First quilt done!

Digging out

From piles of fabric, that is! I am trying to get things worked on around the studio. I am doing more art and craft shows this year, I hope it pays off.  I also have more bookkeeping clients to support this year, so time is definitely at a premium.

Big news, though- I finally got a new quilting machine! It's a 16" Crystal Quilter,  and is a brand new machine! I'm so excited, I will now be able to quilt on King size quilts for customers. One of my goals this year is to learn free motion feathers & pebbles. I'm really, really good at and comfortable with all-over pantograph quilting, so this is the basis of the quilting I can offer to customers. If you have a quilt that you need quilted, feel free to contact me.  I'm happy to discuss custom work!

Unfortunately, I injured my wrist moving furniture this weekend, so the inaugural run of the new machine is delayed. I have a top almost ready to go on the frame, so hopefully it won't be too long before I get to give it a good workout. 

Thanks for reading!

Celtic Solstice progress

I got step 1 of Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice mystery done, and now I'm on to step 2!

The instructions for the mystery are based on strip cutting with rulers, but I am trying a new (to me) toy. I finally bought an AccuQuilt Go! for myself back in November. It does waste fabric, so I'm not sure that I'd want to use it on yardage, but on a scrappy quilt that is using leftovers from other projects, I don't mind so much. Plus, my kiddo is happy that he gets to help me, something he can't do if I'm rotary cutting.

Today the quilt group I manage is meeting, so I plan to work on the step 2 blocks. We'll see if Mr. Tank lets me sew, though. Daddy is on a business trip and won't be home until late tonight, so the Tankster has to go with me.

Have a great one, people!

Poor neglected little blog...

I really didn't mean to neglect my blog so badly, honest!

So, where were we? It looks like the last time I posted was back in June of '12 (oh dear...) Well, I did get that IRR quilt finished & bound. My daughter was very happy with it, though it's hiding in her closet now. I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't like it or if she's just addicted to the feel of the soft fleecy blankets (quite likely)

I've been much more active over on Facebook which links into my Twitter feed. I've also added a new storefront on Storenvy, it's a much larger marketplace, but doesn't have listing or sales fees like Artfire & Etsy do. We'll see how that goes!

I have done more commission work in the past year & a half, some custom quilting for customers, and finished a few items for my shop.

Quilt by B. Domke, Quilting by Cattails Quilts

'Baby Deere' Custom Order by Cattails Quilts

Quilt by J. Lovato, Quilting by Cattails Quilts

Quilt by J. Lovato, Quilting by Cattails Quilts

Quilt by S. Baxter, Quilting by Cattails Quilts

Southwest Dreams by Cattails Quilts 

(for sale over at Storenvy)

My Block of the Month is finally finished & for sale at Storenvy, too! I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. I had to scrap the piano key border, not enough of the fabrics left, but I did incorporate it into the back of the quilt instead.

Right now I'm working on Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice mystery over at Quiltville. I had planned to participate as she released the clues, but I ended up so far behind that I'm just now about halfway through part 1, and I'm only doing 1/4 size to start! Oops...

I promise, I'll try to be better about blogging in the future. So many things going on over here, I forget that I need to keep you all interested, too!

Thanks for sticking around. :)

And away we sew!

Progress is slow going on the quilt I have loaded in the new frame. Unfortunately, I am having tension issues with my machine, and they have me beating my head against the wall! I have to get it sorted out quickly, though, as I just took in a quilting order that needs to be done by mid July. Time is more than enough, assuming I can get the machine cooperating again!! Very glad I started with a quilt that is staying in our house, instead of jumping right in to something for sale.

Scrappy Quilting IRR 2010-2011, 'Bug's Star' is hopefully going to be finished soon. :)

Since the futzing with the machine will require attention that I can't give it while Tank is awake, I'm starting on some simple market totes to add to my shop inventory. They're going to be slightly larger than my usual ones, in hopes that some Pennsic shoppers will avail themselves of the bags for sale. :)

That's my quick update for today, back to the machine I go!

Oh Dear...

Seems my blog got neglected. Again.  I moved it all from my personal account to my Cattails account, broke all my photo links, and then Google added G+, which has me even more confused (why can't I find the 'link to share photos on other sites anymore??)

Things have been moving merrily along in the Cat's world. In the fall I picked up two new bookkeeping clients, one weekly and one sporadic, then another sporadic over the winter. Bought a new truck for hauling inventory to shows in December, and just recently bought a new quilt frame!

This is the new beast, and yes, he does not reside in the studio! One of the biggest pluses is that I now have the available length to do the random king-size quilt.

