Pets on Quilts Show 2015-Cats on Quilts category

I am so thrilled to be participating this year, I've been really looking forward to it!

Jacque at Lily Pad Quilting hosts this great quilt event where we all share photos of our pets on our quilts, or of an animal-themed quilt.  And I can make this happen this year since we adopted Thomas and Belle at Christmas!  You can see the other participants by following the link above, it will take you directly to the linky party.

 

This year I finished a quilt for my cousin Kendra as requested by my grandmother, she had started it and knew she would not finish.  I had a bit of help along the way, by some inspectors-in-training.

 

Thomas making sure the quilt doesn't move around too much on me.





Belle trying to decide if she likes the flower pattern I'm using, she can be very intense about her inspections.  And I appreciate it, since I was making this pattern up as I went along.  I have been practicing my free-motion quilting with inspiration from Lori at The Inbox Jaunt.  Her tutorials are really helpful, as well as the doodling lessons she's had going on lately.

I added a little bumble bee in the pattern, just one, to keep Kendra looking :)

Pacing it off for one final close-up, want to make sure it's going to be cozy enough.

This is an example of Cat-on-Quilter-on-Quilt *giggle*

Here it is displayed on the gazebo my grandpa built at my grandma's request.  When I next saw my cousin she gave me a huge hug and told me how much she loves this quilt!  I told her that she will always be wrapped in hugs from grandma (and me) for as long as it lasts.

I want to say thank you again to Jacque at Lily Pad Quilting for organizing this event, and thank you so much to all the sponsors who are offering giveaways, how incredibly generous!  You can click on the icon above to be taken back to the party.
Also, I want to thank YOU very much for visiting, I hope you have a great time hopping around to all the blogs and be sure to leave some comment love!

~Brandy

Trip to Montana part 3

The third day of our Montana trip involved me sleeping a lot, recovering from two solid days on the road.  When I finally got moving, I sat down with my grandma and had her review how she constructs Hawaiian shirts, and how to properly use a pattern.  It's been awhile for me, and the idea of the collar scared me.  Then she left!  She and Grandpa Lee had a "gig" to be at, Lee plays almost every weekend at the Eagles and even though it was his birthday he wasn't taking the day off.  So I did this:

 

Had to use the bed and cardboard cutting mat to have enough room for the 4 yards of material.  This is another example of why fussy cutting things isn't always the best idea.  It's expensive!

 

John picked out the fabric.  He also, by the way, nearly spent as much as I did at the quilt stores on the way up, acquiring more car-themed fabric for another Hawaiian shirt!  Plus some of the Retro Riders fabric for a pillowcase.  Which turned out awesome by the way!  Pictures to be posted at a later date.

 

When Grandma returned she and John cleared a path to my *new* Singer sewing machine!  And we worked out a plan for the next day for loading the heavy bugger into the Yukon.

John and I heading out to Lee's birthday dinner.

The next morning we left to head home, and I convinced John we had to stop at Foy's Lake.  He even let me splash around for a moment, I was sooo happy!  Next time we're going swimming.

Yay, splashy splashy!

Ok, for those of you wondering, I haven't had an opportunity in about 3 years to go swimming or even play in the creek (just a timing thing, we've been super busy), so this was just awesome for me.  I'm going to definitely start making time for water again.

Cate, this one's for you!!

Coeur d'Alene, ID-Bear Paw Quilting

LOVE this shop.  We had actually stopped in when we were on our way to Bonners Ferry, but ended up having to leave so we could make it to the next shop before they closed.  The lady remembered us from four days before!  They really built themselves a gorgeous place, it's very warm and inviting.  And I love their row and license plate (Paws 2 Quilt).

 

Here is my collection from the weekend, I can barely remember now which shop I got each fabric at.  I admire how my friend Mary does her photojournalism, she's way more on top of it than I am.  But I think I've learned my lesson!

This was so cool, I couldn't pass it up!  I hadn't seen any other shops carrying pins, I hope more do next year.  And on the right is that beautiful Hawaiian print I was talking about at Bigfork Quilts.

The day after we got home John unloaded the treadle and cleaned it up enough to have inside.  We're trying to decide how we want to restore it, as the wood is basically rotting away where the drawers are and across the top, but all the metal is good.  I want it to function, so am thinking we should completely replace all the wooden pieces.  John is concerned about losing the antiquity value of it.  What do you guys think?  This is a whole new adventure for us!

 

Thanks for coming along this journey with me, I hope you have a super sparkly day!

 

~Brandy

 

 

 





Trip to Montana part 2

Day 2, hitting up the quilt shops around Kalispell, MT with Aunt Carolyn:

 

First off, I have to mention that we stopped in at A-1 Vacuum & Sewing and WOW.  My aunt didn't hardly make it through the door and she had already bought a new-to-her sewing machine!  She got a New Royal treadle, cabinet and machine.  They are going to get it running for her and she'll grab it later (she lives in Butte, MT and visits Kalispell all the time).  That place has the most amazing selection of vintage sewing machines, and a great selection of fabric (and vacuums, if you're into that sort of thing LOL).

 

And then...

 

I'm a sucker for Lone Star's, they may be my favorite pattern.

 

You may have an idea of how VERY HARD it was not to purchase one of these boxes of Aurifil...

