Scrapin' w/Cat Quilt-a-long..."Cat's Cookie Cutter Christmas" (Phase 1)

 Hey quilter's....hope all is well and your week is off to a great start. As promised...my "Scrapin' w/Cat (me) Quilt-a-long is ready & I hope you are as well. It's hard to believe that it's mid September and that's when I start gearing up for Holiday gift giving. I love making "handmade" gifts & with this quilt-a-long you'll be using your scraps....stash....or what I love to say..."my little pretties" :-) If you're like me those little scrap pieces are just as beautiful as the "yardage" they're cut from. The inspiration came from my favorite time of year...making cookies & cinnamon toast with my Grandson using this "snowflake cookie cutter." My Quilt-a-long is designed for any stage....beginner to advanced. I will share easy or advanced techniques along the way & you can put your own spin on it. My design concept is "One design...Sew Many Ways from Country to Coastal to Christmas!" You can easily enlarge the design plus I'll be posting "mini" projects too!  I believe in "less stress quilting" so I hope you follow along. "Sew 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

Follow on Facebook, Pinterest & www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

Here's what you need to get started...

Scraps of your desired design

Snowflake Cookie Cutter ( I used Wilton)

Heatnbond lite

Aurifil thread :-)

*note....runner below is 14.5 x 49.5

Talk soon for "Phase 2"

"Country Cookie Cutter Christmas"

                                                   "Coastal Cookie Cutter Christmas"

                                                        "Cookie Cutter Christmas"

                                                                  "My Inspiration"

Scrapin' w/ Cat Quilt-a-long....gift 4 any occasion..."Scrapin' Coastal Fold-n-Go Tic-Tac-Toe!"

 Hey quilter's...hope y"alls week is going great. Today I'm a bit older...which I could say wiser :-) So today, I'm relaxing and starting off my "Scrapin' w/Cat Quilt-a-long." Easy & fun projects to use up our scrap stash. Although don't be shocked when your "stash pile" starts to grow. Oh my goodness....after designing some of these upcoming projects, I now have evern smaller pieces to use. I put them in a zip lock back 'cause I was afraid where they'd end up :-) "Sew grab your Scraps & Aurifil thread & lets have some fun 2gether!"

Below is a design that I did recently for my daughter's birthday. We all love going to the coast but sometimes it's hard with the wind and water to break out a game to play. We've alway's loved tic-tac-toe. Especially my grandson. I needed to come up with a unique fabric that wouldn't care if got wet plus wanted to use up my "scrap pieces." I came across this "dish mat" while shopping and thought..."that's it...plus it was the right color." I knew that it would need to be a "coastal design" and the blue mat was perfect. My family love's starfish and turtles so that was an easy choice for the x's & o's. My biggest challenge was the blocking of the squares. I went through my scraps and was going to do it from strips of fabric but them thought of the "rope" for a more coastal feel. You can easily use fabric strips to mark your squares or even "craft tape." Dish Mats come in all different sizes so just mark up your design and then decide on the size square for each X & O. I used "fabric glue" and pinned in place while I was designing the squares. I tied knots along the way to give more of the "coastal look "Thís was a bit time consuming but I'm please with how it turned out plus they loved it...win win! Again....craft tape would work great if you want to make it easier. I did the "starfish & turtle squares" just like my previous posts on "trivets." Use the same method but just adjust to your desired square size and design. I made 5 each just in case one got lost but do as many as you desire. I had so much fun using my scraps and making a fun & practical gift that I'm designing another one for Christmas. I love it when a gift comes together easy that inspires me to make more :-) 

This design is so practical...I used "sticky back tape" to hold the pieces in place while playing if the wind was blowing plus it keeps the squares in place for storage. Just fold-n-go!

Have fun with the design....change it up...makes a great gift for any Season...plus you're using your scraps! :-) Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

Follow on Facebook & Pinterest and www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

 

"Labor Day Weekend starts Quilting Season?"

