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!

My Favorite Season

Happy Fall Y'all!!

I can't believe that October is right around the corner.  This summer just went zipping by in a flurry of festivals, fiestas, hikes, walks, busy work, sunshine, sleepy cats, good books, and who knows what else.  I am behind in all things email and blog posts and blog comments. Maybe I'll catch up when winter arrives?

There has been some sewing here and there.  (I made curtains!)

I have jumped into the Another Year of Schnibbles & a Little Bit More  (AYOS&ALBM) group for this year and have the top completed with time to spare (woo hoo!)

September's AYOS&ALBM quilt pattern is Whit by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. Instead of using the little 2 1/2" mini charm packs,  I used a single 5" charm pack from my stash--an older autumn line by Deb Strain, which I now have forgotten the name of, and Moda Bella solid in Off-White.

I chose the Dutchman's Puzzle layout for the quilt and loved making these cutemous tiny flying geese in happy fall colors and patterns.

The blocks are 4" finished.  Fun-sized.

 Voila!  Tiny quilt top is done (it's 22" square). I need to dig through my stash for some autumnal backing and binding.

 I see a potential photo bomb about to happen.

It's Remy!! Of course.

Rainy Day Progress

The storm that blew through Santa Fe found it's way to Georgia yesterday and we had a dreary, cold, rainy day.  It was my day off so I stayed in, sewed, and watched Doctor Who.

I decided to work on a quilt I started back in March.  The blocks were done but it needed to be sewn into rows.  The pattern is "Lincoln" from Miss Rosie's book Another Bite of Schnibbles and I'm using Fig Tree's Avalon line.  I need to dig around and find the inner border and rest of the border strips.

I also cut out an entire quilt and started working on another UFO.  Yes, I really enjoyed my day off. It was like a little mini quilt retreat.

In house selling news, I have a contract on the house.  I am optimistic but it's not done until it's done and the keys are turned over so I won't be celebrating until I'm on my way west.  Let's hope it all works out and the closing is set for the beginning of January.

I need to have Mr. SBQ (I'm sure he loooooooves his new name ;) take more photos of the cats for their fans out there in blogland.

Here is a great one of Gomez, Edgar and Stella trying to adjust to the cold sleeping.  This photo shows how looooooong Edgar's whiskers are.

And here is Remy in his box.  Yes, this box traveled all the way from Georgia when we moved because it was his favorite.  You can tell from all the bite marks that this is a multi-purpose sleeping-biting-playing box. He has a little blue blanket and a bunch of toys in there too.  The box is near to the wall heater in the bedroom and according to Mr. SBQ, this is Remy's favorite spot.

Spring Brings...

Thoughts of new quilt projects.

Oh, I should be working on projects that are already in progress on my sewing table,

or

the UFOs scattered around, in boxes, and in piles

or

spring cleaning

or

a thousand other things,

but

the sun was shining,

and

Joanna of Fig Tree & Co. has a new line of fabric

and

a new project jumped out

and

couldn't be resisted.

That's my long run-on sentence and I'm sticking to it.

September's Schnibble: Speck

Stella photobombs just about every quilt photo session around here.  But that's OK 'cause she's pretty cute. 

I finished up the top for this month's Another Year of Schnibbles this afternoon.  This was a fun and immensely cutemous quilt to make.  The pattern is "Speck" from Miss Rosie's new line of "Little Bites" patterns made from 2 1/2" squares.  

I used a bundle of scraps that I won eons ago from Cloud 9 fabrics.  This is an older collection called "Forest Friends" and it's their organic cotton flannel.   I have enough left over to make a scrappy back and binding.   The sashing and borders are a regular cotton solid (Moda Bella or Kona--don't know which. I usually try to write on the edge of solids the manufacturer and color but forgot to on this piece.)  Can't wait for the parade this month. I've seen some adorable versions around the internets. Hope everyone is enjoying the last few days of September.  

Another Quilt Finish--Eventide

the only place big enough to photograph this quilt is outside on my fence!

detail--I used the same plum solid for the binding. 

It has been too hot (everywhere) to do much of anything so S. and I have watched an unusual amount of DVDs lately (we finished both seasons of "Game of Thrones" in record time).

So I sewed lots of binding. Finishing both Morph's quilt and "Eventide".

I didn't realize it was only last year when Thelma had her quilt along.  Good thing I have a blog to go back and check these things.

I just love this quilt and wish it were cold enough to snuggle under it.  Maybe in October...

