Oriental Fans

This lovely fan is another old block that I requested from Blue Wren. It is based on a Laura Wheeler design called Pride of the North. I used coral, cream and black colors that remind me of oriental wall hangings.

After sewing the four blocks, I set them on point, then added two borders and setting triangles for framing. I straight stitched along the fan seams and filled in the curves and borders with free motion quilting using white thread.

The backing repeats the cute cat print from the center fan blade. Callie would have loved sleeping on this. The final touch is a white and black thin striped binding. Oriental Fans finished out at 40” square.

I have several color selections laid out in EQ8 for this block. There are just not enough hours in the day to sew and finish all my quilt ideas!

Dies used:
Blue Wren 
6981 Abaniko 12” block

Accuquilt
55054 Strip 4½”
55017 Strip 2½”

 

Terraces, and A Sad Goodbye

Terraces

Crisp white combined with just about any color makes a pretty quilt. This one is particularly bright and springy using fresh green scraps.

Terraces features 2” x 3” rectangles, 3” squares, triangles, and strips surrounding a 6” center square. I saw a similar one at a quilt show but I don't remember who made it. I laid it out in EQ8 but also played with fabric placement on my design wall.

Finished size is 54” square. I quilted with white thread in several different stitches around each section. The back is pieced with some of the leftover rectangles and a beautiful large green and white floral print.

 

Today is the first day of spring, and sunny here in Tennessee. The only problem is the 17 degree low temperature this morning. Oh well, that's what quilts are for.

On a sad note, I'll be working alone in the sewing room from now on. We lost our precious Callie cat last Thursday after a short illness. She was 12 years old and had a good day on Wednesday, playing outside in the sunshine, even tracking a mouse. I will surely miss our morning cuddles and that sweet face!

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6047 Rectangles 2½” x 3½”

Accuquilt
55009 Half Square Triangles 3½”
55032 Strip 3½”
55000 Square 6½”
55006 Square 3½”

 

Cat Nap Blues

Cat Nap Blues

Shades of blue plus neutrals from my large stash make up this old fashioned quilt. I pulled from my boxes of remnant squares and triangles first, then cut more to balance out the design. Trapezoids from scraps and strips are mainly navy and bright blue.

I pieced the 36 blocks using Laney, my pretty Maui Blue Singer 301. Like working a puzzle, I moved them on my design wall until I was happy with the layout. Cat Nap Blues is 54” square after I added a 3” border.

Quilting this one was a challenge, even with my  Janome machine. I used a new ruler and even though I practiced first, it gave me fits on the quilt. The fabric wanted to drag as I changed direction on the waves, and my thread kept breaking. I persisted, and although there is uneven stitching and several boo-boos, I decided it is good enough.

I do like the double row of waves, so I'll practice more before the next attempt. And I'll use a busy print instead of a solid color backing. After I washed and dried, the stitching looks better. Certainly not show worthy, but it will keep me warm and give the cat a place to nap.

Accuquilt dies used:
55763 Trapezoid
55018 Small value die (2" squares & half square triangles)
55017 Strip 2½”
55032 Strip 3½”

Sometimes perfection isn't necessary

Flying Circus

 

Color. Stars. Action. 

This quilt has it all.  It started with two 5” charm packs of Tula Pink prints and solids that I bought last year. I've pulled them out several times but never found the right project.

This time, I hit on the perfect design and layout to showcase these bright dots and stripes. Depending on how you look at it, either the navy stars or the bright squares appear to float over the gray background. And sometimes I see the stars as latticework behind the squares. This one's open to interpretation.

Flying Circus is 45” x 52” size. I cut gray print rectangles and added small navy triangles to each corner to form the star sashing. I don't have a narrow signature die that size, so lots of trimming was involved but it was so worth the time. I always try to use what I have to make what's needed.

And it's cat approved.  During quilting I stepped away from the machine for a moment.  Callie likes to take my chair or the quilt I'm working on for her nap.  

Using gray thread, I quilted ¼” away from each side of the sashing. I didn't quilt inside the squares in order to feature those fabrics. Backing is a navy and gray tiny print with a solid border of navy added along one side for width.

Accuquilt dies used:
55059 2 ½” squares
55159 2 ½”x 4 ½” finished rectangle
55769 1 ⅛” finished half square triangle
55017 2 ½” strip (binding)
and if you don't have precut charm squares
55010 5” square

Sometimes

all you need

is a

SPLASH of COLOR

Curiosity

I selected most of my black and white fabrics for this beauty, then added a few grays for good measure. I stitched it the last week of 2019. Each 11” block is made with four diamond in square blocks. The design is perfect for using up remnants.

