Something Bewitching Comes My Way!

These fabrics Bewitching ! :-) 

(affiliate link) 

The light background is 

Bella Solid  Parchment

(affliate link)

Sneak Peek 

The little quilty kitties and I are putting our heads together

and will soon be sewing a Bewitching Quilt ... we hope!

October is the Bewitching time ...  ;) 

Fall Into Some Blog Hopping Fun ~ Sign Up Now!

Coming in October!

Peek A Who? Halloween Blog Hop

hosted by

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Last Day to Sign Up Today 

Join Now! 

and

Coming in November!

Pick A Pumpkin Blog Hop

hosted by

Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks

Hope to see you falling into these hops!

Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop

It's fun.
It's fast.
It's free.
It's for my furbabies. 

What could be more fabulous? 

It is a Kennel Quilt for my quilty kitty pet carrier.

It is sew much fun to make,
 it is hard to make just one, 
and best of all ...
you can sew as many as you want because 
you can make one for every furry friend you love
and it can also be given for a good cause
to furry friends in need who are
 waiting for their forever home ... 

TQPM Kennel Quilts Program

Their free how-to patterns
may be found here:

TQPM Free Kennel Quilt Patterns

 I followed the free "Orphan Block"  pattern to make my first kennel quilt
for one of my pet carriers.

I chose to make one of those fabulous free quilt block patterns
that has been on my list for a long time ...

Free Cheddar Jack Quilt Block

from Pam @ Mama Sparks World

Since this block measures 9.5," I added two borders,
the first of 1.5" orange strips
and the second 2.5" paw print strips to the top and bottom
and 4.5" paw print strips to the sides
and I squared and trimmed the top to
12.5" by 18.5"

Then I sandwiched ...

Here are my kennel quilt layers:
(1) backing ... right side up.
(2) top ...  right side facing right side of backing,
(3) two layers of warm cotton batting for extra padding.

Here is my finished kennel quilt ... shown with a little help from the Nutmeg paws.

This quilt was scrunched, chomped, clawed. loved and quilty kitty tested by Maestro.

(Note:  For Kennel Quilts that I am donating I do not let my kitties sleep or play with them
so they will not smell like my kitties when they are given to their new owner.)

This quilt was made to fit my small pet carrier.

Just in time for Maestro to really test it out!
Kitty was due for her one year check-up and booster shots at the vet.
Maestro, Nutmeg and Katniss all had their own check up day and all are well.

Then it was time to make a stack of these quilts to give to other furbabies ...

I made these nine 12" by 18" cotton Kennel Quilts over the weekend.

For this purpose I pulled a box of orphan HSTs and bright washed scrap fabrics
and this colorful kitty print.
I used two layers of cotton batting leftovers for the padding.

I used this colorful Cleopatra Superior Thread  (affiliate link) 40 weight King Tut Thread
for the sewing and quilting.

King Tut is my favorite top stitching and quilting thread.

The large spools last for many, many quilts.

I used my heavy duty walking foot on my Janome
and a Schmetz Chrome Needle (affiliate link)
for all the steps as this sews easily through all the layers of batting and fabric.

These Kennel Quilts are going to a shelter in Redding, CA,
which is helping critters displaced by the terrible fires in California
and has requested kennel quilts for these furbabies in their time of need.
I learned of this effort from

TQPM Kennel Quilt FB Page

There are addresses for two other shelters in need of help in California.

California Shelter Addresses Here

Please read and follow their guidelines if you are making quilts for their charity initiative.

You can also make a donate kennel quilts to a local shelter.
All fur babies deserve a quilt.
Call your shelter and ask what sizes they need.
I have made larger ones for canine crates.

Be sure to find all the fabulous freebies today: 

Tuesday August 21

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

Songbird Designs

Samelia's Mum

Vroomans Quilts

This fabulous freebies hop is sponsored by

Joan @ MoosestashQuilting

There are sew many fabulous free quilt patterns in the online world of quilting.

Before you go, be sure to check out my 

Life in the Scrapatch Free Patterns

and

My Tutorials

I love sharing with all the wonderful online quilters who have helped me so much. 

My all time favorite free quilt pattern?

My Pink and Green Hugs and Kisses Baby Quilt

My favorite free quilt pattern is

Hugs and Kisses from Quilt Pox

It also makes  a good group quilt ...

