Madrona Road Challenge Quilt is Finished!

Posted on January 13, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Just in time for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting this week, I finished my Madrona Road challenge quilt!

I did the quilting and binding last night. The quilt is about 34-inches by 34-inches. I’m calling it “Bird in a Window” because of the cute little birdie sitting in the center square.

Here’s a look at the completed quilt:

Bird in a Window Quilt Top

For the quilt back, I added some interest by piecing together a few more squares and hand-embroidering the quilt details onto the label:

Bird in a Window Back

Two close-ups:

Bird Block Close-Up

Label Close-Up

This has been a fun challenge for me, and I hope to participate in future challenges!

I plan on taking this quilt with me to the guild meeting this week. I think there may be a group photo taken at the meeting so I’ll try to post about it.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer~

More Progress on Madrona Road

Posted on January 10, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I’ve worked a bit more on my Madrona Road quilt challenge and have finished assembling the top.

You can read about my start in this earlier post.

For the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, we had to incorporate a word so I choose to use the word, “bird.” There is a cute little golden bird that appears in one of the prints that I used, plus I decided to use a paper-pieced bird block as my center image for some whimsy!

Here’s a look at the center block:

Madrona Road Bird Block

And here’s a view of the quilt top:

Madrona Road Quilt Top

For the top, I took inspiration from Faith at Fresh Lemons and her Lemon Squares Quilt pattern. I altered the pattern just a bit to include my whimsical bird block and added an inner border from Kona cotton and an outer border using one of the Madrona Road prints.

Of course, my cat had to ask me: “Mom, why a bird and not a cat?”

Why a Bird, Ma?

This weekend, I hope to take the project over to mom’s house to quilt it.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer~

Black and White Block Swap

Posted on January 9, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

Have you ever wanted to make a quilt using just black and white blocks? Or perhaps black and white with a few bright zinger colors? If so, now is a good time to join Carol’s Yahoo group. We’re doing a 12-inch block swap using black and white fabrics.

I have a limited supply of black and white fabrics in my stash, but I found enough pieces to make my first block.

There is some Michael Miller black fairy frost fabric in my block. Plus, the white fabric actually has little shimmery white dots that my camera couldn’t capture in today’s light. I may try the pics with different lighting.

Here’s the block:

Black and White Block #1

I used the Switzerland block from Carol Doak’s book, Mariner’s Compass Stars. This block has 64 total pieces!

One cool aspect of making a black and white block is that it meets with the approval of my cat, Cow.

Here he is giving his paw of approval:

Cow Approves the Block

I hope to make a few more black and white blocks for the swap.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer~

Picture Piecing

Posted on January 7, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I started organizing my sewing room a bit this weekend. I didn’t get too far because I was distracted by some of the patterns, books, and fabrics that I “re-discovered.” One of those books is called Picture Piecing by Cynthia England.

Picture Piecing Book

The idea behind this technique is to create realistic pictorial quilts by piecing fabric together rather than using an applique technique. It differs from paper piecing in that you use freezer paper and iron it to the right side of your fabric rather than using it on the back of the fabric. Another major difference is that you don’t sew through the paper like you would in paper piecing. This means that there is no paper to remove at the end of your project!

I highly recommend getting a copy of Cynthia’s book to learn more about this fascinating technique.

The book contains a small butterfly practice pattern so you can get a feel for the technique before moving onto more complex projects.

Here’s my sample butterfly:

Batik Butterfly

I really like how the butterfly turned out and plan to use it in a yet-to-be-determined project!

One of my goals this year is to design my own picture pieced pattern. Before I do so, I went ahead and ordered one of Cynthia’s patterns to gain more experience. You can order the patterns directly from her website.

Have you sewn a picture pieced quilt before? If so, please share in the comments below!

Happy piecing!
~Jennifer~

Peek at my Madrona Road Quilt

Posted on January 5, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

In my earlier post here, I talked about joining the Portland Modern Quilt Guild and picking up the Madrona Road fabrics for a challenge project.

I’ve started working on this project and, I must say, it is definitely cat approved! My orange and white cat keeps sitting on it while I re-arrange the blocks! I’ve got some of the blocks created and will start assembling the quilt top soon.

Part of the challenge is to use a word that inspired the quilt. My word is both found within the Madrona Road fabric, but it also holds a special meaning to me and my sister (aka my quilting cruise companion and fellow quilt store junkie!). I will reveal the finished project in the next several weeks.

Here’s a quick peek to tease you just a bit!

Peek at Madrona Road Project

Are you working on any fun projects during this first week of the new year? I’d love to hear about them.

Happy sewing,
~Jennifer~

Winter Snowman Quilt

Posted on January 2, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

I had a very “sewful” New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day and was able to finish up some quilt tops. Woo hoo!

This Winter Snowman Quilt is one of those projects! I had started and completed the 4 inner shooting star blocks in December, but then set them aside to finish up Christmas gifts. I originally planned on making more of the shooting star blocks, but ran out of my white snowflake print fabric. I like the smaller sized quilt as I can use it as a winter decoration on a table top or a wall.

You can read about the shooting star block designed by Carol Doak in my post here. I encourage you to join Carol’s Yahoo group by clicking the link in the right sidebar of my blog. She has a valentine heart challenge going on right now so it’s a perfect way to start paper piecing!

Right now, I only have pics of the quilt top but hope to have it quilted and bound soon! All the fabric in my quilt top is from the Fresh Fallen Snow line by Maywood Studio. I have a quilt recipe following the pictures below.

