I NEED . . .

I need a Kona colour card. Desperately!!!!

Cherry House Quilts is having a quilt along and it uses solids only. Yes, I have become a bit addicted to quilt alongs. The patterns are free, they have variety and it allows me to have a sewing goal every week.

Anyway, I have wanted to try my hand at more 'modern' designs and this is a perfect start. I want to do it in Black and Gold; Purdue colours NOT Iowa Hawkeye colours. Unfortunately, both my LQS don't carry Kona cottons and alas, my favourite Fabric Shack is a 12 hour drive away. I can order them online from the Fabric Shack, but I am unsure of the colours using my computer screen. Any suggestions?

What is up with the word 'yummy'?!

I read a lot of quilting blogs; thank you Google Reader! Everybody uses the word 'yummy' to describe fabric. I don't get it. I understand 'cute', 'adorable', but 'yummy'? What am I missing?

Becoming a quilting snob

I've only finished two quilts from start to finish. By start to finish I mean pieced and did the binding. I haven't branched out into actual quilting yet. When I started I didn't even own a sewing machine or a rotary cutter. I picked up fabric and thread at Joanns. After the first quilting lesson from a friend, I discovered Moda Fabric fat quarter bundles. I loved the way the fabric was coordinated and I haven't looked back.

With thread though I stuck with my original selection of Coats and Clark. It is always on sale and they have a great selection of colours. I never thought anything of it, but after reading quilting blogs I have discovered that Coats and Clark is not regarded as a good thread. Who knew?! So I am becoming a snob and switching to Gutermann. There was a half off sale at Hancock's Fabric and so I picked up one spool of all their natural coloured thread.

I also have the perfect storage container. I got chocolates in this box. I love the little drawers.

All together now

Ok not quite all together; half way together would be more appropriate.

I am fairly pleased. I love the mix of colours. I am looking forward to more brown and blue coming in. I am going to rip apart Block 5 and redo the middle square.

Fat Quarter Shop Block of the Month 2011- 2012

It was so weird typing in 2011, let alone 2012. Tangent.

Fat Quarter Shop has posted the new Block of the Month sign up. Twelve blocks total with each block designed by a different designer. They are some heavy hitters on the list- Bonnie and Camille, Anka's Treasures, Miss Rosie's Quilt Co., among others. The fabric is Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree. That should be reason enough to sign up. It starts in June so there is plenty of time to say you will finish up a couple projects and justify signing up. That's what I did!

Serendipitous blocks

Block 6 of the Layer Cake Quilt Along came out today. I had to read the instructions a couple times. I wasn't so sure about this block and vacillated over my fabrics options. I took pictures to make sure I was choosing the right fabrics. This block allowed me to use scraps from previous blocks. To make sure that the block looked different I picked scraps that hadn't been in the same block. Yeah, my scraps are in a scrap pile.

My previous blocks were very coral/pink centric and I wanted to break away from that. I wanted to introduce blue and brown.

It looked great, but unfortunately the scraps I had were not wide enough so I had to go back to the drawing board. I ended up choosing the coral. Go figure! I did think the brown balanced it out a bit.

I think the block turned out fabulously. I absolutely love it. I think the floral fabrics cuts the harshness of the geometric lines. This has turned out to be another serendipitous block. I wasn't so sure about block 3 either, but that turned out great. I am growing as a quilter. I still have my obsessive tendencies, but I am branching out, learning how to mix and match fabrics and sometimes letting things just work out on their own.

Postage Stamp Quilt Along through P.S. I quilt

I am not participating in the Postage Stamp Quilt Along and it is killing me. I wish I was, but I am busy over the next couple weeks. Rachel did an awesome Pinwheel Sampler last year and her instructions are very clear and beginner friendly.

Starting the year off well

First completion of the year! This table topper has been at my sewing machine for months. I had sewn some of the triangles together, but it just sat there. Over the New Year weekend I actually made progress and this weekend I finally finished it up. Sewing with turnover triangles isn't as easy as it would seem. I think I like using squares to end up with half square triangles. I do the like the way the pattern turned out. I picked up the pattern at my local quilt shop and I really do like the Fig Tree fabrics.

The dining table was a bit messy, so using the couch as a display. Off to be quilted by Jenny. Maybe this can count towards her goal of finishing a quilt a week.

It will quilt out

Goodness, this was a difficult block in the Quilt Along. The instructions were well written. It seemed simple enough, but something went wrong along the way. The block was supposed to measure 12 1/2 inches, but mine ended up being only 12 inches. It took some very creative seam allowances to make the seams match. I drew lines; I sewed on the edge of fabric. It doesn't look all that bad, but the middle square is all puckery. Yes, I am adding that word to the quilting dictionary. It is an adjective.

Goals for 2011

1. Finish Aster Manor quilt- quilt and bind
2. Finish Martinique quilt- quilt and bind
3. Piece Flag Day Farm quilt
4. Get all disciples in Last Supper done
5. Bind table toppers finished last year
6. Sew one article of clothing
7. Continue with Layer Cake Quilt Along
8. Start and finish Split Decision quilt
9. Start and finish Christmas quilt

Let's see how well I do.