Quilting Expo!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

New Quilt Shop in Oregon

Posted on September 3, 2014 by nwquiltedcat

Recently, my son and I visited a local pet store to pick up some supplies. While parking the car, I saw the word “sew” out of the corner of my eye! Wait, what?

With 9-year-old in tow, I walked down the sidewalk and found that a new quilt shop has opened in Oregon, specifically in Wilsonville. The store is called Sewn Loverly and has its grand opening this Saturday, September 6th starting at 10:00 a.m. This store is owned and operated by a mother/daughter duo, and I’ve already stopped in 3 or 4 times. They know me now, ha, ha!

Here’s the store front:

Sewn Loverly

I picked up some fun Halloween fabrics to use in a blog hop that I’m participating in this October. I’ve got a cute project in mind, but can’t reveal it quite yet. I posted this photo earlier to Instagram: