Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long...Phase 7 w/ Clue #8

Hey quilters...Happy Tuesday! I'm excited to share phase #7 with y'all. In this phase you'll be making 21 of the same block design and this completes all your blocks for the design. This also means the big "reveal" is coming soon. I loved designing this quilt in EQ8. The software is sew fun and I was able to bring my vision of my fun..family summer beach trips. Wait was that the clue? In this phase you'll be making the same block with the light fabric hues with the 4 patch that consists of another light accent fabric and white squares. These blocks resemble the sand at the beach before the water rushes over. I love how when the waves of the water darkens the sand as the shore comes in. Mother nature is amazing and beach days with the family are some of my fun special memories. Once you have completed all 21 blocks..sewn in the same manner as previous blocks then you set them aside. Soon I'll be sharing the big reveal of "LIVE...LOVE...FLIP FLOPS" for you to lay your blocks before you make your flip flops. Wait...was that the clue? Yes it was :-) I shared in the previous post of how important pressing your seams and in this phase sewing your seams in opposite directions. This helps for your seams to nest together nicely and lay flat for your "a-play-que" stage of flip flops. You'll be doin that fun phase real soon using the Accuquilt GO! Summer Medley Die. The pic below also shows how versatile the simple 4 patch design can be. If you change your mind before you sew all your finished a-play-qued blocks together it's no biggie...The direction of the accent 4 patch gives you that opportonity. Trust me it works..I flipped 2 of my flip flop blocks and keeping in mind the 4 patch direction all was perfect. I try to think of things that might occur when I'm designing in EQ8. You're getting cloeser so check back real soon! Oh before the big reveal I do have an exciting post tomorrow with a "free pattern" from Missouri Star Quilt Company. I'll share all the info on that tomorrow. Talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

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Phase 7...

Tip...how versatile the design can be for you to personalise as you desire...

Here's all you do....make 21 of the same block per pic below following the same sewing methods in previous phases. Please not the direction of the fabrics in the accent 4 patch squares. 

Once completed all blocks...set aside for the big reveal :-)

Talk soon,

Cat

Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long... Tip of the day!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all had a great weekend. I had a weekend of getting projects caught up...or I tried anyway. Needless to say some of those projects are on my "to-do list" for this week. Well todays tip is prepping you for our next phase of the "Mystery Scrap-a-long." I love to iron...I know probably sounds weird but I do find it relaxing. When I first learned to quilt..Oma told me that pressing fabric and matching seams was the key to even a simple block. As y'all know by now this quilt design features the fun and easy 4 patch block. I've always loved this block plus it's one of the first blocks that I learned many moons ago. The 4 patch block is a classic and so versatile. I also love 'strip piecing" which was featured in the earlier phases. Strip piecing is a fast technique which allows you to then "subcut" your strips for a fast 4 patch block. But...pressing your seams in opposite directions and having them lay flat is the key for your next phase. Hmm...maybe I should give you a 'hont." In the next phase you'll be making "21" of the same block. Trust me the "strip piecing" tecnique will be your friend. :-) Remember when we do "scrap-a-longs" 2gether I'm not that far ahead of you. I always stay a bit ahead so I can catch any tips and techniques to share. As you can see in the pic below that I'm using my Oliso iron. My late mom-in-law gifted it to me for my birthday and I love it. They even have a 'mini" iron that's been on my bucket list. Whatever you use just remember to Press your seams...not iron. When you iron your using a bit more force which could distort the fabrics. Well...this tip is also very important for a soon to be fun phase.:-) Remember you're getting closer to the big reveal! Also I have a fun suprise that I'll be sharing with you from Missouri Star Quilt Company... Wednesday on my Instagram Page. So Please follow me on Instagram and Missouri Star Quilt Company so you can qualify. :-) I thank y'all so much for following and talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Pressing is the key to success...

Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long...Phase 6...Clue #7

 Hey quilters...It's finally Friday! I love this day...it gives me the chance to reflect on what I've accomplished and or what I still need to do. First I'd like to say "thank you: for following. I always look at my stats to see what countries are following and last month was exciting. I love designing and sewing being creative. Sharing my love with y'all brings me joy so I hope y'all are having as much fun as I am with this "mystery" scrap-a-long. I love Phase 6 becasue it features "clue #7" and it's a huge part of the design. In this phase you will be making 7 of the same block and eventually once all blocks are made you will be making 3 flip flops. Yes that was clue #7 :-) I will be sharing soon of how the blocks all come together. Lets just say for now you are getting extremely close. Remember your blocks are all rotary cut the same and pieced but not the fabric placement of the Light medium fabrics and the Light fabric squares along with the 4 patch square. I'm having a blast with this mystery scrap-a-long and I thank y'all so much for following along on this journey with me. Talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Phase 6...clue #7...

Phase 6 Block...

Here's all you do...

* Make 7 blocks all the same as above pic. Alternating with Light medium fabric square in upper leeft and Light fabric in lower right. Your 4 patch is pieced the same with light hues of fabrics but note the direction of the white squares. Sew in the same manner as previous blocks...press and set aside.

Tip...the four patch squres features light fabric scraps with white fabrics. The blocks are the same with the white squares in upper left and lower right of the 4 patch. This will show the direction once the blocks are sewn together. This is where I was able to use the shade variations of all the light fabrics that I had inherited. Hmm was that another hint :-)

Talk soon,

Cat

Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long...Phase 5 w/ clue #6

 Hey quilters...hope y'all are having a great week. mine has been exciting. I was able to pick up a quilt yesterday from the "longarmer" and it was stunning. Oh my gosh y'all...I love to quilt but if you can take a quilt and have it professionally quilted you will be amazed. The detail around the flowers was absolute perfection & the accent quilting was amazing! This is a gift so I can share much more detail than that...hmm..seems my life is full of "mystery's" :-) Well...I'm excited to share phase 5 with y'all plus a huge hint. You will make 6 blocks (pic below) using your "light medium" scraps along with your blue/white four patch block. Here's the hint....this is the last of the blue/white 4 patch squares and it creates a "water line." What? Yes...that's all you get besides "Clue #6." Yes...playing with my decorative stitches using Aurifil thread on my Brother machine is another one of my fav's. Any chance I can to use a decorative stitch and "a-play-que" on my Brother is a win for me. It gives me a chance to really get creative and have fun. The Accuquilt Summer Medley die is a blast and allows me to think out of my comfort zone while playing with different stitches on my machine. I will say if you're trying a new decorative stitch to do a sample first on a scrap piece of fabric. Just in case you need to make any slight adjustments. More detail to come on that tip :-) I really thank y'all so much for following along on my first but not last mystery scrap-a-long. Oh did I mention...you are getting closer :-) Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Phase 5..

Clue #6...

Fun a-play-que using Aurifil #2588, 4093

Phase 5 Block...

* Make 6 Blocks using medium scraps and blue/white fabric 4 patch. (note fabric direction of the medium squares and the blue/white 4 patch.

* Sew squares together in same manner as previous blocks.

Tip... Press seams in opposite directions as you go.

* Set aside

Check back soon for next phase,

Cat

Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long...Phase 4 w/ clue #5

 Hey quilters...hope you're having a great week. I've been organizing in my sewing room also know as "Spring Cleaning." I finally figured out why we have four seasons. It's so you start your cleaning in the "Spring" and you have the other 3 months to finish. Oh my gosh...can you relate? Seriously y'all...I'm still in my sewing room. But my hubby did drag out the old shop vac this week and vac under the fridge. I know don't ask...I think it might be a "man" thing so I don't ask. Has something to do with the "coils" and making a fridge last longer??? Hmmm...anyway, back to sewing ;-) Well, today's phase is another short and sweet step. You'll be rotary cutting and piecing all in the same manner as before but alternating the block with medium fabric hue and light/medium fabric hue. Upper left of block is the medium and lower right of block is your light/medium fabric hue along with your pieced 4 patch squares. This is why I'm breaking the Mystery into short phases for you to see how the staggering of your neutral fabrics takes place. Hmm..was that a clue? Oh here's another clue...you only make 5 of the same block.Well, pic below also shows Clue #5 of the adorable flip-flop that I a-play-qued with Aurifil 50 weight #2134. I had a blast playing with the decorative stitches on my Brother sewing machine. Remember after you make your 5 blocks in this phase set them aside for the next phase and more clues. You're probably wondering by now of how many more blocks you have to sew...right? Well, here's a hint...there are 49...7" blocks in total. Sew you're getting closer:-) Thanks so much for following and talk soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Clue #5...

