Fierce Cheetah Mama

Posted on March 25, 2021 by thequiltedcat

Happy spring, everyone! The days are getting a little longer, bulbs are blooming, and birds are singing. I’m very happy that we’re heading into the warmer spring days because it means more hiking and gardening.

For Christmas last year, my sister sent me the Cheetah Abstractions pattern by Violet Craft. This is a foundation paper pieced pattern that usually finishes at 48 inches by 60 inches, but I decided to shrink it down to 75%. I like to print my foundations using Carol Doak’s Foundation Paper because it is really easy to remove after sewing.

I challenged myself to use only fabrics from my stash. The fabric audition process can take a few days and, for this quilt, my hardest decision was the background. I knew that I’d need about a 2 yard piece in a solid or mostly solid color with enough contrast to make the cheetah body pop. I auditioned creams, grays, grunges, and others until I came across a mottled light aqua fabric. Perfect! It reminded me of a partly overcast day.

Once I had the background fabric, I pulled different solids and lightly patterned fabrics to audition for the cheetah body. I like to use Violet’s included color palette to tape small swatches of my fabrics so that I remember which fabric goes with which symbol while paper piecing.

Cheetah Abstractions – fabric selections

I started with the cheetah face first. I was just so eager to see it come to life in fabric! The head section is the most complicated, especially at just 75% size. If you’re new to paper piecing, just go slow and remember to reduce your stitch length. Here’s the start of the cheetah with the pattern for scale.

Over the next few days, I tackled sections of the cheetah body. I sewed the smaller sections and laid them out before joining sections together. It is much easier to fix mistakes this way! Isn’t her expression great? Her gaze is so intense and focused.

I pieced my cheetah fairly quickly in just a few weeks. I put all my other projects (mostly) on hold. Once pieced, I thought about how to quilt her for a week or two. I didn’t want the quilting to detract from the magnificent cheetah mama.

I decided to do some straight-line quilting all over the cheetah face and body using Glide thread in Sand Dune. For the background, I did some free-motion leaves using Glide thread in Cool Mint. I also used 2 layers of Quilter’s Dream Poly Select batting for extra texture!

The double batting does make this small quilt heavy, but I plan to hang it on a wall rather than using it as a lap quilt. For the binding, I used a dark brown fabric for three-quarters of the quilt and then used a piece of the backing for the remaining one-quarter to accent some of the colors from the cheetah.

The backing fabric is called Kenyan Cats by Alexander Henry Fabrics, which I thought worked so well with the cheetah theme.

I really love how this fierce mama cheetah quilt turned out, and I can’t wait to display her on a wall behind my work desk at home.

Enjoy!

~Jen

Quilter’s Affair 2019 Classes

Posted on September 25, 2019 by thequiltedcat

This year, my sister and I took 2 classes at A Quilter’s Affair in the week leading up to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

For our first class, we decided to take an English Paper Piecing class (EPP) with Violet Craft because we really haven’t used this quilting technique before and we both thought it might be a great technique to do while traveling.

We used the Fruit Basket pattern, and we both picked the strawberry for our practice block, and we learned some great tips in the class.

Start of my strawberry block:

Strawberry 1

Here’s a pic of us together with our strawberry blocks in August when my sister came to my house for a visit. I’m on the right with the blue shorts.

I have started working on the pineapple block, but I must admit that I haven’t made too much progress. I’ll pick it up again when the weather turns rainy, and I do less hiking and yard work.

For our second class, we took “Gertie’s Birdies” with Sally Frey. We used the pattern Feathers by The Pattern Basket. We signed up for this class because birds have a special inside meaning to us and these chunky little birds just looked so cute.

I made 3 birds in class using the Sweet Tea collection by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics plus some solids by Cherrywood. I love these fabrics because they remind me of summer!

Here is a look at the birds from other quilters in the class at the end of the day. My 3 bird blocks are in the top left:

I’ve finished another 3 bird blocks in the months since our class. I plan on making 3 more so I can complete the smaller quilt, which will be a perfect little summer wall hanging.