This also means that my other frame is for sale. I'd prefer to not ship, as it is multiple boxes and quite weighty, but if you know someone interested, please contact me!!

In May I ran a quilt show & competition at Costume Con 30 in Tempe, AZ. I had 25 entries, and some STUNNING ones at that. I'm still waiting on photos, as I never got to take any pictures :(

Along with the quilt show, I had the children in two competitions. One a take on the popular Project Runway, where we had to design fashion based on some popular characters, both real and fictional. My inspiration was Queen Amidala, and of course Bug insisted on modeling. Check out the attitude on this one! I'm doomed, folks, absolutely doomed!

In this challenge we designers were presented with a selection of characters from which to design an outfit. We were then taken to SAS Fabrics, a local mill-end type fabric store (If you ever have the opportunity to visit Phoenix, I'll take you there!!) and were given 45 minutes to shop on a budget. We were then taken to a workshop space and given the next 12 hours to work, plus 8 the following day. That night was the runway show, and although I was back-stage, I've been assured that Bug absolutely worked the audience. I didn't win anything, but that's ok, I made an entire outfit without a commercial pattern, something I wasn't sure I could do.

Saturday both children were in the Fantasy & Science Fiction competition in an entry titled 'Alice and the ... Jackalope?' Unfortunately, Tank didn't want to wear his antlers and ears, so part of the humor was lost to those sitting past the first few rows, but it was still great fun. I have ideas for future con entries, too, but some require that Bug doesn't get any taller!! (Wishful thinking, I know...)

I've added a few new items to my Artfire shop, and a few more are in the works to get up there. I just need to convince Tank that yes, in fact, mommy *does* need to spend most of every day in the studio. He doesn't agree...

We'll be at Pennsic Wars in August with Designs by J again, so if you attend, come find us at the usual location! I hope the Marauders camp is ready for Tank!

That's the update from the desert for now. Thanks for sticking around!

Update to the Sewing Room Redesign

(Oops! This was supposed to be posted back in... oh, October??)

I'm going to add shelves over the window & door, for displaying pretties that don't need to be taking up my storage space, and hopefully my husband can help me come up with a way to support a closet rod for my roll of batting as part of the over-the-window unit. I've already got a piece for a shelf over my desk, complete with holes for cords- it's the back piece for the current desk I'm using. It's ~5' x 1', so with proper mounting will be perfect for an electronics shelf!

I've decided that I will go to Ikea for their Expedit bookshelves for the base for the worktable unit. a 2x2 unit and 2 4x2 units on their sides will be perfect, and provide more storage, then I can move the shelves currently under my work table and desk to under my frame. They can't be used to support the frame, they're a) too low and b) not sturdy enough, but they will fit under there nicely. Then later I can purchase the counter units to put the frame tracks on, instead of the legs that are easy to bump.

Now to find someone to come install flooring for cheap (hey, I already have 80% of the tiles, I just need to get something to contrast/coordinate and plan a layout), and then I can do this room up right! Wish me luck! :)

Broken Photos

Yes, I know, I broke my blog. :( I tried to move my blog from my personal account to the one specific to Cattails Quilts, and when moving my photos, it broke the links. Oopsie... I will go back & fix them, once I can figure out which photos went where. I'm sorry folks! But check out the galleries at Picassa, because the photos are all there.

I'm still working on projects, my current one is a Block of the Month from a LiveJournal community I manage, Block of the Month (yes, very original, I know. hehehe) Mine is the music notes & a rainbow of other fabrics. I'm working on the borders now, and once this puppy is finished, Rainbow Rhapsody will be available in my Artfire shop. For now, though, here's a teaser:



Enjoy! :)

Redesigning my workspace (again)

So, despite my mother's WONDERFUL assistance in February at getting my studio re-arranged, I'm once again finding shortcomings in the layout. Short of begging Ty Pennington to come make over my studio, I'm stumped!!

My space is 11.5 ft x 12.5 ft, with a truncated corner making the remaining 2 walls ~7.5 ft & 9 ft. Once you account for the doors, that removes another 2 ft of useable space on those walls. Right now, my doors do not open fully, because of a storage shelf and my work table.

The big space hog is my quilt frame, at 3 ft x 10.5 ft (and she's a *small* one!!). The other is my work table, which is ~ 3.5 ft x 6 ft, but I'm considering how best to combine it with my sewing table/desk into an L-shape, to go against the shortest wall & stick out into the room. This could work, as long as I can get storage behind the desk on the remainder of the 12.5 ft wall. I've got high ceilings I'd love to take advantage of, but hubby doesn't like me on ladders... (I have balance issues). The remainder of the 9 ft wall will be my design wall.