Phase 4 make 5 blocks..square up to 7 1/2" for a finished 7" Block (note themedium fabric is upper left corner and light/medium is lower right corner.) and direction of the 4 patch. 

(only make 5 of this block) set aside when finished :-)

Set blocks aside once finished.

Talk soon,

Cat

Cats Mystery Scrap-a-long... Phase 3

 Hey quilters...hope all is well and the weather is being kind. This is that crazy time of year of layering your clothes. It was even "cool-ish" this morning in Florida. Well..for me anyway :-) I'm exciting to share with y'all another one of my loves. I've featured my love for Accuquilt...Aurifil thread and now the Electric Quilt Company "EQ8". I've been designing in the quilt software for many years. Not only is it fun and has unlimited design options but it's super easy to learn. I've baby stepped my way from the Wizard to EQ6...EQ7 & now EQ8. They offer on line classes to learn their software or follow along with the tutorials within the software. When I was designing homes i always had an assistant. So I guess you can say now EQ8 is my assistant because it always walks me through the process. Plus you can call them for assistance. Love that customer service! When I was designing this "Mystery" scrap-a-long the designs we're perfect in my head...it was just learning how to create it in EQ8. I loved the flip flop block that is featured in Season Summer under Contemporary Applique of EQ8. But my quilters brain wanted to have fun with the design. So, "Clue #4" shows how I did a little "flip-flopping" in EQ8 :-) It's amazing how fun & easy it is to design and create in EQ8. Today's Phase feautres the same block technique as in previous phase but you'll be using your "medium" fabric hues. You'll create 4 blocks that are the same using the same fast patch technique. Clue #4 features Lumin Fabrics and I used Aurifil 50 weight # 2235 around the flip flop and pieced with Aurifil #2026.This is a short fun phase so check back soon for the next. I thank y'all so much for following along with me on my first Mystery Scrap-a-long. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Phase 3...

Phase 3 Block... (make 4...set aside)

Clue #4...

Block in EQ8 Season Summer...Contemporary Applique...

 

Celebrate Earth Day w/ 100% Re-Gift-able Bags!

 Hey quilters...happy weekend to everyone! I wanted to share a quick fun project with y'all. Next week is we celebrate Earth Day and one way that I like to do is make my own gift bags. This all started a few years ago when my sweet Grandson Davin was cleaning up after all of the unwrapping of Christmas presents. He is a huge believer in recycling. He looked at me and said "Gege this is crazy...you could make gift bags." Hmm...it really made me think....I have scraps...I love to make bags so it's a win. Plus you are really gifting a bag that is super special because you made it. Well, due to my grandson my bag making era began! I design bags for all seasons and they are all 100% Re-gift-able! It's really a gift that keeps on giving. Nobody would want to throw away a bag you made and it also gives them the opportunity to re-gift. I also took his concept to another level a few months ago. I wanted to make something special for a quilter friend that invited me on her "blog hop" feauturing her new collection of Berry Crush for Lumin Fabrics. I'm not a fancy quilter but I'm always willing to try some fun quilting methods. A gift bag was perfect due to the small scale. Plus it gives me the opportunity to use my favorite thread. You can see in pick below that I used Aurifil 50 weight #2582 & my mini peel template from Missouri Star Quilt company to trace and make a graph design before quilting. I stitched around the design several times to really enhance the spiral affect. The back of the bag is basically sewing scrap pieces of Berry Crush at random until I achieved the desired size I wanted. Then did basic accent quilting on my Brother sewing machine using the 1/4" foot attachment. You can use this concept to practice a block that you've been wanting to try and make the bag size to your personal needs. You can view any of my previous posts on bag making for tips. They are super easy...a great way to get creative and recycle! Hope you enjoy and talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

100% Re-gift-able Bags!...