Wednesday Fabric Love #1

Welcome to my new series, Wednesday Fabric Love!  I talked a little bit last week about how much I love browsing online for fabrics and I am just going to share some of my favorites every week.




This fabric by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics and is from the collection called "Stars and Stripes".  It reminds me of summer road trips and would be cute in (1) a red, white, and blue quilt, (2) a drawstring bag, (3) a zipper pouch, or (4) a journal cover.
 

This fabric is available from Fabric Shack here.  Fabric Shack is one of my favorite places to buy fabrics from, they are fast to cut and get your fabric in the mail, shipping is cheap, and they cut 1/4 yds (!!!!!).  They are not paying me to say this, I just really like buying from Fabric Shack.

My first Super Tote!

Last November I bought the Super Tote pattern from Anna Graham at Noodlehead and I finally got around to making it!  I bought the Ex Libris panel from Alison Glass at Quiltcon in February because I wanted to make something awesome with it and I decided that the Super Tote would show off the fabric beautifully.

Ex Libris by Alison Glass

After image searching countless other Super Totes as well as other bags using Ex Libris, I decided to use Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Charcoal as the base of the bag and Kona Cyan as an accent and the interior.  In reality, a bright pink or purple might have looked the best but I decided that the cyan/blue was a more "me" color.

It took me 1 week to make this bag!  The first two nights were dedicated to doing all the cutting and interfacing.

On the third night I put together the outside of the bag.

On the fourth night I made the inside of the bag and sewed it to the outside.  The zipper was the hardest part!  It took me quite a while to figure out the directions.

On the fifth and final night, I did the top stitching on the outside of the bag and sewed the hole shut in the bottom.

I made a custom inside to the bag.  On one side of the bag I did the regular pockets from the pattern.  On the other side, I made a custom cell phone pocket and a key ring to attach my keys so they don't get stuck in the bottom of the bag.

Even though it took 5 nights, I did enjoy making this bag!  I can't wait to use it :)

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday!

What I Stash and Why

I have been quilting for 11 years now and I have built up a bit of a stash.  Random story: some people I know refer to decorative items on shelves as “shelf s**t”… recently my husband has taken to calling my stash my “shelf fabric”.  I guess that’s better than my “fabric s**t”?? hahaha.  I think that I need to show my husband some pictures of other people's stashes so that he knows how small mine really is!

Most of my fabric lives on these bookshelves in my sewing room.  This picture is from when my room was clean :)

Anyway, over the years I have learned what fabrics are useful to me and also what fabrics tend to lay at the bottom of the stack and never get used.  Here are the rough rules that I follow.

1. I like to use primarily bright colors so I try to keep to those when building stash:  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple.  Recently I have added Pink and Teal to the mix.  I try to buy the “true” colors instead of one that is slightly “off” because I will be able to use it for more projects that way.  I also choose fabrics with only 1 color and white in them.  I don’t like multicolored fabrics for the stash.

 Example of my current red and orange scraps/stash

  2.  Usually I buy ½ yd because it is cheap and usually what I need for a project.  I have recently had issues though where I wished I had more of certain fabrics so I am considering increasing my amount to 1 yd.

3.  White on whites are always welcome, especially if they are a good quality and not see-through.

4.  I used to not like solids but they have grown on me (I blame my sister for this).  I usually only buy them for a specific project unless it is white, navy, or black (I like to have a stash of those).

5.  All previous rules are null and void when I buy kid/baby fabrics.  I love crazy patterns and the more colors, the better.  Then I chose some of my more “subdued” stash to go along with the fabric.

6.  Things get even crazier when I buy Christmas fabrics.  The gaudier and more shiny gold in the fabric, the better.  I don’t know why, it is just what appeals to me!  I try to stay with a true red and green though, and blue isn't really welcome in the Christmas fabrics.

I also have a couple other categories, like "travel" fabric and "nerdy" fabric, but it is just best if I don't show my entire fabric collection on the internet :)

By attempting to stick to these rules, I try to have a stash available to me so that when I have an idea and want to start sewing right away, I will have fabrics available to me.

One last thing, in regards to washing fabric, all fabric gets pre-washed before I add it to the stash!  I have a separate pile of fabric that needs to be washed before it can live with the rest.  The chemicals used in the fabrics don’t agree with me and I feel a lot better when I wash all my fabric before using it!

