Cat Mat

A cat mat for cat food—this pattern is from the Summer 2011 issue of Stitch magazine. This was my first time using iron-on vinyl. Yes, there really is such a thing! And it worked great. I won't know how it holds up, since this is going to my aunt on the other side of the country, but it was easy to use. This project went surprisingly quickly once I dedicated some time to just work.

Fabrics used: a Kona blue solid (from Joanns) and a light blue non-Kona solid (from Joanns) and a variety of scraps and fat quarter bits from my stash. Managed to find several birds, cats, and fish prints to include. Backed with non-slip fabric.

Rather than use double-sided tape to hold the vinyl-covered patchwork and backing fabric together, I used quilt basting spray. I tested it first (to make sure the vinyl wouldn't disintegrate or refuse to stick). It worked just fine.

fully pieced

cutting the iron-on vinyl

ironing

with vinyl applied; appliques used fusible web, mouth is embroidered

cutting to shape

cats for scale

Kookaburra quilt finish

So, I finished nearly 6 weeks ago, and am only getting around to doing this post.

The Kookaburra quilt is done!

You can find info on the fabrics used in this post.

Quilt labels are my absolute least favorite part of quilting. I have tried using an applique, I have tried writing on the quilt, I have tried a square tucked into the binding. I have found all of these things either incredibly frustratingly difficult or nerve-wracking (that would be the writing!). I found the idea of using the silhouette to make cloth labels at Sew Nocturnal. I used the same kind of pen, but used twill tape. I chose twill tape because I wouldn't need to finish the edges, but oh was getting it centered impossible. I am hoping to find some smoother cotton tape to try in the future, because it could be very quick and easy.

 

Front

Pieced Back

Folded

Trying to get a decent shot outside—and for scale

Simple label using my Silhouette

Simple—except for trying to get it centered!

Happy boy

The pattern is from All People Quilt: Fat Quarter Twin Bed Quilt. I made size adjustments because my son has an Ikea Kura bed, and a traditional twin would not work!

Linked to:
Take-A-Look Tuesday

Piecing a back

I have never pieced a back before, but had to for my current project.

Why had to? I only bought 2 yards of my backing fabric (bought from Honey Be Good), which is a very large repeat print. When it arrived, I also wasn't thrilled by the layout on the fabric—the birds were facing away form each other! And one side had black birds, the other blue. I wanted to mix that up.

Also, my quilt top is 52 inches wide.

The front:

The back:

Fabrics are mostly from Saffron Craig's Banksia Bloom line (a got a fat quarter bundle and 2 yards of the large kookaburras). Filled in with Art Gallery Pure Elements Parisian Blue, Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen Stone, Kona Cotton Orange, and Lotta Jansdotter Bella Ball and Leaves Poppy. I have Ann Kelle Remix Dots in Tangerine for binding.

This is all sandwiched up and ready to quilt! First, though—making dinner, eating dinner, and more laundry. Maybe some card games too.

Linked to:
Fresh Sewing Day 
WIP Wednesday

Fabric shopping

No, the afghan still is not quite done—hopefully next week I can share a finished project!

But a new cousin means a new project! Since I am still working on one baby aghan, I have decided to go with a quilt for the next project.

And since I had some time today, I decided today was the perfect day to head to Sew Modern.

The plan is to make a disappearing 9-patch. The fabrics I left with:
Boys Toys Sky (Robert Kaufman)--backing (far right) and focus fabric (far left)
Pearl Bracelets (Lizzie House) in dark gray
Noteworthy (Sweetwater for Moda) in a brownish gray
Simply Color (V and Co for Moda) in gray and green--these are ombres, so I get more options!
Chevron (Riley Blake) in green and blue--big dots, another ombre!
Clown Stripe (Michael Miller) in green and light blue
Kona Glacier (the dark turquoise)--possibly the binding, but I may add borders

So, these need to get washed an pressed and I need to chose my block size for the quilt. Plenty of time to get that afghan finished....

