Oh... to be a Cat!

Good morning everyone... I know that most everyone is busy preparing for Christmas and the holidays but it's always nice to take some time for yourself.  This year I carved out a bit of time when given the opportunity to test a very cute pattern for one of my favorite artists, Terri Stegmiller.

"Oh.. to be a Cat!" by Margie Kraft

I chose to test her pattern "Paws in the Garden", using my own hand-dyed cotton fabrics.  I couldn't resist adding the black & white polka dot commercial fabric for that little pop.  My quilt is constructed with fusible applique using Misty Fuse; I really prefer hand applique but with the artsy-look I wanted to achieve (and due to time constraints) I'm very happy with the results.  I used black King Tut cotton thread to zigzag the raw edges to give the applique the similar look that Terri has in her artwork.

 The hand-dyed green background fabric that I used was a verrry bright green and needed to be toned down a bit.  I knew that quilting would do that some, but decided that adding additional texture ahead of time with my Shiva Oil Paintstiks and rubbing plates would do the trick.  The  oil paintstik textures were added after all the applique work was done but prior to quilting.

When I was ready to quilt my little art piece I used 2 layers of batting:  Quilters Dream Wool over Blend.  This allows the applique work to really pop and gives wonderful dimension to the quilting.  I used clear thread to stitch-in-the-ditch all of my applique and Glide thread for all other quilting.

Details were added to my cat's faces using my Inktense Watercolor Pencils.  These wonderful pencils allowed me to add colored shading to their eyes, legs and whiskers after quilting.  I'm thinking that I may add some clear heavy duty mono-filament whiskers to the cats too.

The background and applique details were all freehand quilted ....  I wanted to add as much texture and interest as I could.  I thought about my own three cats;  Cleopatra, Midnight and Tiger Lily as they prowled around our property.........................  What did they think of in their imaginary garden as they snuck upon their prey or slept dreamily in the sunshine?    Oh... to be a Cat!

Please leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of one of Terri's patterns.  You get to choose which pattern you'd like, either Paws in the Garden or Butterfly Moments.

The pattern will be provided to you in PDF document format, which you download and print yourself.  It will be delivered to your email address.  Please be sure you provide contact information when you comment.

A winner will be randomly drawn the morning of Friday, December 13.

Please visit all of the following blogs for more chances to win (each blog will have a winner):

Terri Stegmiller

SewCalGal

Jill Buckley - The Quilt Rat

Teresa Raleigh - A Quilt and a Prayer

Marsha Leith - Cool Quilting

Snoodles - Lily Pad Quilting

Judy Applegarth - ScampAlot

Margie Kraft - Margie Quilts

Joy Manoleros - Bjoyful Studio


Well, if you've read this far I also wanted to invite you to help me celebrate the Grand Opening of my new Etsy Shop:  RainBird Quilting  by offering  20% off all purchases over $25.  Just enter the coupon code 20NEWSTORE at checkout to receive your discount.  Rainbird Quilting will be my new name after we have moved to Alaska in January!

Happy Fall! Handwork time...

Now that the days are getting shorter I usually have time to sit in the evening and work on my ongoing handwork projects.  Last year I started working with Inktense pencils (which I adore!)....  This year I have gotten side tracked with Crayola Crayons and Crabapple Hill Embroidery Patterns and Cosmo Embroidery Thread which I saw at spring market.  I'm sharing this with you because what usually happens when things go into my blender-brain is a combination of techniques comes popping out!

I'm still infatuated with Inktense pencils, Crabapple Hill and Cosmo!  I think the crayons are going to have to find a new home.....  The pencils give you twice the color control with half the work!  Yay...exactly my motto.

This sunflower piece is my original Inktense piece from last year.  It will be a whole cloth quilt...I'm just showing you a peek.  I finished it with water so the colors are more watercolor like with some bleeding.  At this point I was still looking for a better way to finish the pencils on the fabric without the bleeding, but I liked the watercolor effect.

This is "Autum Calls" from Crabapple Hill that I finished last night.  It is colored with crayola crayons using her technique in the pattern, then embroidered with Cosmo Embroidery thread.  The crayons are beautiful, but a lot of work. Love the thread!   This was done on cream colored Kona cotton...I still need to wash and block it...add some piecing and then quilt it as a wall hanging.  Stay tuned for a finished project!

THE new project started last night....  an Art Deco flower done with Inktense Pencils and sealed with the MAGIC Ingredient that works beautifully!  (Stay tuned for a local class that I will be holding).  Done on white cotton, the colors really pop.  I'm embroidering it with Cosmo Embroidery thread too.  This will be a Mug Rug sample for the class.  I think this size will be addictive as it is going to be finished very quickly (Instant Gratification!).  I'm going to do some Christmasy ones too, for gifts....

This is the pattern "Autumn Calls" from Crabapple Hill Studio.  If you are interested in obtaining one, email me at quilts4you@q.com.  The pattern with the corresponding Cosmo Embroidery Thread Kit would be $27.50 plus postage.  

Happy New Year!

My New Year's resolution this year was to start a blog and keep up with it....so, welcome to my blog!

Every year during Christmas I try to work on new techniques.  This year I worked on my Fast Friday Fabric Challenge #52.  We are challenged to complete a piece of artwork within one week, based upon a set of requirement for that particular month.  The challenge occurs the last week of each month.

My piece, "Lava" was created from a single piece of my own hand-dyed fabric. I distorted the fabric by slicing is up, staggering the pieces and then sewing it back together. The black strip signifies "nothingness, deep in the earth; where the lava comes from". It is heavily quilted, using 10 different threads to add to the color patterns. I used many metallic threads; gold, bronze red, garnet and black to signify the metals found in lava. I found this challenge exceptionally challenging; the more I studied "Color Field Painting" challenge, the more I became confused. Hopefully this fits the the description; it was fun and I am happy with the piece. Just need to finish the edges and label it. It measures 22"x26".

I thought I would also share the 1st challenge that I have completed, that being the FFFC Challenge #49 which was based upon the technique "Chiaroscuro".

 "Frog on a Leaf" was created from a photo that I've had for quite a while. The frog is appliqued from my hand dyed fabrics and thread painted. The background is a tonal batik which has been heavily quilted for texture. I also added Shiva Painsticks and Inktense watercolor pencils for highlights and shadows. It measures 12"x13".