Sunday Stash #2

Today I have had such a great day sewing and being with my sewing friends that it seems strange to be going further back in time to the Festival of Quilts again to share some of my fabric purchases.  But, seeing as I have taken the photos and mentioned previously that I would do a Sunday Stash post, it makes sense to stick to the plan.

It is impossible for me to go to the Festival of Quilts and not buy Liberty fabric.  I am a major fan and can boast a significant stash of Liberty fabrics.  I treated myself to some lovely bits and pieces but was then really pleased that two of my friends bought me Liberty fabrics as well.  Margaret bought me a Liberty Lucky Bag which was great because there were some amazing little gems in there, many of which I do not already own.  I am working (on and off) on two Liberty quilts and the Lucky Bag fabrics are perfect for the hexagons I am making in one of these quilts.  Amy bought me a great print which I don't even know the name of but which has really zingy greens, pinks and oranges in it and will be a real feature fabric in a future project.  Aren't I lucky to have friends with great taste?

I love fabric and I love cats, so these cat prints Tiger Stripe by Cotton and Steel were always going to be purchased by me.  I love "critter" fabrics in any case, but these are so beautifully stylised that I already count them amongst my favourite animal fabrics.  The smiling food below has to be my most random purchase.  I bought it on its own and have nothing even remotely similar to it in my stash but I just felt I wanted it.  I think I want to turn it into some oven mitts at some point, but who knows when or what its other fabric friends will be?  At this point, who cares?  I love it, that's enough to justify having it!

This little bundle was put together randomly when I got home.  Many of these were bought to join a low volume quilt I have on the go.  My friend, Lorraine, bought me the shamrock fabric in pink and orange here (which is actually tricky to see in this bundle) but when I added it to other purchases it created a little set which is possibly the start of a funky quilt.  I love the shamrocks being in unconventional colours like pink and orange and I always love these bright colours together.  I've already joined them to some red lobsters I purchased and love the craziness already.

Lorraine pointed me in the direction of a stall called The Shuttle, which sold really good fabrics at fantastic prices.  I now discover it is near to my home town (and so also my family!) so I suspect I will be visiting it again in the not so distant future.  Here are some good stash builders I bought from there:

I see so many quilts with the pearl bracelet pattern, but I think it is just so dependable.  I like the bike path fabrics for the same reason.  Later in the week you will see these fabrics in a quilt I have already pieced.

These aren't my only purchases, I also bought much of the Far Far Away range by Heather Ross, but I won't bother showing you these fabrics as they are already cut and pieced and no longer in my stash.

When I use the phrase "a good time was had by all" to describe our day at the NEC it is no exaggeration.  If anything, it is probably an understatement.  Today's sewing day was not just about making; we all shared our stories of the day and showed off our purchases.  A couple of us remarked how rubbish Friday felt because it was such a comedown from such a day of visual treats and creative inspiration.  I know I certainly felt that.  But, we're all agreed that next year it's going to be a two day affair with an overnight stay so we can be there early doors and see even more.  I'm already counting down the days.

A Baby Quilt - a finished project

One of the great things about quilting, or doing any craft for that matter, is that there is always something new to learn.  I'm a teacher by profession and not so long ago there was an expectation we teach "Three Part Lessons" (I won't go into it here) but this quilt reminded me of this because I learned three key things along the way.

Firstly, this finished quilt provided a lesson for me in long-arm quilting, and I am pleased with the overall look and feel.  Today's finished quilt represents such a departure for me because of the swirls and curves because I am usually limited to quilting using straight lines.  To the untrained eye it must seem like any other quilt I have made but I feel proud of this quilt because I learned a new skill and applied it with some success.  Obviously I am no expert yet, but quilting also teaches that practice does make perfect.  Hopefully I will be able to develop my basic skills further and show my progress on this blog at some point.

This quilt was made with scraps from other quilts but I really like how the fabrics interact.  The greens and blues work well side by side and I like the light backgrounds on many of the squares.  The backing fabric is by Red Rooster Fabrics and I think that it's called A is for Animals. I am pleased with how the letters match many of the colours on the front.

The second lesson I learned here is that variegated thread might not be the right choice for long-arm quilting, especially on so much white.  This comes as a shock to me as I cannot resist a variegated thread but the next time I use the long-arm quilter I am going to have a go using a solid thread throughout because I wonder if this thread is too busy when there is so much quilting on the front.  That's just another example of learning throughout this craft.  I need to try it, compare it and decide which I prefer.

I chose a red gingham fabric for the binding on a whim but it has worked brilliantly.  I think the red brings out the red on the front and the back but also gives it a classic feel even though there are contemporary fabrics on the front.  Here was also my third lesson.  The binding is the best I have ever sewn because I looked up a tutorial by Red Pepper Quilts and I was then able to make the binding less bulky and more regular.  I haven't finished it off on the machine, I finished it by hand, but a future lesson will be to finish binding on the machine.  I think there is something extremely motivating about the fact that there is always more to discover, to learn and to perfect.  

