The big reveal!

Finally, I can share the big, secret project I've been working on.

It's a quilt! It's a calendar! It'll be both! :)

Here are the 12 quilt blocks I made to illustrate the 2017 calendar that the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project is putting together to fundraise for the cats in our care.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

The Year of the Cat!!  Calendars will be $16 and we are taking pre-orders with payment due upon delivery. There's no delivery charge if we can hand deliver them, but if you live too far away, they can be mailed for $2, maybe a little more if there are several calendars.

Edited November 8, 2016:  According to Canada Post's website, the current postage for a single calendar will  be $3.25. That includes the tax they insist on adding to the posted rate. :)

TO ORDER:
Please just leave a comment on this post. Let us know if you'll need it to be mailed or if it's likely that it could be hand delivered (if you work with/are related to/friends with an LFCP committee member or if you live in Lyndhurst). The deadline for ordering is November 18, 2016. 

PAYMENT:
We can accept cash, cheques or e-transfers sent to stephanie.etherington103@gmail.com.

All funds go toward food, surgeries, vet care and shelter for Lyndhurst and area cats. Thank you for your support! 

Back to School!

Or, at least it will soon be time to start thinking about going back.

Yesterday, I had such a fun afternoon in my sewing room. I started playing with Hungry Cat Pencil Cases, and I lost all track of time. I'm making things to fundraise with for the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. We'll have a table at the annual Turkey Fair again this year. (September 17, 2016.) Before I knew it, I had 8 pencil cases all ready to go. They'll hold a lot of pencils 'cuz they're about 9 inches tall.

I was thinking I'd give you all a chance to grab one ahead of the Fair. They're $20 each, and I can take cash, personal cheque or Paypal. If I have to mail it to you, it will only be $2. extra, because they're flat and light. Email me or just leave a comment if you need one.

All money will go to the cats. It's so much fun when I can raise money for a good cause using stuff I already have on hand.

One Purrfect Day

I'm not sure where the time goes, but I just realized I never showed you the photo of One Purrfect Day, otherwise known as A Day in the Life of a Cat. It's all finished. It's been beautifully photographed by Stephanie of Stephanie Etherington Photography.  And it's even been sold, with the money going to Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. I'm not entirely sure what I'll get up to next, but I think it will be fun.

More birds?

After all the cookie-ing and hostessing, we're back to our regular programming. Yesterday, I showed you the shawl and today, I'm figuring out if the quilt needs more birds. I think it does! So, here we are auditioning birds.

I know it must seem as if I have Attention Deficit Disorder, and maybe I do. I'm always happiest when I have several projects on-the-go at the same time. Work on the quilt continues.

Somethin' Fishy

Another block

Not much to say about this one. It's one of the 4 small blocks. 4 inches square.

The golden hour and a few 'instructions'

Here's Cassie catching the last of the sun's rays before sun down.

And here's the blank canvas for a new quilt block.

I haven't been very specific about cutting the fabric, because I really wasn't sure anyone cared. However, if you're working along with me, these 8 inch blocks are made by cutting a background that is 8 1/2 inches square. Cut 2 inner borders 1 1/2 inches x 8 1/2 inches and 2 more inner borders that are 1 1/2 inches x 10 1/2 inches. Cut 2 outer borders 3 1/2 inches x 10 1/2 inches and 2 that are 3 1/2 inches x 17 inches. The finished block will be trimmed.

Layer the assembled blank canvas block on a 17 inch square piece of Warm and Natural quilt batting, and fuse and stitch the appliqué components in place.

For some of the blocks in this quilt, you'll need to complete the appliqué  BEFORE  you add the borders. You'll know which ones those are. It's not rocket science. :)

A word about fusing... I use Heat & Bond Lite. I trace the appliqué patch, but before I press it to the fabric, I trim out the centre part of the patch, so only the edges get fused. I do that because I want my quilt to be nice and soft and drapey. I don't want it to be stiff. However, if you're making a tote bag, the extra stiffness would probably be a good thing.

Face Time

In a world of email and texts, we still need face time.

You'll find the template here.

Nap Time

If we're going to document all the things a cat gets up to in a day, we can't forget this one.

I almost forgot! Here's the link to the template, but don't be hemmed in....move those flowers around any way you like.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B92VRZIKoVZaekxpWW5qbi1jeVk/view?usp=sharing

Hello!

There are a few small blocks in the new quilt. Just for interest. The template for this one should print at 4inches square. Add an inner border that is 1/2 inch wide (finished measurement) and an outer border that is 1 1/2 inches wide.

Since the cookie tin was empty, I used this design to make a few cookies. Quick cookies!

Magic!

Most days, it is true, what I do is really play. It's fun. Today, it was more than fun. Today, a little magic happened in my sewing room. Here's the block:

That cotton eyelet lace is only stitched on one edge, to create the illusion of the cat peeking out. This one is for my friend Polly, who I suspect is very adept at the ambush manoeuver. I have to admit that Cassie doesn't see the point. And even though I made a slight miscalculation in the width of this block, it will all turn out OK. Have faith! It's not rocket science. It's just play.

