9/10/2014

My Twisted Traditional Block and Giveaway

Today I am a guest for the 52 Weeks of Twisted Traditional Blocks Quilt Along hosted by Kim at Persimon Dreams. I follow Kim's blog and in April I e-mailed telling her I would like to make a "new" block from a traditional quilt block. I am happy Kim let me take a guest spot. Visit Persimon Dreams and read Kim's interview with me as well as viewing the other twisted blocks that have been posted since January. HERE is the Flickr link to all the blocks.

I hope all of you enjoy the CURIOUS CATS block. I had fun designing it. I was on the lookout for mouse fabric while on our trip to the Upper Peninsulaand found this one at The Quilted Moose Quilt Shop.



My inspiration came when I found a photo of a block on the internet. I sketched it, but did not write down the website or blog it came from. It made me think of cats watching something interesting. Maybe fish or mice or bugs! 

The traditional name of the block is Missouri Star according the The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns by Jinny Beyer. The book has more than 4050 pieced blocks and it took me a bit of time to find one that matched. Below is the block as I first drew it in EQ7:



I changed it a bit as you can see in the block below. 


Once I drew Curious Cats in EQ7, it was easy to cut the pieces for this block. EQ7 showed me the the rotary cutting requirements for the pieces and I just had to follow the directions: 


For my Twisted Traditional Block, I used only 2 colors for the cats. But as you can see, more colors can be used. 

If you would like to make this block here are the sizes of the pieces:

From Background Fabric cut:
  •            4  A squares 3-1/2” x 3-1/2”
  •            1  B square 7-1/4” x 7-1/4” and cut diagonally twice yielding 4 B Triangles

From each Cat Color cut:
  •            3  C squares 3-7/8” x 3-7/8” and cut each diagonally once yielding 6 C Triangles of each color

From  5” Center Fabric cut:
  •           1  D square 4-3/4” x 4-3/4”


I placed all of the pieces on the table as they were going to be sewn so I did not sew calico cats of different colors! (I have no photo of this step.)

To sew the block, begin with the center. Sew 2 C triangles (longer sides) of grey to opposite sides of the center square. 



Sew the 2 C triangles (longer sides) of black to the other sides of the center square.



Trim off any dog ears from the triangles to reduce the amount of fabric when stitching all the units together. 

Sew one of each color of C Triangle (longer side) to the larger B Background triangle (shorter side). 
Two B background triangles will have C triangles of color 1 on the left side and the other 2 B background triangles will have C triangles of color 1 on the right side.


My 1/4" foot really helped keep the units the correct size when sewing!


Sew the units into rows. 


See how two of the Flying Geese units have gray on the right side and the other two have the gray on the left side? 



Then sew the rows together. 


And the block is done.


To get the faces on the cats, I used thin copy paper and traced the outline of the cat's head. I folded the shape in half, drew an eye and half a nose and mouth on one side of the fold. I cut those areas out with tiny scissors and had a template. 




For illustration, the photo above shows the template on the block after I had stitched the face. I placed this over each of the cat heads and used a chalk pencil to outline where I would stitch. I have not embroidered in a long time and think magnifying glasses would have helped to do a really great job. But, I got the facial features on each cat (and each one is different). I realized after I had done 2 cats that fusible interfacing would have helped keep the fabric in its proper shape. But overall, I know they are cats (as did my husband, thank goodness). Fabric paint pens could have been used and it would have been much easier. 

This pattern is available for free for 2 weeks at PATTERNSPOT.COM  after that the pattern will be available for $1.

If you make the block, please send me a photo and I will post it on my blog. It would be great to see how everyone interprets this block.

Now, for the GIVEAWAY. . . . . .  This has ENDED.

I have a pack of 5" novelty prints that would interest curious cats. Leave a comment telling me what color your cats would be. If for some reason you are not able to comment on the blog, send an email to patchworkbreeze(at)gmail.com type CATS in the subject line. On September 24, 2014, I will pick a winner using the random generator. If you are or become a follower of my blog, let me know and you will earn a second entry to win. 












46 comments:

Anonymous said...

My cats would be black and white - to match my own !!

Allison said...

My cats would be black- I have a definite soft spot for black cats (though I'm not sure my black dog feels the same way!)
allisonpogany@gmail.com

Janie said...

My cats would be black and white. Love the block. Thanks for the tutorial and the chance.

Sherry VF said...

Thanks for the tutorial! My cats would be tabby and gray. svonfumetti at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

My cats would probably be black. Cute block!