 Hey quilter's....hope all is well & you're enjoying Labor Day Weekend. I saw a quilting humor post that really did make me laugh. It stated "Labor Day Weekend starts Quilting Season." If I waited to start my quilting projects "Labor Day Weekend," I'd never get anything finished. Especially now when I can only sit and sew a bit at a time. The old saying is true "have your ironing board" away from you so you do "have to" get up. Having back problems and sewing don't mix well but little tips like that one does help! Don't give up your passion just "rearrange" your sewing/quilting room to accomodate your needs. I'm going to try sewing at my cutting table this week. After all "longarm" quilter's mostly stand. Maybe theirs some significance to it...I'll let you know if it helps :-) Well....here's a little humor below that I especially love now that I'm on a "special diet." You just never know what the next day will bring so enjoy every moment you can. Stay following this week....I'll be posting some fun gifts & will start my "Stash Quilt-a-long" I've had a blast designing it and finishing it up this weekend. :-) Have a Great Labor Day!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

Follow on Facebook & Pinterest

also www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

COMING SOON..."Scrapin' w/Cat...Quilt-a-long!"

 Hey quilter's....hope your week is going well. I'm really excited to be sharing my Scrap Quilt-a-long soon.  Due to my 'downtime", I've been able to really focus on my quilting designs. Sometimes it takes a health issue to make you get back to what you love. My Scrap Quilt-a-long will showcase one of my favorite series...."1 Design...Sew Many Ways"....your "Scrap Fabric" enhances the design. My patterns will feature designs from "Country-Coastal-Christmas." The techniques will be from beginner to advanced along with "easy binding" to finish your projects. My advanced technique is sew fun & easy... it will drive you "Crazy!" That was a "hint" of what's too come :-) I believe in "no stress quilting" & "being imperfect is perfect" for me anyway! There's no "judging" in this quilt-a-long! Your creativity will shine through with your fabric stash choices. Endless Possibilities just in time for Christmas Gift-Giving!

SEW grab your Stash & Aurifil thread & Let's have some fun 2gether!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

Follow on Facebook & Pinterest 

& www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

Love this..."I Love Quilting"

 Hey quilter's....hope y'all had a great weekend. Seems like we just we're excited about the weekend. Time does "fly" & time is flying way too fast visiting with my grandson. Never enough time for this "Gege." Praying for everyone dealing with this crazy weather. This is the time of year when we never know what to expect. Anyway....I've been working on my "Stash...Quilt-a-long" that I'll be posting soon & some recent projects as well. I "believe" one especially y'all will love....it's a great gift for any occassion. In the meantime....I hope you like this quote below. During these crazy times I for one "vacate" to my sewing room. Although it's a bit "tiny" these day's it still brings me joy! Making gifts for other's makes this "Gege" happy. Have a great Monday!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

Follow on Facebook & Pinterest

& www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

"Easy Border/Binding Technique"

 Hey quilter's....hope your Saturday is off to a great start. I was "googling" Mrs. Bobbins recently & had to laugh at this one below. I loved watching Bob Ross, his creativity amazed me much less how he was alway's so calm while instructing. But...as a "quilter" this cracked me up! If you're not enter a quilt to be "judged" and want a "no fuss" binding technique please check out some of my previous post. They all have my easy Border/Binding technique. Basically you are following the "Log Cabin" method. You will be amazed of how easy this technique is and it's a great way to use up your scraps. Win...Win...in my quilting room! Please remember if you are using "scraps" to make your borders you might have a "stretch" in your fabric depending on how your scrap fabric was previously cut. If you're having a bit of difficulty just spray a little starch and then preceed on...in my "mind" having a bit of a stretch when doing borders works great....not so much stress and maybe that's why I love this technique. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

email q's cmhdesigns2@yahoo.com

Follow on Facebook & Pinterest

also....www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

Need a easy recipe to take to a Quilt function? My Rustic Chicken Pot Pie!

 Hey quilter's...hope your week is going well. I wanted to share my Rustic chicken pot pie recipe with y'all. I'm hoping "quilt gatherings....pot lucks etc." will happen more & this is a d'lish recipe...easy to do & freezes well. Don't let the pie crust intimidate you....trust me it's easy but everyone will compliment you! So pop on over to my cooking blog to see how fun & easy this recipe is. Enjoy!

View recipe on www.cookinganddecorwithcat.blogspot.com

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

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