OMG April

Here we are at the end of the 3rd month of OMG2017, and I haven't had a singe finish! Yikes. Maybe I'm choosing too lofty goals. So for April, I'm picking an easy one.  I started this little quilt top using scraps from another top I'm building. For April, I'd Like to finish just the top. 

That goal seems easy enough and I'd really like to get it done. There's no rush on this one, it's not even on my Q2 FAL list, so that should take some pressure off. But I think this will make a perfect little baby quilt some day. 

Here's a rather sad look at OMG2017 so far:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - Not Finished
Apr - Finish Little Baby Quilt Top - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Needle and Thread Thursday, Finished or Not It's Friday, Building Block Tuesday and more!

MCQBOM2017 - March - House Block

My goodness, you guys! It's the end of march already!! 
For the third month of the Mad Cat Quilts Block Of the Month 2017, I chose a house block. I have made a hose block before but not a simple straight on one like this. It was very easy to make. But I made it more difficult by cutting a long strip of the bird background that I didn't want to waste. So I ended up piecing it all together a little wonkily. I'm not sure what I used as reference/inspiration for this block but this is a pretty version. 

If your following along at home, here is the MCQBOM so far:
Dec - 0) Improve Tree Block
Jan - 1) Pineapple Block
Feb - 2) Spool Block
Mar - 4) House Block
April - 5) Four Tree Block - Coming soon!
May - 6) ?
June - 7) ?
July - 8) ?
Aug - 9) ?
Sept - 10) ?
Oct - 11) ?
Nov - 12) ?
Dec - 13) ?

Although not all the months have been revealed there is a vague theme to this year's BOM. Hopefully it's coming together slowly but surely. 

Originally, my husband was joining me with this BOM but he hasn't had much time to sew lately. If anyone else wants to follow along and share, please do!

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Main Crush Monday and more!

New Block: The Coffee Shop (Solstice Block 10/25)

The Coffee Shop Block, block 10 of the Solstice Challenge, is pretty similar to other blocks I've made, but bc of it's boarders, I'm still calling it a new block. It's basically a fat plus block (not sure if there's a real name for that) with little boarders, but playing with color really changes this block's look. 

Pat Sloan's Coffee Shop Block.

Look at how Pat made her version so that the borders become a sort of echo (at right). It's hard to believe how different our two blocks look. I might try that next time. I could picture many variations of this block to make a full quilt. 

Since I only eyeball the measurements in quilting, this block turned out quite a bit bigger than the others I have made so far. As usually, I'm not worried about it now, I'm sure everything will fit together in the end. 

I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, Tuesday Building Blocks and more!

New Block: Among the Stars Fraction (Solstice Block 9/25)

For the 9h block of Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge, she chose a large block, or a small block with many parts, depending on how you look at it. Since I am making all my block around the same size, I didn't want to cut a million teeny HSTs or make an extra large block. Instead, I modified the pattern, using only a fraction of the whole block. 

I LOVE the way this block came out and I could see doing a whole quilt with just these stretchy stars! I also designed a second fraction of this block that I might also make. I think I will wait to see what the finished quilt might look like first before I do, though. I'm holding on to it in case I need extra blocks depending on how I choose to set them all. 

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, MCM, and more. 

Honey Pot Bee March + New Block: Echo Fragment

Every month, Molli Sparkles picks two blocks for the Honey Pot Bee BOM. One is generally a picture block and one more traditional. Some months he even throws in some extra blocks or modifications of previous blocks! I love this idea, because it allows you so many blocks to choose from. Make one each month, or all of them! So far, I've only made the more traditional blocks (another BOM I'm doing uses picture blocks). 

But I have to say, now that we are three months in, I'm not thrilled with any of them. I know that this falls mostly on me. Because I hand sew all my blocks and tend to favor simplicity (and ease) I have modified both the Feb and Mar Block. That's fine, I like how both of them have turned out. But overall, I'm just not excited or overly inspired by the direction this BOM is taking so far. 

I'll stick with it. I do like it, I'm just not thrilled by it. Here is my modified Echo Block for March. 

Sorry I cut off the block a little in this photo: I had to include that cute kitty!

I chose this "background" fabric to tie all my blocks together and every time I get ready to sew one I think, why did I do that? It's such s particular brand of ugly. But when each block is done, I'm so pleasantly surprised!! I really like the way it works with all the scraps I've been using. I also really like how light and easy it is to sew. 

Despite my misgivings, I am interested to see what else is in store for this BOM and wonder what the finished quilt might look like. 

