Checking in on MCQBOM2016

In 2016 I made my first Mad Cat Quilts BOM. I chose blocks each month that I had never sewn before. I wasn't sure how I was going to lay them all out in the end. I decided to echo the geometric theme of the fabric but creating a simple grid with a dark sashing. 

I actually started sashing the blocks before I even finished the last block in December. But then I let it sit for a while. I added it to my first quarter FAL, but it still sat. 

This week, I gathered all the wrinkly parts and started finishing sashing the blocks. Elvis helped me, but he got a bit bored. He here is caught mid yawn: 

So, now MCQBOM2016 is getting closer to being a quilt top!! The blocks were all a bit different in size so I added some extra of the grey here and there. It's pretty wonky, but I'm really happy with it!

These are not the best photos, the fabric is wrinkly and not laid out flat, cats are everywhere! But that's how I work so I think it's worth seeing in it's true in progress shape! 

I also added this quilt to my Q2FAL list, so I'm happy to be making some headway on it. Now I'm on a bit of a roll. I'll post more soon! Today I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday, BOMs Away at What a Hoot, and more!

New Block: Jacob's Ladder (Solstice Block 12/25)

I'm making so many new blocks as part of Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge! Looking around, there seem to be a few variations of this classic block. This one was pretty easy to make and came together quickly!

I cut the pieces for this block at home then pieced it on a bus ride! It came out a wee bit smaller than most of the blocks. I never can tell!!

Linking up with Making Monday, Move It Forward Monday, etc...

WIP 4/9/17

We're off on an adventure today, and I hope to do some slow stitching in the car. 

Tom is staying home and guarding the quilts. 

Ghostman

One of my goals in 2017 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Another book from my father's audio stash, Ghostman by Roger Hobbs was read by Jake Weber. 

I listened to this book way back at the end of 2016. My husband got to hear some of this one, and it was fun to share and discuss this audiobook. 

Jack is the man on a robbery they call the Ghostman. His area of expertise is to make the other members of the heist disappear, but he never existed in the first place. When old debts and old loves come back to haunt him, Jack must reassess his career choices. 

I put off posting about this book for ages bc I didn't get a great picture of the cover. And bc I wasn't overly thrilled by the story it's self. But last week, my dad texted me to let me know that the author had died. In fact, Roger Hobbs died last year right around the time I was listening to this book. He was only 28. My father wanted to let me know, and also to see if I wanted to read/listen to the sequel. 
Ghostman was extremely silly mafia noir style. But it wasn't very good. Violent and genre specific to the point of nonsensical, I found the book a little hard to get thru. I liked the reader's enthusiasm, but he lost the thread a few times, intermingling voices, which didn't help this book's flow. Overall, Ghostman was a silly violent romp and totally worth reading/listening to, if that's your thing. Personally I'm more into classic noir. My favorite thing about this book is that it's set in Atlantic City, NJ. I enjoyed that it has some reference to the city and surrounding area. 
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy this type of mafia/noir/heist genre. 

Any lovers of this style of book out there? Can someone recommend other books like this?

New Block: Quilt Math (Solstice Block 11/25)

I was pleased to see the name of the 11th block for Pat Sloan's Solstice challenge bc "quilt math" is something I never do. I never use a ruler or other measuring tools when hand sewing and quilting. Quilt math is something I see many quilters get frustrated about, but not me! 

This was a fun block to make and come together quickly. This is another block I could see repeated to make a fun and geometric full quilt. 

Linking up around blog land. What are your favorite block link parties?

YOTS2017 / Evolution of a Stitch

One of my goals for this year is to be more mindful in how I improve my quilting craft. To me, this is a goal that coincides with Year Of The Stash. To be mindful of what fabric you use and how you craft it goes hand in hand!

One thing that I've been working on is the size and consistancy of my stitches. I'm completely blown away when I see the tiny stitches that many practiced hand sewists have. Being self taught, I really stumbled my way thru my first dozen years sewing and quilting. Now I'm finding my technique and style. 

After years of sewing and watching quilters, I'm trying to get my stitches small and even. This is a great collection of hand sewing videos. Practicing stitches is a great way to use my stash!

So far, my work isn't as precise as I'd like. But I'm trying!

Here's my month Stash Update for April:
Fabric Added from the Since Last Update: 0
Fabric Added Year to Date: Approximately 13.25
Fabric Used Since Since Last Update: Approximately 2 yd
Fabric Used Year to Date: Approximately 8.5 yd

What are some of the ways you practice your craft and use your stash?

