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I recently threw my name, well my new name @madcatquilts, in the running for a giveaway with @gypsymoonquilts on instagram. And I won!
Credit for all this loveliness goes to @gypsymoonquilts!
What a sweet little mini mini/mug rug! Some lovely scraps! A cute needle minder! Her work is lovely so check it out!
But also a finish! Finally, I've managed to finish one of my OMG goals!!
I'm excited to link up with Elm Street Quilts at the end of the month and I can link up with Monday Making, Needle and Thread Thursday, Move it Forward Monday, and more!
Since moving to New Jersey in 2015, I've enjoyed exploring the state and do so the most when tourists are not around. Living in a seasonal tourist hot spot is fun, but I love the Off Season! Over the last few years I've made a few posts on the blog about places that I've seen, noted, liked or loved. Now you can find them all by checking out the Off Season link.
A friend told me I had to visit The French Market in Rumson, NJ, bc it was right up my alley. She was right! I visited the last weekend in April and have been back 3 times since then!
Mostly The French Market is a little cafe with fresh bread, pastries, take out prepared food, coffee, and a ton of sandwiches, wraps, quiches, etc.. but it also sells gift items, plants, and very pretty, if not practical, planting supplies.
I love the interior which is all black and white and brown with lots of live plants. But I especially love the back room which is a modified, winterized greenhouse and so adorable. The food is simple, fresh and tasty!
The French Market
114 E River Rd, Rumson, NJ 07760
- Open until 7pm on weekdays
- Owned by 3 designers/friends.
- Opened it's doors in July 2015.
- Sadly only has a Facebook page (which I won't bother to force upon you) instead of a proper website. But it does have an Instagram.
- First visit April 2017
Here is another block I heavily modified for Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge. Her Honey Bee block called for appliqué, ut I chose to make some orange peels instead.
Her block also called for petals or peels at all four corners, but three were enough for me. I'll need to sweep some threads off this block and square it up, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out!
Linking top with Finished or Not It's Friday, Needle and Thread Thursday, Slow Sunday Stitching and more!
All Bullet Journalists (Journalors? New word?) know that a new month means new layouts!
Share your May layouts in the comments!
Oh brother, I was this close to finishing my April goal! And yet... it didn't get done. I've been flitting from project to project lately and not finishing anything! My OMG2017 list is looking pretty abysmal.
Here's another 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 - Not Finished
For May I'm rolling over my April goal. Ever the optimist, I'm hoping to finish this baby quilt top.
Linking up with Elm Street Quilts OMG, Building Blocks Tuesday Needle and Thread Thursday, Move it Forward Monday and more!
Recently, I decided that I needed more quilt photos in my life so now Mad Cat Quilts officially has it's own Instagram! I hope any one interested in this blog follows @madcatquilts!
I've long had a personal insta, and feel free to follow me there, but I wanted a place for all the quilty goodness! Instagram is one of my favorite ways to connect with people and learn so I'm hoping to meet a lot of great new people, learn some techniques, branch out and connect, and see lots of quilts, of course!
Here are some of my recent posts:
I hope to show lots and lots of quilts, but a good mix of cats and other pretty things that inspire me to quilt, too! Playing records, walking my neighborhood, seeing art, and exploring all manifest in my quilt making.
So far, I'm loving @madcatquilts and I'm trying to branch out from my usual instagram MO by trying to post new things (like videos!). I'm hoping to add more features and use this tool as a companion for the blogs, so next time you're on the gram, stop by and say hi!
April was a busy month. Do I say that every month?
OK, before I get into reviewing and remembering last month, I need to get something off my chest; I was terrible at blogging in April. I had a hard time keeping to my schedule and meeting my goals. Sure, sometimes life gets ahead of blogging, but one thing I enjoy and want to prioritize is this space. It's not always easy, but I continue to learn and grow from my attempts to be a better blogger. In May I plan to renew my commitment to this blog and learning from it. I just wanted to say that, put it out there, at the beginning of a new month.
