Saturday, February 2, 2013

Kool Kats Kwilt

I'm up to 3 unfinished quilts (tops are mostly complete, need borders) but I couldn't resist starting another one. I found this pattern, Kool Kats Kwilt by Patti Carey (click to download the pdf) and thought I'd give it a try. Its an innovative combination between a pieced cat and a snail trail block that makes it look as if the cats tails are curled together. I created the cat block in EQ7 and played around with coloring until I found something I liked.

I've actually changed this a bit based on available fabrics and how large I want the quilt to be. I will be making a total of four sets of cats, two sets in pinks and purples and two sets in blue/yellows/greens. I'm not sure how it will turn out. The plan is also to rotate the units slightly so that I can have four "wonky" units.

 There are a lot of units and the directions aren't as clear as I would like so I found it helpful to cut out one set of everything and label them using sticky notes, then stack and whack the remaining pieces.

Here is my finished collection of pieces, conveniently placed next to my sewing machine for chain piecing.

It took almost the whole weekend, but I finally mostly finished the blocks. I didn't like the way the two color sets looked together so I'm going to make two separate quilts. I'll just have to pop into the fabric store to pick up a couple more yards of background fabric.


The quilts will probably be close to 3 ft by 4 ft when completed, so crib or lap quilt size-ish. I'm debating the merits of a pieced border (flying geese maybe?).

Linking Up to MarciasCraftySewingLinkyParty
and:
Fresh Poppy Design

10 comments:

  1. Nice work, Kaelyn. Love the pictures. And especially love the purple/pink cats!

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  2. Oh, I love this idea! I've always liked the snails trail and thisattern is genius. Well done:-)

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  3. That is awesome! I can't find the pdf? Did they take it away? I have a crazy cat lady friend I wold love to make one for.

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    1. Thank you for letting me know that the link was broken. I have found a new source for it and updated the link. Please let me know if it still isn't working for you.

      https://stoffogstrikk.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/koolkatskwilt_1.pdf

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  4. I am in the middle of making this quilt. The snail trail block is turning out about an inch smaller that the cat blocks, I have remade the block several times & double checked measurements. Did you have a similar problem? If so how did you deal with it?

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  5. Hi! I have seen this pattern before and it seems confusing. I know how to make a 12 inch snail. But how large is the top of the cat ? Any chance you could email me some tips bridget.kroetsch@gmail.com

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    1. This would be helpful too is knowing the measurements of the snail(tail) and top sizes .. this is for a wedding gift!! Thanks.. she lovesss cats. I wish the original pattern was laid out better

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  6. The blue and yellow one is exactly what I’d like to make for my dad! He’s red-green colorblind, but sees blue and yellow very clearly!

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