Mad Cat Capsule: Spring (April - June)

This Spring, I have decided to try a Capsule Wardrobe. I plan to do a full year of capsule as an experiments for having less, loving what I wear and being comfortable all the time. More about capsule wardrobes here. 

For the last 2 weeks, I've been paring down my closet, reorganizing my stored clothing, cleaning, getting items ready to donate, or throwing things away. My plan in to wear my Spring wardrobe from April through June. I hear that putting your first capsule together is the hardest, and I can say, it's giving me some trouble. Although I have the bulk and core of my spring capsule together, there is still a substantial maybe pile, including a dress section to add. 

Traditionally, Capsule Wardrobes are 33 - 37 pieces and usually don't include under garments, workout clothes, loungewear, swimwear, etc... Some people include shoes, accessories, etc.. some do not. Some include everything and still manage under 40 items. 

My Spring Capsule rounds out at 50 items of clothing not including shoes, under garments, lounge wear, active wear, or anything else. I did include the 3 slots I'd like for dresses. I think this is pretty good considering I have hundreds (probably thousands) of clothes. I can also see myself pairng this down over the next three months. Just today I eliminated 3 items I thought I'd need, but when I looked at them again, I didn't. 

Here's my capsule:
9 tank tops.

Flounder couldn't resist helping me with the photos for this post. 

This seems like a lot and may be too many. But I use tank tops for layering and wear them pretty much every day in the colder weather. I also often wear them instead of bras so they kinda double as underwear. I have some with spaghetti straps, some wider straps, some short some long. I chose a wide variety, but tried to stick to my loose color theme. 

3 plain crew neck tees.
These are also a go to for layering for me. I picked my three favs that work with the color scheme I have going this season. Green, blue, and grey. Check out the picture above for an example. 

4 plain V neck tees. 

Again, I wear these mostly for layering, but as the weather gets warm, I'll wear them on their own, too. 

5 graphic tees.

You guessed it, layering. But also, on warm days I'll wear these alone (or with a tank underneath, and/or over shirt). Again, I tried to pick my favorites that fit my color scheme. Mostly they are band tees, but that local brewery shift is new. One of the only new items I have bought so far this year.

1 oversized stripped tee.

This is a anomalous item. I got it last year (new) and really loved it but barely wore it bc of several reasons ( it's white, oversized, not my usual style, etc...). But doe this capsule idea I want to incorporate some items that are different than what I normally wear. I want to find and develop my style. I know I love this tee, so I should wear it. 

1 ratty striped tee.  

This is another weird item. It's one of my all time favorite tees, and well loved, but I never wear it. This capsule I want to wear it and wear it out if I have to. One things I realized when I was crafting this wardrobe was that I loved actually distressed clothing. Not the store bought ripped knees things but clothes that I've worn to pieces. I want to incorporate this into my style more as a statement, not just neglect. Some might say I've gone too far with this shirt, and I couldn't wear it to work, but I feel great when I wear it. 

2 nice tees.

One floral, one silk, both vintage. These are great for work, fancier occasions or everyday. 

3 long sleeved tees.

These are for layering, and stand alone times when a long sleeved shirt is what you need. I have a warmer but very light and thin waffle tee, a striped tee, and a plain green tee (not pictured). 

2 three quarter sleeved shirts (not pictured).
These are really great middle weather shirts and will be especially useful for work. I also like wearing them, of course, so even tho they aren't my go to right now, I see myself getting a lot of use out of them. 

3 over shirts.

These are a mix of my favorites that I wear all the time, and my favorites I never wear. Now's the time! The sweater is from a friend's stoop sale, the denim was at a lost and found at work, and the checks is from the Boys section of a big box store. I've had all of them for over 5 years. 

4 sweaters.

This one was tough. I'm really into sweaters right now. 

4 skirts. 

I'm not a huge skirt wearer, I tried to pick a few that I love and will last me 3 months. 

6 pants.

I mostly wear pants! I love jeans! Lately I have been hunting for the best of the best of second hand pants. 5 out of these 6 are second hand. I would also like to find a really great pair of black pants to add but I have't yet. I didn't include any shorts in this capsule, partly bc I wear pants almost the whole summer and partly bc skirts can serve that purpose. 

2-3 dresses (not pictured).
I have narrowed my dresses down to a few I think I'd like. It's tough for me to know/decide which ones I will be likely to wear and style for cold and warm weather. I'll show these when I come to my decision. 

