Candy Cat Quilt Along

So, 2018 is here (how crazy is that?) and I find myself in the middle of hosting the Candy Cat Quilt Along on Instagram. I'm totally loving the heck out of it. I was browsing Pinterest one day, as one does, and I came across an adorable little teepee block. I followed the link and discovered Joanna Hart aka Unicorn Harts and a whole bunch of really fabulous foundation paper pieced block patterns, including one called "Candy Cats". To my absolute giddy delight, it was a free pattern (like, for real?? A pattern this cute and it's FREE???) Naturally, I had to have it, so I snapped it-and a bunch of others-right up. I'm not even that into cats! I just had to make this block! And you know how it goes, you make something and you absolutely love it so you have to make a whole bunch more. I decided to contact Jo and see if she'd be interested in letting me host a quilt along using her pattern. Not only did she say yes, she also agreed to creating a few patterns to go along with it! Before I get to that, let me show you my litter of Candy Cats so far:

I'm trying hard not to buy any new fabric. Instead, I'm use some of my favorite pieces and scraps that I have in my stash. My goal is to make about 25 cats, but I haven't quite decided yet. Once we get all the complimentary, complementary patterns out, I'll have to finalize a layout and how many cats to make.

Jo released our first free pattern, Fishy Bones. I absolutely love this block. It has more character than a Disney movie! Here's my first Fishy, his name is Ralph:

Isn't he the best?? Fishy Bones has been out for a week now, which means it's my turn to give you a free pattern. Since I'm not an FPP designer, I am giving you a break from sewing on paper by offering you MEOW, a nice and easy patchwork pattern:

 MEOW is designed to take up some space in your quilt, to add a little more whimsy and to allow you some freedom from being so symmetrical. MEOW can be sewn in a row of four letters, or a square of two by two:

Because this post is already long enough, and I'd like to keep the tutorial page as simple as possible, I will write the instructions for MEOW in a new post as soon as I get home from picking up my daughter from school. Until then, I hope you'll join us and this fun quilt along. The Cats can be made in about 45-60 minutes, and take only scraps and small pieces to make. Every #candycatqal hashtag is an entry to win one of two prizes: a Choose Five pattern bundle from Jo, or a quilty prize pack from me. Every completed quilt top is entered to win FREE LONGARM QUILTING from The Cotton Farm Longarm. (*Winner must pay shipping*) It's not too late to join! Jump in any time! We are trying to post a new, free pattern every Monday but we are busy mom's with busy families, so we'll do our best to notify you if there's a change in the schedule. 

Head on over to Instagram for more information, inspiration and friends to sew along with. 

Be sure to follow me (@schnitzelandboo), 

Joanna (@unicornharts) 

and our sponsor (@thecottonfarmlongarm) for more good stuff throughout the QAL!

Happy FPP'ing!

-Kristi

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