fabricologist

fabricologist

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

WIP Wednesday: Sneak Peaks

I had a bit of a conundrum. I have lots of works in progress to tell about, but I can't exactly show them to you. One is for a blog hop, which will have a reveal in about 3 weeks or so. One is for a challenge I signed up for, since I clearly need more projects. Same thing there, wait for the reveal. The third is a swap and I am waiting to get my partner before I start it. Those, along with all the baby quilts that need to be basted and quilted and the two quilts for V and B. Whew...lots of WIPs.

So I decided to get creative with my picture taking and I am not going to tell you which picture is which quilt.  Ok?


Have a great rest of the week. Talk to you soon. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sunday Stash #16

Ahhhhh...Sunday. I love Sundays all year long, but in the spring, with the birds singing in the background it's heavenly. So here is my stash post for this week. I know I said I would settle for the horse print in white from the Wee Wander line, but after that post, I thought, lets just look and see if any more had come in to Hawthorne Threads. You know, just a look. And then this happened:
 They had completely restocked! So I bought a half yard of each and now I have all three colorways, which was not my original intention. But these are so pretty.  And then, just to get something else I had been thinking about, I bought this:
 This is the Fox and the Houndstooth by Robert Kaufman. I love those dapper little foxes and I thought this would make something cute for B.  I think it's going to become a pillowcase.
 Those vests! Those hats! the bow tie and monocle! I love this cute fabric! I am now waiting on some grey houndstooth for the pillowcase edge.
And look at the selvedge! How cute is that? Hope you have a great Sunday. Linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Another Saturday, More Sewjo

I got lots done this week, but I have lots going on right now too. Today, for example, I ran a 4 mile road race, had an after race lunch with my daughter, who ran, her family and my sweet hubby, who also ran today. Now, it's dinner time and I am pooped. One of the many things I got done this week was my Bee Blocks for the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee.

 One of the members requested low volume blocks for the quilt, Sunday Morning. I pulled out all the low volume strips I could find.
 I kinda like the way they came out. I found they were much easier than the last time I made them.
Pretty

 The second set of blocks was also requested to be low volume, but in girly prints and colors. I loved making these. They are for the Scrapper's Delight quilt that another bee member is making.
So pretty and soft. I can't wait to see this one together. It will be lovely. Enjoy what's left of your Saturday. Linking up with GoGoKim.

Friday, April 25, 2014

#300-A Friday Finish and A Giveaway

So here we are at post number 300! I almost can't believe it. That is a lot of words and pictures. I have come a long way since I started. I have learned so much from the quilting and blogging community and I want to say thank you to all of you who have inspired me.

For my Friday finish this week, I raced to finish one of the many baby quilt tops I am working on this year. I really wanted to get this top done, and I did, but there is a small mistake that will have to be ripped out and fixed. Let's take a look.
 I tried to arrange all the blocks to spread out the colors. When I make a quilt like this, I don't plan it out very much, so I just grabbed two fabrics that paired well with each other to frame the center. I always figure I can work out the block arrangement afterwards.
 See the two blocks in the top row that are blue on the outside? Those weren't supposed to be together, and I don't think they were, when I laid things out. But in my haste to finish the top, something got mixed up.  So they will be separated before I quilt this.
 So many fabrics in this one. Sweetwater's Noteworthy, Pearl Bracelets, Squared Elements, Flea Market Fancy, Malka Dubrawsky, and some other older fabrics from my stash. This was a fun fabric pull. Now, a few of my favorite blocks:
              The blue fabric here is a batik that I love, with tiny yellow and orange dots.
 One of my favorite grey stripes from Sweetwater, and I am sorry I can't remember which line.
 Navy blue Dimples surrounded by a great stripe from the Noteworthy line from Sweetwater.
                       Here is Denyse Schmidt playing nicely with Squared Elements.
I love this quilt already and I hope the new parents love it too. I don't know the gender of the baby yet, but I think this is cute enough to go either way. Now, since you have read all this way, let's talk giveaway.
 I have this pretty fat quarter bundle that I put together. These are all Kona Cottons I bought at my LQS. I wanted something bright and springy to give to you.
 I looked at lots of fabrics and chose these to hopefully appeal to a wide audience. And then, for fun I added a spool of Aurifil thread from my stash and some pretty springy zippers from Zippit.
I know you could find something fun to make with these. So, in order to be entered into the draw, since it's spring and all, in your comment please tell me what your favorite spring flower is. That's it. I will draw a winner next Friday, May 2nd. Drawing is open to any and all. I will ship internationally. Thank you again for reading about my quilting adventures here.
Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts.
Giveaway over. Winner has been chosen.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