This block is one of the smaller ones. It should print at 4inches x 8inches. It will have a 1/2inch border and a 1 1/2inch border. And then, for it to fit in the grand scheme of things, it needs to have a 2inch band added to each vertical edge.  Total block size: 8inches x 16inches. These are the finished numbers. If you're playing along, be sure to add seam allowances.

Yesterday's block printed at 8inches x 8inches. It had a one inch inner border and then a 3inch border. Total block size: 16inches square. Again.....seam allowances are not included in these numbers!

I almost forgot. Here's the link to get the template.

A Day in the Life

Ready to begin a new quilt? This one's feline-related, too. I had so many sketches for the Kitty Cookie Quilt that themes began to emerge. This quilt is all about what a cat gets up to in a day, and believe me! they get up to quite a lot. Let's start with breakfast.

Here's the line drawing:

And as usual, if you want to work along with me, you'll find the actual appliqué template here:

If you download the template, remember that it should print at 8 inches square, but you can do it any size you like. The fuzzy slippers are tricky, so don't bother to trace every single point. I know I didn't.

And finally...

The 12th block. Splish Splash reversed. Now, I just have to put them all together. Borders?

It's a cookie! No, wait!

I was doodlin' around in my sketchbook the other night, and came up with a cute design (I think!) for a spring cookie. Here, you can see a photo of the page in my book. I liked the round-ish one at the top, and I still may do something with it. However the final sketch (at the bottom) is the one I decided on for the cookie.

But I just couldn't shake the idea that a good image is a good image, whether it's on a cookie or a quilt.

That made me think that it might be cool to make a baby quilt using 6 different cookie designs. Twelve 12-inch quilt blocks, where the 6 images are also used in reverse. I'll be doing mine scrappy! (Natch! cuz I do like a scrappy quilt.)  I haven't worked out all the details yet, because that is part of the fun, but if you'd like to work along with me on a Cookie Cat Quilt, here's the PDF for the first block.

It will fit on an 8-1/2 inch. square. I added 3 inch borders to all 4 sides, but I intend to quilt-as-I-go, so I've allowed a little bit of wiggle room to square up the finished blocks to 12-1/2 inches, and that means the finished quilt (with 12 blocks) will be a crib-sized quilt.

How could we forget our cat quilt?

It did get finished. It really did. And, it's already been put to use. This morning, I finally remembered to drag it out onto the back lawn in the full, bright sun to take its picture.

This is the quilt that was done quilt-as-you-go. Scrappy to the extreme. Colour is such a tonic for me. Here's the back, which is much more controlled than the front. The joining strips on the front are pieced from the scraps cut from the blocks when I trimmed them to size for assembly. The strips on the back are the same fabric as the binding. I think I'll be using this quilt with either side up. I like them both.

And here's a closer look at it hanging over the rail. See the dog? That's the portrait I did YEARS ago in memory of our old dog, Daisy. I thought she'd like to be among all those cats.

And guess which block interests Inspector Cassie?

Say, "Cheese!"

Say, "Cheese!" Original Design by Cheryl A Coville © 2013

Masculine?

Here's the question du jour? Sweaters for newborn boys . . . What's appropriate? We get the 'blue' thing. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Yellow or green if you're knitting ahead of time and don't yet know. OK. But newborns of either gender are just so darn cute. Sweet, even. Are flower motifs OK, then? Pastel blue roses for a newborn boy's sweater? Please. We really need to know. Is this suitable?

It's blue and it's tiny. We changed the sleeves so they're not so girlie. This sweater's a variation on our Duetta design, but please note, this is our own variation and the pattern available in the side bar does NOT include either the newborn size OR the sleeve variation we've done here.Nor does it include the pattern for the little toque.

We've got the blues

We've had nothing but girl babies in this family recently. (Not complainin', just sayin'.) All pink, all the time. Fortunately, one of our nieces is expecting a baby boy early next year. Should we knit or should we quilt for the little guy?   Hmmmmm...... Let's go with a blue and white scrap quilt.

Step one - gather up a pile of blues, and try hard not to dither too much about which blues to use.

Done.

Sunny September Sunday

Most of us sunbathe in July and August, but not Cassie. 

From now throughout the winter, this will be her favourite morning activity.

Like the quilt? It's one our mother made.

Cassie thinks it's very comfy.

Happy Sunny Sunday, to all!

Baaaaa!

So, after we did cats and dogs, we asked Kate what we should do next and she said, "How 'bout sheep?"

Here's the sketch ...

And here's the cookie ...

And here's the food for thought ... What about a Scrap Happy Sheep appliqué motif????

That big sheepy body would be perfect for swirly Free Motion Quilting.