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Category Archives: Quilt Patterns

Christmas Quilt Pattern – A Sweet Tradition

by Cat

Let me reminisce as I recount the story that inspired the design of my latest Christmas quilt pattern.

Christmas Quilt Pattern - Nutcracker Sweet

When my daughter was growing up, it was our mother/daughter tradition to attend the Nutcracker ballet every year. In my community, the Nutcracker is always performed the weekend after Thanksgiving. From my initial blog posts you may remember that my early sewing career focused on making hand-smocked dresses for my daughter, and every year I would smock a special dress for her to wear to the ballet. We have so many fond memories of those times we shared at this special event. During those years, I also began a nutcracker collection, which I display every Christmas. I have many different nutcrackers ranging from finely crafted German nutcrackers to ordinary department store types.

German Nutcrackers

The Soldiers

Jim Shore Santa Nutcracker

Novelty Nutcrackers including Herr Drosselmeyer (center)

Nutcracker Collection

My Largest (3-1/2 feet) and Smallest (4-1/2inches) Nutcrackers

Big and small, I love them all!

The nutcracker tradition in my family continues to this day with a different twist. Now my granddaughter, who is a budding ballerina, dances in the ballet every year, much to her grandmother’s delight. She auditions for one of the children’s parts each fall, and has a wonderful time dancing on stage with the ballet company. I just attended the ballet on Saturday night, and Corina danced beautifully, as always!

When I considered designing a Christmas quilt pattern, I thought about all the darling snowmen, Santas, Christmas trees, wreaths, etc. But what about a nutcracker? I couldn’t remember seeing one, so I set about to remedy the situation. My new Christmas quilt pattern, Nutcracker Sweet, has just been released. Of course, I couldn’t resist the play on words referring to the actual Nutcracker Suite by the great composer Tchaikovsky. This little quilt makes a charming wall hanging to display in the midst of all my Christmas decorations. In fact, it was very easy to make with a Christmas fabric charm pack and a few small pieces of wool and trims. Now I have a brand new nutcracker to add to my collection! –Cat

Nutcracker Sweet Cover

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Quilt Pattern Shop Opens

by Cat

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Hurray! Cat announces the opening of Cat’s Creations, a quilt pattern shop where my current patterns can be purchased. More patterns from the Asian Fanfare and Small Pieces of the Past collections will be coming soon and featured in my store. Follow me on FaceBook or sign up for my free newsletter to qualify for discounts and to be notified of all new quilt pattern releases.

Happy Quilting,
Cat

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Patriotic Quilt Pattern – “Little Red Cross” and “Patriotic Parade”

by Cat

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I am enamored with small quilts. And I especially enjoy a patriotic quilt pattern from the civil war era. I love to decorate my home with quilts, so many times “small” is definitely better. A small quilt can decorate a wall, a table top, or make an adorable accessory for a doll, for instance. Actually, I’m dreaming of a collection of small civil war quilts to hang as a grouping on a wall in my quilting studio. Find out more about my patriotic quilt pattern collection here.

What are some of the benefits of making small quilts? Let’s face it–small quilts take a lot less time to make! For most of us, life is busy, and it’s so rewarding to actually finish a project in a short amount of time and be able to enjoy it. They are less expensive to make and are wonderful to give as gifts for special occasions or “just because.” It seems as though many of us give away more quilts than we keep for ourselves, so what little girl wouldn’t love to receive a special small quilt for her doll? Or, who wouldn’t want to receive a beautiful patriotic quilt wallhanging?

The inspiration for my new pattern “Patriotic Parade” and “Little Red Cross” came from my daughter’s American Girl doll collection. I love to read about the different historical time periods each doll represents. My daughter and nieces all loved Molly, whose character represents the World War II era. In my research, I discovered that Red Cross quilts were commonly made as fundraisers for the American Red Cross organization in the 1940′s. Also, patriotic quilts featuring the Stars & Stripes were very popular. It was fun to design two little quilts that are reminiscent of that time period.

Here is my newest patriotic quilt pattern – Patriotic Parade and Little Red Cross.

Little Red Cross and Patriotic Parade

I guess I have never outgrown my passion for dolls. My friend and I love to visit the American Girl Place in Denver. I guarantee this wonderful world of dolls will provide plenty of inspiration to add more quilts to my “Small Pieces of the Past” patriotic quilt pattern collection in the near future.