The Quilter’s Affair is so much fun, and I’m glad my sister got to come this year. We hope to go again next year!

Here’s a view of the Three Sisters during an evening hike we took:

Happy quilting!

-Jen

Mt. Hood Elevated Abstractions Quilt

Posted on April 26, 2018 by thequiltedcat

Hello quilters!

I love the landscape of the west, particularly in my home state of Oregon. When I saw the Elevated Abstractions quilt by Violet Craft, I just knew that I had to make it.

This quilt is a wonderful abstraction of Mt. Hood. It is entirely foundation paper-pieced using Pure Elements Solids by Art Gallery fabric and Aurifil thread in 50 weight.

I wanted the quilting to take a back seat to the piecing so I took a modern approach with straight-line quilting using channel locks on my HQ Avante.

MtHood_2

Once I took the quilt off the frame, my trusty quilt inspector instantly arrived. How do cats know?

MtHood3

I decided that the quilt needed a pop of bright color for the binding so I dug into my stash and added some orange Notorious fabric by Cotton + Steel. Then, I took the quilt on a 9 mile round trip hike to visit Pup Falls in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Quite the scene for a little photo op! My son took this picture while I balanced precariously on the muddy trail, working hard to keep it out of all that mud!

I really enjoyed piecing and quilting Elevated Abstractions. I need to find the perfect spot to hang it in my home.

Happy quilting! ~Jennifer

Elephant Abstractions, Mini Size

Posted on January 23, 2018 by thequiltedcat

Greetings friends!

Last March, I started work on the Elephant Abstractions quilt by Violet Craft during a spring break quilt retreat with my sister. I finished it in August, just in time to display at the NW Quilting Expo in Portland.

The original pattern is quite large and, having made the full-size Giraffe Abstractions, I decided to make the elephant at 50% size. Since this is a foundation paper-pieced pattern, it is easy to scale it by reducing the templates when copying them.

I purchased all my fabrics at the Stitchin Post the summer before in a frenzy of purchasing in the week leading up to the annual quilt show! The background is an Alison Glass Handcrafted Grove in Neon batik fabric and the elephant fabrics are a combination of Moda Grunge, Michael Miller Painter’s Canvas, and some solids.

For the quilting, I did some pretty dense custom free-motion quilting on the elephant body. I used more geometric shapes on the ears and different curvy shapes on the head, body, and tusks. I added pearl hot fix crystals in the center of the eyes. For the background, I wanted the quilting to make it seem like the elephant is running out from the jungle towards the viewer.

Here’s a look at the finished quilt:

Elephant Abstractions Quilt

Here are some close-up pics of the quilting:

I’m very pleased with how this small quilt turned out, and I’m excited to do another one of Violet’s abstraction patterns soon! Maybe even her new one, the Wolf!

Happy quilting!

~Jennifer

Giraffe Abstractions Quilt!

Posted on August 26, 2016 by thequiltedcat

Hi everyone,

In July at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show, I had the opportunity to take the Giraffe Abstractions class by Violet Craft with my sister.

I finished about 1/2 of the quilt top during the week, working on it during the 2-day class and in the evenings at the hotel. I wanted to finish the quilt quickly since I had a visit to my sister’s house in August so I stitched like crazy during the rest of July and early August at home. I also wanted to take the finished giraffe on a little, unexpected journey! The piecing is all done with Aurifil #2000 and the quilting is done with Superior OMNI in light grey.

This beautiful quilt is entirely foundation paper-pieced. I used Violet’s recommended colors for the giraffe body. For the background, I used the modern Me + You Batiks. I love how it turned out!!

Here is my giraffe on her journey to celebrate the National Park Service 100th Anniversary at Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park!

Giraffe at Continental Divide, Yellowstone NP

Giraffe at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone NP

Giraffe at Grand Teton NP

I have a large stack of to-do quilting projects to tackle next, including an Instagram mini quilt swap and a Scrappy Skylines Quilt-Along. I may start the Elephant Abstractions quilt next, but who knows? 🙂

Happy quilting!

