Musical Cat Quilt

I was looking for a keepsake gift idea for my daughter who was preparing for her grad recital in music and is a crazy cat lover!  I fell in love with the design of this quilt pattern (Kool Kat Kwilt by Patty Carey, Northcott) and after looking through my stash, I gathered several music-themed fabrics that would reflect her passion and be suitable cat colors. One piece had a white background, so it spent some time in a hot pot with some tea; one piece was glittery and a bit too bright, so I reversed it. The light browns, sepia-tones and blacks looked good, but something was missing! I needed a color to add some interest, and when my daughter announced she was wearing blue suede pumps at her recital, I knew what I had to do---put two blue cats in the mix!

I cut all the pieces in one week and spent a marathon weekend piecing the quilt. It was a lot of fun arranging and rearranging the cats, to balance the colors.  The mitred corners were challenging! I loved the look but had never tried them before, so it took several tries before I figured out how to sew them and have them match up and lie flat.

Once the top was completed, out came the hoop and I caught up on my tv while I hand-quilted.  I finished the quilt a week before the recital and maybe it brought her some luck, because she played beautifully!