Anyone else exclaiming their enthusiasm for their... trade, craft, blog, journal, instagram, etc...? Shout it out in the comments.
Now on to April:
We spent a lot of time at home in April. We spent time chilling in the back yard with bonfires and cats, walking on our local beaches, planting, weeding, cleaning, crafting and catching up on sleep. Afternoon naps with cats are the best!
We traveled some this month, too. Seeing friends and family and familiar places. Brooklyn's still cool, Cape May is still cozy, in case you were wondering!
A good portion of April was just about going outside, enjoying the weather, spotting the #watchercats, and taking endless photos of flowers.
A lot of sewing got done this month and some exciting things are happening for Mad Cat Quilts. Be on the look out for new work, new columns, new instas to follow! April was a time to grow!
In the spirit of growth, here are some things I learned, or relearned in April:
- TV is bad for me and my productivity (but I love it!).
- Getting up early is hard, but oh so satisfying.
- I love seeing flowers I planted last year coming back again!
April was plenty rainy, so here's hoping May sees tons of buds blooming!
I really liked this color chart for food groups.
Now that April weather is in full swing, shouldn't we all learn from the Japanese tradition of flower viewing?
I really love this post by Tu-Na Quilts. I think having a "what I learned" section is a great idea and I plan to try this in the future!
In another interesting quilt post Sew Slowly talks about her switch to organic fabric.
Since going to swim at the health club, my hair has been a terror. The pool is saline, but also contains chemicals. I've taken to not washing it at all when I don't have to so that it can produce some good oils. I was thinking about oiling it as well. I found this article which has given me some ideas. Any readers struggle with this? Give me your suggestions!
April saw a lot of plant activity! We're still on our way through the month and I hope the old April adage holds true, bc we have a had our share of rainy days!
We moved a bunch of plants around inside to help them thrive.
My front beds were starting to bloom at the beginning of the month.
After clearing them out a little and giving them some love, they are doing even better.
Trees are blooming all over town!
My herbs are slowly returning.
I've gotta clear these guys out and add soil.
Only about half my baby roses made it thru the Winter, but the ones that did are living it up!
I can't wait until the weather evens out. What have plants been doing where you live this month?
I've gotten a bit behind in Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge. But It's given me some time to play around with layout and arranging the blocks.
It's exciting to see a chunk of the blocks together and to imagine what the final piece may look like. I'm liking the idea of these blocks being all joined up with no sashing. Seeing them laid out makes me realize what colors I'd like to add more of.
Has anyone else participating in this challenge thought out lay out yet?
Linking up with Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday, BOMs Away, and more!
I'm still trying to catch up on the Solstice Challenge, but I'm getting there one block at a time. Studio Time is another great name for a block.
I like that there are a few variations of nine patches in Pat Sloan's BOM. I'm excited to see all the blocks together. Who else is working on this BOM? Are you planning to use the planned layouts? Or are you gonna come up with your own?
Molli Sparkles' Honey Pot Bee has two block designs a month. This month was one of the first where there wasn't a picture block. This is also the first month where I plan to make both blocks! Here's the first one:
Starry sky was created by A Persevering Mom and my version came out pretty wonky. I could see this block being really fun for a whole quilt. I like how this block matches with some of the other blocks. After a few blocks I'm starting to get excited about how this quilt will turn out!
Linking up with Molli on instagram and Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday, BOMs Away, Oh Scrap! and more!
In 2016 I made my first Mad Cat Quilts BOM. I chose blocks each month that I had never sewn before. I wasn't sure how I was going to lay them all out in the end. I decided to echo the geometric theme of the fabric but creating a simple grid with a dark sashing.
I actually started sashing the blocks before I even finished the last block in December. But then I let it sit for a while. I added it to my first quarter FAL, but it still sat.
This week, I gathered all the wrinkly parts and started finishing sashing the blocks. Elvis helped me, but he got a bit bored. He here is caught mid yawn:
So, now MCQBOM2016 is getting closer to being a quilt top!! The blocks were all a bit different in size so I added some extra of the grey here and there. It's pretty wonky, but I'm really happy with it!