An Oldie, But a Goodie for WIP Wednesday

Have you ever bought a quilting book, just because of the picture on the front of the book? I used to belong to a craft book club and I bought several books that way, because when they sent you the catalog each month, there was always a book or two that looked really cool.  This is the story of one such book.
 I bought this book in 2008. Those petals on the cover, as well as the colors really drew me in. I am sure there was a little blurb about the book too, that intrigued me. And when I received it, it did not disappoint. Most of the samples in the book were made with batiks, however, and while I like batiks, they are not really very present in my stash.
 This was the quilt on the cover of the book that intrigued me so. I loved the pinks and the oranges, and the shapes of the petals really makes me smile.
 Then, further back in the book there is this one, called Stella Blue and that was the one that convinced me I had to make this quilt. The process is sewing strips together and then cutting out the blocks, or in this case, the petals. Now, what you need to know about this, and me, is that this was before I discovered the modern quilt movement and quilt blogs. I didn't find all that until about 2 years later. So I was trying to follow this pattern and I couldn't seem to get around the backing fabrics. I thought I would just cross that bridge when I got there. But I never did get there. I found all my petals and the book and extra fabrics tucked away the other day, still not a backing fabric in sight. I decided to pull it out and see what I had so far.
 I have almost 40 of the petals made, in my two favorite colors: yellow and blue. There are a couple of batiks in there, but lots of tone on tone prints and I know I still have a few of these left to make more petals.
 I love the pretty yellow print with the few tiny blue flowers in it. It seems to tie the whole thing together. So, I am going to grab the rest of my fabrics and make just a few more petals.
I am much better at taking a concept and making it my own for a quilt now, than I was back in 2008. I will figure out a lay out and find a backing fabric for these beautiful petals and this quilt will become a finished project finally. The applique process is just machine blanket stitch and since I have my Bernina, which I didn't have back then, It will be a snap. Look at those lovely blues!
I know I have a lot of other quilting projects going on right now, but I am very excited and re-energized to give this quilt the finish it deserves. Do you have any quilts in progress like this? Maybe it's time to dust them off, and give them a second look. You might be sitting on a real treasure.
Happy Wednesday. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sunday Stash #15

Good morning and Happy Easter to you. I hope you have some lovely plans for your day today. I think mine will be a quiet one, and that's okay by me. So this week's Sunday stash I have been very excited to share. I waffled on buying this fabric since the day it came out. Should I? What would I make with it? But everyone's buying some. Wait, maybe I don't need it. WHAT? Scratch that. Of course I need it. I am a collector. So here it is, a carefully selected few pieces.
 Sara Jane's Wee Wander! I looked at it on line so much and I really loved the pink colorways but I know I am not really able to use a lot of pink. I have grandsons and also, many of the folks I have sewn baby quilts for in recent years are having boys too. This colorway can be for boys or girls with the right additions to it.
 The illustrations on this are just fantastic. I think each of Sara Jane's lines is better than the last one.
 The firefly in a jar is my favorite. What kid never did this? It brings me back to summers growing up.
And this one reminds me of a tree in the park where I grew up. My sisters and I spent many hours playing in that tree. We called it the monkey tree and it was the best climbing tree ever.
 This one was the hardest to find. The horses print in every colorway is sold out or on reorder at many of the shops I frequent on line. I bought all my pieces from Hawthorne Threads which is usually my go to fabric source. I really wanted the blue colorway of this. I felt that it was very necessary to the collection, but I couldn't find it. Then, at Lark Cottons I found this. So I grabbed it. This was my first ever order from Lark  Cottons, but it won't be my last.
The service was so fast, I had this in my hands 3 days before the rest, and Hawthorne Threads is pretty quick when it comes to shipping. But what I want you to see is the edge. This baby is pinked so there is no raveling. I have never seen that before, but with the pinking blade on a rotary cutter, easy peasy. GENIUS!!!
Just a side note, I really wanted to see this fabric before I bought it, but my LQS did not have it. I asked, and they said they had ordered it, but they didn't know what prints had been ordered or when it would come in. I checked back weekly for 3-4 weeks and finally gave up and bought on line. I try to support my LQS whenever I can, but many times they disappoint with what they choose to carry. I did not want to miss out on this one. And just so you know, it is so soft! I am going to love sewing this up. Got an idea already. Well, enough rambling. Have a great Sunday and I am linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.http://www.mollisparkles.com

