Feline Friday - early or is it a week late?

I had planned a cute Feline Friday post for Valentine's Day last week, but I got busy and forgot to write it.  LOL  We are moving Thursday, so I am going to be a little busy over the weekend and am writing my post now.  We got a rental, it is a cute whimsical house with a lot of character.  Which I like because I'm not a cookie cutter house kind of girl!

Custard, Oreo, Muffin and Cupcake

 My cats love sitting in their beds all curled up together by the window.  Muffin (the light colored one) sits there all day looking out that window!  Chris got the cats a Valentine pillow.  He got me one years ago that the calicoes like to "nurse" on.  Pippi started it when she was a kitten and the other two followed suit when they joined the family.

Cupcake

 All the cats love sleeping on it, I put it on top of the changing table I use as a cat bed for them.

Oreo, Pippi and Custard

The pillow at the far right is my pillow.  Chris got me a stuffed penguin  for Christmas, just to find out he really got it for the cats.  Muffin has claimed that one!

I am so glad my cats love each other - most of the time.

I am about half way done with my cat blocks, I'm hoping I have time to finish them next week, I only have one week to pack and move, but most of my stuff is still packed from the move three months ago!

Have a great weekend!
Missy

Log Cabin Block

I made my first "real" log cabin block today for the Sew Sweet Bee.   I really love the colors she chose!  Now I'll have to decide if I want a red and aqua quilt or a pastel quilt!  I'm thinking of doing baskets for my month in July.  I just can't decide on the colors or the 12 1/2 inch basket!
Clara from  Clover and Violet chose the log cabin block for her block.  You can see her pattern and the blocks she made here:  http://www.cloverandviolet.com/2014/02/log-cabin-blocks.html
I hope she likes my block, I'm thinking maybe I should have put the red on white strips closer to the center, but my white strips were from small scraps.  I love white on white fabric!

She wanted aqua on one side, low volume on the other side and red in the middle.  I bet this quilt is going to be gorgeous when she is done!

Be sure to visit the flicker group at the top to see other people's blocks.
Thank you Donna from Donna's Lavender Nest for this fun bee!

I think we found a rental, we are just waiting for the final approval from the paperwork.  It is a cute whimsical house that is very sweet.  It has turquoise trim, doors and garage doors!  I wish it was a little bigger sewing room and a lot bigger kitchen, but there is a LOT of built in storage and a screened in front porch that the cats will love.  Please pray that everything goes smoothly and we can move in this weekend.

I did not get any sewing done today, I watched some children who are homeschooled.  Mothers who homeschool are very special ladies who do a lot of work with their children.

Missy

A Handmade Christmas

 I have finished my first Christmas gift for the year!  I am joining in at Insight's from SewCalGal Handmade ChristmasChallenge.  The goal is to make Christmas gifts all year long so that when Christmas rolls around you'll have your Christmas gifts finished.
Chris found this pre-printed bag (the bag was printed on the fabric, just needed to be cut and sewn) a couple of years ago on clearance and brought it home to me.  Yes, I know I have a great husband.  I thought it would make a great Christmas gift,  but never got around to making it until this week.  It was super easy to make.I also took the picture of the purse and the strip with extra flowers that was on the fabric and cut it out to make a pocket for the inside.

If I can just keep this up I won't have to worry about a stressful Christmas!

I really like pre-printed stuff, I made a jumper once that way, it was my first dress, they are a super easy way to make a quick gift!  You can check out today's linky party here.

Missy (who totally forgot to write her Valentine's day post yesterday!)

We found a rental, I'm just waiting on the landlord to send me the paperwork for the background checks.

New finished BOM

I finished February's block of the month last week!  I love this cabin.  I'm hoping she has a penguin one month!  (I love penguins and have border fabric with penguins on it set aside!)  I love that we are using
2 1/2 blocks and strips, it is my favorite size!  We will be making yo yos later for snowflakes in all that empty blue space.
If you like this block, you can get it here:  http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/2014/01/februarys-block-of-month-2014.html

If you want an easy BOM or a winter quilt, this is a great one!

Missy

Goat update:

I found a good home for all of the animals, the two dogs, goat and chicken.  The same person took all of them.

I wanted to take the dogs for a walk, and had Abraham's chain in my hand and was trying to unhook Sara.  As soon as Sara got unhooked, Abraham slipped out of my hands.  He ran across the street to see the dog there, Sara was running after him, I was running after both of them and the goat was running after me!   All we needed was the chicken!  What a sight that must have been!

How to spray baste a quilt

As you know, this is my newest hand quilting project.  Hopefully my stitches will be better by the time I finish!  I've had several people ask me how I spray baste my quilts.  There are some great tutorials out there, but this is how I do it.  First thing, if you have bad knees like me, or just want to be more comfortable, get some knee pads.  Mine are covered with glue and cat hair!  LOL

This is what I use to baste my quilt with.  Make sure you do not spray too much glue, you want a nice even coat.  Yes it does wash out and the best thing is that you can re-position as you go along if you miss a wrinkle.

Lay your backing on the floor, right side down.  Then move the cat off it (I usually try to make sure I do this during nap time.)

Then use painter's tape to tape down a taught backing, do not stretch the backing though.  The tape works better on floors then carpet.

Then lay your backing down on top and move the cat again.

Once you get your backing in the right spot and make sure a cat will not get in the way, fold up half of the backing and then spray that half.  Smooth down and repeat on the other side.  The same will be done to the top.