I cut 2 ½” x 4 ½” rectangles for the centers and 3 ½” half square triangles to set them into squares. Narrow sashing of 1 ½” strips in a white on white print frames them up nicely.

The backing/binding is a delightful print called Cat Happy from Windham Fabrics. If you look closely, you'll find a few more kitties peeking out in the front triangles. I quilted with a walking foot in white thread, using straight stitch in long wavy lines 5/8” apart.

Curiosity finished at 52” square, a nice size for cat napping.

Curiosity

Accuquilt dies used:

55159 2 ½” x 4 ½” rectangle

55009 3 ½” half square triangles

Once we believe in ourselves, we can experience curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. 

 ~ e.e. Cummings

Sassy Baby

Baby quilts are fun, quick and so cute! When I got my new Accuquilt Winding Ways die for Christmas, I just had to try it right away. To the scrap bin I went for contrasting fabrics to showcase the design.

Sassy Baby features pink, lime and cream prints and solids. These curves would have taken forever to cut out with scissors, but I was done in no time at all. The curved seams match precisely, creating lovely flowers and circles. The backing is a pink herringbone. I outline quilted with bright pink thread. Final size is 32” square.

Sassy Baby

I was quilting another project on the Flynn Frame yesterday afternoon. Turned away for a moment and Callie cat made herself right at home in the middle of my work. Does she think this is a kitty hammock or what?  😼  😸  😻

                    

National Cat Day & More

Here's a shot of our sweet Callie taken this morning. She's stretched out in the sunshine, relaxed and happy. It's National Cat Day so she'll get a few extra treats to celebrate.

Wednesday is Halloween; we're going to dress up as old retired folks. OK, not really dressing up, just wearing our normal clothes. It's been a while, but I recall wonderful costumes for many Halloween celebrations at work.

I'm already stitching for Christmas! A charity project is in the works that will bring smiles to the faces of strangers during the holidays. What better way to celebrate?

Refrigerator Update: Still nothing. We have received two of the parts but the other is still pending, possibly on back order or sailing in on a slow boat from Korea. No one knows.

Patience 

is the ability 

to count down 

before you blast off

Flat Horizontal Surfaces

Why do my tables, benches, and countertops attract stuff? It seems like I'm always clearing off the coffee table, kitchen and bath counters, desks, dressers, and, oh Lord, my sewing tables!

I'm a visual person and I love having pretty things around me. But I really like them neat and organized. I try to put items away after I use them, but, on the other hand, I want frequently used objects at my fingertips. Hmmm. Maybe too many projects at once? Or just too much furniture?

And, is a dust magnet somehow imbedded into all these flat surfaces? Hey, I have an idea...I'll put little dust mitts on Callie cat! She is clearly attracted to tables.

Y'all have a good week. I'll be dusting, tossing clutter, and making the counters shine.

Clutter

is nothing more than

postponed decisions.

– Barbara Hemphill

Neatly Stacked

Neatly Stacked

I love the color combination in this quilt, and of course, the cat prints! The fabric is a 10” square sampler collection called Cat Lady, from Connecting Threads. I cut cream squares, sashing and borders, then used a quickie method of sewing and slashing to make the large half square triangle blocks. It went together like a dream: I cut, sewed and quilted this 42” x 52” wall hanging in about 8 hours.

This quilt was finished in 2016, just before Christmas. According to my sewing log, I completed 27 quilt projects last year, eight of them in November and December. My new Janome sewing machine has been getting quite a workout, and I love to sew on her!

▩  ▩  ▩

Never underestimate the power

of a woman with a sewing machine.

▩  ▩  ▩

If anyone ever tells me 

that I have enough fabric 

and don't need any more, 

I will stop talking to them. 

 I don't need that kind 

of negativity in my life!

▩  ▩  ▩

 

Christmas Sewing and a Cat Mat

I'm still spending lots of time in the sewing room, especially with the cold temps last week.  I made a few more Christmas table mats for the kitchen and got to use more of the fabulous stitches on my new machine. 

Callie Cat has a thing for fabric, too.  She likes to plop down on anything soft...a shirt, a quilt, a pillow, or any material you've left on a horizontal surface.  Even when I'm sewing, I'll turn around and she is laying on the very project I'm working on.  So I decided to sew up a cat mat of her very own.  The dots on the fabric are little cat faces.  I think she likes it.

