Cat's Tip of the Day!..."Why I sew with AURIFIL thread."

 Hey quilter's....hope your week is going well. Yesterday I had a "little incident" that I alway's preach about..."don't sew over your needles." Oh my gosh...well if it happens, don't panic. I will admit this was the worse one yet & I've been sewing sense the age of 7. I was sewing the border to my latest "scrap trivet"....design coming soon :-)....and I heard this horrible "crunch" sound. First...I immediately counted all my fingers :-) then realized what I did :-( yes it happens! What I was amazed with is how my AURIFIL thread did not break! Honestly, words can't express how I'm in love with this thread. Every project that I've used with 50# AURIFIL thread has turned out amazing. I've used this thread from hand mending (previous post) to my Stain Glass Windows for the Frankston Depot Library & Museum (previous post). I had to take a quick pick of how the needle was still attached to the thread to show that my thread didn't break. Then had to laugh at myself when I noticed how bad I had sewn over the plastic top of my needle (hence the crunch noise). First for me...normally it's me just sewing over the actual needle :-) Oh yes....I do use "SCHMETZ" needles. My needle didn't break either but I did change out to another needle just to be safe. Anyway, hope this doesn't happen to you but if it does...don't panic :-)

NOTE: To really prevent this from happening you should pin your needle facing out...not in (pic one)...especially pinning on back side like I do quite a bit....there's a reason why you see those bright colored tips on needles :-) :-) :-)

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

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Cat's Tip of the Day! "What's in your Scrap Basket?"

 Hey quilter's.....I hope your weekend is off to a great start. I'm enjoying a calm morning. I will admit that "I will never wish I had a "breeze" again." I'm totally find now with my "Florida quilting rm" aka "sauna" :-) The storms lately sure made me be thankful! I wanted to share my "scrap basket" with you on how I "organize my fabric scraps & AURIFIL threads." This inexpensive tip is so useful especially if you need to go back & repair an item. :-( I purchased the plastic ziplock bags & write on the Fabric brand & thread hues with a permanent marker. I know certain machines have an "automatic thread cutter" but some domestic machines don't so you end up cutting away threads. You'll be surprised of how much thread you will accumulate even just trimming away threads from projects.  Don't know about you but throwing away threads kills me. You'll see why this "tip" of saving your AURIFIL threads is especially important real soon! :-) Hope you enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Quilt Series...Scrapin' w/ Cat "Sea Turtle Trivet"

 Hey quilter's...hope all is going well. Calm morning here in Florida but prayer's still go out to everone going through the storm or recovering. I learned not to take any "tropical storm" lightly. Well....I hope everyone has their "scraps" ready??? :-) If not....maybe this fun & cute "Sea Turtle Trivet" will inspire you. I will admit, had a blast with this tiny little project....the color hues of AURIFIL threads & my scraps of Hoffman Batiks really inspired me for this design. Again, it's not fancy, just fun. When I finished appliqueing the "sea turtles," I had to laugh. One of my turtles looks liked he "ate" more then the others. Oh well...as I love to say "being imperfect is perfect," for me anyway :-) The AURIFIL thread hues mimick the waters as they go from light to dark along the sand. The light fabric for the sand is just a scrap piece of "muslin." If you're like me you have tons and what a great way to use it for a "Coastal" design. Finished out roughly is 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 depending on how you do the borders. I love trivets for myself or especially giving as a gift. Using insulbright it allows you to place a hot or cold dish on to protect your table surface. Plus it's a "functional decor", win win!The trivet can be easily enlarged by adding on more border strips. One reason why I do the "log cabin" methof of piecing borders. Sometimes the design "speaks to you" while sewing/piecing and this methold allows you to add on if needed. Sometimes it just looks like it was designed that way :-) Anyway...hope you enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Here's all you need...

Scrap Batiks "Hoffman Fabrics"

AURIL thread 50# numbersin order as shown.. 2710, 4093, 4663, 1126, 2780

Lightweight tear-away stabilizer

Lightweight batting

Heat n Bond Lite

Insulbright

Here's all you do...

*Rotary cut your muslin, backing, light weight tear away stabilizer, batting & Insulbright all to 71/2 x 7 1/2

*Place your light weight stabilizer to wrong side of muslin (funny here cause I seriously can't tell the difference)...one reason why I love batiks :-) Secure in place with a quilting pin at top if desiered. Set your machine to your desired stitch & width & start "making waves" with your AURIFIL threads. Your stabilizer will make your stitches so pretty & secure and I used my pressure foot as a guide for my width between stitches. Do the same if you wish. 

Next I used a scrap Batik to make the corner wedge by sewing wrong sides together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance....finger press back and trim away extra fabric the square up! You can do this method or just continue accenting the dark waves with your AURIFIL thread.

Now fuse Heat n Bond lite to wrong side of batiks (following maufactorer's directions)...cut out and place on front of trivet as desired. I like to "audition" my design first before fusing just incase I need to add or delete anything. 

 Applique around turtles with your coordinating AURIFIL thread as desired. 

Border...Rotary cut strip1 1/2 x 7 1/2 using "log cabin method) with right sides together, sew to bottom of block, press open & square up.

Left side...rotary cut 1/2 x 8 1/2, sew with right sides together, press open & square up. 

Top...rotary cut 1 1/2 x 8 1/2  & do same method as above.