The fabric is a Fig Tree line called "Fig and Plum."  The pattern is by Miss Rosie.  I adore this quilt with all its soft yumminess.  My long-arm quilter did a great all over feather design (click the photos to enlarge).  Joanna's new fall line called Tapestry has a similar deep plum color.  I just *may* have to add this to my "gotta have" list.

This quilt is definitely one of my favorites. But don't just take my word for it; this quilt is also Edgar Poe approved.

King of the Quilts 

An Unlikely Schnibble

I finished the April Schnibble "Summer Day" for the Another Year of Schnibbles parade with just a day to spare.

There were a lot of little pieces in this one.

And one Edgar Poe in the top left of this photo (not included in the pattern).

This is a very unlikely quilt for me to make for 2 reasons (hence the title of this post).

1.  I do not like flying geese.  I do not like them in the rain. I do not like them on a train. I do not like them on a boat. I do not like them with a goat.*  There are a lot of flying geese in this Schnibble.  About 1,672 I think.  Maybe a few less.

2.  As my mom said when I bought the charm packs in Michigan, "That fabric doesn't look like you at all."  This fabric is not what I usually would pick but I was branching out and liked the blue, gray, and red in this line.  A little bit too much pink but oh well.  The line is "It's a Hoot" by Momo for Moda.

But here it is, an unlikely Schnibble and I like it.  The directions were perfect and it was fun to make.  Thanks Carrie for another great quilt!!


* with apologies and all due respect to Dr. Seuss for not-quite-from-the-book lines based on Green Eggs and Ham.

March Schnibbles Quilt

My Bibelot T is for Thelma Schnibbles quilt is done with time to spare before the end of the month.  This was a very fun quilt to make and the directions were just perfect.  The fabric is "Nine Dots" by Carrie Nelson (otherwise known as Miss Rosie's staff)   I was lucky enough to win a set of this fabric and the latest Schnibbles patterns last year from Carrie herself.  Thank you again Carrie (and Miss Rosie)!!!!!

This is such a cheery spring quilt; it just makes me smile.








The weekend has just flown by like a puff of pollen on the wind.  I need another weekend day please.

I better get my chores done before the new season of Mad Men starts. I have been waiting F-O-R-E-V-E-R for it to come back on TV.

Gomez thinks it's been F-O-R-E-V-E-R since he was featured on my blog.  Ever since that little imp Remy came along equal blog time has not been upheld.  So here is darling Gomez in the sunshine today.

Winning (not Charlie Sheen related) and Hermiting

I was so extremely lucky to win two more great giveaway prizes recently.  Look at this fantabulous win from Miss Rosie & Carrie as a prize from the Le Petite August finishes.

I am soooo excited to have a Schibble project bag and more Schnibble patterns (these are Carrie's brand-new ones)and generous chunks (is that a new precut size?) of Carrie's new fabric line.








It is YUMMMMMMMY!!

Carrie wrote a sweet note too.  She is just the sweetest and I know she is always super busy so I'm even more touched that she took the time to write a cute note.


I can't wait to dive into this fabric and more Schnibble-y fun.

Big THANK YOU to Carrie and Miss Rosie and Sinta and Sherri!!!

From the wonderful folks at Cloud 9 fabrics, I won some big chunks and scraps of their Forest Friends Flannel.  

Cloud 9 makes wonderful organic cotton fabrics and we are all about organic here at Stella Bella Quilts. I am very excited to be able to make a little organic project from this fabric. 

Not to mention the OWLS!  Very owl-some retro owls. 







And bunnies!!  And polka-dots.


Doesn't this make you want to run out and get some?



I've been a bit of a hermit lately and even missed my Silver Thimbles sewing group last weekend.  I knew I wouldn't be very good company and just wanted to hermit at home.  Does anyone else ever do this?
I was still trying to adapt to the loss of Morpheus and feeling really sad. 

I also was finally relieved to be over and done with all the house repairs from the May 13th fire (FOUR months and TWO days after the fire). The last tiny itty bitty bit of repairs was a never-ending, drawn-out, annoying saga of bad subcontractors, which I spared y'all from.  I finally just told the general contractor that I was done with it all and I would finish it up myself. Poof begone with that!  The lesson I learned was to be my own general contractor (as I did for 95% of the repair work the beginning of the summer) and not rely on anyone my insurance company recommended (go figure).

I was also dealing with getting used to working two jobs again.  I already miss my Friday night through Sunday night weekends...