The end of December is normally hectic and busy, but this year I'm trying to take it easy and concentrate on what's important.  I hope you all seek out your own peace and happiness this Christmas season.  

 

Cat Envy

A few days ago. I captured this photo of Callie in the afternoon sunlight. She draped herself across the coffee table while I was reading. 

Watching her makes me want to become more cat-like.

“Cats are intended to teach us that 

not everything in nature has a purpose.” 

~ Garrison Keillor

“Way down deep, we're all motivated by the same urges. 

 Cats have the courage to live by them.” 

~ Jim Davis

Crazy Week, Bad Cat

I'm not sure where last week went. Maybe the leap day had something to do with feeling like I was marching in place. Looking back, we actually got a lot done but it was a little crazy and sure went by quickly. Between voting, errands, and routine stuff, I was able to sew.

Crazy Spring Geese

This bright flying geese lap quilt took a while to cut, lay out, and stitch together. I love the greens and turquoise in contrast with bright white, perfect for spring. I used variegated thread to outline the triangles and sew long swirling trails down the middle. I finished it up on Saturday afternoon, snapped a few photos and spread it on the back of the couch. It turned out exactly like I wanted and I was so pleased with my work.

Twenty minutes later, I walked through the living room and the quilt was all bunched up. Apparently Callie cat had attacked it and punched several holes and a few tiny rips in it with her sharp little claws! BAD CAT!!! I don't know whether she didn't like the colors or just didn't want it on the couch. Strange, since she normally likes to sleep on any quilt or fabric I have lying around. I chased her out the back door, where she was banished for several hours. Needless to say, I was furious.

So, here's the outcome:  I was challenged to repair the quilt in a creative way. I covered the holes (which were right in the middle) using a decorative triangle stitch with the variegated thread. The quilt is more embellished than I had planned. It is NOT on the couch. The bad cat is still alive. But she can no longer be trusted and will be carefully supervised while indoors from now on.  

La Vida Loca!

“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.” --Garrison Keillor

“My cat is not insane, she's just a really good actress.” --P.C. Cast, Untamed

"When a cat rips a quilt, embellish it!" --me

Cat Nap

Favorite Quotes From Garfield the Cat

Garfield is a wonderfully lazy, lasagna loving fat cartoon cat created by Jim Davis. He's sassy and funny, and his cynical outlook on life always makes me smile. Here are a few of my favorites from his many nuggets of wisdom.

“I'm not over-weight, I'm under-tall.” 

 

“Never trust a smiling cat.”

“Eat every meal as though it were your last.” 

"I can...but I won't."

“I'm not messy. I'm organizationally challenged!” 

“The most active thing about me is my imagination.”

A Box Of Fresh Fun

I just love opening a box of fun! My impulsive fabric order was delivered last week by our trusty UPS man. New material always inspires me and makes me smile. A rainy Sunday was the only excuse I needed to design a new lap quilt. I chose bright blue and fresh green prints from a Ty Pennington jelly roll assortment, adding in a few remnants of my own.

 
Grass and Sky is a simple four strip design, sashed with navy. A solid green border should contrast nicely. This is a quick one to sew; I already finished piecing the strips. The leftovers will find their way into a scrappy backing that I'll design later.

I may not need this quilt, except maybe to keep cat fur off my clothes. Take a look at Callie...she's all comfy lying upside down in my lap after supper. A bit spoiled, isn't she?

“Who among us hasn't envied a cat's ability to ignore the cares of daily life and to relax completely?” – Karen Bradenmeyer

Soft Kitty

Welcome Callie, the cute little calico stray who has adopted us. We haven't had a cat for over four years, although we had talked about getting another one some day. Evidently Callie decided now was the time. She made herself at home on our back porch and proved her worth by catching three voles and two field mice in the first five days.

She is still cautious with Rowdy dog, who initially barked at her but now ignores her like he did all our other cats. After she'd been here for a week, we took Callie to the vet for shots and checkup. She's a healthy nine month old, so next week she's scheduled for surgery to make sure there won't be any kitty surprises.

Most of our beloved pets found us by showing up on our doorstep, and I believe these things happen for a reason. It's serendipity, an accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it. Even though someone tossed her out, I'm guessing Callie cat knew we wouldn't be able to turn her away, especially after we saw her sweet face and heard her purr.

“Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur.

Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.” 

sung by Sheldon and Penny, Big Bang Theory.  

Original lyrics by Edith Newlin