The Almost Quilt

You see this quilt? Perhaps you don't. You probably just see little piles of fabric, but I see a quilt. A lovely quilt. But this poor quilt has been sitting here in pieces for weeks. The sun keeps coming out. I'm drawn outside to dig in the ground. But I must find time for this almost quilt. It'll really be something someday. Perhaps exposing my procrastination to the blogging world will spur those sewing juices. Only more time will tell. Perhaps I should also post about cleaning out the gutters or painting the basement...hmmm, maybe not.

Kitty Catnip Patchwork Toy

No parent is supposed to show favoritism, right? Well, since the pup came along last spring, I'll have to admit that the love scales have tilted a bit away from the kitty. My kitty that I have had since I was twelve. Together we've been through some rough times and some good times in the past 14 years of our lives. And these days I find myself constantly tripping over bones, squeaky toys, and tennis balls. So I thought it was high time to do something nice for him. Plus, Sew Mama Sew (one of my favorite blogs) is holding a contest for the month of October called Scrap Busters and I wanted to enter.

And thus we have what I like to call Kitty's Sticky Icky Icky patchwork toy. (Don't worry folks, it's just catnip.)

Assembly is very simple and will used up a few of those pesky scraps you have in a box next to your sewing machine.

You will need:
Dried Catnip (may be sold in bulk at your local co-op or grocery store)
Dry Rice
Insert (I used a reusable muslin teabag, but you could make you own or use something similar)
Scraps for outer bag

Measurements will vary based on how big of an insert you use. I sort of eyeballed mine.

Step 1:
Fill insert with rice and catnip. (the rice is so that when kitty begins to loose interest you can warm it up in the microwave and... viola! New again!)

Step 2: 

Assemble outer layer and patchwork piece. I used denim for most of the shell because my cat likes to grip his catnip toys in both claws and suck on them. So they need to be durable.

 Step 3:

With right sides together sew your patchwork piece to the back of the outer piece, leaving a 2" space in the side so that you can fit the insert in. Trim corners being careful not to cut the seam. Next, turn the shell right side out, pushing out the corners. Place catnip bag inside the shell.

Step 4: 

Topstitch around the outer shell 2 times to close the hole and reinforce the outer seams.

And it is ready to be introduced to the cat...

Mission accomplished.

My First Quilt

It measures 32" x 24". It is very small indeed. I was testing the quilting waters. But it worked out because it is just the right size to be a nice traveling changing pad for my good friend's baby-to-be. I threw some ties on the end so she could wrap it up and toss it into her diaper bag.

Let me tell ya. This is tough. All the measuring and precise cutting is hard work. Doing a full size project is going to take me a long time, but I'm looking forward to it. Oh, how I love to sew.

New Feet!

I've been sitting on my porch, watching a storm come in, and admiring the changing leaves while I cook up some new sewing projects. I'm totally in my happy place. The rains are on their way to the great Northwest and I couldn't be more pleased.  The sky is getting grayer. The days are getting shorter. The temperature is dropping. Pumpkins are at my local veggie stand and I have dusted off my slow cooker. It is officially Fall and it is my favorite time of year. My coworkers cast looks of great annoyance my way when I voice this opinion. As natural born sun-lovers, as the days get grayer. they come into the office, one by one, heads hung and grumbling. Why they have chosen to live in the rainiest region on the planet while maintaining these opinions is another discussion entirely. But we had plenty of sun and blue skies this summer. And as I am not one for heat, its my turn! Bring on the rain!

One of the things I really wanted to make this season was a quilt. I kept reading all these articles and books that had the most beautiful handmade quilts on them. Like this one and this one. And I said to myself, "How are they doing that? My machine can't do that. It only sews in one direction. Perhaps they have special quilting machines. Bummer." But after careful research I found this. And lo. A beam of hope shown down upon me. Its not a special machine one needs to make free hand quilts. It is a single attachment. A foot that can snap onto my current sewing machine which costs about ten bucks. It wasn't until later that I felt a twinge of shame at not already knowing about the feet, but I forgot all about it when these arrived at my doorstep. Oh happy days. Let the quilting begin.