Ok, as promised, here is a closeup of the cherry block. I got the cherry pattern from this book. I did not use their setting pattern- just sort of made one up. I used fusible web and machine stitched around the pieces with a satin stitch.

I am making 15 each of the following blocks using random placement of red, green, black and white fabrics:

This one has a 1-inch strip around the center, and then the outer one will be 2"(finished).

This one has a 2-inch strip and the outer one will be 1"(finished). I am just alternating these blocks.

My outer strips look bigger in the picture because I make 1/2" seams in my quilts. I had issues with my quilts coming apart (we use them pretty hard) with 1/4" seams, so I switched to 1/2" a few years back. I don't use patterns, so it hasn't been a problem. This is not something I would recommend for everyone, but it works for me. (It also makes the math really easy!) Another thing that I like about it is that it makes a heavier quilt. The most obvious drawback is that I go through more fabric this way, but I just plan for that.

Does anyone else do this? I am the only person I know of who does it.

More proof that I'm crazy

So when I saw this post, I was jealous. But not anymore! For Christmas I asked for gift certificates for fabric and that's exactly what I got. (I have awesome in-laws!) Today starts the inventory reduction sale at one of my local quilt shops- the one I can see from my upstairs window- so look what I got! (Can you tell I love anything moda?) Fat quarters are BOGO!!!! I have to go back. (I better make the house payment first, though...)

This is how tall it is:

It's as high as the seats on my chairs! Wow! That's some tall fabric! The kids and I think if I sewed it together it would cover the whole town. We'll have to see.

I am basically leaping around and grinning from ear to ear. I told Paul I love my new fabric so much I want to eat it (so it can be part of me). He told me I was crazy. I said, "Well, I am not the only one. I have new friends in blogland who like fabric as much as I do." He replied with: "Yeah, you're all crazy. You probably sit around with blenders trying to figure out how to eat fabric."

What a dingbat. Like anyone would put fabric in a blender. He's the crazy one.

Cherry Quilt Escapades

The above is what I left on my "studio" (dining room) floor last night when I went to bed.

This is what the squares looked like this morning when I got up. Hmm... somekitty was busy last night. (Or somekitties?) Luckily, I had a helper:

I fix it! I fix it!"

And he did fix the "qwiuwt".
(Sort of.)
Some of them even face the same direction. Not too bad for a 2-yr. old.

Lukey was having a bad day yesterday. No nap + a very overstimulating Christmas party complete with tons of presents and desserts= cranky toddler. He was throwing us a little "fit" and while stomping his feet yelled "I HATE qwiuwts! I HATE qwuiwts!" (That must have been the very worst thing he could think of to say in this household- heehee!) He apparently thought better of it and likes them again. He is back to being little Mr. Sunshine today.

A lot of nice ladies gave me compliments on this quilt over at the B&W Challenge, so I thought I would blog about my progress on it. I have 48 of the appliqued cherry squares made, but am only using 30 of them in this quilt. (I have another one in mind for the "leftovers".) I made these cherries about 5 years ago and was into more "countryish" fabric then, but they will look scrappy in this quilt, so it should be ok.

Now I am making a sort of courthouse steps block out of them with red, green, black and white prints. I want it to look random and scrappy, so I am trying to only use a fabric 2 or 3 times in the quilt. The finished size of the inside block is 8", then I alternate between 1" and 2" strips (finished) around it.

So far I have 10 blocks made up and the strips for the next 5 are cut out. I am almost halfway done with this top! I am really enjoying this one because it goes pretty quickly (well, now that the cherries are appliqued) and also, because I love scrappy tops so I keep getting to pick out which fabric to use next.

This is a picture of the "recipe" for this one. I draw most of my quilts on graph paper and color them with colored pencils. I am sort of "retro" about that- most folks use some type of computer program to lay out their quilts and I have done that, but I prefer the coloring. Must be my inner child- :-P

So my for next entry I will post individual pictures of some of the blocks and a closeup of the cherries. Hopefully I will have 15 blocks made by then! I am not a super-fast quilter, as my little guys are pretty "active" (hyper) and take up a lot of my time. Oh, and there's this blog thing I have going now...

Enter Mooch, or Look what I Got!

I didn't get any sewing done today, but I did get these awesome thrifted fabrics last night. Some are sheets, some are actual fabric and one is a tablecloth. LOOK! at the polka dots! (I heart polka dots!)

This sweet little set was just begging me to take it home and put it in a quilt. (The blue stripes and checks are from the tablecloth.) I hadn't actually been planning a blue and yellow quilt...

but now I am!
Since I had placed a "kitty bait pile" on the floor, I soon had some company. This is Mooch. He is about 6 months old and we got him when a stray had kittens in my mom's garage. He seems to like fabric as much as I do, so he must have been destined to find his way into a quilter's home.

