Sunny Savannah Mini Quilt

Posted on April 30, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Dear Stella and Timeless Treasures are hosting a mini quilt challenge called Modern Traditional. The entry quilts must be 20-inches by 20-inches and have to include at least 2 prints from each company and no solids allowed! Entries are due today, April 30th and will be judged by two guest judges, Julie Herman and Katy Jones.

I decided to jump into this challenge with my entry called Sunny Savannah!

The fabrics that I used are:
Wee Gallery, Wild, Safari Animals in White (Dear Stella)
Wee Gallery, Wild, Safari Animals in Black (Dear Stella)
Zig Zag in Black for the binding only (Dear Stella)
Alice Kennedy, Matilda, Chevron in Citron (Timeless Treasures)
Woodstock, Stitched Swirl in Gold (Timeless Treasures)
Crosshatch Sketch in Grey (Timeless Treasures)

Since all the pieces in the quilt are very angular, I wanted the quilting to pop out a bit but still enhance the overall design. I decided to do an off-center swirl pattern in 1/4-inch increments on the entire quilt. I used a yellow Aurifil 40 wt thread for the quilting and Aurifil 50 wt Light Sand for the piecing. The swirl pattern reminds me of the sun shining down on the safari animals and so I decided to call this little quilt, Sunny Savannah. I really love the overall effect!

Here are some photos of the completed mini quilt:

Sunny Savannah, Completed Quilt

The back of the quilt is the Chevron in Citron fabric from Dear Stella with a label. I love the spiral quilting!

Sunny Savannah, Quilt Back

Just for fun, I took some pictures of the quilt flimsy. I thought it might be interesting to show you the backside of the quilt top because of all the neatly pressed rectangle shapes!

Sunny Savannah Quilt Flimsy

Quilt Top Backside

Some close-ups of the spiral quilting! I spray basted and then went slow and careful on my Bernina.

Spiral quilting in process

Spiral quilting close-up

I want to give a shout out to Charlie and Lindsay at Hawthorne Threads. Since I wasn’t able to pick up the fabrics from my LQS, I ordered my fabrics from Hawthorne Threads on a Tuesday evening after work and had them in my mailbox on that Friday! Thank you so much for the quick shipping!

I hope you enjoyed looking at my mini quilt for the challenge. If you’re on Instagram, search for #DSTTchallenge to view other entries.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Toes in the Sand BOM, Month 6

Posted on November 5, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I’ve just completed my Toes in the Sand blocks for month 6 in this program! The block is called Santa Cruz and has great movement in the block interior with all these little triangles.

Toes in the Sand, Month 6

Yes, I do have the fabrics ready-to-go for month 7 so I should be caught up with this BOM in the next week or so. I’m participating in this BOM via the Fat Quarter Shop, but you can pick up the pattern, Hex N’ More ruler, and fabrics at your local quilt shop. Or visit the designer, Julie, on her website, Jaybird Quilts.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

New BOM – Toes in the Sand!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by thequiltedcat

I had the great pleasure of taking a class from Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts at the Block Party hosted by Quiltmaker here in Portland recently. In the class, one of the ladies mentioned Julie’s new BOM. I was intrigued!

I decided to sign up for this BOM through the Fat Quarter Shop. I think the BOM program is now full, but you can buy the full pattern set and pick up your own fabrics to make this great quilt.

Each month, the participants receive the materials to make 2 blocks. April is the first month so we also received the Toes in the Sand pattern book. This book is well laid out and easy to read so the blocks come together quickly and easily.

This BOM also uses Julie’s Hex N More ruler which is a very versatile tool for creating shapes in all kinds of sizes – hexagons, triangles, half-hexies, and jewels. Really, the possibilities are limitless!

I made my two “Baker Beach” blocks last night in about an hour while the hubs cooked a wonderful dinner. I had the opportunity this afternoon to take a photo in the Oregon sunshine with my dedicated cat helper and one of my official inspectors for all things quilt related.