Here’s a look at the finished quilt top inside my sewing room:

Winter Snowman Quilt – Inside

I took the quilt outside to try and get a better photo of it, but it was a bit breezy:

Winter Snowman Quilt – outside

A close-up view of the shooting star blocks:

Shooting Star blocks

And finally a close-up view of the snowman border fabric. The snowmen are so cute and have little red birds sitting on their stick arms!

Snowman border

Quilt Recipe
If you’re interested in creating this cute Winter Snowman quilt, here’s what you’ll need:

Join Carol’s Yahoo Group to get the shooting star block.
Print out 16 of the 4″ shooting star paper piecing patterns.
Blue snowflake print fabric. Approx 2/3 yard.
White snowflake print fabric. Approx 1/2 yard.
Red accent fabric. Approx 1/3 yard.
Blue snowman print fabric. Approx 2 yards for both the outer border and backing.
Basic sewing and paper piecing supplies.

Here’s how to assemble the quilt:

Use a 1/4″ seam allowance. If you don’t already have basic paper piecing skills, then I recommend Carol’s excellent instructional DVD.
Cut out all the fabric pieces for the 16 shooting star blocks.
Sew the shooting star blocks.
Assemble each large block by sewing 4 individual shooting star blocks together. Make 4 large blocks.
Sew the 4 large blocks together to form the quilt center.
Cut 3.5-inch strips from the white snowflake fabric for the inner border and sew around the quilt center.
Cut 2-inch strips from the red accent fabric for the second border and sew to the quilt center.
Cut 5.5-inch strips from the blue snowman fabric for the outer border and sew to the quilt center.
Quilt as desired and bind.

My quilt top is approximately 35 inches by 35 inches. You can make your quilt smaller or larger by resizing the shooting star blocks.

Hope you enjoy this little winter project!
~Jennifer~

Madrona Road Modern Quilt Challenge

Posted on January 2, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

With the new year, I decided to stretch my sewing/quilting skills and join a guild. I signed up for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild since I have been intrigued by some of the modern quilt blocks lately. I have a link to the PMQG on the right sidebar of my blog.

I’ve been focusing quite a bit on applique and paper piecing so I’ll return to some traditional piecing techniques for my first modern quilt project.

The project will be for the Madrona Road Challenge – a fun challenge that uses the Madrona Road (Michael Miller) line of fabric by Violet Craft.

I visited a local quilt shop to pick up some fabric from this line, but they only had a few pieces to choose from. I did pick up 4 different prints and then a few solids for accents.

Here are the solids:

Madrona Road Patterned Fabrics

I could order more Madrona Road pieces from an on-line retailer, but decided to challenge myself using just the prints that I found locally. The other stipulation is that it must be a wall or art quilt no larger than 36 inches on any side and must include a word that inspires the quilt.

I’ve worked up some ideas for my challenge quilt and am using a word inspired by an image in the actual fabric itself.

Stay tuned . . . I’ll post a progress photo soon!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer~

January 2013 BOM

Posted on January 1, 2013 by nwquiltedcat

For New Year’s Eve, I decided to work on my mystery block-of-the-month for January 2013. Yes, one day before the official start of the year, but what a great feeling to be a little bit ahead!

My regular readers have been following my progress on this mystery BOM program designed by Carol Doak. You can still join her Yahoo group and get the mystery BOMs by clicking the link in the right-hand column of my blog. You can read about my November block here.

For the December block, the group made setting pieces rather than an actual block. I decided to wait on making my setting pieces until after the mystery is revealed, so I can decide if I want to use my 2 main fabrics or an accent color instead.

After this January block, there are 2 more blocks to complete. Then, the mystery will be revealed and we’ll learn how all the pieces fit together and how to finish the quilt top.

Here’s a look at my January block:

January 2013 Mystery BOM

This block will be the centerpiece of the project. Can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

Enjoy and happy 2013 to everyone!
~Jennifer~

A Little Spring Birdie Quilt

Posted on December 26, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

For Christmas gifts this year, I focused on giving handmade items such as holiday soaps or quilted wall-hangings.

I wanted to make a fun bird themed wall-hanging for my sister in bright, cheerful colors. Why? Because she lives in snow country, and I thought that a little taste of early spring would be a welcome addition to her craft room.

I found a cute little paper-pieced birdie pattern by bcheri on Etsy. I made (1) 6-inch birdie block, but the seller does give you instructions for reducing or enlarging the block.

Once I had finished the bird block, I added an inner white (Kona cotton) border and then an outer border from a green leaf print. I added some hand embroidery details on the wing, the legs, the eyelashes, and added the word “Bird” to the lower right corner of the “grass” area.

I did simple quilting on my Bernina and then added a small black button for the eye. I used solid black (Kona cotton) for the binding.

Here’s a look at the finished Birdie wall-hanging:

Bird Wall-Hanging

Here’s a close-up look at the bird block:

Bird Block Close-Up

I found some great decorative wire hangers for little quilts online at Pumpkinvine Corner. I highly recommend this retailer because they shipped the hangers fast and adjusted the shipping costs after the sale to reflect the actual shipping cost! I will definitely order more hangers from this store for future projects.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Happy crafting,
~Jennifer~

Holiday Cold Process Soap Batch #2 – Gingerbread Men!!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by nwquiltedcat

For my second batch of holiday soaps, I decided to use a fun gingerbread man mold. I started with a single batch of soap using a gingerbread fragrance – absolutely delicious! My house smells so good while these soaps are sitting on the rack to cure.

I went ahead and made a second batch using goat milk and a light honey and green tea fragrance. I did make a batch of these earlier and talked about them here, but needed a few more to fill out some baskets.