Oriental Dots - A Fabric Pull

I was hoping to have my sewing room all set up by now, but the beast of a long arm that has taken over my space is making me re-valuate how everything will fit!  So while my stitching area is still unsettled, I have been using muslin to practice my stitching and putting together more quilt ideas!

Two weeks ago I was inspired by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation and snapped up her Bubble Bath pattern.  I was a little nervous when I saw how many fabrics it called for because I have found that when I hit a certain number of fabrics I start replacing ones in the current selection instead of adding the last few, but I persevered!

And when all was said and done I found myself in a very different direction than originally planned, but I am excited for this one to join the queue!

Still not sure about that one all the way on the right!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social.

Basically Patrick Suds

And we're back.  I haven't been waiting all this time for a replacement iron, never fear!

I was invited to hang some photography in a public space for the month of March, so my sewing room had to remain closed while I pulled it all together.  There was much framing and matting and running around this past month... but my pictures are all up now and just waiting for people to come in.  It is an amazing opportunity.  And it was also a lot more work than I ever expected.

So this weekend was the first time I've been able to get back in the sewing room since the end of January and I made good use of my time - washing and ironing (and petting) some fabric.

Now I swear that I don't bleed all my fabric, though I'm sure it looks like I do from my blog, but in the course of all the fabric washing I've been doing recently I did have some issues.  Some of the fabrics must have been damp next to each other in the washer for too long because the orange, red, and pink suds fabrics came out looking like a toddler had drawn all over them with a pen!

I tried applying some Dawn and water, to no avail.  However, with the liberal application of Shout stain remover and another trip through the washing machine, I was able to remove most of the dark marks!

Good as New!

And now all the colors of my suds line are washed and just waiting to be made into something delightful!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social and WiP Wednesday.

Scrappy Hearts - In Progress

19 hearts down, 91 to go!

Last week I got busy with my rotary cutter and prepped all the heart pieces for Field of Hearts.  I cut my blues with an eye towards minimizing waste so it went a lot slower than my usual method; cutting strips by WOF and cross-cutting!

That done, I continued on and made four patches.

Then I was out of town for the weekend and didn't sew, but I've since gotten started on turning my four patches into hearts.  I will need 110 hearts to make the quilt size I have planned. 30 of them will be the light purple and 80 will be the dark.

My layout is going to feel quite a bit different than the original pattern.  The designer made all of her hearts with very similar background colors, whereas I have pulled two fairly different purples and will have more of a block and sashing look.

Linking up with Let's Bee Social and WiP Wednesday.

Scrappy Hearts Origin Story

I started something new over the holidays.  There is a young lady in my family who can use all the love and good wishes she can get right now.  To me that means she needs a quilt, ASAP!

I chose Cindy Carter's scrappy four patch hearts pattern before I even got back to my sewing room.  What better way to send health and happiness than with a quilt full of hearts?

Her favorite colors are blue and purple so I started pulling those fabrics from my stash the moment I got home.  There was a little of this and a little of that, but I managed to find nine dark blues that went together well.  I was shy on purple, so I still had to visit the fabric store. (Oh calamity!) 

I thought the quilt would be scrappy enough with all of the blues chosen for the hearts, so the plan was to find a single purple for the background.  My selection of blues had other ideas...

And now the fabric is washed, pressed, and ready to cut.  So off I go!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social.

Fifty State Challenge

In May of 2009, I took a trip to Florida to see some family.  I always try to get fabric where ever I go. I even managed to pick some up in another country.  (It was a little shop on a back street and I didn't speak the language, but we managed!)  So of course part of my prep for this trip was to find the local quilt stores.

It was then that inspiration struck!  I wanted to travel to all 50 states, buy fabric in each one, and put together a quilt representing my travels.

Obviously, the first state that I acquired was Florida.  (And as luck would have it, the store that I went to sold an exclusive fabric to represent the area!)  I don't remember the exact order I acquired the following states, but I do try to add a new state or two each year.

Hawaii, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maine, New Mexico (L-R)
South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Vermont
North Carolina, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania

I am under no illusions that this will be a quick process.  After all, it's been five years and I only have 14 states.  In fact, I don't even have fabric from the state I live in yet!  But this quilt is all about the journey, and I'm looking forward to taking it.

What you could win!

Speaking of journeys, one year ago today I wrote my first blog post.  It's been an interesting ride and this process is definitely still growing and evolving.

And here's where I try something new...

When I was in Colorado picking up the most recent fabric for my 50 states challenge, I picked up a few fat quarters to give away to a reader of my blog.

My apologies to anyone who reads my blog from abroad, this particular giveaway is only open to those with US addresses.

In order to win, please tell me what your favorite brick and mortar quilt store is and what state it is in.  In addition, I must be able to contact you.  Please leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger.  Thanks!

I will pick the winner February Second.  Good luck!

Linking up to Let's Bee Social.

Common Ground

One last look backwards before starting to create for the new year...

The last piece that I finished in 2013 was this wall hanging.  I'm very proud of this piece.  It was an interesting challenge to construct a quilt from a non-quilter's pattern and very meaningful to be able to make this for my niece.  In addition, it is the first piece that I managed to make mostly from my stash!