My Cow cat has decided to rename this quilt — “Cat Toes in the Grass” BOM!

Toes in the Sand BOM – Block One

Hope you enjoy these fun triangle blocks, and I’ll post my progress each month.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Boxed In Class at Quiltmaker’s Block Party

Posted on March 28, 2013 by thequiltedcat

In an earlier post, I showed the quilt that I won by finding the lucky golden ticket at Quiltmaker’s Block Party in Portland last weekend. With this post, I want to talk about the class that I took and show a photo of the fabulous goodie bag that all the attendees received.

I signed up for a class with Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts called Boxed In. You can find this pattern in her book entitled Skip The Borders: Easy Patterns for Modern Quilts. In addition to Boxed In, you’ll find patterns for another 14 quilts so it is a great book to add to your quilt book library.

Julie’s patterns are fresh, fun, and appealing to sew. Boxed In is the perfect pattern to use with one of those pretty jellyrolls that you find in local quilt stores (2.5 inch pre-cut strips rolled together). I went with a bright, spring-like fabric line called Ticklish (Me and My Sister Designs for Moda). In the class, I had enough time to finish about 4 blocks. I need to make another 9 full blocks, 4 partial blocks, and 4 corner blocks. The pattern comes together pretty quickly so I hope to be able to finish my quilt soon!

Here’s a look at my four completed blocks:

Boxed In Blocks

In the class, Julie helped students ‘audition’ fabric choices for the sashing strips. Originally, I was going to use white and purple, but we decided that the black fabric made the Ticklish 2.5-inch squares really pop! I can’t wait to see the finished result.

At the Block Party store, I took the opportunity to purchase Julie’s latest pattern called Snack Time plus her versatile ruler called Hex N More. I highly recommend this ruler because it makes cutting hexagons, triangles, half hexagons, and jewel shapes a snap.

Here’s a pick of some of my purchased goodies:

Hex N More Ruler & Pattern

I really enjoyed experiencing Quiltmaker’s Block Party. I was so surprised to receive a wonderful swag bag stuffed with treasures! The bag itself is a sturdy blue canvas tote with a zipper that will be great for carrying quilting supplies to future events. Inside, I found the following:

15 fat quarters of neutral classics by Kaffe Fasset
A swatch pack of Tokyo fabrics by Red Rooster plus a mini quilt pattern
A charm square pack of Fresco fabric (New July colors) by Robert Kaufman
A fat quarter and retractable ruler by Northcott
A mini square pack of Avalon fabric by Joanna Figueroa for Moda
Misc. fat quarters
Embroidery snips and holder from Handi Quilter
A pin and writing pen from Gammill
200 Blocks book from Quiltmaker Magazine
Misc. patterns, program guide, etc.

Here are the treasures:

Block Party Goodie Bag

Wow – I’ve never received such a nice gift bag at any event before! I really hope that Quiltmaker comes back to Portland next year, and I’ll plan to take a vacation day or two to sign up for more classes!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Block Party with Quiltmaker Plus Ticklish by Moda

Posted on March 16, 2013 by thequiltedcat

I heard about the Block Party sponsored by Quiltmaker coming to Portland next week so I signed up for a class. Unfortunately, I was too late to sign up for Bonnie Hunter’s class called Talkin’ Turkey. Instead, I found another great class called Boxed In by Julie Herman that looks really fun! If you’re in the area, I think you can still register by visiting the Block Party website.

Since I’ve been doing quite a few seasonal and batik quilts the past year, I decided to change things up and go for some bright and cheerful fabrics for the class. I chose the Ticklish line by Moda. Isn’t the name fun? It just seems to evoke happy summertime gatherings and memories.

Here’s are some pics of the Ticklish jelly roll:

Ticklish – All Rolled Up!

A Ticklish Rainbow!

In the class, we should be able to sew some blocks so I will post another update to this project after the Block Party. I also plan on taking lots of photos during the event so you can have a look at quilters gone wild in Portland!!

Anyone else planning on attending?

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer