Cats on Parade

Ann's Midnight Poppies collection may be hitting stores, but her previous line, Cat-I-Tude, is still going strong! Today we're featuring a quilt from Quilter's World that uses the Cat-I-Tude fabrics. 

Cats on Parade designed by Lisa Swenson Ruble
and machine quilted by Diane Oakes;
featured in Quilter's World Fall 2018

What attracted you to the Cat-I-Tude collection? 
I really love the paisley swirls! There's so much detail and depth in that fabric, and it ties the entire line together. It's also a fun challenge to design a quilt featuring fussy-cut blocks; I wanted a quilt that would highlight the cat blocks but also have interest in the background. 

How did you choose the coordinates to use? 

Aqua is my go-to color, so that was easy. I tried a digital version using green instead of the purple, but it didn't pop the way I wanted it to. I chose to use the cat blocks on black and the black tonal background to enhance the rich contrast of the colors.

Tell us about your design.

I've designed several quilts with a woven look. I like the over-under illusion, and the depth that it creates. I actually designed this quilt about a year before Ann's fabric came out but hadn't found the right collection for it yet. It seemed to work perfectly with these prints. 

Tell us about the machine quilting.
Diane Oakes has quilted several of my woven quilt designs, and I think she does a great job. She chooses one motif (and thread color) for each "weave," so for example the purple areas all have the same design. This helps to enhance the woven idea. She followed the paisley lines in the outer border and also quilted some of the details on the cat blocks. 

What do you like best about this quilt? 
Definitely the woven effect. I like that it creates the illusion of dimension. 


Click here to see the entire Cat-I-Tude collection by Ann Lauer.
Click here to read more about this quilt.
Click here to order the kit for Cats on Parade.
Click here to purchase the fall 2018 issue of Quilter's World.

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Just Catting Around

Start with a two-block design and then add a captivating pieced border on opposite corners...what do you get? Pam Goggans' "Just Catting Around" quilt featured in the May/June 2018 issue of Love of Quilting magazine. Pam used Ann Lauer's Cat-I-Tude fabrics in her quilt, but chose the non-cat coordinates for a rich, jewel-toned quilt. If you prefer, you could substitute the cat prints for the paisley and make a feline-friendly version! We asked Pam to talk to us about her quilt design; find her interview below.

"Just Catting Around" by Pam Goggans;
featured in Love of Quilting May/June 2018

What do you find appealing about the Cat-i-tude fabrics?

I love the bright intense colors in the line. I was drawn to the multi prints but also the jeweled paisley and beads on black background. I also loved the tone on tone prints in so many colors.

Do you have a favorite print in the collection that you used?

My fav was the jeweled paisley and I LOVE bright jewel tones on black backgrounds.

Can you talk about your quilt design?

I love to design using simple basic blocks with basic units in contemporary colors. I love using Flying Geese and creating a chevron with two geese is often a unit you will see in my designs. I used Deb Tucker's (Studio 180 Design) Wing Clipper tool in making all of the flying geese in the quilt.  I like the precision I am able to achieve with this tool.

Using two blocks that include the same basic units with just a bit of a twist is often a feature of my designs. (These two blocks have almost the same units but the geese/chevrons point in on the turquoise blocks and out on the fuchsia blocks.) 

How did you decide on color placement in the blocks?

I tend to design mostly scrappy quilts but stuck with a repeating color "recipe" in the two alternating blocks for this project and then used the scrappy pieced border to play with all the fun colors in the Cat-i-tude line.  Many times my designs will include a "secondary" pattern. In this case it was created by the chains from the fuchsia squares and sashing setting squares. I like how it ties the whole quilt together.  

How did you decide on the border treatment?

I often include a border of the background fabric around the body of the quilt so the blocks "float" in the quilt. I also like the look of multiple borders and often include pieced units borrowed from the blocks in at least one of the borders. Sometimes a whole border of the pieced units is just too much, so a few units on two opposing corners is a look I like better. 

Did you notice my mistake?!? I had pieced the quilt, custom machine quilted it, bound it and sent it to the magazine, but it wasn't until I got it back and hung it up that I noticed that one of the sections of chevrons is pointed toward the bottom corner and all of the other ones are pointed away. Oh well. I guess that is my humility block.

How did you machine quilt this, and how did your choices enhance the quilt?

I enjoy the whole process of designing, piecing as well as quilting. The chain in the fuchsia blocks and the absence of the chain in the turquoise block leaves a great open space for quilting, so of course I had to put feathers in all of the open spaces.

