Let's See If I Remember How to Blog

Well hello there (especially to Dianne who reminded me that I need to blog and read my emails more often).   I guess it's been a over a year since I posted. Wow time goes by.  I've been Instagramming so if you've missed the cats, images around NM, more cats, and a few quilts you can find me over there (@stellabellaquilts).

We are all fine. Cats are happy, S. is happy, I am happy.  Santa Fe is marvelous. I just fell out of the blogging ritual and maybe turned a little inward.  There's too much to catch up on so I'm just going to start from now.

This is the latest quilt that I finished.  It's a well-aged top that finally was expertly quilted by Mary at Quilt Hollow in the winter and then it waited for binding until now. Whew! Like I said it's been an I-can't-get-it-together kind of year. Anywhoo--
Voila!  Halloween Night fabric by Minick & Simpson and the pattern is Lilypads in the book Time Out Quilts by Atkinson Designs. The color is a little to yellow because I took this at night when Mr. Quilt Holder was able to be a quilt holder.

I love this quilt. It is on the bed now since it's after Labor Day and in my book, we can get Halloween stuff out.

Here's a cat photo. Remy kitty is as ever photogenic.

Summer of Kate Spain Quilts

The bright, clear, cheerful colors of Kate Spain's fabric lines are calling to me this summer.  I finished up my second Kate Spain quilt top of the summer; the line is Sunnyside. The pattern is from Moda Bake Shop and is called "Basic Math Quilt."  The quilt uses one layer cake and is fun and easy to make.

I had the blocks made for awhile and then "rediscovered" them cleaning up a pile in my sewing room.  
This will be another great lap quilt for the couch for the summer to go along with my Daydreams quilt (see next photo).  I have the backing and binding purchased and hope to get it put together to start quilting on my next day off.

Edgar Poe loves Kate Spain quilts as much as I do.

With a Little Help from a Black Cat

Yesterday, Remy and I finished up the borders on my "Bounce" quilt.  I did the sewing while Remy did the supervising and the unnecessary application of cat hair (ahem!) 

I left the room for two minutes....

and Remy decided to roll around and wrinkle up the quilt....

It's a good thing he is so cute.

Lint rollers are another good thing.....

early morning light--wrinkles by Remy

Despite Remy's help, I finished up the quilt top and decided to photograph it on the fence this morning to avoid any cat assistance. I used a layer cake of Kate Spain's Cuzco, Moda Bella Solid in Tranquil Aqua, and was inspired by Thelma's version for the border.

This pattern was so much fun to make and would work well with any type/pattern of fabric.  I was really pleased that you could use a layer cake so there aren't scraps left over (I seriously have a scrap basket problem but that is for another day).

I think it took longer to lay out the blocks and decide how to cut them than piece the blocks.  The instructions are clear and it all pieced together perfectly.  There are a couple of different versions included in the pattern. I used version 2 for the star blocks (solid stars instead of pieced center blocks).  My version has two different size stars.  For the pieced border, I cut the strips the same width and grouped the strips by color (similar to Thelma's version).  I can't wait to get this one to a longarm quilter to finish up.

Bounce in Progress

 I am having so much fun making "Bounce" by Miss Rosie.  I've been working on it every chance I have and just have the two outer borders left to add.

I am using a layer cake that I have been hoarding saving just for this pattern.  It's "Cuzco" by Kate Spain The background is a Moda Bella Solid called Tranquil Aqua.

We've had lots and lots of rain in Santa Fe this past week and Northern New Mexico is out of drought status, which is wonderful.   

Flowers are blooming 

The sunsets are incredible

And rainy days are perfect for napping in boxes. 

Hope your weekend is great!

A Friday Finish

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I posted here.  Spring just flew by in a busy flash and we are now in the long warm days of summer.  We are all fine here; I just haven't gotten around to blogging in a long while.

I finished this small lap quilt recently quilted, bound, washed, and de-cat-haired (for all of five seconds).  The pattern is Charm Box Quilt, a free pattern by Fat Quarter Shop.  I used two charm packs of Persimmon by Basic Gray and a Moda Bella solid in Prussian Blue.

I quilted it myself using the ever-so-easy squiggly stitch using Aurifil thread.

The backing is from the same fabric line.

We are slowly adding Southwest art and colors to our house and this fabric line seemed perfect for a quilt to throw over the chair in our living room (which is actually a quilt for cats to sleep on, of course).

This quilt matches nicely with the Native American ledger art we bought last year at Indian Market.

I have several other projects in the works but was inspired to start a new project (left).  Perfect colors for summer :)

Stars in a Time Warp: Weeks 5-11

I finished my next batch of Stars in a Time Warp block of the week.  I am working on several weeks at a time rather than get discouraged by being behind every week and this method seems to be working so far.  Barbara Brackman's weekly post fun reads and a fabulous resource even if you are not making the blocks.

Overdyed Green Solids  

I used a couple of different Moda Bella Solids and although it's not quite the correct color, it's as close to it as I had in my stash.

This background is a Jo Morton print and it is one of my favorites.  Wish I bought oodles of it...

Double Pink

Madder-Style Prints

Look there's that Jo Morton print in a different color way!








































Indigo Blue
After digging through stash, I discovered that I need more blues. Wonder if I can fix that BAHAHAHA!

Chrome Yellow

I bought a small bundle of poison greens, chrome yellows, and cheddar long ago and it's served me well for this BOW. These fabrics are much brighter in real life than photos.  Guess my iPhone was overwhelmed LOL!

Green Calicos

Purple

I just love purple reproduction fabrics so I used three different purples for each of these blocks.



















Thanks for making it all the way to the end of this photo-heavy post!!

A Finish for March

Finally finished the top for the French General quilt I worked on last month.
I just love this quilt and I'm waiting for some backing fabric to arrive to finish it up.  It's always windy in Santa Fe so it's difficult to get a good photo (if you look close Mr. SBQ's toes are peeking out but don't tell him. Also it was warm enough for bare feet here yesterday and I am sorry if it is cold where you are still).

With the arrival of spring, my quilting mojo is back and I am ready to work on a zillion projects at one time! I should be able to catch up with the Stars in a Time Warp blocks by tomorrow and will post those soon.

 We went for a walk yesterday and saw these blooming trees peeking out over a fence. 

 I opened a couple of windows to air out the house and the cats all crowded in to see what was going on outside.  (Rather unflattering view of Edgar and Stella looks like they need some running around the house time).

If Spring hasn't found you yet, I hope it does soon!

Post Edit:  I just discovered that I haven't been receiving all your comments via my email.  Deepest apologies if I haven't responded to your comments!!!!!!  I appreciate each and every comment. Thank you!!!! I hope I fixed the problem and will keep an eye out.