LadyCatQuilts

I Give Up

2010-09-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, there is stuff wrong with this account. Computers crash, emails change, passwords are forgotten - and there is apparently no life in Google cyberspace. So since I can't seem to correct this one, I'm in search of a friendlier blog place. I won't know if Google ever answers me because the only email they will accept no longer exists. If I can find something and can still open this one I'll let you know where I go. If anyone has any suggestions, you can post comments here - I just can't answer them . . . :(

It has been fun - hopefully there is a better place out there . . . .

The Celtic Knot

2010-05-09T22:41:00.001-07:00

I did finish the celtic knot as planned the day after my last post. However, you have been kept in suspense for a month because the reason I made it was because I needed it for a center for a rather labor intensive quilt I was figuring out how to do. I think I have finally succeeded . . . .

Customer quilts

2010-04-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

As usual, the pictures are in charge. These are some of the customer quilts that have been brought in for quilting this year. . . .

Tomorrow I'm planning to work on my first Celtic Knot. If all goes well, I'll share it here soon.

Distracted Drivers

2010-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

We have never thought that texting and driving was a good idea and have never indulged in it ourselves, but we have been guilty of talking on the cell phone while driving. After watching Oprah today and hearing the stories of people who had lost loved ones because of accidents involving drivers talking on the cell phone or texting while driving, we decided to take a stand. We agreed that any cell phone use by the driver of our vehicles will no longer happen. So if you get voice mail more often, please leave a message and we will call you as soon as the vehicle is safely parked. Likewise, if anyone calls us while they are driving, we're going to ask them to hang up and call back when they aren't driving. There have been studies done that show that talking while driving - even hands free - is like driving drunk and texting is much worse. We encourage everyone to join us and make a committment to pay attention to driving when you are behind the wheel. No phone call is worth risking lives.

Quilt as you go

2010-01-30T09:44:00.001-08:00

Obviously I still don't have any idea how to put the pictures where I want them. But if they stay in the same order I'm seeing them, the one on the left is the scrappy version of a QAYG Rail Fence that we made in our QAYG class. The center one is the QAYG Rail Fence done with three planned colors (although I must have ignored the part about how pink takes over). And, the picture on the right would be the table runner I made using Bonnie Hunter's Boxy Stars pattern and my QAYG techniques.

I originally learned QAYG by making the Fun and Done version of Speedy Stars. In getting ready for this class, I was looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for those doing it for the first time to succeed. So, I picked a rail fence pattern to play with because nothing has to match from one block to the next. Then I had the students strip piece the blocks to minimize cutting
and slipping - and trimming after. I added a step where we baste the pieced block to the batting before we put it with the backing and do the quilting.

Then we talked about doing other patterns with the QAYG method. My class has already done several Boxy Stars quilts and loves the pattern, so I chose that one to make a sample. It became a table runner because I was using scraps and only had enough of the red print for a few blocks.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

The images above are of the newest member of the family - Kira. She arrived with Kevin and Nicole and stayed with us for Christmas. The three resident felines were less than pleased, but in time, Kira managed to achieve a grudging truce from them. There has been a lasting side effect though. Ever since Kira went home to Oregon, our three have been playing more. I think they were just jealous cuz she's so cute.

We had a nice visit with Kevin and Nicole -- even managed to fit in some movies and games. We had cute Christmas trees and blue lights decorating the deck out front and a colorful tree in the lawn which we intended to take pictures of, but the only pictures we seem to have are of Kira, so you'll just have to take my word for it -- the outside looked nice.

We spent the week between Christmas and New Year's taking care of all the little details to close out 2009 and get ready for a great year in 2010. I even got last years quilting scraps sorted and into the bins ready for some scrappy quilts. Maybe this will be the year I get better at posting to the blog. You never know -- it could happen . . . . .

How I spent the weekend

2009-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures from our Halloween Village.

We've been so busy, there hasn't been much time to enjoy the holiday.

We had a great show at West Sound Quilters last week.

We did so well, I've been furiously

making more things so I will have enough to properly fill the booth at the two shows yet to come.

Richard found his Halloween costume at the show and spent a great deal of time entertaining the vendors with it. I'll also share a couple pictures of the booth.

I'm Back -- Let's Try This Again

2009-07-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been goofing off. Now the year is half gone and it's time to get busy. So, I'm hoping I will stick with the plan and post at least once a month - have a give away this fall - who knows. . .

Since April, I've been teaching classes, straightening up around the house, and making quilts for family. I thought I would share one of those from the past (Star Trek) and the latest one made from wolf panels. The wolf quilt is made with thinsulate batting for extra warmth. I really like the thinsulate because it gives the quilts an extra soft and cuddly feeling.

Until next time, happy quilting!

Look What You Can Do With Scraps

2009-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well now that the scraps are so neat and organized, I just can't seem to stay out of them.

I have two classes scheduled now. One is ongoing on Sunday afternoons and is finished with their first project and ready for more. (See group quilt photo above. )

This group is very informal and everyone seems content to work at their own pace. One person has already finished her second project which led me to go in search of ideas for a third. Alas, I have no pictures of the second project as yet.

