Psychedelic Crazy Cat Lady Quilt

 

I present to you Psychedelic Crazy Cat Lady Quilt...finally finished!!!  This quilt began life as a finished flimsy back in 2016.  The pattern is Fat Quarter Shop's (free pattern) No Bake Jolly Bar.  

I ordered two 10" square packs in Cat Lady and Mosaic Blooms from Connecting Threads to create my own 5" x 10" rectangles. 

It's like these fabrics were made to be together. 

And together they would stay, married to a fun white on white print for 6 years (well technically for life) until I decided enough is enough, I want to quilt this quilt!

So, it was time to come up with a plan.  For the quilting I used a light Aurifil 50wt gray thread, the Piece and Quilt 4-in-1 Mini Quilting Ruler and the Handi Quilter Scollop Ruler.  Each white section received a different filler and each row of colored squares had a different free motion quilting motif.  Inspiration for those motif's came from Natalia Bonner's Let's Stitch a Block a Day  and Angela Walter's Shape by Shape books.

I shared a few quilting videos on my Instagram page that you can check out below.

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A post shared by Tish Lower Stemple (@tishnwonderland)

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A post shared by Tish Lower Stemple (@tishnwonderland)

Needless to say, I had so much fun quilting this one!  

I wish all quilts quilted up like this one.  Actually, I think they do, it's just me that gets in my own way.  This finish definitely has me supercharged wanting another one.  Fingers crossed I'll have another finish soon enough.

If you look to the left of the quilt, you can see where the deer have been bedding down at night to stay warm.  So, it's kind of like having a bed with a quilt.  

Full disclosure....I actually wrote this post back in March and somehow forgot to post it.  I call it tax season brain.  I promise there have been no freak snow storms in August.  Though, honestly, nothing would surprise me.

Abby and Katie--Quilt Top Finish

 I'm back again to talk about my new favorite book, Just Two Charm Packs by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.  Today I am sharing my Abbie & Katie quilt top finish.  For this fun quilt I decided to go Christmas in July.  

I paired two charm packs of Cheer & Merriment by Fancy That Design House for Moda, Moda Grunge in Red and Keepsake Calico White Irregular Dots on White.  I love a snowy cozy Christmas and the white background fabric was perfect to help add even more snowy Christmas fun!

The picture above is like a blizzard of quilt pieces.  This quilt was super fun to put together.  There is sewing, then slicing and sewing back together and sewing some more.  

I'll admit it looks a bit complicated, but Cheryl does an amazing job of breaking each step down leaving you with a quilt that will leave others in awe.

Make sure you hop over to Meadow Mist Designs to check out all the versions of the quilts from the book.  Cheryl even has information on how you can win a copy for yourself.  I have thoroughly enjoyed making three different patterns from the book.  I can't wait to make more!

You can read more about my two versions of Star Rays here and Snapdragon Cove here.  

In other fun Meadow Mist Designs news, Cheryl officially kicked off her annual Mystery Quilt last month.  I was super happy to be a pattern tester for the Malted Mystery Quilt.

I may be a little bias, but I can assure you that she has hit it out of the park again.  Be sure to check out the Malted Mystery fabric requirements and cutting instructions available now!

And like a quilt flapping in the wind, I wave goodbye for now.  Now that things are slowing down some, I hope to focus on quilting some of the piles of quilt tops I have laying around.  Of course that is always my hope.  I will definitely be sharing all of my progress here with you. 

Snapdragon Cove-Quilt Top Finish

 I'm back again and I'm still loving on Cheryl at Meadow Mist Design's newest book release, Just Two Charm Packs.  

I have more charm packs than one quilter should, and this book is the answer.  When Cheryl reached out to me about the hop for the book, she asked if I would be interested in making a quilt.  That was a no brainer, yes.  But once I cracked it open, I couldn't decide on just one.  So, I did the only logical thing and made a total of four quilts tops.  