You can see the cherries on the tablecloth in this picture. I am absolutely in love with one of the GORGEOUS quilts I saw made by Elizabeth over at oh, fransson, so now I have my first fruit fabric! I am not sure how people put the link in the word (hiding it?), but her FAQ's says she appreciates links back to her posts so here it is:

http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2008/08/vintage-sheet-project-3-rick-rack-quilt-blocks.html

Can you believe how lucky I was? I never find fabric like this when I'm thrifting. It was like an early Christmas present. I keep taking the blue and yellow ones out and gloating over the pile.

Some of my quilts

Duh! I realized that folks will want to see pictures (just like I do)! So here are a few that I have saved on my laptop already.

Here is my stash/sewing cabinet. It is "upcycled" from an old Sauder armoire that my grandparents used for years and passed on to me about 10 years ago. I had hubby put bead board behind it and I painted it off-white to match my dining room furniture. I sew on the dining room table and this way everything is handy. (So, yes, sometimes we eat in the living room!)

And this is a quilt I made for my SIL's wedding almost 3 years ago and I JUST finished it a couple months ago. (She hasn't even gotten it yet.) In my defense I had a second son in that time and worked full-time, night shift (DH works days) so there was very little "me" or craft time. These were their wedding colors and the center square is copied from their invitation. (A local embroidery shop did that for a reasonable price.) This quilt was long-arm quilted (not by me!) and is very large- a king-size.

This one is the one I chose for my avatar as I made it for myself. To keep! Yay! (I have given most of my quilts away.) I got the applique pattern from a book at the library and as I started it about 5 years ago, I have no idea what book it's from. It's a very happy quilt! This quilt was also long-arm quilted. This one is about a full-size.

This one was made for a friend's (30th!) birthday recently and it came together quickly. This was my first attempt at embellishing and I loved doing that. (It goes well with my OCD.) I do have regrets with this quilt. I don't like the borders- too big- and I wish I had quilted it more heavily. I hand quilted it (in the ditch), though, and only had 2 weeks to make the quilt, start to finish, so it is what it is. This is between a lap and a twin size quilt.

Here are some closeups of the individual blocks. This one I hand sewed little crystals "in the ditch". I got all the embellishments from old clothes- prom/bridesmaid dresses that were beyond other usefulness.

Little crystals in the corners.

For this one I used ribbon and wove it for the very center of the block.

The brown fabric has iridescent dots- so pretty in RL, but does not photograph well.

It's a bit hard to see, but there are little mirrored beads all over this square.

This block has turquoise sequins. Yes, I put sequins on a quilt! (I sewed them on really tight.)

More of the ribbon. I so enjoyed all the little fussy details on this quilt.

This quilt had a lot of sparkle to it. When my friend opened it and shook it out, it caught the light and just shimmered. I loved that, so I will have to make one for myself like that eventually.

I apologize for the quality of my photos. I need a better camera. That is on the list AFTER I get a new sewing machine. I had borrowed one but I think I wore it out as the needle won't go up and down anymore, so currently I am sewing on an old (pretty rough) White machine I got at a rummage sale for $3. (Good thing I picked that up!) DH has promised me a new machine, so here's hoping it's sooner rather than later.

I'm here!

I wanted to ask to join a quilt challenge and couldn't figure out how without a blog, so... here it is. Ta da! That was easy, now, wasn't it? Also, I have been saving a ton of cool blogs in my IE favorites and it's getting really full, so now I can link to them from here and make myself some room! (Sort of like "destashing" my favorites!)

I have recently discovered that there are a ton of wonderful crafty bloggers out there and I have gotten so much inspiration from them. Many thanks to all. After lurking around on here for a couple of weeks I want to throw away my whole stash and start over. Soooo many cool quilts. Wow. Now I want to start a bunch of new quilts, but first I have to read every post on every blog that mentions "fabric", "quilt" or "vintage". So that might take a while.

I reallyreallyreally like vintage fabric, well, ANY fabric, and love any vintage (or vintage-inspired) quilts or bags. I do like vintage clothes, but prefer to buy those. Making clothes is hard! (Ok, in all honesty, I prefer to buy and wear only pajama pants and/or steal my husband's.)

We are a cat-friendly household (we have 3 of them) and I often find myself saying "Git down kitty!" (I say "kitty" like Cartman on South Park does) so that's where I got the name for my blog. The kitties would quilt if they were tall enough to reach the foot pedal, and they enjoy changing up my designs. I lay quilt squares on the floor and the kitties immediately jump on them and start mixing them up. (Apparently I don't have "cat style".)