You are finished with your backing so get your top positioned in the middle and fold in half.

 Evenly spray the batting.

Slowly smooth down the fabric starting in the middle and moving out.

My husband was kind enough to take m pictures for me!

I finished off putting some safety pins around the edges in case I missed any spots there withe the glue.

Make sure to check the back and make sure you did not mess it up while basting the top, you might have to fix a wrinkle or two!

I also made a video showing you how I do it.

If you have any hints or tips, please share!

Missy

Hand Stitching Project!

I've had this panel for a while and thought I would make hexies to go around it, see that post here, but have put those hexies on hold. (I started it in April of 2012!)  I messed up and need to wait until I am settled in my new place and relatively stress free before figuring it out.  Meanwhile while I decided to make this a wall hanging.  I want to hand quilt around it to make it stand out.  The only thing is that I have never done anything like this before.  Is there a special way to make it look nice?  Should I quilt on the fur also, or just around the cat?  I was thinking of maybe just quilting around the ears, body, eye, etc.  and then quilting around the flowers and everything else also.  I am open to any suggestions or tutorials you might want to share on something like this.  I'm so clueless, my husband had to explain to me how to put the hoop on!  LOL

I paid $1.50 for the panel at a thrift store, the backing was like a $1, and the hoop was 50 cents at a yard sale!  Oh and the batting?  It was left over batting that I sewed together to make it wide enough!

I am writing a tutorial on how to spray baste a quilt, I'll try to get it posted tomorrow!

Remember the prayer quilt we made for Kenzie?  She has cerebral palsy and participates in the Arkansas Angel pageant every year.  This year the pageant is having a fund raiser to help pay for expenses.  Jamberry nails is those neat nail sticker thingies you put on your nails and last about 2-3 weeks.  You can order here, http://juliekimbrell.jamberrynails.net/party/?uid=3738412b-7f6b-4499-b853-b978355d8b91 , but make sure you click on their link and order through that link.

Please share your wisdom with me!
Missy

Cat blocks!

 I have finished 6 of my cat blocks for the cat block exchange!  I wish I had more of that cat fabric, I love it with that turquoise blue!  I have two other cat fabrics to use for the rest of the blocks though.

Pippi and Precious

 My husband and I tried to get the cats to pose with my blocks, but they were not cooperating!  Yes, those are cat toys all over the floor!

Muffin

Custard

This block was a lot easier to make then I expected and I am in love with this block.  I have decided to make it a twin size quilt instead of a throw.  So if a twin size mattress if 75 by 39 then I would want 10 (80") blocks down and 6 blocks across (48") making 60 blocks? Plus a border or two. Is that correct?  The blocks are 8 1/2" finishing at 8".  I am terrible at math!  Which would mean I need to come up with a lot more cat fabrics because 30 blocks is the max for the block exchange!  LOL
Here is the pattern we are using:  http://vickisvintagestitches.blogspot.com/2014/01/treadle-on-cat-block-exchange.html

There are two patterns, a sitting cat and a reclining cat.

Have you ever made a cat quilt?  Please share it in the comments, I would love to see them and add them to my pinterest board!

Missy

Easy Yummy Breakfast

I love waffles and I love cinnamon rolls from a can, so can you imagine making those cinnamon rolls in a waffle iron!  Yum-o and super easy!

First put the cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron.

 Cook about 3 minutes or when they are done since each waffle iron is different.

 Cover with the icing!  Chris surprised me with the orange ones the other day, I love them.  I also love the Hershey chocolate ones!

I saw this on I think Facebook but have no idea who to credit the idea with, I'm sure there are lots of people who have come up with this idea before.

Remember me talking about the goats and the small town thing the other day?  Well, I unexpectedly now am trying to find homes for 2 dogs, a goat and a chicken!  The goat sleeps with the dogs and when I take the dogs for a walk, the goat follows us!  I really do need to find a home for them because I do not have a fence around my yard and have to keep the dogs chained up, which I hate, and I don't have dog houses for them, but they are big dogs and have never been indoors before.  I'm a strictly indoor pets type of person so this is just killing me having to leave them outside.  If you know anyone in Missouri or Mountain Home, AR area looking for a couple of sweet puppies and a goat please let me know!

Missy

February Goals

My main goal for February is a Cat block swap from Treadleon.net.  We are making these blocks:  http://vickisvintagestitches.blogspot.com/2014/01/treadle-on-cat-block-exchange.html
There are two different blocks.  My goal is to make one set of ten, if I make two sets that will be a bonus, because then I will get 20 blocks back instead of ten!  Here are my fabrics.  The peacock blue is my background, I just love it!

I got this navy "I love cats" material for half off, there are 4 yards and I paid $7 for it!

 but I'm not sure I have enough of the black and white calico cats.  I should have bought several yards of it!  I love that pregnant calico!  I used some of this fabric in my barn quilt too!

 The blocks need to be mailed by March 3, I hope I am doing this right.  If I understand correctly, each set of ten has to have different fabrics, and I think needs to be the same block?   This is my first block swap, so I hope I have it figured out right!


I also need to finish this month's BOM from Quilt Doodle Doodles.  It is a really cute log cabin block, you can see it here!


Here are the fabric I pulled for the cabin, 3 browns for the cabin, a yellow for the window, black for the roof, and tan for the door.  I'm open to suggestions!

And blue snowy for the background, which Pippi was helping me iron!

So that is my goal, ten cat blocks and cabin block from my BOM!

What are your goals for this month?  

Missy