Now What?

I spent the morning sorting scraps. I have a bag of cool, a bag of warm and a bag of light/neutrals....

Now what?

i have been thinking about making something from Sunday Morning Quilts.


 I was inspired by this quilt, and then i saw this project and thought it would be great to use these scraps on too.

Anyone have a favorite, go to scrap/stash busting project that they like to make?

Tuesday's Choice...a Fabric Audition

I just can not make up my mind today about what fabric to use for a new project.

 We are getting ready to go on vacation where i obviously will not have my machine to sew with but there is some down time and plenty of car time so i thought maybe hand sewing would be the answer.

Erin at Why Not Sew recently hand a hand sewing sampler series!!! I knew this was the one for me. It has been calling me.

But what fabric do i choose? I auditioned several sets for my husband(he is very indulgent) and he was leaning mostly to the primary colors...not the lavender or greens. Me...I am still not sure.

However i have these gorgeous bundles of FMF that are just sitting waiting to be used for something amazing. Is this it? Is this that amazing thing?

What do you think? Do i go for it and use the coveted, most beautiful fabrics? Will i regret it when i find something else i wish i did with them or do i just do it and know that i will love how this sampler is going to turn out(Erin used the FMF so i already have a preview)?

What to do!!! What to do???

In the meantime....here is something pretty that came in my mail. Don't you love fabric mail? I saw these Coquette charm packs on sale and scooped up a couple. It is very girly fabric...and i love the lavender in it. Who knows what is in store for these.


 Leslie

I Love Packages!!!

I have been meaning to share a few new treasures with you for a little while, but seems like life got busy. You know how that goes.

Not that long ago i saw on Erin's blog, Why Not Sew, that she was looking for Flea Market Fancy fabric and she was willing to swap something she had for some of the precious FMF. I just so happened to have quite a bit in my stash. A swap sounded like fun so why not. I went for it.

This gorgeous pile of Denyse Schmidt for Joanns came back to me. I had been meaning to go and get some for myself for the longest time but never made it....so when she offered this up i was on top of it! Erin was more than generous...thank you blog friend.

In the same week that the fabric came i also received a little package from Tara, of Tiny Hummingbird. She, so sweetly, made me some note cards as a thank you for crocheting her little man a gnome hat. It was so unexpected and they are all so beautiful....thank you so much Tara.

I can hardly fathom writing on these and then giving them away, they are so pretty!! I just might need to find a way to frame them and enjoy them for a long time.

Leslie

Flea Market Inspriation

Way back in the way backs i won a small layer cake(10 inch squares) of Flea Market Fancy from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts. I have been hanging onto them unwilling to cut into them because i was not sure what i was going to make. Then inspiration came from Rita, who was inspired by Ashley...they both made wonderful quilts with simple FMF squares. Go ahead and take a peek, i will wait right here.

Then, much to my surprise, I found a stack of FMF in my own stash that i had bought at some point and totally forgotten about, all different from the ones Rita gave me. Can you imagine? I managed to cut 2.5" squares from about 22 fabrics, giving me somewhere around 350 squares. These are smaller than what the other ladies worked with but i wanted to maximize what i could get from each of the 10" squares. I am thinking of making a play mat for the baby...using double batting and hand quilting it. Can i make this happen anytime soon? I am sure going to try!!! starting with hanging some batting to get a small inspiration wall going so i don't have to lay things out on my hands and knees.

Ho Ho Ho...!?!?

Brace yourself for a good laugh sister...!!!

I have slowed way way down on fabric buying. There is so much out there that i love(like this and this and this to name a few) but i am so unmotivated to sew and my output is so low right now that i can not justify it. But this one fabric has been on my mind for quite awhile...12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain. I know, Colleen(my sister)...me buying Christmas fabric....what?!?!?!

I have in the past, mocked and gagged and rolled my eyes a little at Christmas fabric...or really any holiday or season specific fabric. Sorry! Don't be offended if you love them. It is me not you! I know that there are lots of beautiful seasonal fabrics out there made by super talented designers...and more than that there are so many beautiful quilts and other things made by great fabric artists and super talented sewers. I just can't, or should say, couldn't do it. Until i saw this line of Christmas fabric. With this, i was converted!!!

