TBT - McKenna Ryan Cats

Sometime back in early 2009, before I started blogging, I bought a set of 3 McKenna Ryan wall hanging patterns.  This would be my first attempt at raw-edge applique, but I figured I could follow directions and should be able to figure it out on my own.  I'd done some machine applique already, so this didn't seem like too much of a stretch.

I have to admit, as I was putting it together, it felt more like building a collage in grade school than like quilting.  Trace the piece onto Steam-a-Seam, stick to fabric, cut it out and stick onto the background.  The process went fairly quickly, and the end result was then layered and basted.  I then decided I didn't want the raw edges to fray, so I attached the pieces with a zigzag, with invisible thread on the front, rather than the free motion stitching that the pattern used.

I didn't do any additional quilting in the background areas. Because these are wall hangings, they have held up pretty well in spite of that. Plus there are a whole lot of edges in a McKenna Ryan pattern, so there is quite a bit of stitching holding the whole thing together just in the outlines.

Once the quilting was finished, these sat around as UFOs for most of a year, waiting for me to embroider the faces on the kitties and get them hung. That finally happened in January of 2010, and I hung these in my upstairs hallway.  One kitty wall hanging for each of my 3 cats.

Please join me for Throwback Thursday today. The rules are simple (and flexible :) ). Write a post (or revive an old one) about an old quilt or project that you have - maybe something from your pre-blogging days, or just a project you love that you want to show off again. Please include a link back to this post in yours, and when you link up make sure you are linking to your specific blog post, not just your blog address. You want to make sure people can find your post if they drop by the linkup later.

Add your link, and check out some of the other links for some inspiration. See my sidebar for a TBT button you can add to your blog.