~Jennifer

Forest Abstractions Bunny + Giveaway Winner

Posted on October 31, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Happy Halloween, everyone!

My little guy is getting excited for trick-or-treating tonight, and I’m excited to get some more sewing time in this weekend. We carved some jack-o-lanterns last night:

Jack-o-Lanterns!

Recently, I had the great pleasure of meeting Violet Craft in person at an open house at a local quilt shop called the Pine Needle. I’ve been eyeing her paper pieced Forest Abstractions pattern for a while so I went ahead and purchased it. I love paper piecing, but haven’t done much of it during the past year. I’m going slow and easy, working in the blocks in between other quilt projects.

I decided to use a variety of low-volume prints for the backgrounds instead of using solids. I picked up a fat quarter stack of lovely fabric from a quilt shop in Spokane called Charming Lulu when I met my sister there for a little shop hop several weekends ago. They carry a wonderful selection of modern fabrics, and I hope to visit next time I’m in Spokane.

I haven’t found a website for Charming Lulu, but they are on Facebook.

Field Guide Fat Quarter Stack

Charming Lulu Quilt Store

For the bunny, I chose some wonderful purple and magenta fabrics that I picked up at a quilt show last year. I’m pretty sure that I’ll use different colors for each critter in the quilt, but we’ll see.

Forest Abstractions Pattern and Fabrics

Here’s a look at my completed bunny block:

Forest Abstractions Bunny

I hope to make another block from this pattern soon.

If you participated in the Black Cat Crossing blog hop, I offered a giveaway on my post here. I used a random number generator and the lucky winner is . . . .

Carole (her blog is From My Carolina Home).

Carole, I will be emailing you today to make the arrangements.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the blog hop. I do hope that you enjoyed all the wonderful Halloween creations.

Stay tuned because I’m participating in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Blog Tour in November. I have a block published in the next issue, and I can’t wait to show it to you!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Charley Harper Inspired Trunk Show

Posted on September 12, 2014 by thequiltedcat

Happy Friday, everyone! It seems like it was a really long week at work for me, and I’m so looking forward to getting some sewing time in this weekend.

I am working on a couple of secret projects that I can’t reveal – yet!! One is for Quiltmaker magazine and the other is for the Black Cat Crossing Halloween blog hop (link in my side bar). And, just maybe, there is a birthday present in the works for a special someone.

Today and tomorrow, one of my favorite LQS, the Pine Needle, is hosting their fall open house. I stopped by today at lunch to check out all the great new projects and classes.

I’m particularly excited about meeting Violet Craft and purchasing her Forest Abstractions quilt pattern. I’ve been eyeing this pattern for sometime so I decided to go for it! I love paper piecing so I think this pattern will be up my alley.

I also chatted with Dawn of First Light Designs. She’ll be teaching a Dancing Churn Dash class at the Pine Needle this October with the Quick Curve Ruler. Of course, I did pick up that ruler and pattern! Oh my list of to-do projects keeps growing.

There is a wonderful display of quilts inspired by Charley Harper’s designs during the open house event. I neglected to write down the maker of these quilts so if anyone knows, please let me know!

I just love, love, love the cat quilts:

Fall Cat

Winter Cat

Spring and Summer Cats

Here are some more of the featured quilts:

Koala Quilt

Giraffe and Cheetah Quilts

There were several more quilts, but my photos didn’t turn out very well.

Of course, the fall cat is my favorite because it reminds me of my Tiger (aka the Quilted Cat). These quilts have encouraged me to make my own Charley Harper inspired cat quilt in the future.

Only 3 more weekends to go before the NW Quilting Expo!

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

Madrona Road Challenge Quilt is Finished!

Posted on January 13, 2013 by thequiltedcat

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 thequiltedcat

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~

Peek at my Madrona Road Quilt

Posted on January 5, 2013 by thequiltedcat

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!