Are YOU ready for 2019?  Isn't 2020 still 10 years away?  It feels like it is a small dot on the horizon most days and then I refocus and realize it is NEXT YEAR!  Yikes!  Okay, time to scurry back into my little quilt world like the proverbial groundhog (did you notice the groundhog quilt in the movie "Groundhog Day"?).  Besides the day to day of running Black Cat Creations, I like (and need) to step away and get perspective on what is happening in this big wide world -- of quilting!  I do this by socializing with other quilters and I am sure this is an activity that you, dear reader, share with me!

The two sewing groups (actually, by name, three, but two of them share the same membership!) I belong to will continue to meet this year!  I hope!  The Frayed Knots meets the first Thursday of each month and the Material Girls meet every Tuesday at our local quilt shop (LQS), Cupcake Fabric and Quilts in Humble, Texas. 

The Frayed Knots  group has been around nearly 20 years with a few of the charter members (Judy P., Joan S., Lynn F. and me) still attending.  We meet at a community center in a room shared with "yarn" people which is really fun.  Handwork often involving finishing up UFO's and Angel Gown assembly (disassembly of wedding gowns, too) and some small machine projects are the norm, all accompanied by lively conversation, laughter, and sometimes tears as we say goodbye to members who must move on to other towns or states, and members who have passed on.  Guests visit who may or not be quilters which always adds to the mix!  In the past we have participated in challenges and displayed our results at the Kingwood Area Quilt Guild Quilt Show. 

The Tuesday meetup is a working group (Material Girls); everyone brings their machines or handwork to work on new projects and to resurrect UFO's.  This group shares membership with the Queen Bee which meets at members' homes the second Friday of each month and revolves around show and tell (often prefaced with "If you weren't at Cupcake on Tuesday you may not have seen this....") and a potluck lunch.  We never know what kind of food will appear--desserts or main dishes.  We have dined on main dishes and no desserts and we have dined on all desserts and raided the hostess' freezer for some protein-like dishes!  Occasionally, someone will demonstrate a new technique or tool.  These two(?) groups (Material Girls/Queen Bee) are rowdier than the Frayed Knots but share the charm and laughter and inspiration.

So even though the years pass way too quickly outside my quilt world's time-space continuum, these groups help to keep me grounded within it and inspire me to start new projects, finish UFO's or just reorganize my sewing room.  

My new passion this year?  Yo-yo's!  What am I going to do with them?  My idea today will be different tomorrow so it will be a surprise to me too!  Don't you love ADD? 

I hope you have a great, fun year full of new UFO's, old and new friends, and always inspiration!

Today, Jamie Janow Elfert is guest blogging on Confessions of a Fabric Addict  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/  highlighting her block, "Have Faith", for the Hands 2 Help Quilt Challenge of 2018.  Check it out!

Hello, hello, hello?  I guess this is working!  Can you hear me?  For some reason (I can only assume it's my age!), I thought this blog was no longer active!!  Looks like I am waking the sleeping beast from a three year hiatus, so here goes nothing!  Well, hopefully not "nothing" but I am going to give it a go in 2018! Baby steps!  I hope I can remember how I got here!

We (I) have finally monetized our "new in 2017" website, https://www.black-cat-creations.com, so you can order directly from us!  I could not have done it without the patient, helpful people at Like Sew.

Some brand new patterns we are adding are Fire Fall by Minay Sirois, Native Spirit by Kris Holderness, and Summer Wedding by Jamie Janow Elfert. 

Fire Fall uses our Blooming Template for raw edge applique leaves.  It is especially interesting with striped fabric.

Summer Wedding uses a very simple to piece "H" block and creates a double wedding ring effect.  I wonder if you could use other letter blocks that are especially pertinent to the receiver?  Hmmm....

Native Spirit has alot of pieces but it is simple to piece and only has two blocks!  Plus we include instructions for a table runner!

 

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Joyous and Prosperous New year!  Now I have to get back to baking my cookies for tomorrow's party at my son's place.    Hope you are spending time with loved ones too!  Bye til next time.  Happy sewing!  ---  Jackie

Celtic Solace #1

I am so excited to be working on Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, Celtic Solace.  I've never done a mystery quilt before.  I'm the person who has to lay out the finished quilt, count the pieces, get the fabrics chosen - all the gritty stuff - before even beginning the quilt.  I never just jump in and wing it.

After waiting impatiently for a couple of weeks to get the first set of directions, my first blocks are finished! 

If you would like to join, just click this link to get started - http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/celtic-solstice-mystery-monday-link-up-1.html

 

Can't wait for the next instructions.  Thanks Bonnie!!

I've been surfing for awhile on Pinterest, Facebook and different blogs that I like and I've come up with a list of trends I see emerging.

Trending:

Modern quilts
Hexagons
Zig zag - quilts and fabrics
Owls
Fresh, clean prints
Scrap quilts
Gray as background
Big stitch quilting

Have you noticed any trends?

I've recently gotten interested in "big stitch quilting".  I've been seeing it all over the internet and magazines and now I'm hooked.  It's just hand quilting using perle cotton thread (size 8) and big stitches.  Nothing fancy here. 

 

One of the quilts I made was this rail fence. I purchased 1 1/2" strips in a coordinated set called Honey Buns and wanted to use them in a "big stitch" quilt.  Would you believe it only took me 1 week to hand quilt this? It's not large, but I was surprised how quick it went.

The other one I did was this cute triangle quilt. I had recently learned how to make half square triangles super quick and wanted to try that out. Then I added the big stitch quilting.  I used a wool batting and that made it really soft and drapey.

Now I'm dreaming up a couple more quilts just so I can hand stitch them. Crazy how everything old is new again!

Hello Kitty Quilt

A few years ago, I started a "Life List of Quilts".  This is a list of all the people I want to make a quilt for in my lifetime.  As I make a quilt for someone, I take a picture of it and save it in a binder. You wouldn't believe all the quilts I have made and given away. I've forgotten some of them, so the binder serves as a reminder. Plus I warn the receipents that this is the only quilt they will ever get from me, so take good care of it!

This is the latest quilt on the Life List.  It's Hello Kitty for my niece, Jenny.  She loves anything Japanese, especially Hello Kitty.  She's 21, but nowhere does it say you can't have a fun quilt at any age.

This quilt sprouted from my Pinterest obsession. I saw a version of this quilt there last year and my passion began. I went to half price book stores and found Hello Kitty coloring books. Then I shrank and enlarged them to fit the background block size. I also used Transfer Eze to transfer the designs onto fabric.  Fabulous stuff. I really enjoy hand embroidery, so this quilt was the perfect project. What's your favorite embroidery?