These are not the best photos, the fabric is wrinkly and not laid out flat, cats are everywhere! But that's how I work so I think it's worth seeing in it's true in progress shape!
I also added this quilt to my Q2FAL list, so I'm happy to be making some headway on it. Now I'm on a bit of a roll. I'll post more soon! Today I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday, BOMs Away at What a Hoot, and more!
I'm making so many new blocks as part of Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge! Looking around, there seem to be a few variations of this classic block. This one was pretty easy to make and came together quickly!
I cut the pieces for this block at home then pieced it on a bus ride! It came out a wee bit smaller than most of the blocks. I never can tell!!
Linking up with Making Monday, Move It Forward Monday, etc...
I debated even making this post when I still have a letter that needs finished and sent.
Writing letters in an old thing that's new again for me recently! When I was a teenager, I loved writing and receiving letters and had penpals that I wrote to until my early 20s. But living in the city, the internet, a cell phone, etc... helped make letter writing fade from my routine. That was almost 20 years ago.
About a year ago one of my BFFs moved across the county and started writing letters to folks back home. We've exchanged a few and I'm hooked again! Now I'm looking for other far off friends to write letters to. That's not a car test when most of my friends live at least one state away.
Letter writing isn't as easy as I remember it from my childhood. It's hard to find the time to get a letter written, hard to wait for a response (especially if there's any mail shenanigans), hard to remember what you wrote about in the last letter. It's hard not to text, call or email the person instead. But so far, I'm finding it a fulfilling and lovely pastime.
I've settled into liking to use a Sharpie Pen and grid paper for my letters. This is basically the same set up I use for my Bullet Journal as well. I love to sit at a cafe, bar, or my dest and write, uninterrupted. If I have a beer, cocktail or cup of coffee, all the better. A cat in my lap helps, too.
I think letter writing is a great mindful, slow activity, and I need more of those in my life!
Any letter writers out there? Any favorites, tips, tricks, ideas? Feel like adding a pen pal to the mix?
We're off on an adventure today, and I hope to do some slow stitching in the car.
Tom is staying home and guarding the quilts.
One of my goals in 2017 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
Another book from my father's audio stash, Ghostman by Roger Hobbs was read by Jake Weber.
I listened to this book way back at the end of 2016. My husband got to hear some of this one, and it was fun to share and discuss this audiobook.
Jack is the man on a robbery they call the Ghostman. His area of expertise is to make the other members of the heist disappear, but he never existed in the first place. When old debts and old loves come back to haunt him, Jack must reassess his career choices.
I put off posting about this book for ages bc I didn't get a great picture of the cover. And bc I wasn't overly thrilled by the story it's self. But last week, my dad texted me to let me know that the author had died. In fact, Roger Hobbs died last year right around the time I was listening to this book. He was only 28. My father wanted to let me know, and also to see if I wanted to read/listen to the sequel.
Ghostman was extremely silly mafia noir style. But it wasn't very good. Violent and genre specific to the point of nonsensical, I found the book a little hard to get thru. I liked the reader's enthusiasm, but he lost the thread a few times, intermingling voices, which didn't help this book's flow. Overall, Ghostman was a silly violent romp and totally worth reading/listening to, if that's your thing. Personally I'm more into classic noir. My favorite thing about this book is that it's set in Atlantic City, NJ. I enjoyed that it has some reference to the city and surrounding area.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy this type of mafia/noir/heist genre.
Any lovers of this style of book out there? Can someone recommend other books like this?
I was pleased to see the name of the 11th block for Pat Sloan's Solstice challenge bc "quilt math" is something I never do. I never use a ruler or other measuring tools when hand sewing and quilting. Quilt math is something I see many quilters get frustrated about, but not me!
This was a fun block to make and come together quickly. This is another block I could see repeated to make a fun and geometric full quilt.
Linking up around blog land. What are your favorite block link parties?