I bought the 10 inch layer cake, so it is planned to be a simple quilt. Just gonna mix them up, maybe let Avery lay it all out for me. You can stop laughing now Colleen.

Fabric Dreaming!

Tonight we were sitting on the couch

Avery turns to me and says in a dreamy and wishful voice,

"Imagine if there was such thing as a quilt shop as big as a mall?!?!"

Can you just imagine? I love that girl. I love that she thinks and dreams about fabric already.

Of Course...

My skiing family members were not the only ones that got to have a little fun on our trip north. I had the chance to look up and visit a few local quilt shops while we were there. I had the pleasure of finding Adirondack Quilts. The shop was beautiful....i knew right away it was going to be good. They had beautiful antique and new quilts hanging all around the shop and a assortment of vintage and antique sewing tools.

I was more than thrilled to find that they had a whole 4 or 5 shelves of Aunt Grace fabrics. These are so hard to find here, and they are my favorites. I have been collecting them in little bits for several years now, waiting until i had a bunch to do a really awesome vinatge inspired quilt. I think i am getting close. Click on to see them better...they are amazing.

I also was able to get several yards of Amy Butler at half off. This was the first time i have bought anything of hers and it is so pretty. What have i been waiting for? I can not wait to try the Thangles....i also got a 6 square ruler...some Katie Jump Rope cloisonne and some Anna Griffin yardage that i had never seen before. All of this was my valentine present...some women get jewels, perfume or chocolate....this woman gets fabric. My husband knows me!!!!

Another shot....just because i love them and i could not resist!!

I Swear it is a Sickness

But I confess it is a sickness i don't mind having. If you have read my blog for any amount of time you already know that i just can not help myself i just get excited about pretty fabric.

I am sure Hobby Lobby is old news for many of you, but this weekend i went for the first time ever. The whole place was big and overwhelming...but the fabric department held a few treasures. I love these little vintage reproduction bundles.

I was beyond excited to find this Ginger Blossom corduroy on the clearance rack for $2 a yard. I did not even know they made this in corduroy. It is so soft and so pretty. I bought all that they had left on the bolt....about 3-4 yards. I have a plan in mind. I have been wanting to make a bag with a friend, same one that i had been making a quilt with, and i think this will be just what i was looking for.

While the girls were looking at fabric, the boys went and found a new toy of their own. I think they said it was a slot car track. As you can see it was a hit...it kept them busy for a large part of our lazy sunday afternoon.

I have a few projects i am trying to work on for the house...curtain, pillow covers a small quilt topper. hopefully i can share later this week.

And the Winner is....

...drum roll please... Congratulations Tricia you are the lucky winner of my 2, count them, 2 fat quarters of Heather Ross Matroyshka in lilac fabric. I hope that you love them and make something wonderful with them.

****don't give up hope. there are more giveaways out there. go on over and check out this giveaway on Sew Many Stitches Later blog. She is so generous and is sharing some fabric and a few other treasures. go on go look, you know you want to.***

Fabric Find

Do you see those pretty little faces? I could not believe my eyes. I knew the minute i saw it what it was.... Heather Ross Matroyshka in lilac...and did not hesitate to buy all that the joanns had. So fellow fabric lovers...hurry and see if there is any of this at your local joanns. hurry!!! I already have my sister on the lookout for more where she lives.

Can you believe it, right along with all the other fat quarters and for the same price too!! that had to be the best part, making this my find of the year(so far). It was only 1.29 a fat quarter! i know....run!!!

As soon as i got it home i was hit with inspiration and motivation...why does that happen only at the beginning of a project not at an ending too? But here is my dilemma. I am loving this pile of fabrics. The colors are not my usual choice but i love them, so i just want to go with it and start making but this is Heather Ross i am talking about cutting up, and the rest is from my stash, likely bought at Joann's or Walmart( i know, but i can not always afford the designer, you know?)

A friend of mine once told me not to mix fabrics. By this she meant don't use the really good stuff with the cheap stuff or you might be sorry. However, if i wait to have enough other fabrics up to Heather Ross standards to go with this matroyshka fabric i may never get to making it.
HELP!! What do i do? What would you do?

