Quilts, Cats and Crafty Links

Well hello there! The weekend’s here and it’s time for another Bonjour Quilts update. I’ve lots to share so read on to see all the news around these parts.

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    What I’m Sewing…

    My citron and teal quilt top is finally coming together.

    A kite lattice quilt pattern using a kite quilt block created from a square. This quilt will be made in a teal and citrine yellow colour scheme.
    An orange Burmese cat sitting on an ironing board in front of a quilting design wall. The wall holds quilt blocks for a kite lattice quilt in citron yellow and teal fabrics.

    I cut up the extra yardage I ordered and made all the blocks needed for my desired quilt size.

    Citron yellow fabrics by Ruby Star Society and Denyse Schmidt (with a mustard Art Gallery Fabrics solid) for a yellow and teal kite lattice quilt.

    A reminder to myself to stay focussed when cutting. ‘Measure twice, cut once’ is much better than ‘measure once, cut twice’. I was distracted when I made my first cut – and on a stack of five, no less. Grrrr.

    Cutting a kite quilt block, but not paying attention so that I cut one of the angles incorrectly. D'oh. And even worse, I had stacked 5 blocks to cut this. These mis-cut fabric pieces went into my scrap pile, hopefully to be included in a later quilting project.

    The next try was much better:

    Cutting a kite quilt block, and paying attention so that I cut both of the angles correctly. Nothing worse than cutting one wrong and having to do the whole lot over again.

    I did eventually get it together and laid it all out according to my diagram. I didn’t quite have enough room on my design wall though. A row and a half had to sit on the floor.

    Kite lattice quilt blocks on the design wall, in scrappy citron yellow fabric with Ruby Star Society Speckled in Teal fabric as the lattice.
    A citron and teal quilt top being sewn together on a Janome 8900 sewing machine.

    I’m happy to have this citron and teal quilt top sewn up and off my design wall so I can put my Bottomless Bear Paws quilt blocks up. I don’t like to keep them on the floor too long because the cats sit on them and drop fur. Thank goodness for sticky rollers.

    Bear Paw quilt blocks made from the Bottomless Bear Paws quilt pattern by Bonjour Quilts. These scrappy blocks in green, blue and aqua will be the basis of a new quilt. The centre of the blocks has the option for a small heart or a simple square paw pad.

    Now that I can get back to the Bear Paws, I sewed up some low contrast versions to see how they will look around the high-octane blocks. These pale blue HSTs give you an idea of the light colours I’m talking about. (As an aside, doesn’t the light blue look fab with the citron yellow?)

    Light blue and white fabric half-square triangles (HSTs) on a cutting mat with some trimmings and some citron fabric. The light blue and citron look really fresh together.

    More to follow on the Bear Paw Blocks in the future.

    Around the Interwebs…

    Some gorgeous embroidery in Miriam’s Instagram feed; I love how you can see the works progress over time.

    Embroidery + cool recycled stuff = great multi-media art. This is such a fun account to scroll through!

    These are very cute, handmade toys that I guarantee are not what you expected!

    I loved these videos showing the clever way artist Jae Suk Kim creates beautiful painted floral dresses.

    The winners of the Modern Quilt Guild’s Make-A-Difference Challenge have been announced. This year’s theme was Pollinators and the quilts are impressive and thoughtful.

    Reader Quilts…

    I always love to see quilts you’ve made from Bonjour Quilts patterns so please keep sending them in! Either email (Kirsty at BonjourQuilts dotcom), or tag me on Facebook or Instagram.

    Alright friends, it’s September already! That means it’s time to get your Halloween sewing projects underway.

    First up, don’t forget I have my Patchwork Skull Block tutorial for you. Adrienne has sewn up this block to be part of a larger Halloween quilt; it looks fantastic:

    Skull patchwork block sewn by Adrienne in black fabric with low volume fabric bones. This quilt block is a free tutorial and is a great inclusion in a Halloween quilt.

    Stephanie at Patch + Dot used the Skull Block in her epic Halloween Sampler Quilt:

    A skull patchwork block sewn by Stephanie from Patch + Dot for her Halloween Sampler Quilt. You can find the tutorial for this block at Bonjour Quilts, and links to all the blocks Stephanie used at Patch + Dot.

    I love the spin Amanda put on her Skull Block – an appliqué floral headpiece and some lovely chartreuse fabric to create a cushion cover.

    I love the spin Amanda put on her Patchwork Skull Block - a floral headpiece and some lovely chartreuse fabric to create a cushion cover. Find the Patchwork Skull Quilt Block tutorial at Bonjour Quilts.

    Another adorable Skull Block cushion cover sewn up by Wendy:

    A Skull patchwork quilt block sewn into a super cute Halloween cushion cover by Wendy! This patchwork block tutorial can be found at Bonjour Quilts.

