Friday, August 19, 2016

Pets On Quilts - Bella

Bella is making another appearance in the Pets On Quilts party at Lilypad Quilting.  She is in the Cats on Quilts category.  If you like what you see/read about in this post, click the link to 'like' Bella (she is #30).  There are lots of fabulous prizes to be won, four more days to enter your own fur kid, at which time voting will begin!  This is, as I said in yesterday's post, probably my absolute favourite linky party going.  My three fur kids are a major part of my life. Period. Of the three, Bella has probably the biggest influence in my quilting/sewing life.
This is not photo-shopped; her eyes are that blue; she's sporting a bandana made just for her by a sweet friend
She is a part of every quilt, from birth to final finish.  This year the two of us have been pretty busy creating quilts.

Planning


She often tries to steer my pencil as I sketch out a possible design, be it block, layout or FMQ.

Choosing Fabric


 Cutting


Measuring


When I question whether I have block sections sewn to the correct size, she willingly lies her furry body down to help measure.  On the left, she is measuring the hypotenuse of one of the Triangle Transparency by Quilting Jet Girl blocks for Radiance, and on the right, making sure the flying geese unit will fit the centre square from a Henry Glass 'Better at the Lake' fabric.  We were chosen as the June designer of the month.

Appliquéing

She parks her butt on freshly appliquéd blocks, helping to secure the layers.
Much to her exasperation, she was removed (more than once) from said appliquéd block

Piecing

Bird's eye (or cat's eye?!) view


Checking that 1/4" seam

Chain-piecing


Even FaceTiming!

Tish on the iPad
Looking after you:

Stretching

Balancing

Back in May, the early days after Rocco's knee surgery
We both firmly believe in the importance of exercising and stretching to ease those stiff joints and aching muscles, and to work out knots from long hours sewing, or sitting too long at the computer writing up a post!  Check out the Sunday Stretch for Sewists tab up top for lots more moves to keep your body limber!
Bananasana....it's a real Yin Yoga pose!
Make sure you bend to both left and right!

Labelling

Writing is blurred out for privacy

Basting and Quilting



and let us not forget...

Cleaning

Machine Maintenance with Bella
And finally, 

Enjoying

On her very own cat quilt


This past year saw her work with wool, both knitting and appliqué
She quite liked it!  Thanks to Sue's comment below, here is the link to the kit I bought, on sale right now for $11CA.  The pattern only is available here.  And, if you prefer to crochet, Kalurah has the same cowl kit for crochet, also on sale.
And of course she helps out with...

Writing posts 

this very one, as a matter of fact!

She knows how to get my attention, tapping me if I'm spending too much time on the iPhone or on the laptop

Pattern Writing!

We did it this year!  And she helped...
This is Sunny Days; you also get the pattern for Blue Skies, both on sale for $5 right now in my Craftsy store. Both quilts are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Calling me

to leave my sewing when it's time to eat
And it's time to go now!  Tea and treats time!

Treats?!
http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=1074126&b=253536&m=29190&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Ecraftsy%2Ecom

Be sure to take advantage of Craftsy's Early Black Friday (like seriously...I know...eye-roll)...but there really are some terrific deals again, and if you're like me, you wait for your faves to go on sale.  Did you know they carry quilt batting and it's 30-40% off right now?  Um, can you believe there are some quilt kits for CA$27 or US$21??  Check out several from Timeless Treasures like this Tonga Treats "Next Move" one I particularly love. Apologies for poor quality images (snagged them off Craftsy) but you get the idea.
http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=1074126&b=253536&m=29190&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Ecraftsy%2Ecom%2Fsupplies%2Ftimeless%2Dtreasures%2Dtonga%2Dtreat%2Dnext%2Dmove%2Dquilt%2F17194

and I believe I just have to give one of the Blueberry Park fat quarter stacks a home.  At CA$57,  US$44, (50% off), that is a pretty sweet treat.  There are many many more, but don't be like me, and put them in your cart and 'think about it' (aka forget)....only to find they disappear because they are no longer available, waaah, or you remember about them on Monday and the sale is over...waaaah again. Might have personal experience there.

http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=1074126&b=253536&m=29190&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Ecraftsy%2Ecom%2Fsupplies%2Fkit%2Frobert%2Dkaufman%2Dblueberry%2Dpark%2Dpre%2Dcuts%2Dcool%2F1904

As always I thank you SO MUCH if you click through to Craftsy on my links in this post or on the sidebar.  I do get a small commission on sales and on classes; if you are interested in how to become an affiliate yourself, shoot me an email.  And always remember, if you don't buy through me, that is fine, but please choose a favourite blogger to buy through since we are the ones who help spread the word.  I would not endorse anything I haven't used or bought and I have been very very pleased with every single thing I have got, supplies and fabric and classes-wise from them.  They also have excellent customer service.  :-)

Remember you have 4 more days to enter into Pets On Quilts. Voting begins August 25!