Well I feel bad not seeing my friends and I feel bad for not replying to all the emails and comments the past month but I really needed some alone-time.  I think I am back now and will be more social. Love to y'all.

Saturday: More Catching Up, Le Petite for April, Worthy Cause

OK I am all caught up on sleep after traveling, storm watch, general insomnia, and a too busy partial week at work. Whew!  Hopefully life is back to its normal hecticness. 

I don't like to advocate for causes in this blog because that's not what you readers are here for so skip down to quilt photo if you want.

First up, now that the Royal Wedding is over with, please consider refocusing your attention to the storm victims in the Southeast.  The devastation is horrific and residents need help.  I humbly ask you to do what you can for the organization of your choosing and thank you for anything you do good thoughts, prayers, donations, quilts, whatever. Thank you.

There are too many worthy causes in this world and I am often overwhelmed by the great need out there and feel helpless with the inadequacy of my "discretionary" income each month (or lack thereof). But when I think that I have an extra $5, $10, or $20 when others do not, I know that every little bit helps.  My choice:  I follow @HomerBlindCat on Twitter.  Homer is the blind wonder-cat from the book Homer's Odyssey who has captured my heart.  Homer's mom and author Gwen Cooper has set up a donation account for Canat Veterinary Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.  Read the blog post here. 
Many vet clinics and animal shelters in Alabama were damaged by the tornadoes and the heroic staff of Canat Veterinary Hospital is taking care of any and all animals hurt or lost by the storm. Donation page is here if you so choose.

OK onto Le Petite project for April. 

 I took my Le Petite project for April to Michigan with me and was able to complete it there during a couple of sewing days with my mom and SIL.  The pattern is a Schnibbles called Brocante by Miss Rosie and the fabric is Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  (I used leftover charm squares to make Mackenzie 2 bibs.)   The background fabric is from my mom's stash because I forgot to bring background fabric.  Thanks mom and I owe you some fabric!

The square-in-a-square pattern is more subtle in my version of Brocante. I'll be interested to see the other versions in the parade. 

 While I was gone my goodies from Fat Quarter Shop came.  I was so lucky to win a FQS gift certificate from the Eventide quilt along and here are the resulting goodies:  Fig Tree "Strawberry Fields" jelly roll, yardage of Christmas owls and sweet kitties on gray, and 2 patterns.  HUGE thanks to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies and Kimberly at FQS!!!

Another package arrived while I was gone. Thelma who did such a wonderful job hosting the Eventide quilt along, made and sent mug rugs to all the participants.  How sweet is that???!!!??? I will send Thelma a proper thank you but I just want to say a public thanks for such sweetness.  Thelma--Really, the fun of the quilt along was more than enough and I will cherish this cute mug rug as well as the resulting quilt from the quilt along. You are too kind!

 As frequent readers of this blog know, I love to help out the Michigan economy when I visit and save up my fabric acquisition money especially for the trip.   Here's some goodies from my favorite quilt shops in Michigan:  Lake Street Mercantile, Guildcrafters, and Mabelena.  These are for my Civil War Block of the Week (that I am now behind on...)

Eventide: Parade Time

Whew!  My entry in the parade almost didn't get posted because we lost electricity in my neighborhood for about 5 hours!!!  Right when I was going to post this photo!!!

So here it is..quick before the electricity goes out again.

Edited (on 4/6/11) to add:  Sorry for the hasty post.  It really was a miracle that I got this posted on Monday night.  We had horrible storms in GA and sadly 6 people lost their lives in the weather.  Along with countless trees (including one somewhere in my neighborhood that caused our power outage before the storm even hit). 

I do want to say a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies for organizing and maintaining this quilt along.  It was so fun and supportive and I loved seeing everyone's progress on Tuesdays.  Tuesdays just won't be the same (until the next one??? hee hee). Thank you also for everyone who visited and commented during the quilt along.  Another reason why Tuesdays were so much fun--all the comments!

This is a big quilt and outside was the only place I had that was big enough to get a photo.  Really.  There isn't this much floor space in my little house.  I ordered some Moda wide backing and can't wait to get this to a long-arm quilter so I can use it this spring.  

Thanks again everyone!  To those who have asked the fabric line is Moda Fig & Plum, a line a few years ago from Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts.   I love Fig Tree fabric and I bet any of her lines would make a stunning quilt. Thank you Joanna for always designing beautiful fabric.  And a big thanks to Carrie of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. for always designing unique and challenging patterns.  Lots of pieces, but definitely worth it:)