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Enjoy your stay under the variable skies of Eastern Washington and watch the seasons change, from planting to harvest here on the farm...be sure to wrap up in a quilt during the winter, it's cold!!

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh


Today is my day to share what I made for the Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh blog hop, hosted by the marvelous Joan of MooseStash Quilting!!  Thank you for the invitation, Joan!!  I had a blast!!

Have you seen those cool quilts made by using the collage technique?  You know, where pieces of fabric are cut up and put back together to create a recognizable animal or scene?  Most of what I have seen has been animals, sometimes very realistic and other times quite fanciful.  I thought they looked so cool and I wanted to give it a try...this blog hop gave me the push to give it a go!!

I started with this piece of gorgeous fabric
I just love this!!  The colors are stunning and there is metallic gold shining through!!!  YUM!!!

Now, what to make with this???  My "grand pets" are weighted heavily towards dogs (I have 11 grandpups), 3 rabbits, a hamster, random chickens and 1 cat.  I have spent a bit of time with this cat as he belongs to my daughter who is in the Army.  I got to house/pet sit this stunning male specimen (along with his dog sister) for 8 months in Florida way back in 2011.  Guinness, the cat, welcomed me to the home by urinating on my bed the very first night.  Thank goodness for a thick down comforter and thick down mattress pad, my mattress didn't get wet, but my daughter got to take my comforter and mattress pad to the dry cleaners!!  With that kind of welcome, who wouldn't love this guy!!

 After his mom left for her tour of duty, we did become friends and he loved to help me with my piecing.  During the months I was in Florida, I pieced about 50 quilts and wall hangings, met some wonderful quilting buddies (SewWhat!?!? bee group), and found out that I quite enjoyed Florida in August, with the high temperatures, high humidity and rain that pours down most afternoons!  Totally qwazy, right???  For a girl who was raised in the high mountain desert where we get 4-7 inches of precipitation a year, that is certifiable qwazy!!
I made Celebrating Guinness in honor of my one and only grandkitty.

Yes, he does do what he wants, especially when it comes to expressing his displeasure or bringing his ball for you to throw so he can fetch it!


All fused and I tried to quilt over every piece because I know that fusible isn't forever.
We got 4 inches of snow a few weeks ago, so I ran out to take a glam shot in the snow!!


After carefully cutting out all the gorgeous pieces from my strip of fabric and placing them in such a way to look like a cat, I used the extra cut-out stuff as a pretty on the side, which, of course, Guinness had to tear a piece off of...he's a cat and that's what cats do...what they want!!



This shows the heart at the center of Guinness...he does love his mama!!  I know I missed some of the smaller pieces fused on, but since this is a wall hanging, I hope it will never be washed.  I made the corner triangles so my daughter can slip a small dowel in them for hanging on the wall.  


Sharing my day on the blog hop are these fabulous blogs:

If you have the urge to try making a collage quilt, give it a shot.  I had so much fun creating Guinness in fabric that looks nothing like the coal-black cat he is!!  You don't have to make it as whimsical as I made Guinness, you can create a totally realistic collage quilt.  They are gorgeous too!  I love fusible applique, but I do know that if a piece with fusible is going to be washed and loved to death, it does need to have every piece nailed down with thread, either by hand or machine.  Hand sewing through the fusible is difficult - I did that on the first applique quilt I made.

This is a public service tutorial for making your own reusable toilet wipes.  If your supply closet doesn't look like this:
You can take a fat quarter (or fat quarter-sized rag) and make your own, but it is reusable!!  Fold your fat quarter in half 3 times until you end up with a rectangle that measures about 8.5" by 5".  This is thick enough yet still flexible.

Then all you need to do is sew the 3 open sides

Use a different color for every member of the family, keep a "diaper pail" with a lid by each toilet and have bleach water in the "pail"...that pail does require a lid!!  Flannel is a good choice, old t-shirts, and even micro-fiber cloths.  But if you don't have any of those available, you can dig in your stash of fabric and keep your families nether regions clean!!  

Or you can sew those charm squares together using a basting stitch and create this reusable TP:


I hope you have as much fun hopping amid the qwazy blogs for these five days as I did creating my Celebrating Guinness!!  Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!

