All new Crazy Cats! You CAN still get this look!

"New" Crazy Cats

Many of you have been lamenting the loss of the Crazy Cats pattern, since both Buggy Barn books, "That Crazy Thing We Do" and "Undeniably Crazy" are no longer in print (although you may still be able to find them out there!).  I've been referring you all to my new "Crazy Favorite Things" book for brand new cat and flower blocks, but many didn't think you could get the same look....

I must admit, I figured that instead of Chicks in the Garden, you'd make Cats in the Garden!  I really like the new flower since it has pieced stems and leaves.  But it's human nature to want what we can't have, so I've been pondering the dilemma, primarily that the new flower doesn't cut down well without cutting off the lower leaf.  Then the light bulb went off and I realized we could use the "Summer Blooms" block out of "Crazy at the Cabin"; these blocks work even though the block is significantly bigger than the original flower (by 3").

"New" Cat and Flower Blocks

So this is what you're going to do to get the old quilt "look" using the new blocks:
1.  Make 12 cat blocks following the directions in "Crazy Favorite Things" except for the shuffling:  For these cat blocks, the cat body, head and tail will all be the same fabric so for all of these pieces (steps 5A and 5C) put the top fabric on the bottom.  Follow steps 5B for the stripes and 5D for the background as written.
2. If you want to add whiskers to the cats, cut 3" strips of mini ric-rac.  Select three pieces, stack and stitch into bundles of 3 whiskers each as show below that you will sandwich at the top corners of the cat nose as you stitch the blocks together.

3.  After piecing the blocks, stitch a strip of the leftover portion of your fat quarter to the right side of each block so there is background fabric on the right side of the tail.
4.  Square the cat blocks to 11-1/2" wide x 13-1/2" high.
5.  For the flowers, select 6 light and 6 dark (reds and purples) fat quarters and make 12 Summer Bloom blocks following the directions in the "Crazy at the Cabin" book.  These blocks are squared to 9-1/2" as indicated in the book.  
6.  For the eight vertical flowers, stitch a 4-1/2" x 9-1/2" rectangle of the corresponding background fabric to the bottom of each block.  For the two horizontal blocks, stitch a 2-1/2" x 9-1/2" rectangle of corresponding background fabric to the bottom of each block.  The long horizontal flower (underneath a cat and a flower center left of the quilt) has one 7-1/2" x 9-1/2" rectangle of the corresponding background fabric added to the bottom and a 4-1/2" x 9-1/2" rectangle added to the top. Add wool stems, leaves, and centers.  The center templates are found in the book.  Here is a scan of the stem and leaf I used:

7.  Stitch the blocks together as shown below, stitching the seams in the order as numbered in the diagram.  Then ta-da! There you have it; a very good replica of the original Buggy Barn Crazy Cats!!

New One Sister Crazy Cats

Old Buggy Barn Crazy Cats, both designed and pieced by me   :-)

I hope this helps those of you who can't find a book; it gives you an option anyway!  And remember, NONE of the Buggy Barn books will be reprinted!  WHEN THEY'RE GONE THEY'RE GONE.  See my website for those still in publication.  If they aren't shown/listed in the STORE then they are no longer available.  Many of the book titles are getting low, so please, if you have been wanting a certain Buggy Barn title, don't wait until it's too late!

Americana Star

Have you gotten your Spring Edition of Primitive Quilts and Projects?  If not, you better get one!  Be sure to check out my "Americana Star" quilt made with an assortment of fabrics from my recent lines (except for the border ticking!)  The quilt is 60" square and kits are available! 

It remains cold and clear and we've got just enough snow for the wind to blow it all into the roads and close the roads!  We haven't been snowed in, but both my sister Kathy and Gloria but have been- even the county plows got stuck on both of their roads!  All this snow makes it a bit difficult for Murphy, my dog, to bolt out the door and sprint across the yard out into the pasture to protect his secret stash of apples from marauding wildlife!   I've yet to see anything out there but he likes us to know he's the "Big Dog" ha! 

Crazy Dog Block from Crazy Favorite Things

My son Zack thinks the apples must have fermented and that's why Murphy is such a goof-ball:  he's been eating too many fermented apples! There's not much entertainment around here in the winter!  We have to get it where we can!  Thankfully Murphy is around to entertain us!  I've been busy piecing and will share that with you next time! Until then, stay warm and keep stitching!

Cherry Blossoms in Winter

It's seriously cold here, dangerously cold they tell us, and I can believe it as I sit here all decked out in my long underwear and snow clothes!  The cold wind doth blow.... all the heat right out of the barn!  Thank goodness my newest fabric line, "Cherry Blossoms" has arrived to bring a bit of springtime to this bitterly cold day! I love this fabric-it's truly is a beautiful line! Working with it brings me joy and warms my heart (if not my toes!)  Sandi McKell used this line and made this lovely churn dash table runner out of the "Crazy Favorite Things" book.  I really love this tall skinny churn dash block- I keep thinking a need to set the blocks as a quilt  instead of a runner! 

Gloria made up this scrappy version of "Wish Upon a Star" from the "Crazy at the Cabin" book...it looks so different than the one in the book! What a difference fabric and placement can make!   And of course the linen closet creams look great with this line, as seen in this quilt!

There's a great bunch of plaids with this group that I think adds so much! I did just notice that my photo is missing a couple of my favorite plaids...this is a photo of my production samples so my favorites must have gotten used up!  But check out the entire collection on my site! 

 The free, downloadable,  project sheets are very cute and I do have kits available for these as well!  

The Big Book of Table Toppers from Martingale has this lovely quilt designed by Cheryl Wall.  She made it out of my "In the Pink" line but this table topper would be wonderful made from Cherry Blossoms!

What a spot of sunshine these fabrics bring to this snowy winter landscape!  And what a great time of year to be quilting! Everyone stay warm and keep stitching!