Aviatrix Medallion Quilt-Along Fabrics and Center Block

Posted on May 7, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Hi everyone!

I’m participating along in the Aviatrix Medallion quilt-along and wanted to share my fabric selections and completed center block. This fabulous quilt is designed by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson and you can purchase it directly from her store. This is a relaxed quilt-along, where you can follow along at your own pace but Elizabeth does post helpful hints each Monday for a particular portion of the quilt.

Here are the colorful fabrics that I selected for my project. I’m using a combination of solids and patterns and you can see each fabric in the photos below. I’m using Aurifil #2000 for the piecing.

Violets
Kona Cotton Thistle
Girly Girl Swirl Purple, Henry Glass
Seasons Best Spring Random Squares Purple, Andover
Paisly Please Connect the Dots Purple, Jacki E Studios
More This n That Aurora Royal Purple, Bernatex

Oranges
Kona Cotton Peach
Hot House Flowers Floral Small Orange, Andover
Medium Dots Orange, Riley Blake
Scenic Route Dot Orange, Riley Blake
Tiny Tiles Clementine, Michael Miller

Greens
Kona Cotton Wasabi
Always Blooming Flower Green, P&B Textiles
Let’s Play Dolls Daisy Flower Dot Green, Andover
Peppered Cotton Emerald, Studio E
Mission Space Craters Green, Quilting Treasures

Blues
Small Dots Aqua, Riley Blake
Rocket Age Rocket Blast Light Blue, Riley Blake
Zebra Print Turquoise, Wilmington Prints
On the Rocks Blue
Dark Teal, Palette Solids

For the remaining fabrics (the neutrals, white background, and gray background), I’m using the fabrics listed in the pattern.

Last week, we cut out our fabrics for those following the quilt-along. This process did take quite some time, so I spread it out over the whole week so my hand wouldn’t get tired and so that I wouldn’t mix up the fabrics! I did keep them labeled as I went along.

All the cut pieces are in individual bags, just waiting to be stitched up! I have the center points of each color along with my helpful cheat sheet in the photo.

Aviatrix Medallion Fabrics

Aren’t these colors just so pretty??!! I love looking at these early stages of quilt projects and envisioning what the end result will look like.

For this week, our assignment is to create the center block (aka the most complex piece of this quilt!).

Here are my pieces placed on my cutting table:

Aviatrix Medallion Center Block Pieces

The center block is a challenge, and I enjoyed stretching my skills with this one. Not all of my points are perfect, but I did get better with each section. I’m pretty happy with my center block and look forward to making it again in the larger, pillow size to coordinate with my quilt.

Aviatrix Medallion Finished Center Block

Although the background fabric looks tan in my photo, it is Essex Yarn Dyed in Steel. The gray color is a great choice to contrast against the white and colorful fabrics.

Next week, we’ll start on border 1 so there is definitely time for you to join in on this quilt-along! Yes, I have many projects going at once but it makes life exciting and provides me with a creative counterpoint to my corporate desk job!

I’m linking up with the Wednesday WIP hosted by Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Modern Cat Finish for the New Year!

Posted on January 5, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Hello everyone!

While much of the country is getting hammered with winter storms, we woke up to a clear and sunny skies with temperatures reaching 48 degrees this afternoon. We took the opportunity to take a family walk in the sunshine, and I brought my first quilt finish of the year along with my camera.

After the past several weeks, I finished piecing the cat blocks from the catevent hosted by Elizabeth of Oh Fransson! I modified the end quilt slightly by adding a calico cat print border and a small outer gray border.

This cat quilt is made from scraps and pieces from my stash. Each cat block is from numerous different fabric scraps. The gray background is Painter’s Canvas by Michael Miller in gray (#CJ-4816) and the calico cat print border is Happy Hills Calico Cat by Michael Miller in white (DY-784). I used Kona cotton in slate for the binding. It is entirely pieced with Aurifil thread.

For quilting, I used some shiny Sulky thread in a silvery/gray blended mix to give a nice sheen to the quilt top. I did straight-line stitching using my Bernina.

The quilting took almost 8 hours, and I couldn’t have done it without the help from my Machingers gloves!

Straight line quilting

Here’s a look at the quilt flimsy with one of my cat inspectors:

Romeo Inspects the Cat Quilt

Here’s a look at another cat inspector sitting on the quilt sandwich. Only part of the quilting is completed here!

Tiger Likes the Cat Quilt!

And, finally, here are some shots of the finished quilt in the Oregon sunshine:

Catevent Completed Quilt

Me, holding the completed cat quilt!

My 8-year-old with the completed cat quilt!

My thanks to Elizabeth for designing these happy little cat blocks and for generously posting the instructions on her blog. I had so much fun making this project!