Are you following along with The Honey Pot Bee? What are your thoughts so far?

I'm linking up with Molli via instagram, as well as Needle and Thread Thursday, Building Blocks Tuesday, and more!

New Block: Never Ending Love (Solstice Block 8/25)

This was another block from Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge that called for appliqué. 

And it's another block where I opted to leave that appliqué out. It's still a new block for me without it and I really like this one! I can very easily see incorporating this block into other quilts. For this and the other block that were supposed to be appliquéd, I used an eye catching fabric for the center of the block. I haven't begun to look at the blocks together to see how the ideas I have might fit into the over all setting of the quilt. But I think having two blocks with these fabric as focal points might work nicely. 

YOTS2017 / Spotlighting the Vintage

I love to use found, reclaimed, vintage and thrifted fabric in my quilts. I love that these fabrics find another new home with me, and where ever my quilts end up. Some of the fabric become very dear to me. For my 2017 Year of The Stash manifesto, I included the fact that finding and using these materials should be a priority.  

I like to look back and reminisce about them when looking at my quilts. I thought my readers might, too. For this first (perhaps only) installment, I wanted to look back on a very old quilt I made. I no longer have this quilt as it was a wedding anniversary gift, but I dug out some old photos to show. 

Here are the quilt front and back after I photographed them many years ago before gifting. 

Below, the highlighted areas (in yellow) show vintage fabric I used to create this quilt. 

Most of the vintage fabric I used for this quilt came from mine or my mother's stash. I pieced this quilt a long time ago in Vermont and also used new fabric I had purchased there. This is an old style of squares and stripes improve piecing that I don't use too often any more. 

Here the yellow highlight was a vintage square. The red highlight is a piece of fabric that was part of a display at the wedding of dear friends. For this anniversary quilt I wanted to incorporate it. 

Using vintage and reclaimed fabric and participating in YOTS, for me, are both ways to be mindful  of what I'm sewing and why I'm sewing. 

Here's my month Stash Update:
Fabric Added from the Since Last Update: 0
Fabric Added Year to Date: Approximately 13.25
Fabric Used Since Since Last Update: Approximately 2.5 yd
Fabric Used Year to Date: Approximately 6.5 yd

I'm feeling pretty good about my sewing this year so far. I wish I was doing more, of course, but I feel happy about what I am getting done. I have a lot of BOMs and Projects going that are helping me shop and bust my stash. I really like seeing that fabric becoming blocks and quilts instead of just sitting on the shelves. 

Share your Year of the Stash progress in the comments!

March OMG Goal

OK, I'm 0 for 2 this year so far. I'm choosing the same project as last month, partly bc I'm stubborn, but partly it's bc I really want to get this one done. So, instead of only the quilting being added as my OMG, I want to complete the mat. I did work on it a bit during February, but I also flitted about and touched on many projects. 

This mat is on my FALQ1 so there's another reason to get it done. Here's hoping I get Tom's Mat finished this month! Here's my monthly tally:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Slow Sunday Stitching, Move it Forward Monday, and more. 

New Block: Tidy Rows (Solstice Black 7/25)

I put off doing Tidy Rows for a little while bc of all the HSTs. But I ended up really loving this new block. 

I have really been enjoying seeing what new block comes for the Solstice Challenge each week. Although one of the quilt settings calls for several different sizes of blocks, I have been making them pretty much the same. I'm not sure how it will look in the end, but I have a feeling that I will really enjoy this quilt once it is all put together.

I'm linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching, Move it Forward Monday, and more. 

MCQBOM2017 - February - New Block

For the second month of the Mad Cat Quilts Block of the Month, I chose a Spool Block. 

All the blocks in 2017 will be picture blocks and this struck me as a common block that I have never tried to make. 

I procrastinated on this block a long time for some reason. It's only February! I should still be stoked for the MCQBOM2017!! But for some reason, I put this one off almost all month. 
Now that it's done, I'm quite happy with it. It's got some very rough edges but I will fix them up later. 

If your following along at home, here is the MCQBOM so far:
Dec - 0) Improve Tree Block
Jan - 1) Pineapple Block
Feb - 2) Spool Block
Mar - 4) House Block - Coming soon!
April - 5) ?
May - 6) ?
June - 7) ?
July - 8) ?
Aug - 9) ?
Sept - 10) ?
Oct - 11) ?
Nov - 12) ?
Dec - 13) ?
Although I have a pretty good plan of what other blocks I'll include, I'm keeping future blocks a mystery for now! I also have some plans for layout and what I will want the finished quilt to look like also under wraps. 