I have decided that I am going to start a series of posts about fabrics that I see online that I am interested in.  I am trying to cut back on buying fabric, but I do enjoy browsing online and this will give me something to do with the fabrics that I like and I can also save their info for later that way.  Look for this series on Wednesdays, I think I will call it "Wednesday Fabric Love" or something like that.

Summer Solstice QAL- Cutting Fabrics

Last week I posted that I have decided to join the Summer Solstice QAL hosted by Melissa at Happy Quilting.  Last spring I did a different QAL (Irish Chain QAL) with Melissa and I enjoyed it so much that I have been eagerly awaiting the next time she decided to host one!

Here is the quilt size that I am making- a 48" one star quilt:

It took me a while to choose fabric for this quilt.  I liked the pink/yellow/orange so much that I was considering using those colors.  But then I went to my local quilt store and I was stopped in my tracks by this beautiful gradient fabric... (it is from Timeless Treasures).  The gradient goes across the quilt from selvage to selvage.

So, I carefully figured out how to do my gradient across the fabric.  I started with the interior Drunkard's Path as the lightest and ended with the corner HST as the darkest.  This took 1.5 yds of the gradient fabric, luckily I bought 2 yards because I am hoping to use it for a border and/or the binding also :)

 My background fabric is plain white Kona.  It was much less complicated to cut up!

And here it is all together, can't wait to start sewing!!

Baby Quilt

I made a baby quilt and gifted it to a close friend of mine from college.  I actually started this quilt with the backing, I bought it like 8 years ago when I first started quilting and I knew then that it reminded me of my friend because it was so bright and happy.

From that I decided that I just wanted to make it rainbow primary colors since when I started it I didn't know if she was having a boy or a girl.  I eventually decided on scrappy log cabin blocks framed in white.

I have this rainbow stripe fabric that I love to use for bindings and I love the way it looks on this quilt too!

Since one of my goals for the year is to get better at quilting and break away from my usual motifs, I decided to use some techniques from one of Angela Walters' books for this quilt.

Can you see it quilted in the white thread above?  I made a giant flower/orange peel shape in each of the big squares and then I did figure 8's in all the white borders.  I actually love the way that it turned out, the texture of the quilt was so great after I washed it.

My friend loved the quilt, now I just need to convince her not to be scared to use it!  I told her that I would rather see my quilts a ratty loved mess than see them saved in pristine condition :)

Linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

I've got my quilting mojo back!

I go through periods of the year where I just don't feel like sewing.  I can never predict when they will happen, and I am always kind of sad when they do.  I come upstairs and hang out in my sewing room but I just don't feel like making anything.  If I am lucky, I will spend some time organizing or petting my fabric, but most of the time I just leave and go mope around the house.

For me, this started around the beginning of April, right after I finished my Facets quilt, I think I really only finished that quilt because it was part of a quiltalong and I wanted to keep up with everyone else.  Since I finished that quilt I went on a week long cruise, spent a weekend in Hill Country TX, and visited my parents for a long weekend.  I also have been doing tons of yardwork and gardening.  We have lived in our house for almost 3 years now, and the yard and my garden are finally starting to look the way that I envisioned them.  However, now the temperature in TX is above 90 deg every day and I am turning back inside for things to do.

A couple weeks ago, I made a bunch of open wide pouches and drawstring bags for my Etsy shop.
I highly suggest this tutorial for the open wide pouches and this one for the drawstring bags!

 I also when through a brief watercolor phase where I made these awesome digital prints also for sale in my Etsy store...

(the scissors one is my favorite, I have it hanging in my sewing room now!)

Anyway, all of a sudden this week I got my sewing mojo back! 

1. I decided to join the Summer Solstice Quiltalong at Happy Quilting (I did a quiltalong with Melissa last winter and really enjoyed it).   I am going to make the 1-square baby size quilt and I am super excited about it.  I bought the most awesome fabric that I hope will work out!  I will show you more about that next week.

2. I bought the fabric needed to make myself a Super Tote.  I bought the pattern last year and I am excited to finally try it out!

 

(image from http://noodle-head.com/2013/05/super-tote-pattern.html)

3. I bought backing for a quilt top that has been sitting in my closet for almost a year now.  I specifically made the quilt top to go with a certain backing and then the backing that I had was smaller than I thought it was (which I didn't realize until I laid it out to pin) and it also ended up being too busy.  I am still mad about it!

4. I am working on the design of a quilt for my parents with some batiks that they bought while they were on a cruise in Alaska.  I think I might share a post about my design process one day just for fun.

