Friday, December 1, 2017

31 Day Blog Writing Challenge

Today is the beginning of Cheryl Sleboda at Muppin.com has challenged bloggers to write on their blog every day in December.  I have been thinking that my blog seems a bit neglected at times, so I joined in.  I think I can...even with deadlines, doctor appointments, play practice, and all the busyness of Christmas...I think I can! 


I hope all of you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We drove to Dallas and spent Thanksgiving with my sister and family.  She wanted aprons made for us to wear while cooking and having fun in the kitchen together, so of course I whipped up a few for us to wear.


Gobble til you Wobble!

Now lets see how I do with this challenge!  

grace and peace....Sharon

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks and Give Aways!

Welcome!  Bella and I are happy you have stopped by today on the third day or the Road Rally.  Hope you are enjoying all the stops you have made so far in the Road Rally....lots of eye candy!   I am so excited to have a block in Volume 16 of the 100 Blocks by Quiltmaker.  This is my first block to be in the 100 Blocks magazine.


Galactic Voyager 

I made a couple of layouts in EQ8 with my block, maybe you will see one you would like to try.

 

I had a bundle of Moda's Cookie exchange in my stash, and decided to use it for this table topper.  



Galactic Voyager is a beginner level paper pieced block.  If you do not like paper piecing, let me give you a few tips.  First I like to make templates that are at least 1/2" larger than the original template.  You can make it out of acrylic or paper.  You do not have to cut accurately around the shape, just get the general idea.  I like using a template because it saves fabric and is more accurate. 





Once I have my fabric  cut, I use a washable glue stick to attach the fabric to the back of the paper.  Your printed side is always facing you so that you know where to stitch.  Hold it up to the light if you are having issues with placement.


Flip it over, and using your Add-a-quarter ruler and a straight edge such as a post card or strip of acrylic, fold the paper over and trim 1/4".




Now you can line up your fabric pieces, unfold the paper and stitch,  Repeat for the other side.
Trim  excess fabric, making sure you have a 1/4 " seam all around.  It's up to you if you want to remove the paper now.  

Another tip for paper piecing is to reduce your stitch to about 1.8...it makes tearing off the paper much easier.

I decided to make a Christmas table topper with my block. If you decide you would like to make this table topper, make 4 Galactic Voyager blocks from the 100 Blocks magazine.  Here are the measurements.
The sashing:
Cut (8) red 1 1/2" strips
Cut (4) white 2 1/2" strips.  sew a red strip to each long edge of the white strip.  
Cut one 4 1/2" square for the center block.
Cut (4) red 1 1/2" squares  for the corners. Draw a line on the diagonal and sew to each corner.  Flip and trim.
The border is a variety of fabric scraps cut into 2 1/2" squares.  Cut 32 total.  Piece two strip with 14 squares and two strips with 16 squares.  



Now on to the Giveaways!

   

Prize 1: Quiltmaker is sponsoring the giveaway of a copy of 100 Blocks Magazine Vol. 16.  This magazine drawing is open to everyone-international included.  The magazine will be shipped directly from Quiltmaker.



Prize 2: I have a give away for you as well!  A copy of 100 Blocks Volume 16 and a bundle of 6 fat eighths of Moda Cookie Exchange and a mug rug made from Cookie Exchange.  

To Enter:

All you have to do is comment, and as a bonus my followers on Instagram, email, or Bloglovin will get an extra entry.  So leave an extra comment to tell me how you follow, ok?
The giveaway will run for 4 days, until 9 pm CST on Friday November 17th.

It's a cold, drizzly day here in Missouri, so stay dry as you continue on your trip!

grace and peace.....Sharon and Bella                           


Linking to:  Midweek Makers   
                 Wednesday Wait Loss  
                 Freemotion by the River
                 Lets BEE Social


CONGRATULATIONS!  Susan Wilson is the winner of Prize #1.  And Linda Douglas is the winner of Prize #2.  Please contact me by email  yellowcatquilts@gmail.com with your mailing information.  Thank you to all of you have stopped by for a visit on the Road Rally....Bella and I enjoyed meeting all of you!


  

Monday, November 13, 2017

100 blocks Road Rally Blog Tour

This year I have been selected to be a part of the blog tour.  There are 51 designers who are a part of the blog tour this year.  It is going to be loads of fun, with prizes and a scavenger hunt.