What do you like best about the quilt?

I like the diagonal line created by the chain running through the quilt, and often include some diagonal aspect in my designs.  

Click here to see the entire Cat-I-Tude collection by Ann Lauer.

Click here to visit Pam Goggans' website. 

Click here to find the May/June 2018 issue of Love of Quilting.

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March Madness - Round 1, Games 1 and 2

Voting is now open for our March Madness Fan Favorite Pattern Bracket!

We have two games today; you can vote for both by leaving a comment below.

Voting is now closed for these games. 

Game 1 - Sleight of Hand vs. Sunset Eclipse

"Sleight of Hand" by Modern Quilt Studio featuring Dot Crazy

vs.

"Sunset Eclipse" by Heidi Pridemore featuring Patio Splash

Game 2 - Rainbow Taffy vs. Cool Cats

"Rainbow Taffy" by Christa Watson featuring Modern Marks

vs.

"Cool Cats" by Ann Lauer featuring Cat-I-Tude

Leave a comment below with your votes for these two games (choose Sleight of Hand or Sunset Eclipse for Game 1 AND Rainbow Taffy or Cool Cats for Game 2). One comment per person, please. You can also vote a second time on our Facebook Group – Sew Interesting. 

Voting for these two games is open through Tuesday, March 20 at 11:59 am EDT.

Voting is now closed for these games. 

Click here to see the entire Sweet Sixteen bracket.

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Cat-I-Tude Virtual Trunk Show

Welcome to our virtual trunk show! You've seen Ann Lauer's Cat-I-Tude collection, and today she's sharing some of the quilts she has designed using these fun prints. Don't miss the free quilt pattern at the bottom of this post! 

"Aristocrats"

I'm really excited with how the panel came out, and this quilt design (see two options below) shows it off beautifully! This wall quilt features the panel with a pieced border. 

Adding a second pieced border (and a few appliqued cats!) increases it into a lap-size quilt. 

Click here to find the pattern and kit.

"What's for Dinner"

This second runner and placemat set (you saw Dinner in Style here) uses the cat panel blocks with a little bit of easy piecing to finish them off. 

Click here to find the pattern and kit.

"Afternoon Delight"

This is one of my most popular patterns, and I love how it works with the cat blocks! You can piece this in an afternoon with fast flying geese units. 

Click here to find the pattern and kit.

"Radiance"
This two-block design is easier than it looks! The stars and chains create wonderful frames for the cats.

Click here to find the pattern and kit.

"Color Me Happy"
This quilt uses just the coordinates from the collection. It's wonderful for showing off a focal print in the center squares. 

"Cool Cats"

This is the free quilt pattern available on Benartex's website. Delicately pieced blocks alternate with cats in hexagons--fun to make and fun to look at!

Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

Click here to see Ann's entire Cat-I-Tude fabric collection.
Missed our original post with Ann's interview about Cat-I-Tude? Click here to find it. 
Click here to visit Ann's website and find her Cat-I-Tude quilt patterns and kits.

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Technique Tuesday: Piecing a Perfect Bargello

Hi! Ann Lauer here for a Technique Tuesday post using my new Cat-I-Tude fabric collection. 

I love to make bargello quilts. They have so much movement in the design, and on top of that, they're fun to piece. Today I'm going to show you the technique I use to assemble this type of quilt. It make assembly easier and more accurate. 

"Dinner in Style" bargello placemat pattern

When I make bargello quilts, I like to use Creative Grid Flannel in my quilt sandwich. This 2" cotton grid fabric has “surface tension” built in to keep your pre-cut fabric pieces in place when doing your quilt layouts. In our case, we'll be layering batting over it, and it will hold the batting in place. The grid lines help to ensure that the strips are laid straight and that the stitch lines are straight as well. 

Here's how I do it, using my Dinner in Style placemat set pattern as an example: 

Step 1: Choose your backing fabric. I chose Aristocats on black. This is a nice backing fabric because the placemats can even be turned over with this fun fabric on the back.  

Step 2: Position the backing fabric right side down, Creative Grid Flannel wrong side up and the batting on top. I prefer to use a thin batting such as Hobbs Thermore, which is bonded on both sides so it's easy to sew on. I like the combined weight of flannel and the thin Hobbs Thermore batting in table top projects. Note: The lines on the flannel are dark and you don’t want them to show through the lightest fabric that you are using. Therefore, I layer it wrong side up and place it under the batting.  You can see the lines through the batting well enough to keep the segments straight as you sew.  There are other grid products available and if you use one that isn’t printed too darkly, you may want to layer it on top of the batting.