Recent Purchases

This is my new pack of loveliness. I got it from my recent go-to quilt shop...the Fat quarter shop. They are not the only place that i look for something, but they always have a huge selection of what is available and what is coming soon. I was shopping around for a friend who wanted me to make something for her, i am flattered! When i was about to order the fabric for her i just wanted to browse around see if there something for me too!! I found this lovely fat quarter bundle of Paula Prass Woodland Delight fabric. And no, i am guilty of not knowing what i am going to do with this. I just loved it!!! I could not resist the color combination.

And JONELLE, this is for you!!! I know i did not ask you what you thought before i bought it, but i thought it fit your description of what you wanted the best...blues and white and silver.

I hope you like it. I wish i was able to make the tree skirt for you in time for this christmas but you and i both know it was never going to happen. So what do you think? It is from a line called Venetian Holiday.

Recently Acquired

oh yes, i know...you are so shocked to see that i got some new fabric!!! Sometimes my power of resistance is very low. I found this fat quarter bundle of Ginger Blossom at the fat quarter shop...it is so pretty, fun and bright. Love it. glad i got it when i did because i don't see it there anymore.

I have been thinking about new kitchen towels...and right now i am loving old antique and vintage...so when i got a e-mail about vintage look toweling, on sale, i went for it. All i have to do is cut each yard in half, hem the ends and i have 6 brand new kitchen towels....hooray!! Plus as a bonus i got myself a little extra wee play yardage, because i love it!!! all from the same shop, the Calico Cottage Quilter.

This week i also got a surprise in the mail...i won a giveaway during Park City Girl's quilt festival. Ruth Anne dyes her own fabric and was giving away these two pieces. They are both very pretty and done with different techniques.

And then there is this....an acquired family heirloom of sorts. Every family has them but sometimes they are different than what you might think. Meet the much sought after chipmunk S&P shakers. My mom has had them forever and we love them...i tried stealing them recently but my very honest 5 year old ratted me out. But my mom let me borrow/have?? them this year because thanksgiving was going to be here. What if they are happier here mom? :o(

But Of Course!!

...you know i can not make a trip to my sisters house without stopping in on all the local fabric stores to see what is new and wonderful! And i definitely found wonderful. Orange was calling me, not for a reason,but for the stash. I have been dreaming about having some of this fabric called Red Letter Day by Lizzie House for some time and they had wonderful bundles of it at this shop. There are some reproduction fabrics in there as well that i could not resist. Deanna, stop calling me names! :o) If you click on the picture you can see the cute little kids with umbrellas there in the middle a little better. It is really cute, sorry it is upside down. I guess only lots of time will tell what these pretties turn into.

Giveaway Goodness

Recently i was chosen to win a giveaway on Heather's blog, Quilting Like Crazy. Heather makes the most amazing quilts, and she makes them so fast! I was pretty excited. It's fun to win stuff isn't it? Well, it just came in the mail the other afternoon and i was more than thrilled to find when i opened it that not only had she sent me the won scraps of wee play fabric but she was more than generous and included 2 large cuts of the ruler fabric from that line. She also sent along some very pretty ribbon. I am going to have to think of something fun to do with that. Thank you so much Heather for sharing!! I hope i can do it justice. For now it is going to go in the queue of sewing projects i want to work on.

My First Quilt

As usual, i am behind on posting in time to be included in the official Parade of Quilts, hosted by Camille and Carrie. I have been thinking a lot lately about posting my first quilt, even before i saw this parade coming. It has been a long time since i finished it and if i look too close i cringe a little....because there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to quilting.

I have a wonderful friend who taught me all she knew about quilting. She had a beautiful crib size rail fence quilt like this one in her living room(even in the same colors) and i always admired it. One day she offered to help me learn. We went to the fabric store and begin choosing fabric. It was that day that i knew fabric was going to be my favorite part...i love putting them together. I did not foresee what this little quilt and a love for fabric would become.

It lives in my living room still. i love it even with all its imperfection. I pieced the whole thing by machine and then hand quilted it. In the future i hope i learn to take more risks with fabric and piecing...and along the way i have learned how valuable precise cutting is as well as a consistent 1/4 inch seam.

These are my last finished projects, one of the things the official parade asked for us to show....a quilt for a friends new baby and a bonnet for my girl.