Little Bird!

Posted on June 20, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I saw the cutest little stuffed bird pattern called Friends of a Feather by Indygo Junction recently and just knew that I had to make it!

This little bird can sit in the palm of my hand very easily so it is the perfect size to perch upon my computer while I work. I used a Kaffe Fassett fabric for the bird body and tail. The pink fabric is something that I pulled out of my stash so I do not know the fabric line, but I think it pops nicely against the body.

For the eyes, I used mini turquoise buttons and attached them with embroidery floss. I didn’t have the proper gauge of wire on hand as the pattern recommended, but I did have some thinner crafting wire in a pretty turquoise color that complements the eyes and the body fabric.

Here are some picks of my new little bird friend. Click on the pictures to see a larger image:

: Sitting in a bonsai plant

: Hiding in a tree

: Perched on my monitor

I’m definitely going to make some more of these little birdie friends to give as gifts! The pattern is quick and easy to follow and the birds require minimal supplies that I usually have on hand.

Tweet, tweet!
~Jennifer

Red, White, and Blue Swap Block

Posted on June 14, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Happy Flag Day everyone!

I’m the hostess for a red, white, and blue block swap on Carol Doak’s Yahoo group! This swap is so much fun to host because I love these colors and the 4th of July is my favorite holiday! Each participant makes 4, 8, or 12 blocks to swap with other members.

Here’s a look at the block that I made today:

Red, white, blue swap block

This is the Austria block from Carol’s book called Mariner’s Compass Stars. The white fabric in the background is actually a white-on-white print featuring stars but the camera didn’t pick up the white stars very well.

Now I need to decide if I’ll make all my blocks the same or make 4 different ones.

Hope you enjoy this little red, white, and blue post today and stay tuned for more patriotic blocks!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show – Block Contest

Posted on June 10, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Westminster Fibers is sponsoring a quilt block contest at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year! I decided to join in on all the fun by creating my own blocks. I selected the blue colorway from the official block contest fabric line – Parson Gray-Seven Wonders.

The rules are pretty straight forward:
– You must use only the fabrics in the packet ($10 from the Stitchin’ Post in Sisters).
– Blocks must be 9.5 x 9.5 inches (includes seam allowance)
– Any method is allowed – piecing, applique, handwork, just no machine embroidered designs.
– Embellishments are welcome!

I’ve been on a bit of a bird kick this year so I continued with that theme by creating my first block with a birdhouse and a little birdie! Then, I had fun adding a bunch of embellishments.

I used blue metallic thread to applique the upper portion of the birdhouse and green metallic thread along the ground to imitate grass or little plants. I used hot-fix crystals to add plenty of sparkle when the block is displayed in the beautiful central Oregon sunshine! I hope the sparkles will catch your eye if you visit the quilt show.

For additional accents, I hand embroidered a sunshine, the bird’s details, and tall green grasses. On a whim, I stitched on a cute little lizard, making his way towards the birdhouse.

Here’s a closeup of the bird and the lizard details:

Lizard button

Bird detail

Here’s a look at the whole block:

Sisters Outdoor QS Contest Block

For the second block, I decided to make a geometric paper-pieced block without any added embellishments. This was a challenge because we only had a 10-inch piece of blue fabric plus 4 individual 6-inch pieces of fabric to work with to create the block! I used Unit 18 from Carol Doak’s book, Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars.

Here’s a look at the second block:

Contest Block #2

I had so much fun making these blocks. If you missed my earlier post here, I also sent in some fabric postcards that will displayed and auctioned off at Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this July.

The quilt show instructors will each select their favorite block and the number one block will win “best in show.” I would be so thrilled if one of my little blocks got selected to be a favorite!

Until next time, enjoy these blocks!
~Jen

Quilted Mystery BOM for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Posted on June 6, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

A few weeks ago, I posted that I had completed piecing together the top of Carol Doak’s year-long mystery block-of-the-month that she created for her Yahoo groupies.

I plan on displaying this quilt as one of three quilts this July at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. I’m calling my completed quilt “Yahoo Stars” in honor of Carol’s Yahoo group and because I used 2 star themed fabrics in the quilt. I will write about the other two quilts in a future blog post.

I finished up the quilting and binding this week and took a few photos of the completed project:

Quilt on a log swing

Quilt on a Swing

Me holding the quilt front

Quilt Font

My hubby holding quilt back

Quilt Back

The quilt back is just a coordinating navy blue/star print with a label attached to the bottom.

I plan on going to the Sisters Quilt Show to photograph my quilt in person. If you see me there, say hi!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer~

Toes in the Sand BOM, Block Two

Posted on May 31, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I’m working on the Toes in the Sand BOM by Jaybird Quilts as one of my year-long projects. Check out my earlier post here.

I love the blues/greens/aquas in the fabrics selected for the BOM as they do have a beachy feel to them. The fabric is PB&J by BasicGrey for Moda. Check out your local quilt store for both the Toes in the Sand pattern book and the fabric.

For month two, we made 2 of the Santa Barbara blocks. These blocks came together quickly and easily!

Here’s a look at my blocks:

Toes in the Sand, Block Two

The weather here in Oregon has finally turned sunny so I’m going out to enjoy it for a while!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer~

Memorial Day Weekend: Quilting and Gardening

Posted on May 28, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Over Memorial Day weekend, I had a little bit of time to work on several quilt projects.