28 comments:

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Your quilt is stunning and funny at the same time!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Susan! I have been thinking about you and hoping that you are doing well. What a beautiful homage to Guinness. And what a welcome you received when you two first met. I have never tried making a collage quilt but this is gorgeous and it does inspire me to give it a try. Thanks for the smile today and for sharing your lovely finish. Stay healthy and safe. ~smile~ Roseanne

Calicojoan said...

Wow wow wow!!! That is absolutely gorgeous! It's all in the eye of the creator. I would have never seen that beautiful kitty in that fabric. Now I want to go looking thru my stash with a new vision.
Thanks for participating in the hop and inspiring us all so much!

Marian said...

I love that piece of fabric also, would definitely have bought some myself if I'd seen it at the quilt shop. I loved the idea of what you did with the cat and the fabric, I never would have seen that fabric with a cat, but it is awesome. While I didn't laugh I definitely smiled, it really is a beautiful quilt.

Charlene McCain said...

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic quilt! I have a couple of those collage-type kits (still not started), but I never thought of making my own! Yours is beautiful! I love the heart on Guinness. And thank you for the TP tip. Never would have thought to use my fabric scraps. I was thinking more along catalogs and books! Hahaha Thank you for the beautiful inspiration and the smiles!!

works4me said...

I love Guinness, the quilt and the cat, not the beer. :) This is a gorgeous quilt and rings very true. Thank you so much for sharing all your ideas today.

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Susan, what an awesome job you did on your collage Guinness! It is wonderful and definitely made me laugh...especially the saying. My daughter has three cats in her zoo and this is so them! I told my DH the other day sometimes I think our dog is part cat! Usually she comes when you call, but sometimes just looks at you! LOL Thanks for sharing Guinness. I know your daughter will love it!

Turid said...

Great and fun way to create a quilt. Thanks for showing us.

Barb said...

That could be said about my little grandsons...they do what they want. Love love it!!!

Karen's Korner said...

Amazing.....I had to go back to the original fabric and see what pieces were selected for the various sections.

Susan said...

Another very fun quilt to make us laugh - well done!

Susan said...

Your cat quilt is fabulous! That was the perfect fabric for it, and perfectly used. It made me smile. Now the reusable toilet paper ... I'm glad I'm not going to have to follow that tutorial at this time, but ... good to know! LOL

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love your collage cat - he is gorgeous! Hopefully Guiness will treat you better the next time you go for a visit, lol!

LJ said...

Your collage turned out so well and the fabric you chose was perfect. The re-usable TP was rather a laugh and NOT. God help us if it comes to that!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Your quilt is awesome. The face of the cat turned out fabulous.

tink's mom said...

This is an absolutely beautiful piece of art. Does that kitty understand how much he is loved. I love the view from the back as well giving us the sewing detail.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Love your Cat Quilt!!! It is just gorgeous... but the fabric tp? ummm no!! ha ha

Debra Davis said...

Your collage quilt is just stunning. I was sipping tea as I read your blog post, oh my, when I got to the reusable TP-LOL, I managed not to make a mess. I think I will pass on that. Have a great day!

Nancy said...

Your quilt is beautiful. I had cats when I was single (years ago) and I giggled when I read the words on the quilt. YES! that is a cat and one can only giggle about cats.

Carol Swift said...

Your cat collage is so beautiful and funny all in one. Cats can be quite the characters and I've actually experience the pee on the bed thing. No fun. I'm not sure I could handle reusable toilet paper, but it's good to know in an absolute emergency. Thanks for the smiles!

Michelle said...

Love this quilt. lol My cats do what they want too. Love the fabric you chose.

Sharon said...

Guiness is certainly a handsome fellow! I love your quilt; it expresses the cat-titude of most kitties so perfectly. Thanks for sharing.

timpson said...

Cat pattern availability? Or is this one a keeper?

Emily said...

Love your collage version of Guinness! Such beautiful fabric and the placement of the motifs is beautiful!

dq said...

Hi Susan! THat is an amazingly creative use of that piece of fabric. It is not what I had expected at all as I scrolled down, but it is PURRFECT!

Backwoods Quilter said...

You did an amazing job on the collage and you certainly did Guinness proud. Well done.

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Cute whimsical kitty!! And I can’t believe you have 11granddogs! Some kind of record there!!!

KaHolly said...

Oh, my goodness, oh my goodness! As the proud grandma of a special kitty, I can so appreciate the cleverness of this beautiful wall hanging!