Exemplary Cat Quilts

If there are any animals who seem to really love quilts and are curious about them, it has to be cats.
Here's a tribute to our feline furbabies, as shown by some of our favorite cat quilts from the 2017 Houston International  Quilt Festival

An Interrupted Still Life by Pamela Seaberg , Washington, U.S.A.

Pamela says, "Last summer, I set up a still life of flowers on an old chair for a watercolor painting. Omar, my curious cat, turned my still life into this quilt."  Here's Omar, standing on his hind legs, tentatively trying to figure out the purpose of a vase on a chair, as cats will do. This quilt is made from hand-dyed and commercial fabrics, cotton, rayon, and silk embroidery threads, plus polyester threads.

Close-up, An Interrupted Still Life

We really admire Pamela's beautiful and accurate technique !  She used hand applique, hand embroidery, painting, and thread painting.

Sami, aka Tree Kitty by Lisa Steinka, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Lisa writes,  "This is a reproduction of an original photo of my cat, Sami, that I took, developed, and printed over 40 years ago. The applique was done in the style of [quilt artist] David Taylor."

Close-up, Sami a.k.a. Tree Kitty

Lisa's original design uses cotton fabrics and cotton batting, with hand-piecing, hand-applique, and embroidery. She has done an excellent job at conveying the dignity and nobility of Sami in his devotion to enjoying life in the tree tops.

Kitten's Dreams by Hiroko Miyama and Masanobu Miyama, Tokyo, Japan

The quilters explain,  "This [work] expresses the kitten's desire to look down on dogs that chased her whenever they met. The flowers are original design, manually punch and machine embroidered. The kitten and dogs are also original design and were appliqued by using an original applique technique."

Close-up,Kitten's Dreams

What a wonderfully realistic depiction of this sweet kitten's face !  Hiroko and Masanobu used machine piecing, fused applique, machine embroidery, and original digitized embroidery to create this adorable quilt.

Can I Keep It, Pleassse?  by Kay Donges, Georgia, U.S.A.

Kay notes, "I was asked to make a quilt to be donated to the International Quilt Association to be placed in their silent auction at the  Houston International Quilt Show. The inspiration was a stock photo I purchased to use. It is fused applique and thread painting.
It is titled, "Can I Keep It, Pleassse?", because I believe that the girl is pleading  [with her voice and emphasizing the word 'Pleassse']  with her parents in order to keep this soft kitty.

Close-up, "Can I Keep It Pleassse?"

Kay has done an amazing job of  capturing the intent expressions of both the little girl and the kitten. It appears that the kitten wants to stay with the little girl as much as the little girl wants to keep it ! We also admire the elegant thread painting on the face and head of the kitten.

Cats on the Roof by Cecilia Koppmann, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cecilia comments, "Every December, we wrap up the year with a celebratory breakfast that I host for all my students. It's a really fun party. I asked the students to bring with them a piece of fabric for me, from which I cut the cats and built this quilt. Now I have them 'meowing' in my studio all year
round."
We think that a breakfast party is a wonderful way to honor the students, and it looks as if the cats here are getting ready to do a little partying of their own !  

Close-up,  Cats on the Roof

We love Cecilia's arrangements of colors in creating a high contrast, vibrant, contemporary design that shows these nocturnal kitties with their prominent whiskers, out enjoying the night sky amongst the tall buildings.
 
Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.