Maybe that's only 49 pieces? Phew, thats a fraction of what's normally in my closet and it still seems like a ton!! I'm not including hoodies, outerwear or lounge wear either. I have a feeling this will be a changing wardrobe as I see what clothes I gravitate towards. I already see the same items again and again. Part of the challenge for me with be to wear items out of my normal comfort zone, but partly I will ax items that I just don't wear. 

I'll continue posting updates, ideas, and thoughts about this project. 
If any one else is working on their Capsule Wardrobe please share your findings! Or share you wardrobe!

2017FAL Q1 Wrap Up + Q2 List

Although I did have a strong a start as I would have liked, I did have two finishes in Q1. Only one of them was on my Q1 list but that's ok. 

1. Finish Quilting, Bind, and Label Maybe Lyz Quilt
2. Finish Piecing Top, Make Backing, Baste, Quilt, Bind, Label, and Use, TOM Mat.
3. Finish Top and Backing, Baste, Quilt, Bind, Label and Name MadCatQuilt2016BOM Quilt
Bonus: Gift Mat
Mat for Ollie is Finished!

For Q2, I'm hoping to show more progress. I've chosen 4 projects to finish. 

1. Do everything for this Gift Quilt.

I want to have this secret sewing done by the end of this quarter. 

2. Finish Quilting, Bind and Lable Maybe Lyz Quilt. 

This has been on at least 4 of my finish along quarters along the way and I'd love to see it finished. I lost the thread that I was using (How does that happen?!) but I'm just going to forage ahead. 

3. Finish quilting, bind and Label Tom Mat.

Tom needs his mat already!

4. Finish Top, Create Back, Baste, Bind and Label MCQBOM2016 Quilt. 

I haven't touched this all year so far. I'd love to have this one done.

I'm happily linking up with our global hosts this year and can't wait to see everyones finishes for Q2 - 2017!!

Also linking up with Move it Forward Monday, Monday Making, MCM and more!

OMG April

Here we are at the end of the 3rd month of OMG2017, and I haven't had a singe finish! Yikes. Maybe I'm choosing too lofty goals. So for April, I'm picking an easy one.  I started this little quilt top using scraps from another top I'm building. For April, I'd Like to finish just the top. 

That goal seems easy enough and I'd really like to get it done. There's no rush on this one, it's not even on my Q2 FAL list, so that should take some pressure off. But I think this will make a perfect little baby quilt some day. 

Here's a rather sad look at OMG2017 so far:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - Not Finished
Apr - Finish Little Baby Quilt Top - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Needle and Thread Thursday, Finished or Not It's Friday, Building Block Tuesday and more!

Simple Swap: Green Tea

I've been trying to make little changes in my life and routines. Going to the gym, eating less bread, using less paper towels, setting cleaning and food shopping schedules, replacing OK solutions with better ones. I'm making some simple swaps. 

Lately, I've been drinking green tea. I dig it. I like the feeling of caffeine without the jitteriness of coffee. Don't get me wrong, I still love coffee and I wouldn't give it up! I like to have my 2 - 3 cups of coffee, then switch over to tea in the afternoon. I also have been having trouble with my knee lately, and green tea is a great anti inflammatory. What an easy simple swap. 

Anyone else out there working on making some little changes?

MCQBOM2017 - March - House Block

My goodness, you guys! It's the end of march already!! 
For the third month of the Mad Cat Quilts Block Of the Month 2017, I chose a house block. I have made a hose block before but not a simple straight on one like this. It was very easy to make. But I made it more difficult by cutting a long strip of the bird background that I didn't want to waste. So I ended up piecing it all together a little wonkily. I'm not sure what I used as reference/inspiration for this block but this is a pretty version. 

If your following along at home, here is the MCQBOM so far:
Dec - 0) Improve Tree Block
Jan - 1) Pineapple Block
Feb - 2) Spool Block
Mar - 4) House Block
April - 5) Four Tree Block - Coming soon!
May - 6) ?
June - 7) ?
July - 8) ?
Aug - 9) ?
Sept - 10) ?
Oct - 11) ?
Nov - 12) ?
Dec - 13) ?

Although not all the months have been revealed there is a vague theme to this year's BOM. Hopefully it's coming together slowly but surely. 

Originally, my husband was joining me with this BOM but he hasn't had much time to sew lately. If anyone else wants to follow along and share, please do!

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Main Crush Monday and more!

New Block: The Coffee Shop (Solstice Block 10/25)

The Coffee Shop Block, block 10 of the Solstice Challenge, is pretty similar to other blocks I've made, but bc of it's boarders, I'm still calling it a new block. It's basically a fat plus block (not sure if there's a real name for that) with little boarders, but playing with color really changes this block's look. 