If I do things right (ie have a master carpenter build it all for me! LOL), then I will have storage under my desk & work table. My biggest worry is if I lower my work table to being the height of my desk, then it won't be the right height for cutting. I can always put shelves on the wall above the work space to hold the printers, scanners & other large/bulky items that I need accessible but don't want taking up valuable real estate. Putting my frame in front of my window, I re-open that 12 ft of wall space that I currently can't use, due to the placement of the pantograph shelf (the size of the frame & orientation of the shelf make it impossible to reach the wall behind).

Hm, maybe I'm reaching a potential solution!

Any Wantobe Quilters out there?

So, one of the blogs I follow, Stash Manicure, is going to be running a contest of sorts for new quilters over the next three months. Want a chance to win? Well, follow the link below and register! If you win, I do too! But the catch is, you have to be a follower of both blogs. Trust me, Madame Samm's blog is TOTALLY worth the read!

Good luck!

Calling all Wantobe Quilters? 

"Hello friends and followers, I would love to welcome you

to a Wantobe Quilters Campaign over here. ( http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com)

 They are having quilting supplies to giveaway 5 x a week for 12 weeks. 

Supplies that will have you quilting

before you know it...From sewing machines to irons, to die cutters,

to mats, to rotary cutters, sewing baskets, scissors, batting, needles,

rolled sewing machine bags, patterns, books, magazines...everything

you could imagine to assist you in being a NEW Quilter. 

Even if you are already part of this community you can win

quilting stuff too...Tuesday and Thursday are days for us..

All you have to do is give me your name and phone number 

and email sew I can submit this to the organizer, because if you win

anything I can win something too. 

All you have to do is be my follower and a follower

over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure....

That is all! There are over 49 Sponsors involved.

I am pretty excited to be part of this, sew should you.

I love being a QUILTER! 

( p.s you will not be eligible to win anything if you do not register

with a blogger where you see this message)

Life, oh life

You sure like getting in the way of my progress, don't you?

Quickie post (the boy wants my attention):

Are you a Wantobe Quilter? Do you not have the funds to get your studio going? Do you have stash envy?

Well check out Stash Manicure: Madame Samm is going to be running a WTBQ campaign over the next 3 months, where you have a chance to win a LOT of quilting goodies! And even better? When you win, I win too! What quilter doesn't want more stash? :-)

So, go there, come here, enter, and I hope you win! (and boyohboy does she have lots of goodies to give away!!)

Good luck &happy quilting!

Cleaning Spree

Once again, I haven't posted in quite a while, but it is what it is. Life has been busy, between starting a part time job (I am a freelance bookkeeper along with being a full time mom and quilter), S working on her science fair project (comparing how peas grow in different environments) and hubby losing his job last month (economic recovery my arse).

Yesterday I got the itch to deep-clean my kitchen, something that hasn't been done in far too long No, my kitchen isn't gross, I do clean it very frequently, but I haven't done a deep clean scrub & such. So, inspired by a new to me blog (http://www.healthybranscoms.com/), I returned to my languishing Shaklee products, and I have to ask myself why I ever stopped using them!

I had put aside what was left of my Shaklee GetClean products that my grandmother sent me to use up cleaning products that had been left behind in a house that we were renting. I had used up the Shaklee dish and laundry detergent long ago, but still have Basic-H2 and Scour-Off left. I've been reading Erin's blog and some of the stories of people new to Shaklee, so I decided to do my own before & after.

I have some photos to share with you, some before & afters. I had been using the Clorox GreenWorks cleaners, partially because like I said, they were left behind by previous tenants, and I hate throwing things away, and partially because ... well, I don't really have another (good) reason. These products do ok, but as you can see in my photos, they didn't really get the staining from burned sugar off of white appliances.

Or burned-on grease off of a shiny tea kettle. (I clean this puppy almost weekly, but I could never get the residue off of it)

But Basic-H2 in its appropriate concentration (1/4 tsp to 16 oz water) applied to my stove and Scour-Off paste applied to my tea kettle, and I have a bright and shiny cooktop again! I think Scour-Off is even safe to use on smooth top stoves, since it's non-abrasive, but don't quote me on that. 

And my sink! Oh, my poor sink. The previous owners of our house did not live here gently. The porcelain coating on our sink is very chipped, and the hardware was water stained. The ring holding the drain hardware on the non-disposal side of the sink looked like it was brass.

So, I took my Basic-H2 cleaner (same concentration as above) to the sides of the sink and the Scour-Off paste to the bottom, and OH MY! 

Half clean- look at the difference!!

Can you believe it? My sink looks like new, and no fumes!

