Today I want to share a project from a very special issue of A Needle Pulling Thread. For the magazine’s 20th anniversary issue 70, I created a playful quilt project that feels especially close to my heart twenty blocks featuring one mischievous cat in 20 different moods.
This project made me smile from the very beginning. I loved the idea of taking one simple cat block and letting expression do all the storytelling. A tiny change in the eyes, the whiskers, or the little painted details, and suddenly the whole mood changes. One kitty looks surprised, another looks suspicious, another gives full side-eye, and another seems to be quietly plotting something only a cat would understand.
That is what made this sampler so much fun to create. Even though the blocks are built from easy-to-sew geometric shapes, each one feels like its own little character. Together, they become a whole wall of cat personality.
I also love that this project can be used in different ways. You can stitch all twenty blocks together as a sampler, mix and match your favorites for a mini quilt, or borrow one or two expressive faces to add a playful twist to another project. It is the kind of idea that leaves room for fun, and I always enjoy that.
The palette for this set feels soft and dramatic at the same time. The purple backgrounds gave me just the right stage for this black kitty to show off every mood, from sweet and startled to sassy and unimpressed. I think many cat lovers will recognize at least a few of these expressions right away.
What makes this project especially dear to me is that it combines humor with simplicity. The shapes are approachable, but the finished result still feels lively and full of personality. I always enjoy projects like that, when something quite simple on the sewing table turns into a character with its own little attitude.
Seeing Faces of 20 Whiskers printed in this anniversary issue felt especially meaningful to me. Since our first collaboration in 2017, it has been such an honor and a joy to share projects on these pages year after year. Over time, A Needle Pulling Thread has come to feel like family, and that makes this creative journey even more special.
A big thank you to Carla and the amazing A Needle Pulling Thread team it is always such a treat to work with you. I am deeply grateful for your warmth, trust, and support through all these years together.
Behave yourself quilty!
With love,
Olesya
