Sunday Stash and MAQS Recap

I went to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt show last weekend, and believe it or not, I bought some fabric! lol

In addition to these super sweet repros, I also got some Lizzy and Tula, and a stencil set thing so I can improve my FMQ a little bit. I also got my first skeins of "fancy" yarn! (Aka not from Joann's/Michaels/AC Moore) I think these will become some really sweet Christmas-y socks!

I didn't actually take any photos of the actual show quilts, because I was distracted by another purchase, which is getting it's own post next week!

In the meantime, I'll tease you with the promise of a new quilt in the next couple of weeks. I'm turning these 30's prints into a quilt for my BFF's new baby. Who will probably be walking by the time it's finished. But at least I am SO much more inspired with this than the quilt I was working on for her before!

Hellooooo!!!

Hi everybody! I knew I had been busy and non-bloggish for a while, but I had no idea it had been this long!

So what have I been up to? School, that's what. I'm taking pharmacology this semester, and it's kicking my butt! I'm also taking another class, but it's not too bad. I'm sooo ready for pharm to be over, though!

Since I haven't had much time to sew, I bought some fabric...

Yeah, my Christmas money was gone almost immediately lol!

I've also been working on a new quilt, but I'm not loving it... We'll see how it turns out!

Quilt Show loot!

I mentioned last week that I went to the Fredericksburg Quilting and Sewing Expo the week before, and showed you some of the awesome pieces that were on display.

I also mentioned that I would show you the loot I picked up while I was there.

Then I forgot.

So this is me not forgetting anymore. ;-)

I picked up some fun Christmas fabrics, for a project yet to be determined. I also got some (more) Acacia and Briar Rose, and a half yard of some fun citrus print - I used something similar in Sunshine Daydream that I loooved and don't know what it was.

I also picked up the Quick Curve Ruler and a pattern to go with it. I've only ever done curves with my DWR Sampler from last year, and I'd like to see if this makes it easier.

I loved the selection of stuff at this show! There was much more "modern" fabrics and patterns than I've seen before. I think I'll go again next year ;-)

Those who can't sew, hoard...

So while I've been doing lot's of this...

I haven't been doing much sewing...


So i've been shopping.

I (finally!) sold my Sewing Summit ticket, and in my mourning of not being able to go, and not being able to sew in lieu of studying for exams, I've been drowning my sorrows in retail therapy.


I supplemented my Briar Rose stash...

Got my hands on some of the Waterfront Park blenders... (I still really want some of the navy. I love me some navy...)

Got some Tule! I love the colors in this line!

I also got some Field Study. I know, I know, I'm so far behind the times with these...

But once I saw them in person, I fell in love (big surprise, I know...) and I got some more. Oops.

There also MIGHT be some that haven't come in yet... It's an illness. I'll share those soon. You know you want to see them, too. ;-)

Hopefully after this exam I'll have some time this weekend to make a mess in the studio!

Stash Share

I'm jumping on Sarah's bandwagon and sharing my stash. 

I love it. I love that it's the first thing I see as I walk up the stairs. I love that I can look at it and see so much potential.

I really just like looking at it, period.

My stash-building has evolved over the past several years, but here are the basic ideas:

~ I buy a lot of one or two-color "basic" prints, that can be mixed with anything and everything. That is basically how Sunshine Daydream came about. That was a stash-only quilt, and I'm very proud of that!

~ I used to buy mostly fat quarters, but as I've grown as a quilter and can better evaluate a print's versatility, now I mostly buy half yards. There are also some that I buy yardage of because I know it's something I love that I can use often. I still buy fat quarters of prints that are niche-y, or that I'm not sure I'll use more than once or twice. That's very occasional. Most of my fat quarter stash come from leftover halves.

~ Collections: I actually really like sewing with collections, which is not necessarily a popular opinion with quilters. But I feel if a collection is well designed and well curated, it deserves to be showcased. (See Honey Honey and Luxe in Bloom) ((also, Honey Honey is one of the few quilts I've made following a pattern, as well!))

I used to organize my 1-yard and up fabric on mini-bolts, but I discovered that I could fit a whole lot more on my shelf with just plain old-fashioned folding. I do use uniform folding techniques to make everything fit together and look neat. I don't like messes. I'm a nerd like that.

On top of the shelf are bolts of fabric that are ~3+ yards, as well as some of my older quilts. And I think some batting leftovers.

The top shelf holds cuts that are about 1-2 yards. I need to beef up my yellows, they've been looking kind of sad since I finished Sunshine Daydream. Yellow is harder to come by than one would think! I also have my color cards up there for quick reference.

The second shelf has some fat quarters, as well as some collections that I have yardage of. There is also the backing fabric for Honey Honey waiting to be pieced as well.

The third shelf has more collections, as well as pulls for future projects, precuts, and some of the solids. The next has bins that are holding pulls for current projects, like the BOMs I'm in this year. There is also a stack of home dec fabrics there as well.

This little shelf holds the bulk of my blenders and whatnot, organized by color. There are also some low volumes there at the bottom, and my faves, gray, at the top.

So that's it, for the most part! I have a bunch more in the cabinet on the other side of the studio, but those are mostly bits and pieces left over from early in my quilting days, before I got more of a handle on my 'style'. Now those are practice bits and whatnot.

So how does your stash look? Are there gaping holes, like my yellows?

Obsessed

I'm kind of obsessed with this fabric pull right now. I don't know what it's going to be, but I sure like looking at it...

