Wakey, Wakey!

Wakey, Wakey, Little Birdy!

It's the first of April... and that means a new edition of "Paper Piecing 1/4"  " is here!
It is titled:  Springtime Garden Patterns

Latest Issue:   Issue #13 April  -  June 2017
{avail HERE}

The super talented artist and designer, Janeen, at Quilt Art Designs, creates these amazing and fun foundation paper pieced patterns quarterly. 

The pattern that Janeen asked me to "bring to life" from this edition is called,
 " Cat and Bird in Tree."  I think she knows that I love cats... and especially little ,impish, black cats!!

Pattern:     Cat and Bird in Tree       {here }  found in Paper Piecing 1/4" dig mag 
                                                       issue  #13  April-June 2017        by Quilt Art Designs
                   An 18" finished block

"Wakey, wakey, little birdy!"

It is cute looking on paper.... but is even more delightful after it is made up in fabrics !

My sister, Amy, at " Amy Made That!" blog, told me : "How would YOU like to wake up that way... nose to nose?!  "     I laughed out loud when I read that!

"Yoooo Hoooo.... Let's PLAY!! "

I think that Janeen is going to make this cute little fellow into a regular feature, called "Mr. Whiskers!"       

I decided to plan on making this block, and 3 more future Mr Whiskers blocks , into a cute wall hanging or mini quilt! 

"What's your name?  I 'm Mr Whiskers! "

This is a fast and fun block to make up.  You'll want to check out the other awesome patterns in this new edition.  {here}  I have my eye on few of those patterns, so you may see them on my blog in the near future!.     I  just can't wait for another "Mr Whiskers" block to be created in the next issue!

I'll be linking up at:    Let's Bee Social  @  Sew Fresh Fabrics      and
                                 Midweek Makers @  Quilt Fabrications      and        
                                 Can I Get A Whoop Whoop ! @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict   and                                    Finish It Up Friday @   Crazy Mom Quilts    and 

                                 Finished or Not Friday  @ Busy Hands Quilts

I'm off to my sewing room!

Pattern provided by Quilt Art Design

A Kissy Fishy Finish

The Finished "  Kissy Fishy "  Quilt

I have been on a roll with finishing  up my quilts.  (Lots of Happy Dancing  going on now as I write this ... so  excuse any spelling errors! )

My latest finish:  The Kissy Fishy Quilt       ** Super Cute Pattern Alert  **

Kissy Fishy Quilt    pattern by Sew Fresh Quilts  { here }

Pattern:   Kissy Fishy Quilt    by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts   ( here )
Size:   54 " x 54"  approximately
Fabrics:  Fish-  Color Wheel Stashbuilders  by Connecting Threads  ( a variety of Quilter's Candy prints)
            Background:   Lotta Dots- a  white on white dots tonal ,  by Connecting Thread
Thread:   Aurifil  - # 2024  50 weight - for piecing
Batting:  Pellon 970  Thermolam   
Quilting:    wavy , horizontal lines, using my Walking Foot-  Aurifil  -  # 4655  - 50 weight- a varigated blue , to look like water

The quilt top-

And, then, for the back of the quilt,  I made a few more of Lorna's friends,  from the Elephant Parade Quilt Along (here)...  the turtle, frog and bird !  (Aren't they sweet?!)

The turtle, frog and bird, "the neighbors",  will be the stars of the back of my quilt!

I made the quilt sandwich, and quilted wavy lines horizontally across the quilt, using my walking foot. The quilting thread is  Aurifil #4655, which has a blue and white varigation. I hope this gives the feeling that the fish are swimming in water.  

The horizontal rows were marked  by pinning on both sides of my  1.5" - wide ruler.  I just had to keep the quilting  inside of  these  pinned lines.

Pinning to mark the boundaries of the wavy lines

I used a pretty blue Tic Tac   fabric for the binding-

My Kissy Fishy Quilt     by Susie's Sunroom

Here is the finished back of the quilt... featuring these cute characters!!  ( I am just going to have to make an Elephant Parade quilt some day!!)

The Kissy Fishy quilt is a perfect size for a children's quilt.  (I'll be saving this quilt for any grandchildren that may come down the road....)  

I think it's  a splashing success!   

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:     Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts    and   
                          Fabric Tuesday  @ Quilt Story  and
                          Building Blocks Tuesday @  Quilter In The Closet  and
                         Finish It Up Friday  @ Crazy Mom Quilts    and
                          Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!  @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and
                          Fabric Frenzy Friday @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio    and
                           TGIFF  @  Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.       and
                          Finished Or Not Friday  @ Busy Hands Quilts

Kissy Fishy Quilt

Kissy Fishy Quilt Top Completed!