 Linking up:
Small Blog Meet
Find A Friend Friday

Owl Eyes Mini Quilt

Last weekend (August 5) I took an all-day workshop with Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! at Sew Modern. I have been so excited for this class--I actually called and signed up as soon as I got the email announcement. And then made various piles of my scraps. And moved them around. And started over. And changed my mind again. And so forth.

Owl Eyes mini quilt

In the class we started two mini versions of quilts from Elizabeth's book Modern Patchwork: Owl Eyes and Looptastic. These two quilts use very different methods of applique. I prefer the method used in Owl Eyes (at least for constructing the quilt top—the quilting was difficult!). So I also managed to get that mini finished up today.

Backing/binding fabric

I ended up using Insul-Bright as the batting in this quilt, because I am going to use it as a hot pad on my kitchen counter. I have been thinking of making something like this for months, as when the 12-year-old makes cookies and I am making dinner, I always end up with too many hot things for my stovetop, and my poor formica counter can't take anything. Which means I end up making a mishmash of cork trivets and potholders to handle the bar cookie pan or whatever i think might be the coolest of the hot things.

For the quilting I did a simple random free motion loop. Which got to be a bit messy, because every time I stitched up onto the appliques, the machine would slow down. I don't know if this is because of the applique layers, or the zigzag applique stitch itself, or the Insul-Bright. But I chose to not stress about the resulting large stitches. If I had, I would still be working on this.

My quilting needs more practice—an ongoing theme

There is not much cooking going on these days, however. It has been 85° in the kitchen every afternoon lately. Not that that stopped me from having the iron on....

Around the shoot

Linked up at:
Sew Darn Crafty
One Week One Thing
Fabric Tuesday
 

Elizabeth Hartman Workshop

Last weekend I took a workshop with Elizabeth Hartman , from Oh, Fransson! In one day we started two mini quilts of two designs (Owl Eyes and Looptastic) from her Modern Patchwork book.

It was a great day--nice people, fabric-y goodness, awesome irons at Sew Modern (for those of us using an iron with no steam while waiting for a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon to show up...yup that's me), and no kids begging for food.

Me with my Owl Eyes mini and Elizabeth!

These two quilts use very different methods for the applique. I prefer Owl Eyes myself, thus it will definitely be finished. I have actually promised at Amy's One Week One Thing Challenge.

I even know what this mini is going to be! I have been meaning to make an insulated mat to sit on my (formica) counter. I don't have enough space on my cooktop to cook and have cookies and a roast sitting there too, cooling. So, this is it. Perfect size, and I thought of it in time to put Insul-Bright in as the batting. Yay!

Happy Halloween!

In May!

Witches Workshop Sampler pattern, F&P Sept/Oct 2005

It's finally, finally done. I think I started it in...2005. Maybe 2006. I originally intended to do the neat spider-y edge in the magazine, but you know what? I have a certain boy who loves curling up under any sort of blanket or quilt. And a curvy edge is not practical for a lap quilt. And a straight edge is much easier too ;)

Now I get to start something new! First I have to decide what. So many choices...

Progress

 

I admit it. One of the reasons this quilt sat in my UFO pile for so long was because I was afraid to quilt the witch's face. Really. And you know what? It was easy.

So now I am done quilting the entire center of this thing. The four big blocks and the small ghost and bat blocks. Which also means I am done withe all of the free motion. And given that my top thread keeps breaking, I am so relieved. 

Next up is the borders. I am going to do straight line quilting. I am really nearly done! The pattern is from Fons and Porter--in 2005. In the magazine it is a wall hanging with a complicated (if cool) spider web-shaped edge. We don't have a huge house with huge walls, so I am going to finish it as a square, and it can live on the couch come October. I know a certain 9-year-old who will love cuddling up with it. And a certain 12-year-old (who will--eek!--be 13 then) who will fight him for it.

So close to crossing this one off!

Dithering

I decided that, no matter how badly I want to start a new project, I really must work on one of my many many half-done projects.

So I have spent the last week dithering. Digging through piles, locating projects. Looking at them. Putting them back. Thinking. Finding other projects.

Basically, a whole lot of nothing has been happening.