The first project is a paper-pieced quilt that I’m planning on displaying at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this July. I’ve pieced it, quilted it, and just need to finish up the binding.

Here’s a little teaser:

Rolled binding strips

I’ll post some photos of the completed quilt soon!

My next project involves sewing together lots of hexie shapes! This is a pattern called Snack Time by Jaybird Quilts. I was piecing together some of the shapes when my orange cat made an unexpected move and came to sit behind my sewing machine! Normally, he will only sit on the floor of my sewing room to do his inspection work. The lighting wasn’t great, but I had to take a quick pic before he moved.

Quilt inspector, Tiger, in window

In between rain squalls this weekend, my husband, 7-year-old son, and I decided to build a second raised bed in our backyard to plant more veggies and herbs. We made our first one two years ago, but decided we wanted to have more fresh salads and veggies this summer. We went to the local home improvement store to pick up some supplies and got building.

The larger raised bed is about 8 feet long! We planted zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, and kale. We also planted some herbs in smaller containers as well as sugar snap peas in a round container. Our cat, Cow, decided to test the catnip.

Catnip Inspector

Large Raised Bed

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend and a thanks to all who have served our country!
~Jennifer~

Country Lanes Block Swap

Posted on May 17, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I’ve signed up to participate in another quilt block swap with my sister’s guild. For this latest swap, we have to make 6 blocks using primary colors and a specific block called “Country Lanes.”

I’m really enjoying making swap blocks because they often use color combinations or patterns that I haven’t tried. I looked through my stash for primary colors that would really pop together.

I used batiks, but found out that I only had enough of the original yellow color for 4 blocks. For the last 2 blocks, I used a substitute yellow that I actually like better than the first one! Since the blocks are going to 6 different people, the difference in yellow fabric should be fine.

Here’s a stack of blocks:

Country Lanes – All Stacked Up!

Do the colors pop for you? I like the bright snap of these colors together.

Here’s another look at all 6 blocks together. In this picture, the 2 right-side blocks are the ones using the different yellow:

Country Lanes – 6 Swap Blocks

And, finally, what quilt block can be considered ready until it has received an official cat inspection:

Country Lanes Gets a “Paws Up” Rating

My next step is to package up these swap blocks and mail them to my sister. I can’t wait to see what blocks I’ll get in return!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Cat Quilt Inspector

Posted on May 10, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I took this photo recently of Romeo who is one of my cat quilt inspectors! Although he is taking a break from his inspection work, I think it’s a really good pic of him. I think he’s saying, “Mom, why aren’t you sewing?”

How would you caption this photo?

Romeo, the Quilt Inspector

~Jennifer

Wonky Bird Blocks

Posted on May 4, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I posted earlier about participating in a block swap hosted by my sister’s guild. I made an applique test block originally, but I was just not very happy with it.

The block exchange has three basic requirements: there must be a bird on the block, the block must use primary colors, and it must be 12.5 by 12.5 inches.

I decided to change my block from applique to a free piecing technique inspired by Sarah on her blog, house of krom. In this technique, you don’t follow a specific pattern. Instead, you start with a block idea and just “wing” it!

The result is that each block with have its own unique characteristics. In my case, each bird block has slightly different shaped birds. The beak on one may be shorter than the beak on another bird. Or perhaps the bird legs will be taller or wider than the other birds. This is a fun technique that is a great scrap buster and will encourage you to experiment!

Here’s a closeup of one bird. I added 2 buttons for the eye (which can be easily removed before quilting).

Free Pieced Wonky Bird

I made 6 bird blocks in total:

Happy Wonky Birds!

I really hope that the swap participants enjoy these wonky birds, and I’m definitely going to use the free piecing technique again.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Central Oregon Quilt Shop Hop Weekend

Posted on April 28, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

This weekend, I went shop hopping in central Oregon with my mom. It’s a gorgeous drive from the Willamette Valley over to central Oregon taking approximately 3 hours depending on photo stops! We had beautiful weather with clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.

I love seeing the Cascade mountain range still in wintery snow coats against the blue sky. By summertime, much of the snow has melted so the vistas, while stunning, do not have the same pizzazz as they do in the winter and spring.

Just outside of Sisters, Oregon, you’ll find this stunning scene of the Three Sister and Brokentop:

Three Sisters and Brokentop

Home of the famous Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the Stitchin’ Post, this quaint town was our first of eight quilt store stops. We picked up our passports, a pattern, and a fat 1/8th. Each store in the shop hop contributed 1 piece of pattern that will create a mystery quilt. In addition, each store provided a free fat 1/8th which you could use to make a special shop hop quilt designed by Jean Wells of the Stitchin’ Post.

This is the shop hop quilt using fat 1/8ths plus additional batiks: (sorry for the blurriness!)

Shop Hop Quilt

In total, we visited these 8 shops totaling about 450 miles from home:
The Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Quiltworks in Bend, BJ’s Quilt Basket in Bend, Sew Many Quilts in Bend, Homestead Quilts in La Pine, Material Girls in Redmond, Quilter’s Attic in Terrebonne, and The Quilt Shack in Prineville.

Here’s a little slideshow featuring some of the stores, quilts, and scenery from the shop hop:

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It was a fun quilt shop hop, and I hope you enjoyed this little taste of central Oregon.