March 18, 2016

Rainbow Mini Swap Round Two: Colorful Cats

I am happy to show you Colorful Cats since my swap partner has received her mini quilt pillow cover for the Rainbow Mini Swap Round Two which took place on Instagram.

Colorful Cats pillow cover by Paige Alexander
Two of my swap partner's favorite fabric designers were Bonnie and Camille and Tasha Noel.  At the time I did not have fabrics by either one in my stash but soon remedied that with a a couple of trips to my local quilt shops.  You can read about my fabric selection of reds, pinks and aquas in this blog post.

Since my swap partner was limited on wall space, she requested a pillow cover instead of a mini quilt.  I found the Cat Block pattern by Elizabeth Hartman offered as a free download from Janome. The pillow finished at 20" x 20" which for a perfect size.

I incorporated some fussy cut elements into some of the blocks using fabrics from Hello Darling and Vintage Market with a few other fabrics added.  I used Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Bright White for the background.  Here are the finished blocks on the design wall.  I was still deciding on the arrangement of the cat blocks.

Cat Blocks made from Elizabeth Hartman's pattern
I decided on crosshatch quilting just like Elizabeth used on her pillow.  I marked the initial two quilting lines with a hera marker.

Quilting lines marked with a hera marker
Here is the quilt after the first two lines in each direction were quilted using the walking foot.

After four lines of quilting on Colorful Cats

Now here is where patience is needed.  You just keep quilting, line after line, until it is finally quilted.

Crosshatch quilting on Colorful Cats
I finished the pillow cover with a traditional binding us a Riley Blake dot fabric.

Traditional binding on Colorful Cats

Pillow Stats:

  • Finished size:  20" x 20" pillow with envelope backing
  • Pattern:  Cat Block and Pillow by Elizabeth Hartman for Janome
  • Binding: 3/8" finished straight grain binding finished by machine using a Riley Blake dot
  • Fabrics: Hello Darling by Bonnie and Camille for Moda, Vintage Market by Tasha Noel for Riley Blake and others
  • Batting: 100% Cotton Warm & White by the Warm Company
  • Thread: Aurifil 2024 White for piecing and quilting
  • Quilting:  Crosshatch using the edge of the walking foot as a guide

From looking at the Instagram account of my swap partner, I knew she had a cute little kitten.  Rather than making a little something extra for her, I made a stuffed kitty for daughter.  The pattern for the kitty was from a panel by VIP.  I saw the pattern on blog and wish I could give them credit, but I did find the same panel in this Etsy listing.  This also shows the envelope backing for the pillow cover using a print from Vintage Market.

Calico Kitty made from a vintage VIP panel pattern
Although my pillow is missing a few colors from the rainbow, I tried to make something my swap partner would like.  Close to 500 swappers participated in the #RainbowMiniSwapR2 and I had fun participating. Thanks to Kate @katebasti for organizing  and swap mama Sara @supersara20 for helping with the swap.

Linking up to Finish Up FridayWhoop Whoop Friday, Jenn at A Quarter Inch from the Edge hosting Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday this week, Fabric Frenzy FridayWhoop, There It Is! and Show Off Saturday.



17 comments :

  1. OMW, Paige, your cats are adorable. Your cross-hatch quilting is impressively straight, you must take your time :)

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  2. I love all the little strawberry prints you used. Just a beautiful little quilt, down to the cross hatching. And the kitty for her daughter is just adorable! I'm sure they will love their packages.

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  3. Loving your colourful cats pillow, and your crosshatching is perfect.
    Smiles from
    Kate

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  4. What a great idea for your partner to request a pillow cover; it turned out so beautifully!

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  5. This is so cute Paige and the cross hatching was the perfect choice.

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  6. It's a wonderful pillow cover and a lovely stuffed kitty as well.

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  7. I love the cats. I love the fabrics. I especially love the bicycle fabric. Nice job!

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  8. Very sweet -- like the little critter, too!

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  9. So sweet cat quilt. I love all your fantastic fabrics.

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  10. Okay... there are so many good things to comment about, I hardly know where to begin. The fussy cutting on the cats? Awesome. The quilting? Perfection. The polka dot binding? Just right! I'm sure your swap partner must have loved it! Thanks for linking up with TGIFF @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge!

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  11. My goodness this is so cute!! I love the quilting too. Your partner is really lucky! :-)

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  12. The cat pillow is so cute!! The colours and the prints are perfect. I specially love that little kitten you made. So adorable :)

    -Soma

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  13. "Please give me patience and I need it now!!!"
    That is me.
    Your cats are lovely and your quilting is very neat - obviously you are very patient, unlike me. Kudos to you for a beautiful finish.
    Preeti.
    http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

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  14. The cross-hatch quilting is perfect for this mini/pillow and I love the fun little cat!

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