Right side...Rotary cut 1 1/2 x 9 1/4 & do same method as above.

Tip...you can at this time enlarge your trivet if desired but just remember your batting, insul bright & back fabric need to be adjusted to your desired trivet size. 

Now layer block then batting, insulbright & batting together. 

Your "Border strips" will now become your binding  when you fold your strips to back side of fabric (again using log cabin method) I did a 1/4" fold which allowed me to use a decorative stitch around the edges, catching front and back seams while sewing. Do the same if you wish. 

Tip...if you are a beginner to sewing borders this way, you can cut your strips a bit "wider" ex 2" width to allow a larger "fold" and sewing might be a bit easier for you. 

This method is easier for me anyway when piecing a binding strip on small projects. 

Tip: I did not "tear away" my stabilizer after appliqueing. I liked how it made the trivet a bit extra sturdy. Do the same as you wish.

That's it...you now have a sweet gift to give or keep for yourself & your "scrap pile" might be a little smaller ??? :-)

More designs coming soon :-)

QUILT SERIES..."Scrapin' w/Cat"...

 Hey quilter's....hope all is well. My prayer's go out for everyone during these horrible storms. Not much sleep last night but no damage so not gonna gripe! I'm starting a new quilting series..."Scrapin' w/Cat." These designs came about through our "being stranded" last year and being forced to use what you have due to several stores temporarily closed and also being safe and not shopping. It also made me realize how much "scrap fabric" I have and need to use. I'm not a "fabric horder" but I do have a "healthy scrap stash" or what I like to call my "little pretties." Oh and while I'm being honest, I mind as well share the truth of how I named my scraps "little pretties." Yes...I was sorting my scraps and for some "odd reason" my voice went into "the wizard of OZ witch" when I was saying "come here my little pretties." I know creepy....but it goes without saying....I have never seen a "ugly...weird....piece of scrap fabric." To me...all fabrics are beautiful....the thought process that goes behind every pattern design is amazing! Anyway, throughout this series you'll see "1 Design...SEW Many Ways" & "1 Pillow...SEW Many Ways!" Pattern designs from Country to Coastal to Christmas! You'll learn fun easy techniques, space-saving tips & great gift ideas plus doing the new trend of quilting art enhanced with Aurifil thread. All using your scraps! Of course I'm not gonna judge if you go buy some new fabric :-) But do try and get creative with your scraps. It's been challenging but I'm pleased of what I've accompolished so far! 

So grab your scraps & AURIFIL thread & let's have some fun 2gether!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's...cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

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Fabric Stash humor....love this but we can do this 2gether :-)

"Cat's Tip of the Day!" Quilting Tiny Life-saver!

 Hey quilter's...hope all are doing well....preparing for storm here! I've been sharing posts lately  with designs that are "tiny" for me anyway. My back limits my sewing and quilting time but it does make you get a bit more creative on how you do things. I've also "downsized" my quilting/sewing room. Double wammy! But have to say coming across this padded pressing board by June Tailor has made things a lot easier. Not only is it a great pressing board but as you can see below it's also a great "mini design board." The size is 18 x 25 and it fits perfectly on my old sewing machine stand that I use beside my main sewing desk. Very convenient when needed to press a seam while piecing as well. Sometimes these little time-savers are so wonderful while piecing. Oh and can I say....it's wonderful when you are "auditioning your fabric and Aurifil threads! You'll be seeing this week on which thread won the battle with my upcoming Summer Series ;-) As long as we don't get blown away! Lord give me strength 'cause I'm the biggest wimp when it comes to "storms." Hope this tip is useful :-)

Blessings from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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"Cat's Tip of the Day!"

 Hey quilter's....hope all is going well. Here's a "funny tip" if you"re traveling this Holiday weekend or anytime actually. Sometimes you just need to laugh as I always say! Have a Safe & Happy July 4th weekend!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Series..."1 Pillow...Sew Many Ways!"

 Hey quilter's....hope all is well. Today is the beginning of my series "1 Pillow...Sew Many Ways!" I'm excited about sharing this with you these fun tips & techniques. Throughout this series you'll learn time saving tips & techniques. The most exciting tip for me to share is that you"ll be using "1 pillow." Yes! If you have limited space like me or just like to change out your decor then this is definately for you! This idea started a while back when I was making pillows for my grandson and my daughter had limited storage space.  I fully understand now that I've recently down sized. When you love to decorate for the holiday's but have limited space it does limit you a bit. So throughout this series, I'll be sharing some fun designs for special occassions and holiday's. I'll be sharing designs using my "scraps" & some "quilting art" designs as well. You can use a pillow you already have due to my designs are all using the "envelope wrap" or pillow slip design. Few recent designs below include a "Bunny Tree Farm" for a Easter gift for my daughter. The 2nd design is how I used Davin's "Grinch Pillow" (in earlier post) & turned the same pillow into a "Basketball theme" cover for him to use all year. The other is a gift for a sweet friend and I did a "Easter design" then incorporated a monogram wreathe to use all year. All designs are using the same pillow. A gift that keeps on giving! I hope you enjoy and keep following along for upcoming designs from Country to Coastal to Christmas!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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Just a few recent designs below :-)

Designs appliqued with Aurifil thread & scraps are from Hoffman Fabrics. Endless Possibilities!