Playing With Christmas Part 2

Okay, it was so much fun designing quilts based on favorite Christmas songs, that I'm back with some more!

I Saw Three Ships

O Little Town of Bethlehem

 Here Comes Suzy Snowflake

 Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Frosty the Snowman

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Favorite Cat Christmas Gifts

My plan for this blog post was to continue with my Christmas song inspired quilt designs using my Electric Quilt software, but well, you know what happens.....

My cat had to have emergency surgery the other night.  We noticed that her belly looked really bloated on Sunday.  On Monday it was worse so we called the vet like good pet parents and were able to get an appointment on Tuesday.  Well, things went south from there.  Poor Callie had a terrible infection -- pyometra and had to get spayed ASAP.  So we had to take her to another vet who could do the surgery that night because waiting might have caused everything to burst.  Ugh.  Poor kitty girl.

Callie made it through surgery just fine and came home Wednesday afternoon.  She is not a very happy camper wearing her e-collar.  She also happens to be difficult to medicate and is stubborn -- charming, right?  Anyway, since her incision is huge she won't get her stitched out for 12 days (instead of the usual 7-10).  Ouch.

 Here's Callie (the tortoiseshell) with her favorite companion, Joey, before her surgery.

So in honor of Callie's recuperation, I thought I'd write a post about some fun gifts you can make for your favorite kitty children.

1.  Sushi Cat Toys by Pet Project

 Aren't these just too cute for words?  Add a little catnip and the kitties will go wild for sushi.  LOL!

2.  Recycled T-Shirt Toy by LVLY

Who doesn't have a stack of  old t-shirts siting around?  Although this toy is suggested for dogs, make it smaller and spray a little catnip spray on and kitty's got a great new chew toy.

3.  What about a special bed for kitty?

 I just did a quick search on the Internet for "homemade cat beds" and OH MY GOODNESS -- people are SEW CREATIVE!  I saw beds made out of old TV's, wooden crates, suitcases, hammocks, computer monitors, book shelves, and just about everything else!  Whatever happened to the cardboard box with a pillow inside?

Looks like I need to get in the groove and make my kitties something more fun than a store-bought round fleece bed.  LOL!

4.  Tuna Crunchers Treats by Doggy Dessert Chef

Just a couple ingredients and flour free.  The added catnip with really get kitty going.

5.  What about a cat quilt for your furry buddy?

Whenever I'm working on a quilt, I have at least one furry baby trying to help me out.  You know, curling up in the middle while I'm binding, or pouncing on it while I'm machine quilting, or maybe just hiding under it.

I haven't made a cat quilt for a while, but I did make one for my furry baby Sandy a long time ago.  Sadly, Sandy's no longer with me, but he sure loved his quilt so we buried it with him.

A simple little scrap quilt with left over quilt blocks perhaps around 30" x 30" would do for most kitties.  To make it more cozy, use flannel fabrics and a flannel or fleece back.  You could even just quilt some printed fabrics together for a super quick quilt.  I wouldn't suggest tying a pet's quilt, however, because he/she might try to eat the yarn which would not be healthy at all for your furry friend.


Well, I hope these ideas inspire you to make something special for your best furry friends this holiday season.  They sure inspired me!  I'd better get back to my studio and start whipping up some goodies for the furry kids.

Playing with Christmas

I love my local radio station because they start playing Christmas music the day before Thanksgiving and play it continuously until the day after Christmas.  That's a lot of Christmas songs! 

Listening to Christmas music when I'm heading to work, to the gym, to the grocery store or wherever  really helps to put me in the holiday mood and I just can't help singing along.

Listening to those wonderful holiday tunes inspired me and made me wonder what would happen if I played around with some quilt designs in Electric Quilt inspired by my favorite holiday songs???????

Well, let's see what happens.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree 

Silent Night

 

Let it Snow!  Let it Snow!  Let it Snow!

 

Silver Bells

 

Joy to the World

O Christmas Tree

 

Blue Christmas

 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

 

Well, that was a lot fun and now I'm excited to play with this idea some more.  Stay tuned to see what I come up with in my next post.  

Who knows?  Maybe this will inspire your next project, too.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!

Hop on over to the C&T blog for a look at my new book and check out a collage of projects in the book!

http://www.ctpub.com/blog/its-a-precut-party-with-i-love-precut-quilts/

And the Winners Are.......

Well, folks, the winners have been notified, and all six of the prizes have been claimed and shipped.

I want to thank everyone for joining us on the Blog Tour.  It was tons of fun, wasn't it?  Although I was on the Blog Tour, I really enjoyed reading the designer blogs every day too.  What a lot of talented people there are!