Anyway, I needed a sample and the scrap bins provided just the right stuff for the boxy stars quilt shown here. Pattern can be found on www.quiltville.com. Of course, I resized it for those who wanted to work with bigger pieces.

The next thing on my agenda was a project that could be used to teach the Quilt-As-You-Go method designed by Susan Nelson. Once again I went to the scrap bins and created the small runner shown here. Now I know my calculations are right and I can proceed to make the kits for people to use in class.

It seems I've had lots of treasures hiding in the scrap bins. For now at least I have a plan for staying caught up with them. I set a drawer aside for collecting scraps and I'm determined that everytime that drawer gets full, I will take an evening and sort them out and put them in bins so they will be ready for my next creative moment.

At least it's a start . . .

2009-03-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

After at least 50 quilts made and roughly 4 years since the last clean-up, I managed to accumulate quite a pile of scraps. But after pulling everything out of the sewing room to make room to switch my old quilting frame for the new one, I was determined to put some order into the scrap pile and turn it in to something usable.

After two weeks of spending virtually every weekend hour and weekday evening sorting and trimming, I feel I've made great strides. Lady Cat was quite concerned at my single-mindedness and felt it necessary to stroll across the table now and then to check up on me. At one point, she stopped nose to nose and just stared at me as if to say "this has gone on long enough - you can pay attention to me now". So, I took the hint and put the sorted part neatly on the shelves and stuffed the rest back into 2 bins, and then sat down with Lady Cat to catch up on television. I was rewarded with a contented purr and adoring looks before she drifted off to sleep.

I made a note to self to be sure and get back to those bins soon -- we'll see.

February 2009

2009-02-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

In February we got a bit bogged down with taxes and paperwork. I managed to keep busy with a teaching a quilting class on Sunday afternoons. I'm hoping to post pictures of our quilts from class next month.

So far, I've started 3 quilts and finished one (shown here). This quilt is one I found in a catalog. They were selling a kit to make it. I'm too cheap for that -- I just looked at the picture and figured it out. Of course, I have no idea how the size of my blocks compares to theirs. It turned out that my free sample of thinsulate 250 was enough to quilt it with, so I used the thinsulate for the batting and was delighted to find that my quick and easy quilt turned into a comforter. Next month, I'm hoping to finally organize the scrap pile - wish me luck . . . .

January Flew By

2009-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

January was supposed to be a chance to relax and take a break before starting to make stuff for the 2009 shows -- my goal is to make at least one quilt each month.

As luck would have it, it took most of the month to get customer quilts done because there were too many days of being sick and not wanting to risk sneezing too often and having to rip out stuff. But, the sun came out again. All customer quilts got done ahead of the promised date and everyone was happy with the results. We even found time to start up a Sunday afternoon class for some seniors in Silverdale. We've been working on 'The Road to Oklahoma'.

I did manage to get a quilt done in January. I finished Bonnie Hunter's New Year's Eve mystery quilt called Double Delight. As always, I made little changes . . . .

Lighthouse Quilt

2009-01-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I decided to use some lighthouse fabric to make a gift for a friend. I wanted the quilt to be something more than just lighthouse pictures joined by sashing, so I thought I'd add some geese -- a stand-in for the seagulls commonly found around lighthouse, but I've never seen a 'flying seagull' block. I played with a couple of ways of putting flying geese blocks around the pictures -- wasn't quite right. Then I found the 'Goose on the Loose' block in an old book. I mixed these blocks with the pictures, quilted in the clouds, and used a mottled blue on the back for the water and ended up with the complete package shown here. My friend loved it.

2009-01-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Who was that mystery guest at the party?

We’d like to introduce our Chief of Security. She’s always on the job. No bag, box, or container of any kind is allowed on the premises without a thorough search . . .

She does not hesitate to explain in great detail whenever something happens that does not suit her. The humans have been severely chastised on those occasions when the levels of the food dish or water dispenser dropped below acceptable levels or if she has not been properly adored when she felt she was due (pretty much all of the time).

She has been known to chase of intruders on the perimeter of the property from her observation post inside the building using nothing more than her extraordinary vocabulary augmented by her considerable attitude.

Congratulations to our staff member of the quarter – Precious!

2009-01-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say Happy New Year and share some pictures from the office party. We'll introduce the staff in future posts. As you can see, everyone had a good time at the party.

2008-12-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome

2008-12-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Lady Cat Quilts!

This is a week of firsts for us. We have survived 14 inches of snow and still got all of the customer quilts sent out before Christmas as promised.

The quilt picture shown is the first customer quilt we did when we started Lady Cat Quilts back in 2003.

My human made her first snow angel this year and may still manage to make her first snowman. I can't see why she's out in the stuff at all.

And, this is our first attempt at a blog. Bear with us - we will get better.

If you're in the market for a quilt, you can check out our store at www.LadyCatQuilts.etsy.com or we also have a website at www.LadyCatQuilts.com