I finally decided I will work on this.

Yes, it is way more than halfway done. Every October I get it out to finish by Halloween. The I get caught up in costumes, don't finish this, and put it away.

It's March. Maybe this year I will finish.

Made in Cherry Mini

So, I guess I missed the actual end of the quilt-a-long, but I did finish!

The star is various scraps, the solid is Kona Pomegranate, and the back is Joel Dewberry print (that I got on sale, yay!).

I echo quilted 1/2" lines on the pomegranate. Inside the star, I echo quilted at 1" intervals. That turned out to not be the best choice, as it shows every little piecing error (and there are plenty of not-quite-perfect intersections). Another case of live and learn. I seem to have a lot of those.

Final dimensions of this mini is 19 1/4 inches square. Though it isn't, ahem, perfectly square. The pieced squares are finished at 1".

Linking up:

Stitched in Color Scrap Attack

finally actually quilting

After a crazy week that ended with our Cub Scout pack Blue & Gold Dinner, silent auction, and Arrow of Light Ceremony, I am finally actually quilting my Made in Cherry mini.

Did I mention I am silent auction chair (and entire committee, haha), and I am also the Advancement Coordinator, so had to have all of the Arrows of Light and certificates ready.

Yeah.

I also have thank you letters to send, but I am so happy the auction reconciled that I decided to let myself quilt!

Modern Mini Challenge

Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts is hosting a modern mini challenge starting...today. I am looking forward to all the samples and techniques shown during the blog hop. Though I admit, I already have some ideas. OK, one idea. One big small idea. Involving this:

But am not going to start until the bloghop is well underway, and I finish the made in Cherry quilt-a-long. I swear it.

Mini Cherry Top Is Done

In spite of last night's panic attack regarding triangles, seam allowances, and matching points, today the top is done. Yay!

So, a roll call of the fabrics used, as best as I could figure out: Nicey Jane (3 prints), Timeless Treasures cupcake prints (2), Chez Moi Posh by Moda, Joel Dewberry Heirloom Rose Bouquet and Paisley, Larkspur Bright Multi by Alexander Henri, Mary Englebright  (1), and several Cranston Print Works prints. There are also a few that might be Cranston, but there are no selvages. These were donated mill run ends that I used for a school fundraiser quilt years ago.

The solid is Kona Pomegranate—which you may recognize as my Emmeline apron scrap color.

I admit that I went and bought a backing piece today, I don't have any scraps large enough. It needs to be washed. My (on sale) choice to be revealed later.

When bound, this will be about 20" x 20". My first mini.

Linking to: Fresh Sewing Day, Small Blog Meet, Made in Cherry Quilt-a-Long

Made in Cherry Quilt-A-Long

I told myself nooooooooo I have too many unfinished projects and unstarted projects and just plain ideas floating around my brain.


But I couldn't resist.  I joined the quilt-a-long being hosted over at Pins and Bobbins. But I am starting with a scrappy mini version. All my squares have been cut to 1.5 inches, and my small half square triangles are also done. I won't be cutting the background pieces until I have my points and main block all done.

And now my iron has decided to stop working. It's warm, but not hot, and there's no steam. And, of course, it is Sunday. So my repair shop is closed. Wanna bet the iron decides to heat up tomorrow? Maybe it needs a day off.

Finished!

It's really truly finished. Finally. And will make it to the recipient before she is one (ahem...).

At the end of May I had this:

And now, finally, I have this:

And with the backing:

Yes, I work slowly. I will spare you all the list of other stuff I did during that time period ;)

The pattern is Shake Rattle and Roll designed by Jacquie Gering, from  the Spring 2011 issue of Stitch magazine.

The block directions were great, but I am still shocked at the amount of waste this pattern created. So much sewing only to cut off fabric. I've never done any kind of wonky block before, so maybe that's normal? I found it frustrating. It took forever to make any progress!

The supply list calls for "1/4 yard each of 6 to 8 [fabrics]." I had 6--and ran out of fabric for all of the small blocks on the side. I had originally bought binding to match the light solid (and I usually wait until the quilt is done to chose binding), so made rectangles with that to use in place of the small blocks I couldn't make.