This fabulous scrappy version was made with a lot of help hands by some of my online quilty friends.

What is your favorite fabulous freebie?  

Fabulous and Free!

This fabulous blog hop starts today!

Monday August 20

Just Let Me Quilt

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Days Filled With Joy

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels and Eats

Quilt Fabrication

Tuesday August 21

Life in the Scrapatch

Songbird Designs

Samelia's Mum

Vroomans Quilts

Wednesday August 22

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Creatin' in the Sticks

Just Because Quilts

Hazel's Daughter

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

BeaQuilter

Thursday August 23

Words & Stitches

Patchouli Moon Studio

Something Rose Made

Sew Golden A Chance

Clever Chameleon
SewManyYarns

Friday August 24

Seams to be Sew

That Fabric Feeling

Selina Quilts

Quarter Inch Crafter

Yanicka Quilt

MooseStashQuilting

This hop is organized and hosted by the always fabulous

Joan @ Moosestash Quilting

Happy Blog Hopping! 

How I Am Spending My Summer Vacation ~ Part 4

Back and Better Than Ever! 

The move back into my sewing room is complete.

I am up and sewing! 

The only thing that is new in the room is my lovely red adjustable height chair

and a small open shelf unit to the right of my sewing table 

to keep my machine needs and scrap basket project in easy reach.

I like my chair to be higher than most desk chairs

and this one is a drafting table office chair that adjusts to counter height 

so I can also use it at my counter height cutting table.

The ceiling light is directly over my cutting area. 

The cutting table is an old heavy office desk top that has been re-purposed

by setting it on top of my storage cubes.

I have a lot of stuff packed into this small room
and it is working well.

Most of my fabric, patterns,
(many quilt tops waiting to be quilted),  etc,
are stored in my closet and in the fabric cubes

where it is safe from fading.

This room gets a lot of afternoon and evening sun.

I need to stand and stretch and take frequent breaks while sewing so

my aging muscles do not cramp and freeze in place.

This is my work corner.

It is very compact, convenient and ergonomic.

The corner pressing board is also counter height.

I made my room complete by re-hanging the wall quilt signed by some of my quilty friends 
and the valance I made to match with left over fabrics
which was placed when I originally moved into my quilty home ...
Quilt Story Here

As you can see, Maestro loves the bright open window 

with a view of my neighbor's lovely flower garden.

My quilty kitties and I are sew happy!

How I am Spending My Summer Vacation ~ Part 3

Getting ready to get Back-to-Sew!

Moving back into my sewing room is going well.

I am still organizing, although I have done some sewing.

Had to make sure my machine was up and running after she moved back in! 

While sorting my  huge stash of fabrics and old magazines and patterns,

I found this gem ...

American Patchwork and Quilting, April 2008, Issue 91

This was a great issue.

I love the cover quilt, which is called "Two of A Kind"

and in featured in the 30's prints l

and also in soft summer batiks.

The pattern is a interesting variation of the Card Trick block.

The cutting and layout makes this an easy sew.

I really want to make this quilt!

I pulled the fabrics in the photo from my 30's stash.

Th fabrics for the blocks and background is the bottom row. 

The top row in the photo shows two possible options for the border and binding,

one red and one blue.

I have not decided which I will use.

Suggestions and opinions always welcome.  

Here is a photo taken about a week ago before I moved my sewing machine back in.

As you can see, my quilty kitties are already enjoying the new digs. 

A lot has been done since then.

Grand Re-Opening of My Sewing Room post coming soon! 

It's a Rainy Scrappy Summer Saturday ...

... a good day to sew! 

I am sewing along today with the lovely people at

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2018

where it is orange month.

I love orange!

I once used the orange Ninja Turtle as a reason to paint my sons walls a neon orange.
The boys loved Ninja Turtles at the time and orange was the  best match
for the curtains with their comic heroes
when we they got their big boys bunk beds and painted over the colorful cars and trucks that drove across the walls of their toddler years.
I think about those fun years sometimes while I sew.

I made three 6.5" blocks today

including this "transition" block which has other colors.

I have been sewing these 1.5" squares together as leaders and enders
for about a year and a half.

I started this scrap quilt Here for the RSC 2016.

I do have a stack of blocks now ... still not enough for a quilt ...

... someday ... :-)