Wishing you much health, happiness, and quiltiness in the new year!
~Jennifer

Toes in the Sand BOM Update + Upcoming Blog Hop!

Posted on December 26, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday and had time to work on some quilty projects this week.

I finally got caught up on the last 3 months of the Toes in the Sand BOM!! There are just 3 blocks left before assembling the quilt top. This is a project designed by Julie of Jaybird Quilts, and I signed up for the BOM via the Fat Quarter Shop.

First up is block #7 from October and the one with the most pieces. Hmm, maybe that’s why I fell behind!! It is called Pebble Beach.

Pebble Beach Block

The next one is block #8 from November and is called Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Block

And finally the last block is #9 from December and is called Long Beach.

Long Beach Block

The fabrics are all from Basic Grey by Moda.

In January, I have a fun surprise for you using 13 different Kona cotton solids! I’ve finished piecing the top and now need to wrangle it into my domestic sewing machine for quilting. It’s about a twin-size which is pushing the limit for how much I can quilt on my machine. We’ll see how it goes! I’m participating in the Wake up to Kona blog hop, beginning on January 7th. My day to blog is January 20th so I do hope to see you then!

Here’s a little Christmas picture greeting from my quilty helper:

Meowy Christmas!

Tiger’s picture reminds me that I need to finish cat block #25 in Elizabeth’s Catvent Quilt-Along!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Quilty Holiday House and Cat Quilt-Along #3

Posted on December 22, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Happy weekend everyone!

As everyone finishes up their last bit of holiday sewing, I thought you might enjoy this needlework and quilt store from my little Christmas village:

A Holiday Needlework and Quilt Shop

I’ve been keeping up with Elizabeth’s Catevent quilt-along featured on her blog, Oh Fransson!

This week I made the following cat blocks:

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 3

On the top row, from left to right are: Max, Amelia, Boogie, Victor, and Monica. The bottom cat is Violet. I haven’t made today’s cat block number 22, Maslow. I will make that block today! Then, we’ll be down to just 3 cat blocks left before joining them together.

For the first time, both of my indoor cat quilt inspectors decided to get a closer look at these intriguing cat blocks. Usually, they’ll inspect edges of blocks or perhaps even walk across the blocks, but this time, the inspectors decided to just hang out on the blocks for a while!

Quilt Inspector Duo

My sister is also following along with this quilt-along. She doesn’t have a blog, but did send me a phone picture of her blocks so far.

Scrappy Cat Quilt-Along

I love the scrappy look of her cat blocks! I’m thinking of making some themed variations of this quilt using Halloween fabrics, Christmas fabrics, and patriotic fabrics.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 2

Posted on December 15, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Meow, Meow!

I’ve finished working on the cat blocks for week 2 of Elizabeth Hartman’s catvent on her blog, Oh Fransson! These cute little cat blocks have been a delight to sew this week in between some of my last minute Christmas projects. I definitely encourage you to join in on the fun! See my first post here.

Here are my cat blocks from the past week:

Cat Quilt-Along Blocks from Week 2

In the top row, from left to right are: Toby, Cannon and Jennifer.
In the bottom row, from left to right are: Lucy, Zeke, Barley, Marty, and Helen.

And here are the first 15 cat blocks:

First 15 Cat Quilt Blocks

There are 10 cat block left before final assembly. I can’t wait!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Cat Quilt-Along

Posted on December 7, 2013 by thequiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I started working on the one-block-a-day cat quilt-along project by Elizabeth of Oh Fransson! She has created a cute sampler quilt that is the perfect scrap buster. The completed project will be 30-inches by 35-inches and features 25 different patchwork cat blocks.

I finished up the first week’s batch of blocks today. Each block comes together very quickly. It takes me longer to choose the scraps and fabrics from my stash!

You do need a yard of fabric for the background. I had a piece of Painter’s Canvas by Michael Miller in gray (#CJ-4816) in my stash that I’m using. I love the subtle texture to the fabric.

Here’s a look at the first 7 cat blocks:

Cat Quilt-Along, Week 1

Elizabeth has also named the cats so I’d love to somehow work the names into the finished project. I’m not sure how yet!

In the photo, the cats in the top row from left to right are: Ferdinand, Bernadette, Sunny, Mia, and Ralphio. In the second row, from left to right are: Chowder and Krista.

Of course, I tried to ask my quilt inspector what he thought of this project. I think he loves it!

Tiger Likes the Cat Blocks!

I’m really enjoying this project since the blocks are so quick to make, and I can wedge them in between my other projects! My goal is to work on them as I can throughout the work week, and then play catch up on the weekend. I will keep my blog updated with photos of my cat quilt-along blocks.

If you’re participating in the cat quilt-along, I’d love to see your blocks!

Meowy quilting!
~Jennifer