Saturday, April 19, 2014

It's Sewjo Saturday

I have to admit, I am loving these Saturday posts. Everything that happens during the week is great and fun to read about, but the weekends were a little dull before now. I am so inspired by other people"s talents and this is what keeps me going through the weekend.  I am doing as much sewing as time allows, but pictures are harder to come by. This is my current project, well, one of them.
 This is V's Rocket Age quilt and though the pictures are not much yet, it's going to be fabulous.
I am at that phase in the quilt where the piecing is just beginning and even with chain piecing, it takes a bit of time to get enough done to show real progress in pictures. I plan to really give it a go this next week in my spare bits of time so that by next Saturday, they might be much more to show. Have a great Saturday. Linking up with GoGo Kim for Sewjo Saturday.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Friday Finish-Times Two

This week's Friday Finish is not one, but two quilt tops. I have a friend who is having fraternal twin boys this summer, and rather than wait until the last minute, and since I have so many other quilts in progress, I hurried these along. I hope to get them quilted soon.  So here they are:
 I wanted to use up some scraps I have had from another baby quilt from about 10 years ago. And since the family lives in Ohio, of course, the Ohio Star came to mind.  I also wanted the quilts to be different from one another.  So one became very scrappy, with a small Ohio star on it.
And the other became a nine patch with 5 larger Ohio Stars on it.  I just need backing now. I am going to try and pull it from my stash if I can. I have until late July to get these quilted, but I am thinking sometime in the next few weeks it will get done. They shouldn't take too long to quilt. And I just found out that another good friend is expecting identical twins. Here I go again!! Hope you have a great weekend. Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

WIP Wednesday...cutting, cutting, cutting

This weeks WIPs are mostly about cutting out pieces for quilts. I do have some I am sewing on, but they are in the back seat for a bit now.
 Got all my strips selected and ironed for my SMQ Bee blocks for April. My bee mates have both requested low volume for their blocks this month. Can't wait to see how these come together. I love this bee. This is year 3 and it always stretches me to make these blocks.
 This is a new project for a blog hop coming in May. I am really excited about this one. Lots of squares to cut out.
 I decided to make it 50 inches square, more or less, so I need 441 squares, all 3 inches, for this one.
 Still a bit more to cut...but I am about half way there.  Woo hoo!
And this sweet print that I want to incorporate will probably, maybe, be my border. We'll see when we get that far.  Here is a peek at my potential lay out. Just threw these up on the design wall.
Enjoy your week. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunday Stash #14

Well, it seems that winter is firmly behind us now, here in North Carolina. Not only are the days warmer, and more of them are not rainy, but the nights are warmer too. And the scourge that is the yellow pollen from the long needle pines is going full blast. One of the up sides of this is the light and weather make it so I can take my photos outside. These were a bit late in the day, so a little shadowy. It seems I have forgotten how to do this, but don't worry, practice makes perfect.
 This lovely stack of half yard cuts, I blame on Julie at the Intrepid thread. These are Essentials by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. So soft! She showed these on Facebook and I fell for them. I showed them to my hubby and he loved them. I have a plan in mind!!
 Then, there is my love for Charley Harper fabrics. I resisted for awhile, but I finally gave in. I am trying not to go fabric nutso this year, so I very carefully selected just a few prints.
This cheater cloth is my favorite. I love the birds the best and this one has several different ones.
 Isn't this just the sweetest little birdie pair? Still thinking about how I'm going to put these together.
The last one is one I hemmed and hawed about buying. The alternate colorways of this wonderful Riley Blake print were being shown as sewn items everywhere, but I loved the red, white and blue the best. I bought a full yard and think I have come up with the perfect idea for it. You'll have to wait and see. Hope you have a lovely spring Sunday wherever you are. Linking up to Molli Sparkles' Sunday Stash.