I moved my quilting into the separate studio house in the summer of 2007.  In August of that year I heard meowing under the studio which turned out to be Callie Cat.  I had to bottle feed her for the first couple of weeks.  I was living in the studio because we were having major house renovations at the time so Callie quickly imprinted me as Mommie Cat and we bonded.  She is extremely independent and has a personality that only a mother could love.  She loves fabrics and quilts and she dearly loves the TTT gals and seems to know when it is Tuesday.  Here is a chronicle of the life and times of my favorite quilt inspector.

This very sweet and romantic quilt was pieced and appliqued by my friend Janice.  It has a funny story behind it.  A few (or more!) years ago around this time of the year Janice and I traveled to Pawley’s Island to visit Island Threads Quilt Shop.  We had some purchasing plans for some specific projects in mind.  While we were perusing the shop Janice found this quilt kit and fell in love with it but because it was so close to Christmas she was feeling guilty about purchasing something so “big.”  She kept saying she should just buy it and give it to Bill (her DH) to give her for Christmas but what if he already had purchased something and he really did like to surprise her.  So I said, “Hey, I think I can take care of this problem” and I walked out onto the porch of the shop and called Bill on his cell phone.  He is in industrial sales and travels all around the LowCountry but luckily he was in cell range and I got him on the phone.  Did he have a present for Janice yet?  No?  Well, there is a quilt kit here she is drooling over but she won’t buy it.  Would you like me to buy it so you can give it to her for Christmas.  “YE S!!  That would be great,” says Bill.  So back into the shop I march and pick up the kit and buy it.  Of course, Janice is aware of all of this.  I take it home, Bill comes by and picks it up and reimburses me and takes it home and wraps it up and on Christmas Eve when Janice unwraps it she gives the academy award winning ”Oh, my!!  How did you know I wanted this??” surprise act.  All are happy.  Merry Merry Christmas.

Fast forward a few years and……………….here it is all finished for this Christmas.

I used Sew Fine by Superior thread on the top with Bottom Line (also by Superior) in the bobbin.  Cream in the light areas and a dusty pink in the colored sashings, borders, and hearts.  Janice used a busy fabric on the back but the quilting is still pretty visible thanks to Dream Puff batting.

Callie Cat loves to get under quilts.  As soon as I placed this one on the big table for pictures and went to get my camera I came back to this – the quilt had grown a big lump!

Her story is she’s inspecting for threads I missed when I was burying them. 

If that title didn’t pique your interest then nothing will!!

My friend and quilting buddy Janice and I traveled to Houston to  THE SHOW in 2007.  While there Janice purchased a pattern called Aardvark and a set of fat quarters to use with it.  She also added fabrics from her stash once she began the construction.  We don’t know why it is called Aardvark but it’s a pretty cool quilt.  I quilted it for her yesterday morning and she came and picked it up right after lunchtime.  I quilted large echoed swirls all over to counterpoint the straight line piecing.  My camera battery was low and the colors in the pictures look washed out.

While I was at Jolene’s two weekends ago I purchased a pattern called Jack at the Gate.  Here is my version of it.  It’s  a small wallhanging or little table topper size.  I did a few changes.  The middle pumpkin was up on the fence top but to me looked like it was floating.  Two of the pumpkins had Jack o’ Lantern faces and I wanted mine to just be for fall and not Halloween.  Isn’t the fence fabric great?  I did this one all from fabrics in Jolene’s stash.  Corky says the knot holes on the fence look like bird poop. 

And finally – studio pics of the studio cats, Lucy Lawless and Calico Patchkat.  They sure are good company when I’m working alone and the very best quilt inspectors ever!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween weekend.  Jolene is coming in and we’re going to have a quiltathon with lots of treats and no tricks.  She’s bring fresh apple turnovers and fritters and jugs of cider.

That’s the name of the pattern of this quilt.  It was pieced by Betsy, one of my TTT gal gang.  She took the class from Anita Bowen at Pieceable Retreat in the fall of 2008.  Betsy is planning to give it to one of her daughters for Christmas.  She wanted custom quilting but not heavy.  I did stitch in the ditch around each block part and then used a circle template and a ruler to give it a very formal, traditional quilting pattern.

Callie Cat loves to get under the quilts when they are draped over the rails of the longarm and play hide and seek.  She inspected the top and back of this one and gave it the Kitty Kat seal of approval.

Happy Easter from KK, the Ref, and Rudy the Wonderdog!

This week I’ve been working on a stamped cross stitch quilt made by my friend June’s mom.  June wants to take it to her mom for Mother’s Day.  I used the No-Frills Swag Templates (5″) by Constantine Quilts for the border.  They were great to use.  Tracey Browning, the owner of Constantine Quilts, has developed some great products for longarm quilters.  And she puts free videos on her website showing you how to use them.  A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a MILLION of them.

I think I have everything ready for the QSC Spring Meeting this weekend.  I sure hope so.  I will be packing up and heading down to Charleston this evening.  Tomorrow we host a class by Karen Combs, then Saturday is the big meeting, and on Sunday another class. 

While I’m gone the studio watch cats are in charge.