Unknown said...

My cats would be gray with green eyes in remembrance of a friend of mine's cat. Cute block. Thank you for sharing.
LeslieBower@juno.com

barbara woods said...

i like black for a cat.

MamaLovesFabric said...

Mine would be orange and brown, for the two cats we currently have.

Gill said...

Fabulous block!
Black or maybe tortoiseshell!

Gill said...

GFC follower!

Unknown said...

I would choose blue cats, my favorite color. Great take on the MO Star block!

Unknown said...

I am a GFC follower as Mrs. Kathy Davis.
kdavis1@centurytel.net

Lee said...

I would choose black and white cats! Sweet block!

Lee said...

I am also a follower now! thank you again!

SunflowerSkies said...

I would have orange, or black and white cats! I love the block!

OhioLori said...

I have an orange cat, and a gray one...so would make mine to match em! :) Verrrry Creative block! Love it!

OhioLori said...

I'm also a new Follower! :)

GranChris said...

My cat is orange so I guess it will be Black and orange.

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Cute Cute Cute! Thanks for the pattern and love the creative addition of eyes! My favorite cat owned was named Gemini and she was a Calico. But I think I would make mine black in honor of our twin cats: Barney and Boogie who were with us for our daughters entire childhood...Boogie lived 19 years!!!

Val's Quilting Studio said...

You know I'm a fan and follower....as a GFC and I have ya right on my blogroll so not to miss a post:) Thanks for the chance at the give-away!

Sandra said...

I would make this quilt in honor of my new cat. Her colors are black, brown and beige. Yes, this would be her quilt. Thank you so much for the chance to win. What an awesome giveway. I have printed out the pattern and will enjoy making this new quilt.

Sandi Timmons
sandit1@sbcglobal.net

Sarah said...

I love this! I would make the cats grey, like the cat we used to have. sarah@forrussia.org

Sarah said...

I signed up to follow you with google + sarah@forrussia.org

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

I'd make a table runner for my daughter and son-in-law to match their three cats…one gray, one orange and white and one black and white. Thanks for the adorable pattern :)
cwayons(at)yahoo(dot)com

Emily C said...

Mine would be tiger striped, both orange and black.

KatieQ said...

My favorite kitty was black and white so I would make the kitties to remind me of my sweet Petunia.

Pamela said...

What fun! My cats would be calico colors, to match my own cats. Thanks for the chance to win!

Sophisticated Maille said...

Terrific fun, but not sure I would want to share with my cats. No doubt their "help" during the creative process will indicate their approval. Many thanks!

babiesdoc said...

my cats would be white with blue eyes (simon) black (Joie) and
brown tigerish (Murray)

Mom C said...

Well, there's Tiger and Blackie. They look just like their names. We are nothing if not creative with names at our house. Thanks.

Helen said...

That's easy - purple cats with silver eyes - for the K-State Wildcats. My little Cats' fans (grandchildren) would love them!

Norma said...

Calico of course!

Renee G said...

My cats are black and gold.

GarmA said...

My cats would be smoke.

GarmA said...

I follow your blog :)

Ella and Nesta said...

I have a black cat so it would have to be black. This block is so fun, what a great idea!

Kathy E. said...

This is so adorable! my cats would be mostly black and white with a bit of gold. It would be so sassy, just like my cat!

Unknown said...

My cats would be black & white. I have a brother & sister and they are as mischievous as the ones on your block look! LOL Thanks for the giveaway.

Nancy said...

Thanks for visiting. Sorry I could not send you an email, I don't know how to contact you if rafflecopter selects you. I think black and white cats would make a great block. I like brights so I would use something bright in the center.

Nancy said...

Thank you for becoming a follower. Glad you visited.

Nancy said...

Thank you for visiting. I think your cats would be very pretty and definitely sassy with that bit of bling.

Unknown said...

My cats are calico and black & white - thank you not only for the pattern but also for the chance to win :)

Nancy said...

Vanessa,
Thank you for visiting and commenting. I hope you enjoy the pattern. Unfortunately, if rafflecopter selects your name, I have no way to contact you. :(

Kathy said...

I would do 2 to match my cats - one peach, white and gray and another orange and white

Nancy said...

Kathy, your cats' colors sound lovely. I am sorry I have no way to contact you if you are selected. Hope you visit again.

Havplenty said...

My cats would be a black/white print and an animal print to match my 2 feline owners. My block would be animated and colorful. Thanks for the tute.

tushay3(at)yahoo(dot)com