Cute Balls of Fluff

If you told me a week ago that running around somewhere inside my stash was four furry hamsters, I would have thought you were crazy.  But guess what?  I found four furry hamsters inside my stash...sneaky little devils.  Okay, maybe that's not exactly what happened, but it's close.

A few weeks ago one of my favorite pattern designers, Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts gave us a sneak peak of a pattern and quilt she was working on called My Pet Hamster.  Adorable. Just simply adorable.  I had left a comment on her blog and we sparked up a conversation about the quilt.  I was super excited to see this pattern because I thought I could call them guinea pigs and give them to my niece as a present.  I've observed her guinea pig Ellie with a mouth full of timothy grass and it looked pretty similar to these little critters.

Last week I got one of the best gifts ever.  After Lorna finished up making her hamster blocks, she surprised me with a copy of her pattern.  I was completely floored and could not wait to cut up fabrics and make those blocks.

I ran to my stash to do a quick fabric pull.  Keeping in mind the first block I needed to make would be the Ellie block.  Ellie the guinea pig is albino.  Hmmm. This would take some thought.

An all white hamster is quite a bit of white, and my fear was creating a big white blob.  After digging through my white bin I had an idea.  I pulled a piece of solid white and what I think was Michael Miller Fairy Frost.  Of course I couldn't forget a dark pink for her eyes.

 It was hard to get good lighting, but I hope you can see the two different whites in the block.  I was on such a roll, I had to make one more before I went to bed.  (I didn't start the project until like 9 at night)

The next morning I was determine to find the other two little balls of fur lurking in my scraps and bits.  After hearing all the talk about hamsters, Princess Caroline of the Fuzzy Butts was also determine to find them.  She thought she had the upper hand hiding under my clear extension table.

As I cut and pieced she eventually tuckered out from all the excitement.

Caroline snoozed and Inky and Gray Goose were born.

Even before the first ears where sewn together, I knew that I wanted to quilt this wall hanging with Lorna's gentle wavy lines.  The only question was what thread to use.  I wanted my little albino baby to stay nice and white so I considered Aurifil #2021 Natural White.  Though the white thread would blend nicely with Miss Ellie, I was afraid it wouldn't play as nicely with Inky, Teddy and Gray Goose.  I even considered a light gray, but no!  Ellie must stay as albino white as possible.  Then I remembered one of my last Craftsy Purchases...Aurifil Monofilament Thread.

So the new plan was to quilt the wavy lines with the monofilament thread on the top and Aurifil #2310 Light Beige in the bobbin.

Instead of my walking foot, I opted to use my free motion foot for the quilting.  I could not be happier with the results.  The monofilament thread blended right into the quilt top and left a wonderful texture, leaving the little horde of hamsters the star of the show.  In the future I think I might even try actual free motion quilt motifs with this thread.  If flowed quite nicely.

For my binding I again chose Susie's Magic Binding Method...I just can't get enough of it.  The flange became this nice cream and circle print that has been in my stash forever.

Everything about making this quilt was a blast!

Including delivery to its new home.

A huge thank you to Lorna for allowing me to try out her pattern!  I absolutely love her style of pattern writing and of course all the creative designs she cooks up.  If you haven't stopped by her pattern store you must swing by and check it out.  There is all kinds of fun swimming, flying, floating and walking around over there.

Also, don't forget next Monday starts off the 2016 New Bloggers Blog Hop.  I am part of the Sewcial Network Hive and will be posting on Monday along with four other very talented quilter bloggers.  Don't forget to stop by and check out everyone's posts and also check in with the hop leaders Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs and Stephanie at Late Night Quilter to find out how you can enter to win prizes from our generous sponsors.

Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social and Pet's on Quilts entering in the Pet themed quilted project.