Needless to say, I am now wondering why I ever stopped using Shaklee cleaners. I am not one for vitamins & dietary supplements, so don't ask me about them, but I think I'll be placing an order with Erin soon (sadly, my grandmother passed away in 2009) to restock on Basic-G (kills germs, bacteria, *and* even kills some viruses, like Parvo and other pet-carried nasties) for a deep-clean on the bathrooms. Since I just (stupidly) bought laundry detergent, I'll be holding off on that purchase, but Shaklee, I'm home!!

And, because I can, Happy Mother's Day, all! Remember, if it weren't for Mom, we wouldn't be here!

Lonely Blog

So, once again I find that I have seriously neglected my blog. I'd like to say it's because I've been busy creating, but that is only partially true.

Since my last post in January, A has started crawling, moved on to pulling himself up on furniture, cruising on anything he possibly can, and now is starting to let go to try the 'standing on my own' thing. I can't believe he is already 10 months old, where has the time gone?

S is nearing the end of 4th grade, her science project is growing all over the house (which reminds me, I need to go measure her plants for her, since she won't be back home til Wednesday). She decided that she wanted to compare the growth of plants in different environments. She told us what she wanted to do, and with only a few suggestions from us, she took off running.

She is a great big sister, when she remembers to play *with* her brother, instead of *at* him, or taking away his toys (unintentional, I believe, but she does it). It's obvious that A loves her, too. During her school vacation, if she walked by him without talking to him, he would start crying and crawl after her until she stopped and loved on him. She is his favorite play thing, after the dogs.

She's still working on her quilt for the show that I am running next year at Costume Con 30, and she is super excited about it. I don't have any progress photos, but she's calling it Pink Paradise. She is learning about chain piecing and color placement, and I'm very pleased with her progress. She is super excited to get to use my quilting machine, as part of the rules for the youth division is that the entrant must do the majority of the work on their own. I told her that once she finished the top, I would help her pick out backing material, and I would show her how to use the machine and frame. She lit up like a christmas tree!

My mother, J (of Designs by J) visited us for a month, partially to spend a week at Estrella War (an SCA event), but mostly to see her grandchildren. Everyone had a good time, and after she left the house was awfully quiet. We didn't get to do some of the things we had wanted to, like revisiting Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home in Scottsdale, or going to the Heard Museum in Phoenix, or the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix. But we did go pillaging at various thrift and fabric stores, and we even found a high-end needlework store, purely by accident! I've driven by the store many times, but never noticed it was there. Needless to say, I will be visiting them when I find the need for some art therapy. I really enjoy when my mother comes to visit, I just wish my father had been able to come out for a weekend during her trip.

I miss my family. Often I wonder if I did the right thing by moving to Arizona, but since the move 5 years ago (wow, I can hardly believe it's been that long), so many good things have happened to me, that never would have happened had I stayed in New Hampshire. So, despite missing my parents, my brother, and two of my best friends in the entire world, the move and all its ups and downs has been a good thing for me.

Recently, I've found myself in a creative funk. I have many designs and ideas and desires in my head, but every time I put thread to fabric, something doesn't go right. The piecing goes wrong, or the quilting does, or the fabrics decide not to get along with each other, after I've put the top together. In the past few weeks I've attempted to complete 3 or 4 different small scale quilts, each one has given me a headache to the point that I just don't want to create anymore.

But then I catch up on my blog list, and I see Bonnie's (Quiltville.com) new pattern, or Lane's (That Man Quilts?) latest Project Linus quilt or applique block, or Rita's (Red Pepper Quilts) new stash addition, or Amandajean's (crazy mom quilts) cute mug rug, or Kelly's (My Simple Walk) instructional video, or any other number of creative bloggers latest creations, my mind starts designing again. The art is there in my head, but when I try to bend the fabric to my will, something goes wrong, and I end up frustrated and depressed, and not wanting to sew. Plus, the craft shows have all been busts, so I'm feeling that what I think is my talent and calling is not really all that I think it is.

I guess I need to stop seeking exterior validation, but it is a good feeling when someone gushes over my work. I know my friends who have received handmade gifts from me do appreciate them, and I love that one of my closest friends' sons adores the Dr Seuss quilt I made for his birthday. But how many quilts can I make to give away? And how can I afford to only give things away?

I'm glad it is springtime, a time of renewal and rebirth. Now that A is mobile, I intend to take him up to the park in our community, to let him play in the grass, and swing on the swings. I will soak up the sun before it becomes too brutally hot to play outside, and I will recharge my batteries. This will hopefully get me  back into the swing of things, and if it doesn't? I'll figure something out.

Besides, how can you not smile when you see that grin?