It starts today!  So grab a coat, your favorite snack and beverage, and come along on the Road Rally!
I will see you on Wednesday right here!  Bella loves company, so please stop by!

grace and peace....Sharon


Friday, November 10, 2017

Golden Afternoon

Exciting news here at Yellow Cat Quilts....I have a quilt published in the January/February 2018 McCall's Quilting magazine!  I used fabric  from the Ann's Arbor collection by Minnick and Simpson for Moda Fabrics, and batting was provided by The Warm Company.  I loved working with the cheerful colors in the fabric. If you make this quilt, please tag me or send me a picture, I would love to see your ideas for fabrics! And the batting was amazing to quilt...I do love it!

Golden Afternoon
I hope you can see yourself snuggled up in this throw quilt...reading a good book or watching a movie.


Photos are courtesy of McCall's Quilting Magazine.

So....what's happening in your sewing room today?  It's rather cold out, I think it is a good day to stay inside and work on another quilt.  I am so blessed to have time and fabric to play with, I hope you are too!  And if you are in a creative funk, you might like to read this blog post......Creativity Exercises

Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon

Linking to:  Midweek Makers 

Needle and Thread Thursday 

Wednesday Wait Loss

Off the Wall Fridays

Thursday, November 2, 2017

In the Pumpkin Patch Giveaway!

Where did October go?  Halloween is always a fun time around here.  Every year my grandsons come up with a costume to have Gramma make....and every year it is a bit tougher!  So....this year my 9 year old wanted a Cuphead costume.  What the heck is Cuphead?  A new, rather popular video game that he loves to play...that's all I know! 


And of course the Headless Horseman made an appearance at the Trunk or Treat.


 

Thank goodness Caleb decided to wear his Plague Dr costume that we made last year!

My newest quilt is now available in my Craftsy shop.  It went to market this past week...without me.
But that is ok, Spring Quilt Market is in Kansas City...yay!  If you would like a chance to win this pattern, please leave a comment here on the blog and follow me on Bloglovin or Instagram.   That's all!.  Giveaway ends at midnight,Saturday, November 4.






Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to:  Freemotion by the River    Midweek Makers   Let's Bee Social 

Monday, October 9, 2017

Fall Harvest....Creative Borders and Bindings

For October, Island Batik challenged the Ambassadors to create something with creative borders and bindings.  It was a great creative challenge for me! I dug through my beautiful Island Batik scraps, got into my EQ7 program, and came up with a new fall wall-hanging.


Fall decorating with Pumpkin Harvest



Fall Harvest


I love using my Split Rec tool by Deb Tucker.  It made this quilt a breeze to make!  In the borders I used my V Block tool, also a ruler by Deb Tucker.  These easy blocks are scattered randomly around the border with some Prairie Points.  Running out of fabric for binding caused me to be thankful for needing a creative binding...so I stitched various lengths together to create a fun scrappy binding!

Being an Island Batik Ambassador is really a fun gig!  We get to play with gorgeous fabrics and meet lots of new friends! 



It's a gorgeous fall day again....my flower beds are calling me to come give them some much needed attention.  But I really want to go start my next Island Batik Challenge!  What should I do?????

grace and peace....Sharon


linking to: Main Crush Monday  Free Motion by the River


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Frolic.....new pattern for you....and a winner

Our Island Batik blog hop is over, and it was so inspiring to check in with all of my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors.  I hope you all felt the same way! And I do have a winner for the patterns and Abalone fabric....Allison CB has won.  I thank all of you for your comments and follows, it makes my day!

This week I finished a little quilt to add to my existing pattern...Fall Frolic.  I decided to add a baby quilt to the pattern, so now it contains instructions for a baby quilt and a table topper or wall hanging. 


Fall Frolic  
38" x 38"

This is Fall Frolic made from some wonderful fabric from Island Batik...this is from the beautiful line of fabrics by Kathy Engle called Bonsai.  I love sewing with batiks, the thread count is great and the colors are always bright and beautiful.  This fabric is on the shelves in fabric stores now. 


Frolic
38" x 46"

Don't you love how the monsters frolic across this quilt?  I can see so many sweet fabrics in this pattern....would love to see what you come up with! The pattern is available on Craftsy and Etsy....just click on the side bar to find them. This week the pattern is on sale for $6...so better go grab one to make for yourself and your favorite little one.  




Hope all of you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather now.  It's my favorite time of year!  except for the allergies.....

Grace and peace.....Sharon