The American Girl Place

A Peek Inside

Felicity and Elizabeth

Please visit my store to learn more about my Patriotic Quilt Pattern collection.

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My First Fish Quilt Pattern – “Sea Jewels”

by Cat

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I’m back to my blog after spending some intense design time getting patterns ready for our local shop hop and a couple of quilt shows coming to our area this summer.

I write frequently about quilts that tell a story through theme, design, and color palette. My patterns are also based on stories that relate in some way to my personal life experiences. In today’s post, I’d like to share a little about how my first fish quilt pattern “Sea Jewels” came to be.

Over three years ago, my son and daughter-in-law decided to begin the process to adopt a little boy from Haiti. They are the parents of my three beautiful grandchildren, two girls and a boy. The process was long and drawn out, and there was plenty of time to dream about the quilt I wanted to create for this little boy. I wanted to capture the colorful personality of the Haitian people as well as the beauty of the surrounding sea. Hence, the idea for this colorful fish quilt pattern.

Just before Christmas, 2008, we were able to put a name and face to the little Haitian boy who would one day join our family. Jeffry was 9 months old at the time, and we longed to be able to hold him in our arms and share in all the milestones of his young life. It wasn’t to be, however, as days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months while we waited for the adoption process to play out. Jeffry’s orphanage, God’s Littlest Angels, sent us regular updates and photos, while providing a loving home for our special little boy. Jeffry’s other grandmother and I were both praying that our children would have Jeffry in their arms by his 2nd birthday. It began to look unlikely that it would happen by February, 2010, since there were many more steps to complete before the adoption could be finalized.

Then, in January, 2010, a massive earthquake devastated the small country of Haiti. I remember I was quilting at my longarm quilting machine when I heard the news. We soon learned that all the children and staff members at Jeffry’s orphanage were safe! In a matter of days, my son and daughter-in-law were on a plane to Miami where all the adoptive parents were finally able to greet their children who had been released on humanitarian parole. Jeffry was home at last!

I’m happy to report that Jeffry is thriving with his new family! It is an understatement to say that he loves life and is constantly exploring his world through the eyes of a two year old. When he rushes headlong into my arms and greets me with a huge smile, my heart overflows with love. Our prayers were answered—just in time for his 2nd birthday!

Jeffry

Jeffry's Birthday Cake

Jeffry Opening Birthday Presents

Jeffry and Emma

And so, “Sea Jewels” was created in honor of my grandson, Jeffry. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this fish quilt pattern will be donated to God’s Littlest Angels, the orphanage which houses so many beautiful Haitian children and gives them love and hope.

Fish Quilt Pattern - Sea Jewels

Visit my store if you are interested in purchasing this fish quilt pattern.

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Asian Quilt Pattern – “Serenity”

by Cat

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Asian Quilt Pattern - Serenity

Scraps, scraps, and more scraps! I had just finished a Trip Around the World queen-sized Asian quilt for my son and daughter-in-law from various Asian prints. There were definitely enough left-over scraps to create a coordinating Asian quilt wall hanging, but what would it look like? With a little bit of daydreaming, a picture formed in my mind. That picture became a reality as I pieced together the fan and designed the Calla Lilly applique. Take a look at this Asian quilt pattern.

What shall I do with these scraps?

It was exciting to see it all come together as a unique Asian wall hanging born in my imagination, and it reminded me of a little poem I wrote a few months ago when I was organizing my ever-growing pile of scraps from my Civil War quilts.

MULTIPLICATION

Scraps galore,
Multiply on my floor,
Remnants of an inspired quilt.

Creativity spurred,
New shapes emerge,
A second quilt is born.

Isn’t that an image of quilters throughout history trying to use up bits and pieces of perfectly good fabric for yet another project? Difficult economic times can warrant such frugality, or maybe, we want to reduce our “stash.” At other times, we just want to get creative! We never run out of scraps—-ever! The challenge is to create something new from the old and actually like it. I’ll have more to say on this subject in a future post. For now, my new Asian quilt pattern, “Serenity”, was born from a pile of scraps on my sewing table. I hope you enjoy it!

Asian Quilt Pattern - Serenity

Create an elegant statement for your wall or table with this awe-inspiring Asian quilt pattern. Simple, illustrated instructions for piecing and machine appliqué make this a fast, easy project for your home.

Please visit my store for more information on my first Asian Quilt Pattern.

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