Our Quilt With a View lucky winners were from all over the United States:

Marie from Texas

Vivian from North Carolina

Wanda from Iowa

Sue from Ohio

Brenda from Wisconsin

Nicole from Washinton


I have submitted blocks to volumes 15 and 16, so keep your fingers crossed that my blocks will be selected and we'll get to Blog Hop again in the spring.

In the meantime, keep on quiltin'!

WINNERS

AND WE HAVE WINNERS! 

6 OF THEM, ACTUALLY.

I DID ADD A COUPLE OF MORE PRIZES SINCE I HAD SUCH AN AMAZING RESPONSE!

THANKS EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED, IT WAS SEW FUN!

I WILL POST THE WINNERS AS SOON AS THEY'VE RESPONDED WITH THEIR SHIPPING ADDRESSES AND THEIR PRIZES ARE ON THE WAY.

Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Block Volume 14 BLOG TOUR

Hello and Welcome to my Blog!

YAY!  I'm sew excited to be participating in the Volume 14 Blog Tour -- it's like a quilt party with all my friends -- both old AND new.

My block is called SLIDER and is #1383 in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14.

A lot of people ask me how I come up with my designs.  Let me tell you that it definitely isn't rocket science.  LOL!  I like to start with something familiar like a favorite block, an inspiration piece of fabric, or maybe even an idea.  Then I usually sit down in front of my computer to use my Electric Quilt 7 software.  Do you EQ?  If not, then I really suggest that you try it out because it can take your quilting and designing to new levels. 

When I started playing around with ideas for the 100 Block project, I first decided that I wanted to use red, black, grey, and white fabrics in the block.  That made me determine that my block had to have enough pieces so that I could use 4 fabrics.

 

This was my first block attempt.  Ugh.  Pretty ugly, isn't it? 

 I was trying out some asymmetrical qualities here.

Oh well.  Back to the drawing board.

This was my second try.  Hmm.  Much better, I think.  But too busy.
Maybe I should reduce the number of pieces in the block.

This thinking led me to the actual Slider block that I submitted.

Voila!  There you have it!  A peek inside my design process.

Now let's play with the Slider block a little bit.

 Five blocks and a border makes a fun table runner, doesn't it?

Maybe we should add some printed fabrics instead of just solids?

Here it is in Moda's For You fabrics.

 

 

Now let's try it in Riley Blake's new Crayola fabrics.  Fun and cute!

Here we have fabric from Benartex's Kitchen Love line.  Yum yum yummy!

That was fun, wasn't it? 

Auditioning blocks, layouts, and fabrics is all part of the quilt design process. 

 Thanks for coming along for the ride.

BUT WAIT....................DON'T GO.....................THERE'S STILL MORE!  

KEEP READING......YOU'LL GET TO THE GIVEAWAYS SOON, I PROMISE!!!

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LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY NEW BOOK --

IT'S LITERALLY JUST HOT OFF THE PRESS!!!

I'm really really hyped about my third and newest quilt book. 

 I mean, who doesn't love precuts, right?

If you're anything like me, you buy them but never seem to use them.  Yes, I am guilty of precut hoarding and I keep adding more to my sagging shelves.
What about you?

That's where my new book, I Love Precut Quilts! , comes in.  My book has 16 go-to projects ranging from place mats and table runners to wall quilts, throws, and YES! even big bed quilts.

The projects are easy enough for beginners but interesting enough for more advanced quilters, too.   It  has a fun fresh contemporary feel that is light and airy and all of the projects feature traditionally-pieced blocks.  

Time to get your own copy, isn't it?????

Sew.....where can you find my new book?  

Well, read to the bottom to the Giveaway section and you just might win
your very own SIGNED copy.  

You can also find my book (ebooks are also available!) at these locations online:

C&T Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

AND it's coming to your local quilt shop soon 

(Psst!  Don't forget to ask your favorite quilt shop owner to order it). 

I will also have copies available soon on my website:

orphanquilter.com

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NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY

 You've all been very patient, reading through my entire blog, so I promise that it'll be worth it!

I will be giving away the following:

1.  A copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14

2.  A copy of my new book, I Love Precut Quilts! (Yippee!)

3.  A  Riley Blake Crayola 2 1/2'' strip roll

4.  A Mystery Prize donated by my local quilt shop owner, Gail, who owns Homespun Treasures.

Who knows?

 I might just add some more prizes along the way if I get
lots and lots of encouragement.

(Wink!  Wink!)

Here's how it works:

You have up to 3 chances to win the prizes listed above.

1.  Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite precut is.  

2.  Become a blog follower and leave a comment telling me you that you're a blog follower.

3. Follow me on Instagram @tricia.maloney and leave a comment telling me you're an Instagram follower.

Ready!  Set!  GO!

You have from Tuesday, November 15th until Saturday, November 19th to participate. 

 Winners will be selected randomly on Saturday, November 19th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!