Kissy Fishy Quilt Pattern  by Sew Fresh Quilts

You may remember me sharing these four cute fish blocks last month { here }...

I was lucky  to be able to jump in and help test this new quilt pattern,  for Lorna, at Sew Fresh Quilts.   (Happy Dancing going on here! I have been following Lorna's blog and loving her patterns for several years now!  )

Kissy Fishy Quilt Pattern   by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts  { here }

I accidentally laid them out to form this heart!  Wouldn't this be cute for  a pillow or a mini quilt?!

Before I knew it, I had the fish blocks made for a quilt.  (The fish "were biting" this summer!)   These are so fun to make!! I decided to make my fish in many bright colors.  I found the perfect  bundle in my stash  .... A Quilter's Candy fq blenders bundle, in solids, swirls and faux burlap, from Connecting Threads!  The background fabric is a white on white tonal by Michael Miller.  I like the bit of  texture that the tiny white dots give the background.

Kissy Fishy Quilt top   made by Susie's Sunroom

Aren't these fish cute?! I love the different fins on each of the two designs!

Kissy Fishy flimsy top    By Susie's Sunroom

So what should I do for the backing?  

Hmmmm.....    

On our last walk, hubby and I saw these ducks " settling in"  on a log.  ( Sorry I can't get them larger and clear.)

Ducks on a log... along the Brandywine creek

"Hey... move over for me! "

I think my Kissy Fishy fish would have some other woodland animals living around them.

So I went over to Sew Fresh Quilts blog  to find the patterns for Lorna's  Elephant Parade quilt.  She has so many cute animals in that quilt!!

This is what I chose: a  few woodland friends that might live around the stream that this school of fish live in ... 

a turtle, frog , and bird!   I love their eyes!!

Turtle, frog and bird from  Elephant Parade Quilt at Sew Fresh Quilts  {here}

I'll use this pale sky blue cotton for the back.  (That's another stash fabric.)

Adding some creatures for the backing.... by Susie's Sunroom

The backing will go fast now.    Stay tuned for my finished quilt!  

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Let's Bee Social  @ Sew Fresh Quilts  and
                         Can I Get a Whoop Whoop @  Confessions of a Quilt Addict   and
                        Fabric Frenzy Friday  @  Fort Worth Fabric Studio   and 
                        TGIFF  @ Quilt Matters   and
                        Finish It Up Friday    @ Crazy Mom Quilts

June's Across The Pond Sew Along Project

June- Across The Pond Sew Along Project

Check out our past projects

                 What are we making this month in our Across The Pond Sew Along?
                                                
                                                      Needle cases!!                       
 If you are like me, you are always forgetting where you left that tiny,  little needle... even if it was just a few minutes after "sticking it in a place  so I won't forget where I put it!"
A needle book or needle case is perfect for storing my needles, and for keeping track of them... in such  cute and fun ways.

I'll share a few  of my favorite  patterns to make a needle case, if you need some ideas . 

Amanda,  The Patchsmith,  has lots of ideas , too, and she shares two delightful needle cases that she made, on her blog.  

Hexi Needle Case:    by My Three Sons

Amanda, The Patchsmith  made this sweet Hexi Needle Case
 using the pattern by My Three Sons

I love how Amanda personalized this hexi!  I know that I 'll be trying this one out soon!


Flowerpot Needlekeep Free Pattern:     by Lynnette Anderson

Flowerpot Keep   by Lynette Anderson

Linen and embroidery... how fun!

Needles Home:   Sulky

Needles Home   by Sulky

This is a cute , felt fold-up book.

Needlebook Tutorial:  Nana Company

                                   

Needlebook Tutorial   by Nana Company

This one is a favorite of mine already.  I made one of these recently, as a gift to include with a swap.  It is a great way to use up special fabric scraps.

              

Nana Company  Needlebook    by Susie's Sunroom

I "jazzed up " the back cover, to match a skinny pincushion that I made for the swap.

I put a pinwheel on the back cover

It is fun to add ribbon and charms for embellishing the felt pages

Bird  Needle case:     by Heidi Boyd   on Craftsy  (part of Sewing Kit Trio)

                                               

Bird Needlecase        made by Susie's Sunroom

This is a bird that is folded up, over its tail.    I thought he needed an eye, so I added a bead for a bird eye.  

His tail  has felt for the needles

Opened up

I used two Joel Dewberry "Bungalow"  fabrics, which were  included in the kit with the directions.    After I got the pieces cut out , this bird needle case went together quickly.                              

This little pair of scissors can fit under the elastic, too

         
We do you hope you have found a pattern that looks fun , and you'll make your own needle case, and put it in the Across The Pond Sew Along Flickr group to share!

These needle cases/books are a lot of fun to make... you know you'll be seeing a few more   lots more in the future!!

I'm off to my sewing room!