    Holly used her Skull Block in this fantastic mini-quilt. The perfect decoration for Halloween!

    Holly turned her Skull Patchwork Block into this fantastic mini quilt, perfect for home decoration for Halloween. You can find the Skull Patchwork Quilt Block tutorial at Bonjour Quilts.

    I love seeing these Skull Blocks on mass in your quilts. Here Krystyna made a ghoulishly delightful camo and black fabric quilt from the block. She quilted it with gold thread, which is just perfection!

    I love seeing this Skull Block on mass in your quilts. Here Krystyna has made a ghoulishly delightful camo and black fabric quilt from the block. She quilted it with gold thread, which is just perfection! Find the Skull Patchwork Block tutorial at Bonjour Quilts.

    Jenny did an amazing job with this quilt for her daughter-in-law. She upsized the block and created a super spooky full sized quilt from her blocks. I love how the skulls float off the dark background.

    Jenny did an amazing job with this quilt for her daughter-in-law. She upsized the Skull Patchwork quilt block by Bonjour Quilts and created a super spooky full sized quilt from her blocks. I love how the skulls float off the dark background.

    Jan used several Skull Blocks to turn a skeleton panel into an awesome king sized quilt:

    Jan used several Skull Patchwork Quilt Blocks to turn a skeleton panel into an awesome king sized quilt. The tutorial for the Skull Patchwork Block can be found at Bonjour Quilts.

    So many imaginative ways that you’ve used this block! I love seeing them all.

    Just to shake out the spiders before we leave the Reader Quilts section – here’s Lori’s lovely and bright When You Wish… baby mat. You can find the tutorial for this baby quilt right here.

    The When You Wish...quilted baby mat pattern, as sewn by Wendy. This pattern can be found at Bonjour Quilts and is a fat quarter friendly, HST based, modern quilt pattern.

    Chez Bonjour…

    September means the start of Spring in Australia, and we’ve been treated to lovely weather here in Queensland. I’ve enjoyed my beach walks:

    A sandy path to the beach at Mooloolaba. This path to the ocean is flanked with pandanus trees and a fence to protect the sand dunes. At the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

    Lake walks:

    Lots of bike paths and walking paths around the suburb of Brightwater on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Lots of native trees, bushes and birds around the man-made lake in the centre of the suburb.

    And the all the flowers that have started to pop out:

    Moonlight white grevillea flowers on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
    Bright red flower clusters in this Penta bush found on the Sunshine Coast, Australia

    Health wise, it’s been rough here at Chez Bonjour. One by one we’ve all fallen to whatever cold/virus has been doing the rounds. Lots of naps, hot tea, cough lozenges (so much coughing!) and tissues. Hopefully next week will see us all back to normal.

    Cats’ Corner…

    Finally, here’s a quick check-in with the cats before I go. Tigger (orange) and Lulu (brown), our Burmese cats, know that the best way to avoid catching a cold is to just stay asleep all day.

    An orange and a brown Burmese cat asleep on a quilt, on an Ikea armchair. The orange cat has his paw over the legs of his sister.
    An orange Burmese cat asleep on a quilt.
    A brown Burmese cat asleep on top of her cream scratching post platform.

    Well played, little kitties.

    Have a great weekend!

    That’s it from me this week. Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend, staying healthy and hopefully finding some time for sewing. You won’t regret it – making things is good for your health!

    Until next time,

    Kirsty x

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      17 thoughts on “Quilts, Cats and Crafty Links”

      3. Coin toss what’s prettier – the vista, the quilts or the kitties! Thanks for sharing all this! Chicago is about the same temp – but going in the opposite direction, enjoying the begining of fall.

        Reply

      4. Sorry about the other comment. I blame spellcheck as Iā€™m not drunk! It should have said ā€œ The citron quilt is beautiful.ā€

        Reply

        • Sheilah, I love the thought that it’s drunk with beauty šŸ˜€

          As for the triangle leftovers, I’m thinking about those right now…will let you know!

          Reply

      7. Been a follower for quite some time. I always enjoy reading your posts. And the photos always make me smile. The Citron quilt is amazing. Your blog and you are an inspiration.

        Reply

      8. Hello Kirsty, I’m so happy to have stumbled across your blog. I’m brand new to quilting and your tutorials and helpful newsletter has been so great to learn from. I thank you!
        PS–love the kitties too :)

        Reply

      9. I love the Citron quilt! Wow, that has turned out gorgeous!
        Meanwhile, we are seeing the early signs of fall here in VA…sigh. Enjoy your spring. Love the flower pics…what are those??

        Reply

        • Hi Rose, yay for Fall (I know you’re not ready but boy, you guys do autumn so well). The flowers – the white one is a grevillea (native to Oz) and the red is a Penta (tropical bush that flowers multiple times through the year, making it very popular). I’m looking forward to more Spring blooms as the weather ramps up toward Summer.

          Reply

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