One Block Swoon Quilt

Posted on October 24, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Hi everyone,

I’ve been wanting to make the large Swoon block by Camille of Thimble Blossoms for a while, but didn’t have a specific project in mind. I did use the mini-Swoon block for my project in the Black Cat Crossing swap recently.

I participated in a 5-month Supernova friendship block swap with my new friend, Cindy of What’s One More Project. We have been making and sending blocks to each other since July using the Ansonia fabric line from Denyse Schmidt. October is our last block!

So I decided to make a one block Swoon quilt for Cindy as a thank you. I used two fabrics from Sunnyside by Kate Spain along with Kona Snow for the background and a Kona blue for the binding.

I did some pretty heavy free-motion quilting on my Bernina Activa 145. I had so much fun! On the Sunnyside fabric, I used Stone Blue Denim Aurifil thread #3770 since it has a lovely variegated appearance. I used a cream Aurifil 50 wt thread on the Kona Snow portions.

I did some straight-line quilting around the block edges and in the border. Inside the orange and blue block shapes, I did some more straight-line quilting. I really wanted the background to stand out so I did some swirls and some bird-feather like shapes in the Kona Snow.

Here’s a look at the whole quilt:

One-Block Swoon Quilt

Here are some close-up views of the free-motion quilting:

Swoon Block Free-Motion Quilting Detail

Free-Motion Quilting on Swoon Block

For the backing, I used the same Kona blue as the binding except for two strips of leftover Sunnyside fabric and a label. I really like how the stitching shows up on the back!

Swoon Block Back

I’m definitely going to make this block again since it has so many possibilities from a one-block quilt to a pillow to a bed quilt.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Black Cat Crossing Blog Hop + Giveaway

Posted on October 21, 2014 by thequiltedcat

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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

Aurifil BOM for July + Mt. Jefferson at Sunset

Posted on July 16, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m slowly getting caught up at home and at work after some vacation time last week for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. I hope to have my photos uploaded soon.

I did capture this picture of Mt. Jefferson from Smith Rock State Park at sunset one evening. Unfortunately, I did not have my tripod with me so this photo does not do justice to the explosion of color that we saw first-hand.

Mt. Jefferson from Smith Rock State Park at sunset

I’ve caught up on one of my BOM projects – the Aurifil BOM! The guest designer for July is Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms. I have her Swoon pattern, and it is on my to-do list!

Camille’s block is called “On the Plus Side” and is great fun to stitch together.

Using my palette of Kona Shadow for my neutral combined with reds and blacks, here is my Aurifil July block:

Aurifil July BOM – On the Plus Side

I picked up the red batik in the border and the white/black print from the Stitchin Post in Sisters last week, and I think they’ve found a great home together in this block.

If you’ve been following along with this BOM, we’ve now completed 7 blocks. Here are my blocks together:

Aurifil BOM, Blocks 1-7

I think we have 5 more blocks to go in this BOM. It’s never to late to join in on the fun! I’m linking this post up with Lee’s WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Enjoy,
~Jennifer