Notice how you can see the lines showing through batting when you layer the batting piece on top of the Creative Grid Flannel.

Step 3: Following your quilt pattern, cut your fabric strips and sew into a tube. Press all your seams in one direction. 

Step 4: Use the grid to lay the first segment along a left hand vertical line and the top of the segment along a top horizontal line.  Follow the instructions and as you stitch each segment, open it up and check to be sure that the cut edge is staying parallel to a vertical grid line and that the seams within the segments are staying parallel with the horizontal grid lines.  Directions are included in my pattern on how to correct any areas that begin to bow.  By using this technique, all of the stitching will be straight and the bargello will be stabilized which will make it easy to fuse the cats onto the placemats.  

Step 5: Here's a view of the first five segments laid on the backing/grid/batting sandwich. These strips are tubes that have been opened on the designated seam so they lay flat. 

Step 6: When all the strips have been stitched in place, you will have made one large quilt-as-you-go section that you will cut into fourths to yield four placemats. Each placemat will be somewhat different, but they all go together beautifully.

Here is what the finished and bound placemats look like, complete with fussy-cut cat appliques: 

Click here to see Ann's entire Cat-I-Tude fabric collection.
Missed our original post with Ann's interview about Cat-I-Tude? Click here to find it. 
Click here to find the Dinner in Style kit and pattern.
Click here to find Creative Grid Flannel. 

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Meow! Cat-I-Tude is Here!

You don't have to be a cat lover to fall in love with Ann Lauer's Cat-I-Tude fabrics! 

(Although we're sure anyone with a feline friend is already smitten!)

Cat-I-Tude debuted at Fall Quilt Market, and the fabric is now available in shops. 

Ann's cats aren't cute fuzzy little furballs--they're sophisticated porcelain-looking cats with elegance and style, created in a vibrant palette of jewel-toned purples, aquas pinks and greens that pop against both black and white backgrounds! 

If cats aren't for you, the line also includes a paisley, heart prints, and a variety of machine quilting inspired blenders. Wonderfully rich colors with gorgeous shaded depth in the designs! 

We asked Ann to tell us about the Cat-I-Tude collection: 

Why did you choose cats as a theme for a fabric collection?

They’re such a beautiful and recognizable shape. I’ve never had a cat, but I do like their shape and movement. They’re so artistic and fluid.

You “decorated” these cats—no fur!

Yes! I think of these cats as being hand-painted porcelain. I didn’t want them to look cutesy or cartoony. The swirls and paisleys you see on them (and in other prints in the collection) are similar to long arm quilting designs.

Tell us about the panel.

I’m really excited about how this panel turned out. Each of the cats is a nice size, and they’re surrounded by a 1” feather border. If you cut ¼” outside of that, you have a 10” square block. With no frame, the cat will fit in an 8” square block. It’s designed to be used in a variety of sizes. The paisley print is on the top and bottom of the border. If you add strips of the paisley print to the sides, you’ll have an instant quilt. The panel comes on both black and white backgrounds.

What do you think really sets this fabric line apart?

The shading creates a luminescent look, laced with just the right touch of metallic gold. Everything—the hearts, the cats, the beads—is shaded to create depth. I also love how the jewel tones look with the gold on the cats—it just enhances that porcelain feeling.

Can you share some of your favorite prints?

The cat print features the same cats from the panel, made smaller. They have all the detail of the larger cats. Several of my patterns have them cut out and used as applique.

The hearts are a machine quilting motif. They come with and without cats. I love the cats climbing over the hearts!

The tonals: Feather Frolic is in beautiful teal, red, and purple—the darkest coordinate values—and again, a machine quilting motif. The medium value is the Triangular Motion print, and the lights are the Beaded Swirl print, which also comes in a multi-color version.

The all-over Paisley Style matches the panel. It has plenty of swoops and swirls, and a lot of shaded depth.  

psst! There's a coordinate Cat-I-Tude embroidery collection, too! Click here to see it.

Click here to see Ann's entire Cat-I-Tude collection. 

Click here for a look at the patterns Ann has designed using Cat-I-Tude. 

(We'll be taking you on a virtual trunk show later this week!)

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