Anyone else out there working on creating their own BOMs? It's a fun exercise!

Linking up with MCM over at Cooking Up Quilts and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for the first time today! Also linking up with Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday and more!

New Block: Gramma Anna's Basket (Solstice Black 5/25)

I departed heavily from the original block that was set in the Solstice Challenge but it's still a new block for me! In Pat Sloan's version there is a appliqué basket in the center of this block, but I would prefer this quilt not to include appliqué. 

Although I did not make the appliqué, I did choose a eye catching fabric for the center of this block. And it does have a basket on it! Since I've fallen a bit behind on these solstice blocks and other BOMs I'm working on, I'll be Slow Sunday Stitching today. 

Linking up with Finished or Not It's Friday, Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday and more. 

Honey Pot Bee February

For each month of the Molli Sparkles' Honey Pot Bee there are two blocks to make. Make one, make both, make many! So far the trend has been one picture block, one more traditional. And so far I have chosen to make the more traditional blocks, as another BOM I'm working on uses picture blocks. 

For February, I only used part of the Star Kisses block (one section out of four).  I liked how this block used a variation of a sawtooth star just like the January block. Not knowing what will come net or what the finished quilt might look like, I decided to use only part of this block bc it went well with my existing block. 

I chose to use random scraps for the main features of these Honey Pot Blocks, but all with the same "background" fabric. So far, these blocks are coming out mainly neutral and I'm excited to see what happens when future blocks are added. Here are the first two:

I'm linking up with Molli Sparkles on Instagram, Move it Forward Monday, Monday Making, and more. 

New Block: Cobblestones (Solstice Block 4/25)

This is another new to me block featured in the Solstice Challenge. I made this block with 4 stones across and down (although the directions called for 3), as I had scraps that matched that size. When finishing this post, I did notice a stone out of place. Do you see it?

To fix, or not to fix? Luckily, I have a few more weeks to decide. Here is a shot with the first four blocks together:

Bc of my peculiar no measure methods, my blocks can vary in size. When creating my BOMs I don't worry much about this. It always works out in the end!

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Needle and Thread and more!

Solstice Sew Along 2/25 - Day into Night

I'm telling you, sawtooth star variation blocks are hot this year! That can't be a bad thing. 

This traditional block is always fun to make and the Day into Night version is no exception. I had already decided to use a Greenery fabric pull for the Solstice Block Challenge, but this block also cemented that I wanted to use a mix of patterned fabric and solids. 

This block came together quickly and easily. I could imagine a whole quilt out of these variations being cool. 

Linking up with Monday Making, Moving it Forward Monday, and more!

MadCatQuiltsBOM 2017 + New Block: Pineapple

Last year, I started a BOM of blocks I had never made before. I have decided to continue this tradition so here is the very first post for MCQBOM2017!!

In 2016, I didn't choose any blocks before the month I would create them, but in 2017 I have a much clearer idea of what I want to sew. For MCQBOM2017, I will still be sewing blocks I have never made before, but they will all be picture blocks; Blocks that clearly represent an image. 

I don't use picture blocks in my quilting very much, if ever, but I often like the look of these blocks in finished quilts. I have compiled a list of blocks I want to complete this year, with a vague idea of how the finished quilt will come together. I have more than 12 blocks that I might want to sew, so as usual, there is a lot of room to move around or change in this project. 

With the 2016 MCQBOM, I tried to get out of my comfort zone color and fabric wise. I'm doing that again this year with several projects. For MCQBOM2017, I have decided on an all grey and black fabric pull. I'm not sure why. But I think this might turnout very interesting!

And now, without further ado, the January block for MCQBOM2017 is the Pineapple Block!

I chose the Pineapple for the first block bc it is a symbol of welcome and prosperity and I thought that was a good way to start off the new year. I found a few tutorials for this block on pinterest, but didn't use one in particular. My husband is joining me this year, but he didn't want his block shown this time. 

We also did a warm up block back in December that came from Molli Sparkles' Honey Pot Bee, an improve tree. 

Feel free to follow along throughout the year, or sew along! Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching, Making Monday, Move It Along Monday and more link ups!

Honey Pot Bee January

Each month in the Honey Pot Bee there are two blocks to make. Make one, make two, make more!! For January I only chose one of the blocks selected. This is a block I've already made, but it was a good time to try it again. 