And then I got new binding fabric! It all worked out in the end, as I like the dark brown a lot. It frames it up quite nicely, especially given the excess of pale green!

Now I get to wrap it up and mail it away! That is the best part.

Seeing Progress

I am getting excited. The end of the baby quilt is in sight.

This elation will, inevitably, be followed by the realization that this is slowpoke me, and it will be awhile just yet. Hopefully I will get a bunch more done before that hits. I have a few things I can't wait to start!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

My entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2010 is actually the first quilt I ever finished. Not the first one I started, not the first one I cut and pieced, not the first one I started quilting. But the first one I actually finished. (OK—I had made a quilted pillow before. Does that count? It was about a 12" block, with no binding. So I say no, it doesn't count.)

Finished in August 2006, this is Zachary's quilt.

 

Yes, I look at it now and cringe. There are so many things I would do differently. But Zachary loved it, as did his mom, who has a tendency to buy pieced blocks at thrift stores and frame them.

So, the story behind this. I wanted to make a quilt for the baby because his mom loves quilts. Choosing the fabric was another story. It had to be OK for a boy or girl. And I really wanted to find some animal prints. Zachary has an older brother and sister. His brother is autistic—but quite high-functioning. But there was a lot of stress about how big brother (who was about 7 at the time) would accept the new baby, as change is very hard for him.

Big brother loves animals. Loves them. And can tell you all about them. Everything I know about bullfrogs I learned from this boy. So I thought maybe an animal quilt would give the new baby something that big brother could discuss. But a babyish print would be good, so that it clearly belonged to the baby.

Like a true beginner, I chose my pattern before I chose the fabric. Which was not a great idea. But it had lots of squares. Big squares! I did a simple diagonal quilting pattern, as well as some square outlines and straight lines.

All in all it worked well. I finished it, after all. In a timely fashion! The whole family loved it. And I realized that making a baby quilt is much much faster than crocheting a baby afghan.

Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!

After my monthly trip down to the San Pedro scout shop I decided to reward myself with a trip to my favorite fabric store. It was on the way home. Really. Kind of.

I was greeted with this:

 

In spite of having exactly 2 hours to shop, wait in line, get home to get organized, and get the boys, I managed to buy this:

A lot of brown and orange. Two colors I rarely use. I love love love that bird fabric! I see a bag of some sort. The pink/red/black is intended for the outside of the Everything Bag from Weekend Sewing. I want to do some sort of wonky block with the orange/brown on the upper right. (I love those fruit trees! Love them.) The bottom selection--I'm not sure yet.

Now I need to get back there. I need to go with a plan. And to think I really just wanted to see Innocent Crush to wrap my brain around it before buying any. Needless to say, they don't have it.

Finished!

I guess it says something about me that such a small quilt still takes me weeks. But it's done, and didn't get shoved into a WIP pile at any point. This may be a record for me! And--if you can believe it--it is hanging right in the spot (get it?) I designed it for.

This is the end of my pantry cabinet. For years it has had some construction paper stars hanging on it. Everett made them in preschool. He is in second grade now. The stars were faded, curling, and had dropped most of their glitter. Yet they left tape residue on the cabinet.

To hang this quilt, I hand-sewed two small 5/8" plastic rings onto the quilt back. I placed two small 3M decorating clips on the cabinet. And voila--removable quilt hangers!

The back I am not in love with--though I am pretty pleased with my label. I matched its placement to the right hand dot on the front. So the quilting outlines the label as well. Caveat: they didn't perfectly line up!

I am overall pretty pleased with this little quilt. But I am frustrated with one of the fabrics.

The honeycomb print. Look at the right edge--pretty good! Now look at the top and bottom. Looking at this fabric on the bolt and on the ironing board, it looked perfectly straight. It's definitely a little off-grain. But I wonder if it's supposed to have this step-down? It bugs me. And it kind of gives me a headache. But talk about headaches--that dot on the back! Just the picture makes me dizzy.