Pat Sloan's Coffee Shop Block.

Look at how Pat made her version so that the borders become a sort of echo (at right). It's hard to believe how different our two blocks look. I might try that next time. I could picture many variations of this block to make a full quilt. 

Since I only eyeball the measurements in quilting, this block turned out quite a bit bigger than the others I have made so far. As usually, I'm not worried about it now, I'm sure everything will fit together in the end. 

I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, Tuesday Building Blocks and more!

Something New: Spring Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

Despite having read a lot about and taken inspiration from Capsule Wardrobes, I have never actually made one. This Spring, I plan to actually try it. You may be thinking, but it is Spring! I know! Just two days after the vernal equinox I'm testing out some ideas, writing some goals and getting started. I hoping to have my Spring Capsule done and ready by the start of April. 

"What is a capsule wardrobe?" You might ask. Basically, a capsule wardrobe is a an assortment of clothing limited to a few key pieces (usually 33-37 items) that are the only ones you wear for a season. All your other clothes are either given away, discarded, or stored for another capsule. 

There are many reasons I want to try a capsule this year but a major reason is that, although I have cut way down on what I buy (and I almost exclusively buy second hand now), I still have far too much. This is true of several aspects of my life, but with my clothes it's out of control!! This seems especially unnecessary bc I mostly wear the same things over and over. For 2017, I'm focusing on reducing my things and the waste that comes along with having too much. 

I'm trying to make our house less cluttered and more usable. Reducing the ridiculous amount of clothing I have (and don't use) will help that. The space taken up with these could be better utilized and I am sure I can learn to live with less. I'm hopping that I can be more organized and only hold on to the items I really need. This will be a good way to continue to shop sustainably, either by buying second hand or buying clothing made in the USA, or by responsible makers.  

Here are some initial thoughts:
Style - I'd like to have one... Maybe this can help. 
Work clothes - Id like to dress a bit more thoughtfully at work. Why not dress more thoughtfully all the time?
Comfort -  Is paramount.
Things I love - Color, pattern, high wasted jeans, plain t shirts, sweaters, dresses and skirts with pockets, Vans...
Precious things - I want to wear clothes I love, not hide them bc I worry they will get ruined.
Practical things - I want the clothes I wear to be useful in all aspects of my life and not in only one or two situations. I want them to fit well, and make me feel good. 

I have tried some other wardrobe projects in the past, but I'm hoping this one works. I'll be checking in from time to time with more thoughts. I hope to keep a record of this experiments but also to open it up for discussion among my readers. For more info and inspiration on Capsule Wardrobes follow these links:
Unfancy
Be More With Less
The Blissful Mind
Rowdy Kittens
 

Anyone else new to capsule wardrobes? Already have one? What works for you?

New Block: Among the Stars Fraction (Solstice Block 9/25)

For the 9h block of Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge, she chose a large block, or a small block with many parts, depending on how you look at it. Since I am making all my block around the same size, I didn't want to cut a million teeny HSTs or make an extra large block. Instead, I modified the pattern, using only a fraction of the whole block. 

I LOVE the way this block came out and I could see doing a whole quilt with just these stretchy stars! I also designed a second fraction of this block that I might also make. I think I will wait to see what the finished quilt might look like first before I do, though. I'm holding on to it in case I need extra blocks depending on how I choose to set them all. 

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, MCM, and more. 

Honey Pot Bee March + New Block: Echo Fragment

Every month, Molli Sparkles picks two blocks for the Honey Pot Bee BOM. One is generally a picture block and one more traditional. Some months he even throws in some extra blocks or modifications of previous blocks! I love this idea, because it allows you so many blocks to choose from. Make one each month, or all of them! So far, I've only made the more traditional blocks (another BOM I'm doing uses picture blocks). 

But I have to say, now that we are three months in, I'm not thrilled with any of them. I know that this falls mostly on me. Because I hand sew all my blocks and tend to favor simplicity (and ease) I have modified both the Feb and Mar Block. That's fine, I like how both of them have turned out. But overall, I'm just not excited or overly inspired by the direction this BOM is taking so far. 

I'll stick with it. I do like it, I'm just not thrilled by it. Here is my modified Echo Block for March. 

Sorry I cut off the block a little in this photo: I had to include that cute kitty!

I chose this "background" fabric to tie all my blocks together and every time I get ready to sew one I think, why did I do that? It's such s particular brand of ugly. But when each block is done, I'm so pleasantly surprised!! I really like the way it works with all the scraps I've been using. I also really like how light and easy it is to sew. 