Common Ground
24 x 24"
Machine pieced, Hand quilted.

I may have attached the sleeve in a hotel room the evening before we flew out of town.  Excellent conditions to work on my first sleeve in at least eight years.  When I had to un-stitch part to fix it, that small little hotel room was not a very nice place to be.  I think my husband may be a saint.

Linking up to Let's Bee Social.

Sunday Stash and Quilting the Sky

Over Thanksgiving, I visited quite a few quilt shops.  In one week I added 20 yards of fabric to my stash!  So I'm going to break it up into a couple of posts.  Here's the first half...

Doesn't it look so pretty piled there?
Let's take a closer look!

I couldn't resist this map of the solar system.  And look!  It even recognizes Pluto!  Bonus.

In other news, I'm not a Trekkie.  Not at all; why do you ask?

The first store I visited was in New York City and they had some city specific fabrics.  A good number of them were too flashy for me, but this piece caught my eye.  The background is a sepia map of the streets covered with the name tiles from subway stops.  And I won it by checking the website before going, because there weren't any bolts on the floor when I was there.

In addition, I've been making some progress on my niece's wall hanging. Not as much as I need to be making, but progress nonetheless.

All four sets of trees have been finished.  Each of the four blocks also has a sun, and one block has the entire sky quilted.  The sun was quilted with a doubled strand of cotton thread in the hopes that it would stand out.  I'm not sure that was entirely successful, and it was a pain in the rear to work with.

Linking up with Sunday Stash and Fabric Tuesday.

Sunday Stash - Winter

I've put together a little bundle of pretty fabric from my stash based on Ali's prompt: "winter."

Detail shot:
White on white and metallic swirls

Crisp tones of blues and greys and silver metallic threads.  That's what I think of when I hear "winter;" a snow covered winter wonderland.

It was a little difficult to find 10 fabrics.  I don't have much seasonal fabric in my stash.  But I think this bundle turned out pretty well despite that.

Linking up to Ali's Stash Flash and Sunday Stash.

Sunday Stash

I promised myself a little treat this week.  And of course we all know what that means... new fabric!


First up is some "Lil-Ducky".  I've already used the blue in three baby quilts a couple of years ago and I didn't think it would still be around.  I liked it so much then that, when I saw it was still out, I had to grab some more.  One yard each of yellow and blue.  I love that little duck in galoshes!


Next up is some Michael Miller: "Lab Animals" and "Atoms".  I liked these so much that they were picked up on my first pass around the store.  Does anyone else do a first lap just to see what's in the shop before picking out bolts?  They are going to be used for a pillowcase for charity, but they were so cute that there might be a little extra for the stash!

Last up I acquired some warm and cool chevrons.  These two are going to be made into a pillow case.  Yes, together.  No, there won't be any other fabric involved to calm them down.  My sister likes bright, and this is sure to fit the bill.  It will be a pillowcase only she will be able to sleep on.

Linking up with Sunday Stash.

Sunday Stash

A little while ago I bought fabric for another quilt when I had no time to start it.  And since I'm not exactly trustworthy when it comes to not overloading my project list, I've had my husband holding on to my acquisitions.

But yesterday I reached my goal and unlocked my fabric!  So I can't help but show it all off.  And as I type, the first batch is already through the wash.
 

The funky black above is the border.  The first border I picked was giving me such trouble.  I kept picking out colors to go with it and coming up against the fact that the colors matched, and I didn't like them at all!  Once I realized that, with the help of my awesome husband, everything started to come together!



Tans for the background and some small borders.  There's a lot of tan.  I think there is 5 yards of the fabric on the left.  It's a big quilt.  Bigger than I expected it was going to be... with a lot of open space.

I can't wait to start cutting in to it all!

Linking up with Sunday Stash!

What's in a stash

When I saw people were showing off their stashes at Sarah Quilts, how could I resist joining in?  So here's my little piece of heaven...

Why, yes.  My closet doors are mirrors.

Having a stash makes me quite happy.  I will unashamedly admit that I sometimes come to my sewing room just to sit and surround my self with all the pretty colors.

Assorted yardage and panels

I don't have the largest stash around, that's for sure...  But when I was restocking my sewing room after the renovation, I started to tally up what I do have.  And I was shocked at how much fabric I have accumulated!  I measured over 130 yards.

I organize my fabric primarily by size, marked so that I can tell at a glance whether I will have enough for what I want to make, but I also try to keep coordinating sets together.

Fat Quarters

When I started out as a quilter I mostly made pillows.  And even after I transitioned to making large quilts, I will still walk out of a quilt store and say: "Well, I only bought fat quarters."

But I have recently realized that's very silly.  I am not into making scrappy quilts and I can only make so many pillows!  So my new motto is: if you like it, buy more than a quarter!  (I don't see any way this could go wrong...)

What a mess!

And then there's all the fabric that has thus far escaped being put into my formal stash.  The fabric that is in use; that is odd shapes and sizes...  that has been washed and is patiently waiting to be ironed and put away...  Whoops!

Linking up to Sarah Quilts' Show me yours...I'll show you mine party