Linking up with
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Lilypad Quilting

38 comments:

  1. Hi Sandra and Bella! Bella you are the most talented and hard working quilting cat i have seen and you have the most blue eyes! Quilts that you make are really beautiful! x Teje

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  2. My goodness, Bella sure loves her mama! <3 It is fantastic to see how involved she is in your creative endeavors. :)

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  3. I would keep her on, and make sure she does get the maximum hourly rate for " Feline Apprenticeship Payment", or maybe she has passed that level and is up to " Mature/Senior.. payments", this is a fab post, and I so enjoyed every word and photo. Bella, you are a true delight.

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  4. My favourite posts ever are of my fluffy nieces and nephew! ❤❤

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  5. Gorgeous Bella! And Lucky Sandra to have a furry friend who keeps things running smoothly :)

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  6. Sandra, I got such a kick out of this post! Such a fun read and enjoyed all of your photos of Bella involved in your quilting! She makes me want to get a cat!

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  7. How funny...really enjoyed your post. Beautiful creature and those eyes...just gorgeous

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  8. Gorgeous kitty and just love those eyes.

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  9. Omg.... what a fantastic post! Love it so much 😀 Bella is a beautiful cat... and so clever too.... I also the love scarf/cowl.... what pattern did you use?
    Hugs to you from across the water 😀😀 xxxx

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  10. Her eyes are beautiful! What a helper! I think the machine maintenance pics are my favorite!

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  11. Great post! I will be taking part in Pets on Quilts for the first time. I am NOT going to look at Craftsy....fell into that yesterday and ordered two bundles of Cotton and Steel at phenomenal prices. To make myself feel better about making more online purchases, I've put a bundle of hand-dyes for sale on Facebook, lol. I've also had awesome customer service from Craftsy, so maybe I'll email you one day for some details. Have a great weekend!

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  12. Great post! I will be taking part in Pets on Quilts for the first time. I am NOT going to look at Craftsy....fell into that yesterday and ordered two bundles of Cotton and Steel at phenomenal prices. To make myself feel better about making more online purchases, I've put a bundle of hand-dyes for sale on Facebook, lol. I've also had awesome customer service from Craftsy, so maybe I'll email you one day for some details. Have a great weekend!

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  13. Great post! I will be taking part in Pets on Quilts for the first time. I am NOT going to look at Craftsy....fell into that yesterday and ordered two bundles of Cotton and Steel at phenomenal prices. To make myself feel better about making more online purchases, I've put a bundle of hand-dyes for sale on Facebook, lol. I've also had awesome customer service from Craftsy, so maybe I'll email you one day for some details. Have a great weekend!

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  14. I knew Bella was a big helper but, really, I had no idea just how detailed her assistance and supervision went in the process. You are so fortunate to have such a dedicated quilting mentor.

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  15. Bella must've been either a quilter or a comedian in a previous life! What a scene stealer and so handy to have around! You need to write a book about her and include these photos.

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  16. What a joy Bella must be to have around. Such a great helper. Most beautiful blue eyes ever!

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  17. Bella you are a great help keeping you mama on track throughout the quilt making process. Even machine maintenance that is going above and beyond your duties.

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  18. Bella certainly lives up to her name! Behaves better than my cats. I can't let them in my sewing room or things come crashing down or otherwise destroyed. I do have 2 - 3 dogs (babysit my son's dog sometimes)who keep me company. They will lay in their beds most of the time & just observe.

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  19. Gosh she is such a gorgeous kitty. I love that she reminds you to take breaks, so does my Belle.

    ~Brandy

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  20. I see that Bella has many talents and the top of that list is being beautiful!!! She is precious!!! 💕💕💕

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  21. Bella is gorgeous and those eyes! It must be hard to not be petting her constantly, she's so soft and cuddly looking.

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  22. Bella is so very beautiful with those big blue eyes! And she is obviously a very valuable worker in the studio - how would we get anything done without our furry helpers :*)

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  23. Bella is such a beauty! Love those eyes. Such a great helper too.

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  24. I am more of a dog person so I have a pitbull, at times it is very hard to get pitbull food though, I really liked him though.

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  25. She definitely has every step of the creative process under control! Those beautiful huge sapphire eyes won't miss a thing)))

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  26. That is so sweet - she photographs beautifully and should model all you quilts for you!

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  27. The photo of Bella helping with cutting is a hoot. But I am a bit suspicious that Bella may be just too cute to be real.

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  28. Bella ALWAYS makes me smile Sandra. She just loves to be there in the thick of things. The photos are a riot, but the one of her on the chain piecing really made me laugh a lot. I hope all is getting back to normal in your household now that Rocco is walking well again!

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  29. I love Bella and her baby blues. Love the quilts too of course. Hugs, Susie x

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  30. Those eyes. I was captivated immediately. What a good looking quilting cat.

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  31. What a great helper, lol. Lovely. :)

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  32. Looks like Bella enjoys her quilting!

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  33. Love your Bella, I used to have a cat like that, I called her Purdi, cause she was so pretty.

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  34. What a character! I love the photo of Bella on your cutting mat. It's like, "What???"

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