Despite my misgivings, I am interested to see what else is in store for this BOM and wonder what the finished quilt might look like. 

Are you following along with The Honey Pot Bee? What are your thoughts so far?

I'm linking up with Molli via instagram, as well as Needle and Thread Thursday, Building Blocks Tuesday, and more!

The Prestige

One of my goals in 2017 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Many years ago, shortly after the movie came out, I read The Prestige by Christopher Priest. Recently I saw it pop on as a free audiobook from one of my subscriptions so I decided to listen to it. To my surprise, it was read by Simon Vance. 

Hot off the heels of listening to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo read by Simon Vance, I had no idea The Prestige was read by the same reader when I started it! I really loved his reading style on the last book, but even so, it took me a while to recognize it was him. It was a fun surprise!

Andrew Westley (born Nicholas Borden) is tempted to look into his early life, his life before he was adopted, when he is sent a mysterious diary. Next an invitation to the sender's home reveals yet another dairy and the strange tale of rival magicians spanning over a century. The story of Rupert Angier and his grand father Alfred Borden turns out to be far stranger than he can possibly imagine!

Having read this book over 10 years ago, I didn't remember everything, but I did remember some of the big reveals. I remembered it was very different than the movie and I remembered that I liked it. One of the things I had forgotten that the book consists of the diaries of the two men, and that the history of their rise to fame and sometimes gruesome details of their hatred towards each other is slowly explained via the journals. The Prestige is not your typical mystery but it will keep you guessing until the very end. I recommend this book for mystery lovers, magic enthusiasts, and those who like the diary style of story telling. 

What are your favorite books that were made in to movies?

New Block: Never Ending Love (Solstice Block 8/25)

This was another block from Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge that called for appliqué. 

And it's another block where I opted to leave that appliqué out. It's still a new block for me without it and I really like this one! I can very easily see incorporating this block into other quilts. For this and the other block that were supposed to be appliquéd, I used an eye catching fabric for the center of the block. I haven't begun to look at the blocks together to see how the ideas I have might fit into the over all setting of the quilt. But I think having two blocks with these fabric as focal points might work nicely. 

YOTS2017 / Spotlighting the Vintage

I love to use found, reclaimed, vintage and thrifted fabric in my quilts. I love that these fabrics find another new home with me, and where ever my quilts end up. Some of the fabric become very dear to me. For my 2017 Year of The Stash manifesto, I included the fact that finding and using these materials should be a priority.  

I like to look back and reminisce about them when looking at my quilts. I thought my readers might, too. For this first (perhaps only) installment, I wanted to look back on a very old quilt I made. I no longer have this quilt as it was a wedding anniversary gift, but I dug out some old photos to show. 

Here are the quilt front and back after I photographed them many years ago before gifting. 

Below, the highlighted areas (in yellow) show vintage fabric I used to create this quilt. 

Most of the vintage fabric I used for this quilt came from mine or my mother's stash. I pieced this quilt a long time ago in Vermont and also used new fabric I had purchased there. This is an old style of squares and stripes improve piecing that I don't use too often any more. 

Here the yellow highlight was a vintage square. The red highlight is a piece of fabric that was part of a display at the wedding of dear friends. For this anniversary quilt I wanted to incorporate it. 

Using vintage and reclaimed fabric and participating in YOTS, for me, are both ways to be mindful  of what I'm sewing and why I'm sewing. 

Here's my month Stash Update:
Fabric Added from the Since Last Update: 0
Fabric Added Year to Date: Approximately 13.25
Fabric Used Since Since Last Update: Approximately 2.5 yd
Fabric Used Year to Date: Approximately 6.5 yd

I'm feeling pretty good about my sewing this year so far. I wish I was doing more, of course, but I feel happy about what I am getting done. I have a lot of BOMs and Projects going that are helping me shop and bust my stash. I really like seeing that fabric becoming blocks and quilts instead of just sitting on the shelves. 

Share your Year of the Stash progress in the comments!

March OMG Goal

OK, I'm 0 for 2 this year so far. I'm choosing the same project as last month, partly bc I'm stubborn, but partly it's bc I really want to get this one done. So, instead of only the quilting being added as my OMG, I want to complete the mat. I did work on it a bit during February, but I also flitted about and touched on many projects. 

This mat is on my FALQ1 so there's another reason to get it done. Here's hoping I get Tom's Mat finished this month! Here's my monthly tally:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Slow Sunday Stitching, Move it Forward Monday, and more.