I finished these before heading to our retreat at St. Christopher but hadn’t gotten around to taking their pictures.  The bright one is mine – a Ducks and Ducklings I pieced maybe 8 years ago!!  The blue and yellow is Jolene’s.  The pattern is called All About Me but she used fabrics from April Cornell’s Sunshine line so we call it All About Sunshine.  Both quilts sure brightened up my studio during those cold dreary days of February.   And right now I have another of my own quilts on the Prince with more of the Sunshine line of fabrics – but I used more of the blues and not so much of the yellow.  Different pattern, also.  Hope to have that to show in the next post or two. Both are quilted with a freehand overall.  On All About Sunshine I used Suzanne Early’s Meandering Magic method with Hooked Feathers by Sally Terry – which are very similar to Jodi Robinson’s Less Stressed Feathers.  Oh – the bright mottled solids in my Ducks and Ducklings are my first attempt at hand-dying fabrics – I did a bright color wheel.  Really got to get back to doing that – lots of fun and I feel like I’m using that chemistry major.

Ducks and Ducklings

Back of Ducks and DucklingsAll About Sunshine

Close up - All About Sunshine

 
I really like doing these feathers in an informal allover design like this.  They really were less stressful because you don’t have to worry about backtracking.  And I think they have a prettier shape than the typical longarm feather – at least my longarm feather.

 And for my fellow kitty lovers out there – here’s Lucy and Callie Cat.  Lucy’s hair has just about all grown back in from her little operation.  She is still just as lovable as can be.  Callie Cat is still a spoiled brat but she’s my spoiled brat and I love her.

Lucy Lawless

Callie the Brat Cat - what did you bring ME, mom?

Yesterday I finished and delivered this quilt to a customer.  The pattern is Be Attitudes by Nancy Halvorsen using her Williams Inn line of fabrics.  The customer did this as a block of the month/kit with Sew n Sew.  I’m also doing this quilt – I have all my blocks made and fused but I’m still stitching away on the applique (machine blanket stitching).  Hopefully I’ll work on that some at the retreat next week.  This one was fun to do – especially quilting cute motifs within the applique pieces.  It was well pieced and layed flat and square on my long arm quilting frame which makes for a very happy quilter.  Way to go Mary Ames!!

Be Attitudes

I’m constantly sharing pictures of my studio kitties, Callie the Brat Cat and Lucy Lawless.  I also have a cat at the house.  He is the only house kitty left of four I used to own.  His name is Klinger – from MASH – I also had a dog named Radar for a long time.  Klinger used to hang out in my sewing room when it was at the house.  Now he hangs out with me in the same room repurposed as my den/office.  He’s a BIG BOY!!!

Klinger

In two weeks the TTT (Tuesday Thimbles and Threads) gang is heading for St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center on Seabrook Island off the coast of Charleston for a four day quilting retreat.  Four of us are planning to do the quilt pictured here.  It’s called Cracked Pots by Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company.  Sheila saw it at the Quilters Gallery booth at Myrtle Beach Quilt Party last January and fell in love with it.  She purchased the kit from them when they vended at our show in March of last year.  I bought the pattern.  Then Betsy and Frances got in on the act and we decided this would be our project for our February retreat.  Frances and I jointly pulled fabrics from our stash to do ours.  Betsy is also using stash fabrics.  After looking at the cutting instructions we decided we needed to precut everything so we could get to the piecing at the retreat.  Yesterday we spent ALL DAY cutting and we aren’t finished.  There are a LOT of PIECES in this quilt.  I tried to document the day but as usual I forgot to take many pictures and I completely left Frances out of every thing.  No pics of me, either (on purpose). 

We did take a short break for lunch and later took a one mile walk to try to refresh ourselves and work some kinks out.  We will finish cutting when TTT meets this Tuesday.

I had read all of the cutting instructions in advance but we still ran into places where we felt the cutting instructions were confusing.  But I think the construction part of the pattern is very clear cut.  I have a number of Miss Rosie’s patterns on my “wanna do” list and hope this one goes together nicely.

I went back to the studio last night and again early this morning and finished all of my cutting.  My furry helpers were exhausted and wanted me to turn out the lights and go to bed!

It’s finished – well, it’s quilted – still needs to be bound – and I love it.  Purchased the kit in Houston in Nov. of 2007 and done by February of 2009.  Might be a record for me!!

So here it is.  I think the flowers are peonies – I’m going to say they are – so I’m trying to think of a name for it that includes Peony.  Anyone want to help me out?

The colors in the  close up pictures are a bit off as I didn’t use the flash so the quilting would show up better.  And then I posed it on the red love seat in the dining room. 

I made a few extra blocks and have some extra fabric so I think a table runner and/or some throw pillows need to be made.  Maybe by this time next year?

Some snow flurries came down here today!  Just a few but that’s twice now this winter.  And it is COLD!!  I grew up in cold winters but after 28 years in the South I’m just not used to this.  But I did get out and walk today anyway. 

Tomorrow Lucy Lawless the new kitty goes to Doctor Glenn to be spayed.  While she’s having surgery I’m going to the library, to Sew n Sew and People, Places, & Quilts (quilt shops in Summerville) and then to Massage Envy for a 90 minute massage.  I think I’m getting a better deal than poor Lucy.  I had to put up all the food and water at 7 PM and both she and Callie Cat were stomping around and telling me about it so I gave up trying to do anything in the studio and left them to their griping.  I think I’ll go back up around 11 and shut Lucy into the back bedroom and bathroom and let Callie Cat have something to eat.