WHO IS LOOKING FOR A NEW PROJECT?

It is such a pleasure walking into the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  One never knows what new projects might be found.  There are always new samples, along with new fabrics and books and patterns.  For instance, when I went into the shop the other day the first thing I saw was this adorable wall hanging.  Above, Lee Anne stands beside this sample she made for the shop.

 Above is a closer view.  This pattern and several other seasonal wall hangings can be found in the book Quilted Skinnies for All Seasons by Margie Ullery. I first talked about the book here.  Ask for it at the shop.

ATTENTION:  The Charity Quilt group that meets on the first Monday of the month at the shop is asking for donations.  If you have UFO blocks, 100% cotton fabric that you know you will never use (you know how our tastes change), incomplete projects (like a quilt top half done), batting, etc., please bring them to the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  This wonderful group of quilters will use them to make wonderful quilts for charity.

DON’T FORGET:

• Applique Bee, Tuesday afternoon, April 28.
• Knotty Girls, Wednesday, April 29.
• Doll Bee, Thursday, April 30.
• Glam Shell Bag, Friday, May 1 and another on Monday, May 11.
• Sampler, Saturday, May 2.
• Tulip Time Quilt Show, May 2-9, Holland, MI
• Threads of Friendship Quilt Show, May 8 & 9, Muskegon, MI

ON ANOTHER NOTE: 

• Quilter In Motion has a tutorial for a ruler organizer.

♥ Caroll,
Caring , Sharing and Creating Smiles

YOU CAN BE FREEING AND HAVE SOME FUN!

Earlier this month, Cathy at Cabbage Quilts blogged about doing appliqué with scissors.  She talked about how she cannot draw, which made it difficult to design her own quilts.  So, she decided to skip the drawing part and just use her scissors to cut shapes then appliqué them to a background to make a quilt.  She said she found this method of cutting a little bit wonky, freeing and fun.  Wow, this sounded like my kind of thing!  So I set out to make a wallhanging like Cathy did.  Above is the result of my first try.

 I had written Cathy and told her how much I liked her wallhangings and that I was going to try to copy what she had done.  She wrote a nice note back that I should go for it.  Above is a close-up of my flowers.  I wish I had looked closer at how Cathy had quilted her flowers when I was doing mine.  I like how her quilting gives her flowers depth.

 I have a special place in mind for this wallhanging or else I might have made it a little longer.  I hope I have encouraged you, as Cathy did me, to try your hand at doing some improve designing and quilting.  As Cathy said, it is freeing and fun.

ON ANOTHER NOTE: If improve or applique isn't your thing, you might like this tutorial that Thread Bias has for a lovely modern crossroads block.  

PS:  I'm linking up to Confessions of A Fabric Addict today.

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

WHERE'S THAT DARN CAT!

Let me tell you how the above wall hanging came about.

I have a new cat.  I got Moe in May and we are still getting used to each other.  She loves to go outside, but she really shouldn’t because she is defenseless.  I live near a wooded area and all kinds of vicious looking creatures come strolling through my yard.  One year a woodchuck with claws about a yard long, decided to take up residence between the walls in my garage.  Critter Control had to take care of that problem.  Then last summer something was digging beneath my garage.  My neighbor put out a trap and sure enough he caught something.  A big raccoon!  When I called our local nature center and asked if I could bring it to them,  I was told they didn’t want it and that it would be best if I just killed it since they carry a disease that is harmful to humans. 

Another neighbor said that he thought a fox got all the turkey eggs and that is why they aren’t coming around anymore.  Gads!  I cannot let my poor defenseless kitty roam the neighborhood.  It’s no telling what kind of trouble she could get into.  Thus, I’ve been training her to stay on the deck.  The first thing she does when I get up in the morning is run through the house, her little paws thumping and sounding like a baby elephant.  Then she stands at the slider meowing to go out.  I warn her to stay on the deck. However, there are times when her natural instinct takes over and she just can’t resist dashing after that bird, that chipmunk, or  the baby rabbits.  I keep a constant watch on her and the minute I find her off the deck, I bring her inside where she has to stay for a while.  It’s like putting a kid in time out. 

However, there is a problem.  ME!  Lately as she has become more trustworthy, I have become somewhat forgetful.  A couple of times I can’t remember if she is in or out and I run through the house like a mad woman yelling, "Here kitty kitty."  I can only imagine what the neighbors must think as I’m racing around my yard yelling, “Moe come here!”  I say this because most of them don’t even know I have a cat.  I wonder if they are thinking, that poor old woman has lost her mind, running around talking to herself. 

One time I found Moe under my bed, another time she was hiding in the bushes near the bird feeder.  I decided I needed to do something to remind me where she is.  So I made the above little reminder.  When I was blog hopping the other day I saw that Carol of mamacjt had a nice tutorial for making a little wall hanging using crayons and black stitching and decided to try it. 

This is what my drawing looked like before it was quilted and I put on the binding.  It’s not nearly as cute as what Carol does.  I love her work.  But I like it and it sure helps me remember where that darn cat is.  Now when Moe goes outside, I put the cat face (which is inside the big O meaning she is outside) facing me.  When I bring her in, I just turn it over so I only see the black and white back. 

It was fun to make.  You should give it a try.  I just had an idea…this would also be a nice way to preserve my great grandson’s art work.  I’m going to give it a try next.   The tutorial is here. 

REMINDER:  Don’t forget that the Happy Scrappers Quilting Bee meets this Saturday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  BRING YOUR PANDORA’S BOX!  I’m trying to decide which one to bring.  I’m sure not bringing them all.  Buffie promises some good information.  I have a scrappy pattern to distribute.  And there will be a short demo for a new way to use your scraps. 
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

TURN A BLOCK INTO A WALLHANGING

I’ve been working of appliqué blocks for My Whimsical Quilt Garden by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.  One day when I was blog hopping, I noticed a familiar block. I forget which blog it was, but there were lots of pictures of a quilt show. One of the pictures had a small wallhanging in it that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. Why did it look familiar?  Then it hit me, that is one of the blocks that I had recently competed. I loved what this person did and decided to make a wallhanging too. Above is the result. I usually use the freezer paper method of appliqué.  On this wallhanging I used the fusing method of appliqué and outlined it with the black thread.  The background is heavily quilted. I think it turned out pretty cute and I’m adding it to my gift basket.

Have you joined Allie Ooops Sweet Happy Life in making gifts throughout the year? Have you noticed how fast these past three months have gone by? Christmas will be here before we know it.  You’ll want to check out Allie's blog too because she has the cutest free pattern that you can download to get your started on your next gift project.  (You can also click on the Christmas Through The Year button on my sidebar.)

Alamosa Quilter  has a pattern for a groovy baby and funky buttons pattern.

Here's a couple other links you might like:  The Quilted Fish  and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
♥
Stay Positive!
Caroll