 

North of Flathead Lake

We got to visit the Quiltworx warehouse!  We met Jen, the official pattern tester from Alaska, and she was awesome enough to show us around.  Getting to see the behind the scenes is really neat!  We saw Judy's newest line of fabric, and the training center for people to become Certified Instructors, and sooo many amazing quilts!  Visitors are allowed to purchase patterns while you're there, and I found one for a table runner that I really love. And so I picked up my first Judy Niemeyer pattern, Winter Wonderlands Table Runner.  Now someone is going to have to teach me how to make it happen.  Oh!  I just came across their YouTube channel and they explains how to read the papers, thank goodness!

 

Bigfork, MT-Bigfork Quilts, Etc

This shop is so sweet, I really enjoyed Sandi's collection of fabric.  And we learned a great new technique for paper piecing involving interfacing instead of paper!  You don't have to remove the interfacing when you're done.  What a cool idea!  Also, I need to remember to order some of that gorgeous Hawaiian fabric I found so I can make myself a shirt.

 

Whitefish, MT-Quilt Kits to Go

I love how this shop has their items displayed.  My vote for most creative displays of the weekend.  They are a very new shop so don't have a website just yet, but I'll try to remember to link to it whenever they get it running.  I found some amazing Fall themed fabric while I was here.  So did Aunt Carolyn.  She got a yard of each, I got 2 fat quarters total :) but my collection grows steadily!

 

Whitefish, MT-Whitefish Quilt & Gifts

This shop is right in the heart of the downtown tourism trap.  They were very busy, so we didn't stay too long, but I did find some neat fabrics that could be used in the MT themed rows with animals at the side of the river.  And the above photographed quilt, I think it's amazing.  I might remove the flying geese and add more stars if I ever make it, but that's me.  Not a huge fan of geese.

 

Kalispell, MT-Glacier Quilts

I didn't remember to take a photo of the outside, sorry :)  And it would be overwhelming to show you photos of the entire store, this place is HUGE.  I've found I get confused because both times I've gone in I go in blind, as in I have no goals or specific projects that I'm looking for fabric for.  The first time I visited we were there for over 2 hours, and I still think I only bought half a yard of neon cats or something.  It was so much to take in!  But the ladies are really nice, and my goal for next year is to have a project I want to supplement.

 

Kalispell, MT-Quilt Gallery

This shop used to be where Judy Niemeyer worked, and they have a ton of examples of her work around the store.  My favorite part is the ladies room, the owner is obsessed with Halloween fabric (rightly so!) and this cracks me up!  They have a great classroom in the back too, the walls are lined with quilts and it's so happy.

 

I'll have another post of Montana, with one more quilt shop stop on our way back and the project I started while at my grandma's house in Kalispell.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

~Brandy



 



Trip to Montana part 1

John and I got to go to Montana for a couple days mid July, an we are so thankful for it.  The idea was to have some rest and relaxation time.  John got it... I got to explore new quilt shops with my aunt!   This is the first time I've gotten to visit shops while the Row by Row Experience was happening, it's fun stuff!

 

Day 1-driving to Montana

 

Lind, WA-Crazy Quilter

A new quilt shop & retreat center that is fantastic!  John and I were very impressed with the details that PJ and her husband Jake put into their place.  I'm going to recommend to the ladies in my guild that we look into a weekend retreat at this place, I think it would be lots of fun!  You should visit their site, I didn't take any photos inside and it's worth seeing.

 

 

Isn't the lacework amazing?!

Spokane, WA-Sew E-Z Too

These guys are not kidding when they say "a quilter's paradise" on their main webpage.  We were shocked at the size of this store!  And they have a whole second part of the store dedicated to yarn supplies!  Great customer service, awesome selection.  Will definitely be going back now that my sister lives in Spokane and we have a really good reason to drive 3.5 hours away...

 

 

 

The Spokane area rows assembled.

Spokane, WA-The Cozy Quilt

This one is very spacious and has a lot of fabric choices, but was the first time I didn't feel fully welcome in a shop.  No one greeted us for almost 10 minutes after we arrived, but maybe that's a downfall of having such a huge space (although we walked right by the cutting counter with 2 ladies behind it as we came in...)  I will say, they have the BEST sale room I've seen and I was super happy to find a 4-pack of Aurifil at 40% off, yay!

The only place I saw Bobbin the Robin :)

 

This is the neatest display I've ever seen, she is using Poster swing displays to show off the panels she has to offer!

 

This one was my favorite, and apparently everyone else's too because she was sold out.

Bonners Ferry, ID-Alley Fabric Nook

Absolutely the best one of the day, which was also our last stop.  Another store that just keeps on giving as you wander around.  The owner is a wonderful lady with a great sense of humor and I wish I could remember her name.  She has 6 different license plates!  I wish she wasn't 6 hours away... it will become a must-visit on our trips to Montana though!

 

We stopped at Kootenai Falls because mom wouldn't stop insisting that we go.  It was scary!!  The wind was blowing like crazy, but John convinced me to get across and after that it wasn't so bad.  It's a gorgeous hike.



 

 

Typical beautiful Montana evening.

 

Stay tuned for day two, I shall post it soon.  Don't want to get too crazy with the gigantic posts.

 

~Brandy