A cute Calico kitty, and some more Autumn leaves

 Hello everyone!

I am back today with a quick blog post in which I will share a fun and easy tutorial for a Calico kittten, and some more tips and hints for the next installment of the Quilted Scarecrow sewalong I am participating in.

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Yesterday I had some fun playing around with some scraps and an Accuquilt die ( if you are thinking this tutorial won't work for you  because you don't own any Accuquilt products...not true, so  read on anyway ;) )

I started by sewing together lots and lots of little ( and some bigger) scraps, until I had a nice sized, colorful piece of fabric: 

Did you know? Sewing scraps together willy-nilly is very therapeutic!

I sewed until the piece of fusible web that I had matched the size of my scrappy fabric, and I kept checking by laying one on top of the other. 

When I deemed by fabric piece big enough, I fused the fusible to the back of my fabric with my iron.  

I also fused some plain white, black, pink, and green, for noses, inner ears, and eyes. You could ofcourse choose whatever colors you like.

 Then came the fun part! I pulled out my Go! Kitten die ( click) and cut an appropriate sized fabric piece to cover the various die shapes.  You will need to do the eyeball and pupils and inner ears twice ( remember to reverse one of your ear fabrics), to get the correct numbers! 

I covered my die with my mat and ran it through the Go!Me cutting machine ( click), and voila! One kitty all ready to be assembled! 

 

***If you DO NOT have an accuquilt, you can still make a cute project like this by tracing a cookie cutter or a line image you find online, or even by drawing your own image ( the simpler, the better) onto the back of your fusible. And then go ahead and cut it out with scissors ;).

The next step ( which I forgot to take pictures of) was to layer all the kitty shapes where I wanted them on a piece of felt (or you can use wool) and to fuse them down. ( Be careful if you are using recycled felt because it may melt!). 

Next,  I used my sewing machine and a straight stitch to sew all my shapes down and went around the kitty outline twice with black thread. You can choose whatever stitch and whatever color thread you prefer, as long as everything gets stitched down. 

The final step was to trim close ( about 1/4 away) to my kitty so that my felt still showed.  You can decide to add a little hanger or possibly a magnet and any other litlle fun items you want ( always remember who the recipient is and whether the items will be safe for them to have!). I opted to free stitch a little black heart on mine, but a button or a bow would be super cute!

That's it! Easy-peasy, but if something is not clear, please ask! And I hope to see lots of kitties appear in the Facebook groups! This technique could be used on lots of different dies, so experiment and have some fun!

Alright, onto the Quilted Scarecrow sewalong now ( you can read more information  about this in this blog post here: https://myfarmhousequilts.blogspot.com/2024/06/summer-happenings-at-farmhouse-quilts.html.

This month's leaf blocks are super simple to construct, but there are a million of them ( just kidding, there are only 30, but while I was cutting all my little teeny pieces it felt like a million~Ha!) And before you say so, nope, I did not have a die for that, but I wished I did! One thing I did do, was to mark the 1 1/4 inch mark on my ruler with Washi tape, so that it was super simple to line it up in the correct spot every time. 

 You will also need to mark a diagonal line on the back of many of the pieces. I found that this was best done while sitting and watching TV... 

Anyway, the construction of these leaves is super simple and I really don't have any hints for that, other than to press well and maybe use a clapper while they cool so the corner pieces don't curl up.

And just make sure that you trim up your leaf blocks to the correct size so they don't cause you frustration later when we go to sew them into the quilt!

Next month we are getting started on the Scarecrow's head and I'm looking forward to that! I am a bit tempted to complete the entire quilt so I can display it in our home this Fall, but I will be patient and do a part every month, knowing that I can hang it next year ;).

In my next blog post I am hoping to share my experiences playing with this cool Quilt Genius Design  Tool Kit that C&T Publishing was kind enough to let me try!

I am definitely a doodler so this kit seems right up my alley!

Just look at all the cool stencils and paper pad with various grids that are included! LOVE! IF you would like to check this out, you can do so by clicking here (click).

Alright, that is all for this time....I hear more kitties calling my name :).

Remember that you can sign up to receive my blog posts by messaging me ( there is a box in the lower lefthand corner of the page) , AND you can also join either one of my Facebook groups! Just search for Farmhouse Quilts and Friends (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1790902080964624) , OR  Made with Accuquilt~a friendly support group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/3639364372948605).

Until next time~ happy creating!

Monique