When I saw Cheryl's version in the book, I fell in love with the colors.  The dark background called to me.  For my version I used Moda Grunge Basics in Christmas Green and a layer cake of Gingham Cottage by Heather Peterson for Riley Blake.  Wait, layer cake, not charm pack?  Yes, that is correct.  With a few simple cuts I whacked the 10" squares down to 5" squares.  Bang for your buck, I now have the equivalent of two charm packs left that I can make another quilt!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, with just a bit of quilty math on your part, all of these patterns can easily be made using 10" squares and even mini charms (2.5" squares).  That's really like getting tripple the pattern power.

Confession, if you look close enough, you can see that I made a mistake.  When you are working on a quilt, and you realize you don't have enough of one thing and too much of another...you might not be looking hard enough at your pattern.  Me?  I chose to make more pieces and proceed.  The mistake isn't as readily apparent because I was consistentd in my mistake.  If you spot my mistake, I think I can make it even less noticeable when I quilt it.  No seam rippers on this one.

I'm super tempted to make a second version of this quilt but switch up the green and white.  I just love this pattern!

If you would like to see the previous two quilts that I made from Just Two Charm Packs, you can read about my Star Ray quilts here.  And please stop by tomorrow to see the last quilt I squeezed in before the hop started.  In the mean time...get on over to Chery's and read more about the other quilts featured today!

Diatom Quilt Top Finishes

 

They are finished just in time for the link up for the Diatom Linkup Party over at Quilting Jetgirl!  I have been following along with Yvonne since the start of the quilt along.  I managed to keep up with writing about my progress until two months ago and then I did the thing I do, I fell off the face of the blogging world...but I'm back and ready to share.

When I started the quilt along I wanted to make the twin size version of the quilts in blue.  After a trip to the store and not much luck finding blue fabrics, I settled on purple...that's close to blue.

I'll admit, I wasn't in love with my fabric pull, but decided they would work.  Once the quilt along started I realized I bought the wrong fabric amounts...I used the throw size.  So, off to a different store for dun dun dun...blue fabric.

Now I'm cooking!  I'm ready!  And two quilts it is!  Then I pieced my first block.

I'm sad to say I just wasn't digging my color contrast choices.  A few fabric pulls later, on both color ways, I was back in business and loving what I pulled.

Absolutely no regrets.  I love that pop of peach with the blues and the dramatic contrast the light gray gives the purples. 

For now, these two beauties will join all the other stacks of UFO floating around in the back room.  I keep swearing that I'm going to start quilting and ground myself from piecing.  So hopefully, sooner than later I can share my ideas for quilting these babies.

Just Two Charm Packs--Star Rays times 2

 

When I heard that Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs was coming out with a follow up book to her Just One Charm Pack book I was a little more than excited.  I LOVE pre cuts!

When I participated in the hop for the release of the first book, I chose to make a pattern called Star Surround.  (You can read more about it here)

When I saw the pattern for Star Rays, I instantly knew I had to make it. Actually, I knew I would make two.   

For my first quilt, I used charm packs from Moda'a Country Rose by Lella Boutique.

This pattern is perfect for beginners as well as fun for a seasoned pro.  All of the star points are perfect for showing off all the fun prints in a fabric line.  It truly pieces up like a dream.

For the second quilt, I chose to work with a layer cake of Strength in Pink by Riley Blake.

I began by chopping up the fabric into the 5 inch squares.  

The best part is now I have enough to make a second quilt.  With help from my supervisor my second quilt pieced up super quickly.

My head is spinning with all kinds of ideas for the quilting.  I wish I had time to quilt them before the hop, but I was so in love with the patterns in the book, I made a total of four quilts, in three different patterns!  

I even bought mini charm packs in Moda's Sunwashed by Coriander Quilts to make a smaller version of Star Rays.  All of the patterns in the Just Two Charm Packs book are easily converted into a larger or smaller sizes, after a bit of quilty math, to incorporate layer cakes and mini charm packs.  Technically, you are getting even more bang for your buck.

Make sure to check in each day with Cheryl to see all of the different versions of the quilts.  Each day she will feature a different quilt (or two) from the book and show all of the different versions we came up with.  I've even heard there are several opportunities to win a copy of what is my new favorite book.  I hope to see you next week when I share with you the two other quilts I've pieced.