The inspiration was this spool of coral/salmon/peachy Aurifil. It's my new favorite color. 

The one print in the stack is one I used in a quilt for my best friend's baby. I have no idea what it is, so if you recognize it, please let me know! I'd love to find more!

Design wall of the day

You know the saying "my cup runneth over"?

Quilters should have their own version - "my design wall is crowded". :-)

Stash-tastic Sunday: Kona Hexies

I ordered some of these new Kona pre-cut hexies when I was ordering some more fabric for my On a Whim, as well as a couple more prints from Les Amis. I've seen these around the blogosphere, and wanted to check them out. I ordered one pack in the 'brights' colorway.

Of course I started throwing them up onto the design wall before I had the insight to take a picture of the stack, so here are the warms that were still in my hand when I got smart.

You can kind of see the edges here, where they are burned a little bit during die cutting. It's a little distracting at first, but it helps to keep them from fraying. The burned bits are also well behind the 1/4 inch, so I really don't think they'll be a problem.

On the wall! So pretty :-) I have no earthly idea what I'm going to do with these kids, but it will probably end up being a wall hanging. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Stashtastic Sunday - MAQS loot!

I spent Friday at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show in Hampton, Va. It's an annual tradition for me, so I was definitely looking forward to it.

It's also something where I look forward to spending some cash money.

I got a magazine and a pattern, and a purple thing and some hexie papers. I also got a pair of machingers. I tried them out when I took my one and only quilting class, but I preferred being able to feel the fabric a little better. But after the gardening gloves incident, I decided that they were worth another shot.

I also got a straight stitch plate for Bridget, as well as some bobbins (and a holder). Bobbins for this beast have been IMPOSSIBLE to find! My shop in Richmond hasn't been able to get any in in months! Bridget's a new model, so accessories in general have been hard to come by, but I've been working with five bobbins total since November. The Bernina dealer at the show said that they only had 12 to bring with them, and they sold out within 30 minutes of the first day of the show. I took a shot and tried the Bernina dealer in Newport News and got lucky!

I also got some fun blenders - some more Simply Color as well as some ovals and a yard of some really fun sherbet-y orange.

I also finally found some Les Amis! I first saw this line a while ago, and thought idly was so cute and sweet, but I've never seen it in stores. So when I saw it I had to forgo the fat quarter bundle and get some half yards ;-) I also got a fq of the large scale focal print too.

I'll have a post of the quilts in the show tomorrow, hopefully! It was amazing, so many beautiful pieces!

Stash organization

In the midst of making the first few x-plus along blocks, I realized that I have no idea most of the time what my fabric 'inventory' is. This is the first truly scrappy quilt I've done, and I wanted to see what I had to work with. Which, of course, led to me reorganizing my stash.

I've seen a couple of tutorials about how to make mini bolts out of foam core, so I gave that a try. I essentially just used an exacto knife to cut them up after measuring and marking how big I wanted them to be. The ones I made are 10x7 I think.

I used the mini bolts to store yardage, and anything less than a yard I folded up. I put everything back on the shelf in color order, so I could see quickly what all I've got to wrk with. (That's when I realized I needed to stock up on yellow. Like a lot. )

The third shelf is collections that I want to keep together, and solids I haven't figured out where to put yet.

The boxes on the lower shelves hold pulls for projects that I'm currently working on, as well as some home dec fabrics.

The whole shebang is really pretty, if I do say so myself... I love being able to see my stash, it gets me really excited to make pretty things :-)

Stash-tastic Sunday

I worked a lot this past week, so there isn't anything productive to show you. I did manage to finish quilting a secret project this afternoon, but no pictures of that yet.

Here are some pretties instead...

...I lied

So yesterday I was all like "I haven't bought fabric in ages" etc.

I apparently couldn't handle it. I went to my LQS just to look. Riiiight. Like that's realistic.

I ended up getting some more FQs for the two BOMs I'm doing, and I think the depth of those stacks has improved. I like how it's turning out.

Did you know they have Kona at Joann's?!? See those two bolts up there? Yeah, that happened.

Stash-tastic Sunday

Believe it or not, I actually haven't bought any fabric lately. I know, I must be ill. But it's ok, really. Since I've started really using my new sewing room, and pulling out fabrics that have been hidden away for a long time, my stash seems to be growing at an excelerated rate.

One of my goals for this year is to become more comfortable with cutting into well loved hoarded fabrics. I mean, I have a full fat quarter set of Good Fortune that I'm waiting for the 'perfect' project for.

I've put together a couple of color stories that I'm thinking about using for the BOMs for this year, or Swoon. They are still getting rearranged, and I think they both need a little more depth, but we'll see what happens. I'll probably throw some solids in there too, since solids are my jam.

Stash-tastic Sunday

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, and that everyone can spend some quality time with loved ones.

There were just a few odds and ends this week, which is ok, because I buy too much fabric. Seriously, it's a problem.

So, here are some dotty stash builders, some pezzy and chevron remnants, a narwhal or two, and flags!

Stash-tastic Sunday!

Here are some of the pretty pieces I picked up this past week. I don't usually get this much in one trip, but my LQS was having a promotion where I could spend "dollars" that I earned in November.

Some more Cuzco and some other stuff that I'm not sure of the collection...

Dots! I need more blenders like this...

aaaaaand.... Architextures! I've been seeing this line all over the blog-o-sphere for weeks now, and I'm so glad my store got some. I picked up just a few pieces, monochromatic ones that will blend well with other lines. I might need to go back and get some yardage of this line...