I am currently impatiently waiting for some fabric that I bought online to come in the mail.  I just vacuumed and dusted my sewing room to prep for the weeks to come.  I am so excited to have my quilting mojo back!

The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting- A Book Review

At Quiltcon 2016 in Pasadena, my sister and I took classes from both Angela Walters and Christa Watson and we enjoyed the classes greatly.  Both Angela and Christa are all about encouraging quilters to just try things out (even if it is not perfect) and get your quilts quilted!  I felt really inspired leaving their classes to work on trying out new motifs for my quilting.

I own previous books by both Angela and Christa and I was excited to find out that they wrote a new book together, titled “The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting, Long-Arm and Sit-Down”.  Personally, I quilt my quilts on a domestic machine, but is there a quilter out there who doesn’t wonder what it is like to quilt on a long-arm machine?  This book gives tips and helpful pointers for both sit-down and long-arm quilters!

 

 Photo Credit: Brent Kane and Martingale

The book is divided so that both Angela and Christa quilt the same quilt with different designs (the pages are color coded to tell you who is “talking” on that page).  Angela quilts the quilt on a long-arm machine and Christa quilts on a domestic machine.  However, often you can use either machine for either quilting design and it just serves to give you more ideas about how to quilt!  There are 10 different quilt patterns in this book, and then Angela and Christa sew them up and quilt them differently, so it is almost like 20 quilts in the book.

These pages from the book below are an example of how Angela and Christa take the same quilt and both offer a different spin on it!

Photo Credit: Brent Kane and Martingale

In the first part of the book, Angela and Christa talk about the items that they like to use when they quilt (marking pens, thread, rulers, etc) and then they talk about some best practices to use- both of them heavily encourage PRACTICE DAILY if you can to build up your skills.

Some interesting facts that I learned:

• You can’t quilt long vertical lines on a long-arm machine, only horizontal
• I learned about using rulers on long-arm machines (truthfully I had no idea these even existed)
• Christa talks about color-coding your quilting, where every color on the quilt has the same type of quilting- this is something that I really want to try out
• When using a sit-down machine, it is much easier to quilt different colors in different sections of the quilt (then when using a long-arm
• I learned that it can be hard to quilt large blocks on a long-arm machine

Each quilt in the book is designed to help you work on a specific aspect of quilting- there is a quilt for quilting borders and mastering the corners of borders, there is a wholecloth quilt (which looks amazing!), there is a quilt to work on filling negative space, quilts that use both the walking foot and free-motion foot (for sit-down quilters), etc etc.

One of my favorite quilts in the book is the Quatrefoil Applique quilt- Christa used this quilt to quilt different designs in each of the petals and she explains so many techniques in that section of the book!  I can definitely see myself using many of these quilting designs in my future quilts.

Photo Credit: Brent Kane and Martingale

 I was so interested in this quilt that I decided to try it out!  I made myself 4 of the curved pieces and made a "mini quilt" so that I could try out some of the designs.

I did three of the petals from Christa's designs and the upper right petal from Angela's design.  My favorite of these designs is the upper left "telephone cord" type design.  I could for sure see myself using this design in the future- it was quick and easy and I like the way it fills up the space.

Another one of my favorite quilts is the Wholecloth Quilt, "Swirling Butterflies".  They provide the design in the back of the book for you to copy onto your own quilt.  I would love to try this out, just for practice and to have tons and tons of practice of my free-motion quilting!

Photo Credit: Brent Kane and Martingale

One of the most interesting things that I learned from this book is that people who use sit-down machines (like me and Christa) have a completely different way of looking at quilts than people who use long-arm machines (like Angela).  I still have a desire to try out long-arm machines in the future but I have decided that for now I am very happy using my sit-down machine!  I also really liked the range of designs used in this book.  I can see myself paging through in the future looking for different motifs to use for my quilting.  It is so useful to get two different people’s take on quilting each of the quilts- it shows you how different styles of quilting can change the look of the quilt and also just helps you to have more ideas for quilting your own quilts!  I would recommend this book to everyone who is trying to quilt their own quilts- modern quilters, traditional quilters, sit-down quilters, long-arm quilters- there is something in this book for everyone!

This book is available several places (all non-affiliate links):

Christa has signed copies

Angela has signed copies

The Martingale website

Amazon.com 

I was provided with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my review.  All opinions are my own and I probably would have purchased it anyway!