Cats Tip of the Day..."Cuteness x 5 or 10"

 Hey quilters....hope y'all are having a great weekend. I did a little playing on my new Accuquilt Summer Medley GO! die and couldn't wait to share with you. I have leftover 5" precuts and always wondered what to do with them besides piecing into a patch design. Well....I measured those super cute flip flops on the die and came up with a great stash buster. I'm sharing this tip with y'all now due to the die is on sale this month at Accuquilt. Plus...it's a "sneak peek" of a summer scrap-a-long :-) So here's a hint....each 5" square will make a set of flip flops...then for the strap you can actually get 2 sets if you subcut the 5" square into 4 squares. I used HeatnBond lite double sided fusible following manufacturer's directions. Then y'all know my "quilters brain"...I thought subcut your 10" precuts into four 5" squares and really have fun! I'll be sharing a design soon but wanted y'all to catch the sale at Accuquilt in the meantime. Thanks so much for following and check back soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Cuteness on the Accuquilt GO!...

Cats Spring Cleaning Tip..."Accuquilt Inspiration"

 Hey quilters...hope y'all are having a great week. I'm "organizing" my sewing and quilting room in between sewing my blocks for the "ABC Scrap-a-long." My "quilt brain" is constantly multi-tasking." Anyone else? :-) My brain constantly sees inspiration. It doesn't matter where I am. I see patterns & colors for my next sewing project. This came in handy designing homes and especially now with quilt designing. Plus I'm a bit O.C.D as I like to say "Only Cat Does." But my dear dad always said "organization is the key to success." I live by those words to this day. I love to be organized. I have neighbors that stop by for an item and it's so nice to find it right away. Trust me...there have been times when I say "come back later and I'll have it for you" :-) Well...if you're like me...I need inspiration too and spring cleaning started in my sewing/quilting room. Y'all know by now how much I love Accuquilt dies. I recently purchased some during the March madneess sale that I'll be incorporating into my Children's Learning quilts. Well, as you can see in pic below they are displayed on an antique chest for inspiration. I use my old iron collection to help prop the dies together as book ends. My dies are out for inspiration...organized and ready to "Go!" My sewing room is not large....it's my spare bedroom. But you don't need a large space...it's all about organizing your space to your personal needs. I'll be sharing more inspirational organizing tips and progress on my ABC Scrap-a-long soon. I thank y'all so much for following and hope these tips inspire your spring cleaning. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Accuquilt Spring Cleaning/Inspiration....

Cats Coastal Coasters...On the GO!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all had a great sewing weekend. I made some fun & fast Coastal coasters for gifts using my Accuquilt Go! die cutting machine. I love how perfect every items it cut and it's a great time saver too. I recently purchased the Nautical Medley GO! die and couldn't wait to use it! The die inspired me to make some fast Coastal coasters for our sweet friends. I personalized each set using the Go! Classic Alphabet 2" die to add that personal touch. I used my scraps from Lumin Fabrics and personalized to their decor. The coasters are 5" each which is great for a mug/mat size and Insul-Bright was used for hot/cold items. You have the advanced option of a-play-queing around the items or use a permanent washable fabric glue. The fast border/binding technique makes this project super easy & another great way to use scraps. My friends are leaving soon so I needed a great fast "thank you" gift. I love how Accuquilt dies inspires creativity and makes sewing/crafting fun! Thank y'all so much for following and check back soon for more fun projects. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Coastal Coasters...

Here's all you need...

* Accuquilt Go! Nautical Medley die & GO! Classic 2" Alphabet die

* Lumin scraps

* Faux leather fabric

* Aurifil 50# 2235

* Heatnbond Lite

* Insul-Bright

* Basic sewing tools

* Brother sewing machine :-)

Here's all you do...

(per each coaster)

Prepare your fabric per manufacturer's directions on the Accuquilt GO! die

* Rotary cut 2 scraps of blue background fabric 4 3/4 x 4 3/4

* Rotary cut 2 strips 1 1/2 x 5 of border fabric and sew with right sides 2gether using a 1/4" seam allowance to Top/bottom of front square.

* Press & square up.

* Rotary cut 2 strips 1 1/2 x 7 in same method to left/right side of square.

* Press & square up.

Note...this is a great time to a-play-que around decorative items if desired. Play with your decorative stitches on your machine. :-)

Border/Binding...

* Starting at top...fold back border to back leaving a 1/4 binding on front.

* Fold in half again on back to secure hem.

* Pin or clip to secure & top stith on front.

* I did the stitch in the ditch method with Aurifil thread.

* Repeat same method w/ bottom border...then left/right sides.

* Secure your decorative items on front of coaster if you haven't already done.

Tip...I used washable permanent fabric glue due to my time frame. This is a great fast project to really have fun and get creative. 

Talk soon,

Cat

"ABC Scrap-a-long"...Project Progress & Spring Cleaning Tip!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all have great plans that include a weekend full of sewing and quilting. I've been trying to "multi task" lately....sewing and spring cleaning.I decided to start in my sewing room then possibly the rest of the house by fall. :-) I'm a pretty organized person but this is the time when I  like to donate items that have not been used in a while to other fellow quilters. I"m thrilled that my daughter is sewing and quilting again so I'm having fun making her a "pile" as well. Sometimes you don't realize of how many items you need when you first get the "quilting bug." I have learned through out the years that certain items now are not needed for me anyway. I've even gone through my "ruler stash." Shocker! :-) I hope this spring cleaning idea inspires you to help a fellow quilter with items that you may not be using. I'll be sharing organizational tips soon with y'all that I have found to be helpful. Well....I am having a blast sewing with "Berry Crush" by Lumin Fabrics for the ABC Scrap-a-long. I am doing a very scrappy version of the design but the design is very versatile to create your own version. I posted below the pics of my progress and will admit that using the Accuquilt GO! die cutter for the letters saved me tons of time.I used to trace and cut my letters for my crafts and quilt design which is very time consuming. Now using the 2" Alphabet die makes my life sew much easier. Plus it's on sale! :-) I have recently purchased some fun dies that are on currently on sale for future scrap-a-longs. If you are a head of me with piecing your blocks together just remember to secure the letters by a-play-que or a straight stitch. The fusible web is great but securing the letters with a stitch is highly advised. I also do this before sewing the blocks together. Much easier :-) I'm taking my time but don't let me slow you down. You an always revert back to the original design posted and sew at your own speed. Just remember to always use a 1/4" seam allowance and press seams in opposite directions as you go along. This helps sew much when joining rows 2gether. I thank y'all sew much for following and have a great stitchin' weekend. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

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ABC Scrap-a-long progress...