Based on the surprise block in Dec and the first blocks in Jan, it seems like some of the blocks in this bee might end up in my MCQBOM which will be announced and explained next week. So for January I only made the block that would not work for MCQBOM. It seems like the sawtooth star will be very popular this year. Perhaps that signals a return to more traditional blocks in the quilting community?
I never did a fabric pull for the Honey Pot Bee, so I decided that I would link these blocks together using the same background. Recently, I've been using this donated fabric for many uses and I thought this would be good here as well. 

I'm excited to see what other blocks are in store for my Honey Pot!

Linking up with Move It forward Monday, Making Monday, and Molli Sparkles on instagram. 

Pantone Color of the Year 2017 + Solstice Sew Along

Last year, I had pretty strong feeling about the 2016 Pantone Color of the Year. A lot of people did. This year, I'm more meh. Pantone had chosen Greenery as 2017 Color of the Year, and it's a nice color. Their explanation of the color is hopeful:

"A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.
Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.
Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront - it is an omnipresent hue around the world.
Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.
A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality."

Thanks, Pantone, that's nice. I'm not sure if nice is enough for us right now, but it is nice.
I might have gone with Alarm Red, a bright flashing hue that sends people into action, or Abyss Black, the black of the endless hole you want to avoid, or even Nest Brown, a color for bundling up, cozying up, gathering your loved ones and hunkering down for a long wait.   

Around the same time that I learned of this year's color, I also found Pat Sloan's 182 Day Solstice Block Challenge. That's one block a week between the Winter solstice and the Summer solstice. What a lovely idea! A nice way to pass time and make in the changing seasons. Living now in a place where the seasons are a drastic change, both in weather and in habit, this sew along really appealed to me. As I was preparing to start this challenge, it clicked; Greenery was a perfect fabric pull for this SAL!

I've made four blocks so far, two are not new to me and two are New Blocks. The first block is a good old solid churn dash. It was fun to pull fabric for this project with Greenery in mind. I'm also really excited that this challenge will be done mid year, and I can work on finishing it then, as opposed to some of my other BOMs that will take a year to complete.  Who else is participating in the Solstice Challenge? What are you color/fabric schemes?

What are your thoughts on Pantone's Color of the Year?

New Block: Oh, oh!

Recently I've had occasion to make two blocks of the Letter O. I didn't follow any pattern for these blocks but they were pretty easy. And I think they came out ok. 

I'm hoping to finish both these O objects this month! (Edit, One down!). I will probably end up making quite a few letters this year. 

What letter blocks do you enjoy making?

I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Needle and Thread Thursday (early? or late? you decide!), Monday Makers, and more!

Mat For Ollie - A Finished Mini Quilt

I made this small mat for a dog friend I've never met. I have met his owner, who happened to be my secret santa at work! 

I'm not sure exactly how large this mat is bc I forgot to measure it but I would guess it's about 18" x 20". This O mat is completely hand sewn using fabric from my stash. I know Ollie's mom loves elephants! I used a scrap of cotton batting for the sandwich, and a vintage fabric that was given to me as backing. 

This mini was hand quilted with turquoise cotton thread. I basted it by folding the backing towards the front on the sides, and rolling it on the top and bottom.  I didn't want to have big borders all around. I like using the back as binding to show the backing. I like that I can do a very wide boarder, or thin, or like this quilt, a combo of both!

I intended this mat as placemat for dog bowls, as it's too small for Ollie who is quite big (even tho he's still a puppy!). But this mat could be used as just a classic mini quilt. 

This was a quick finish and the first finish of 2017. I did manage to put it on my 2017 FAL Quarter 1 List. I'm also linking up with Finished or Not it's Friday, Finish it up Friday and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday, and more.
Flounder was most helpful in the creation of Ollie's mat. Hope he doesn't mind a little cat hair. 

The Bernina Sewing Center

In December, we visited The Bernina Sewing Center in Matawan, NJ. This store has all the Berninas and everything Bernina. Seriously, I've never seen so many Berninas. 

Obviously they specialize in Bernina sewing machines. They sell, repair, instruct and advise on the machines. They have sewing classes, lessons for the various machines, and vast knowledge of quilt making, machine embroidery and appliqué and more. They do not have much fabric, it's more of a service shop, but they have every accessory you can think of for the brand. This is a Bernina only retailer. 

Run by a husband and wife team, who recently took over this 20 year plus establishment, this is a fun and friendly quilting environment, especially if you love Bernina. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. 

Bernina Sewing Center
443 Hwy 34
Matawan, NJ 07747
Motto: "Enter as Strangers... Leave as Friends".