Thank you for visiting.

P.S.  As my blog is relatively new and in a bid to increase the number of readers and followers I am linking to Lily's Quilts who has a monthly link to boost small blogs like mine.

Sunday Stash #1

I have had a wonderful weekend where I have been able to buy a little fabric, learn new sewing skills at a class and work on some projects with friends.  I have felt incredibly productive because I have made good progress on a beautiful cathedral windows quilt and in between all of this I have also been able to pick plenty of fruit at the allotment in preparation for jam making tomorrow.  I am now off work for the summer so I am hoping to work on lots of projects and to make the most of the time ahead of me.

Yesterday I was at my "block a month" class at a local fabric shop, Patchwork Garden.  I had a great time and learned how to do mini mock cathedral windows.  I will show them later in the week.  I had vowed not to spend lots of money on fabric as my big fabric splurge is to come when I go to The Festival of Quilts but there were some amazing new fabrics I could not resist.  I don't feel too guilty because they fit some of my other fabrics and intended projects.

First up these are these fabrics by Timeless Treasures and are called Mini Series How does your garden grow?  I think they are amazing.  My husband loves gardening and I bought them anticipating they would be made into something cute for him.  However, next week I am going to a seventieth birthday vintage tea party and the birthday girl is one of our allotment friends, Marion, so now I am going to make her something with these fabrics instead.  She will love them and they really match her happy personality.  At this stage I am thinking a table runner and matching table mats.  Table mats are always a favourite project of mine and they make a great gift.

There was clearly a delivery of Timeless Treasures fabric at the shop this week because my other stash additions are from there as well.  I am so pleased with these fabrics because I bought them with the intention of putting them with my beloved Wee Wander fabrics and they match the sunrise and sunset palettes which the range has.  The raindrops are just perfect and the pink spot, called Dream, is a great addition to any stash.  I think these are wonderfully versatile fabrics and could go in so many of my projects.

This fabric doesn't belong to any current project, unlike my other purchase this weekend.  But it is a great addition and has my name written all over it.  I love fabrics with animals, especially cutesy, stylised ones such as these snails.  My friend, Amy, and myself are called the "Critter Girls" at the fabric shop because we love animal fabrics.  (We assume our nick name is used affectionately!)  I love these snails because they have the happy expression of satisfaction that comes from eating someone's lettuce.  I won't be adding these to Marion's garden fabrics because gardeners don't tend to like smiling snails.  I, on the other hand, can overlook the destruction of snails when they are portrayed so sweetly on fabric.

Didn't I do well with my purchases this weekend?  These fabrics won't be in stash for long.

Crafting Saturday

Today really has been all about crafting and it's only tea time!  I'm really tired out.  Crafting is relaxing but it can also be tiring.  I feel exhausted right now so I'm not sure I will spend any more time on the sewing machine today.

This morning I went to pick up a parcel of fabric which I purchased on Thursday from Fabritastic.  It was the first time I had bought anything from there.  I'm impressed with the service - I put the order in on Thursday and the following day there was a parcel note from Royal Mail when I came home from work.  The fabrics and postage were also both reasonably priced.

The first lot of fabric is all by Aneela Hoey by Moda.  Most are from the Hello Petal range and a couple from the Posy range.  I should have bought the cats ages ago when I first saw them in January but I didn't and since then it's been difficult to source them.  I love cats and most cat fabrics so these are a great addition to my stash.  I keep pinning quilts with low volume fabrics so I am starting to collect some of these as I anticipate using low volume fabrics against bright coloured fabrics soon.

The elephant fabrics are by Michael Miller.  I've had them before in the robin's egg blue and in limeade (not pictured here).  I'm now adding orchid and sky blue.  I think these will end up in children's quilts and are good staples to have in.  The fabric on the left is also by Michael Miller, it's Ant Maze and will go perfectly in a boy's quilt I have in mind to make soonish.  I like to put boxes of fabric together to marinade so I can see them together; this helps me to figure out the patterns and style I want to pursue.

Now today's fatigue hasn't come from just collecting fabrics and putting them together for photographs.  Today I've been on a free motion embroidery course at a local craft shop, Craft Den.  I had a great time and was pleased to come away with a canvas which is ready to put on the wall.  I didn't find free motion embroidery easy but it was enjoyable and I feel that I did some "skilling up" and that with practice I would get better at this.  I'm not usually a fan of applique but I actually enjoyed this style of sewing over the top.  As a new sewer I know there is plenty for me to learn and today's class certainly got me using new techniques.  I'm feeling rather pleased with myself.  My husband is going to paint my craft room tomorrow so I think this canvas will find a home on the walls there this week.