Thursday, August 23, 2012

Red Anxiety

I have a problem.....it is with the color RED.  I like red.  I like it when other people wear it.  I love it on Valentine's Day.  I like red shoes.  I like strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, peppers, etc.  But when it comes to red fabric, I NEVER buy it.  I went to three different fabric stores this week with the intention of buying red fabric each time for a red/white quilt I have designed.  Did I buy red?  No!  I bought blue and brown.  This is a change from the usual green fabric which I have banned myself from buying for a while.

Even though it is not red, this is yummy fabric, and I have great plans for it!  Maybe next week I will buy red fabric......
What color of fabric do you buy?

Monday, August 20, 2012

Pattern Testers

Thank you to everyone that emailed me and wants to help by testing a pattern.  I am working on editing my patterns and they should be done in the next two weeks.  I will email you soon with details.  I still have a few quilts to quilt and bind.

BTW: that is my favorite line in any pattern "Quilt and bind as desired."  Like it is no big deal!  It takes just as much work sometimes to get a top quilted as it does to piece it.  And then binding is that thing that hangs around forever until we just say it is getting done first today before anything else happens.

still working on the patterns.....

This is 5 of 10 quilts for which I am busy working on patterns.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Why Solids?

Why use solids in your piecing and quilting? 
 Many quilters are reluctant to use solids in their piecing because quilters like the texture that printed fabrics give to the overall impression of the quilts they are creating.  I confess to being a quilter that loved to always use printed fabrics.  Even my neutrals that weren't the star of the quilt had a print on them.  After I bought my long arm quilting machine and began quilting my tops and quilting for customers my opinion of solids has changed.  I now love to use a solid or two or more in my quilts for several reasons:

1) Solids are AFFORDABLE.  I can routinely buy solids for $6.95/yard.  Using solids makes my quilting budget go farther.  Who doesn't want to save a little $$$ so we can buy more fabric.  Yeah!!!


This is my new favorite store in Mesa, Mulqueen Sewing Center.  They stock EVERY Kona solid and sell them every day for $6.95.  They have over 225 bolts of solids. LOVE IT!
2) Solids have a wide range of color hues to get just the right match for that odd fabric that you fell in love with but nothing else looks 'just right' with.  I often fall in love with a line of fabric, but I don't buy a 1/2 yard of each print; I usually just buy a yard of the print I love the most, and then it sits in my most loved fabric stash until I find something else to go with it.  Solids can help solve that problem.


3)  Solids show-off quilting!  Now that I long-arm sometimes I really want my quilting to stand-out.  Custom quilting and all-over designs show up best on solids and gives eye candy to your quilt so that the design, piecing and quilting can all be the star of the show.

4)  Solids give your eye a place to rest as it explores the over-all aesthetic beauty of your quilts.  Part of what makes a design great are the contrasts of colors and textures.  Solids help you achieve that!





Here is an example of falling in love with a piece of fabric over a year and a half ago and I am just now doing something with it.  Love the solids!

How do you feel about using solids in your quilts?  Love them?  So-so?  Not your style?

Thursday, August 2, 2012

DECO SHIMMER

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words.  It is motivating to know what people think about the things I do.

I finished the full Deco Shimmer quilt. It is 53x53 and I used the Adorn It line of fabrics.  I had bought 8 Adorn It fat quarters on vacation in Utah this summer when Jenny and I had 5 minutes at the quilt shop before it closed.  I knew the yellow and gray would go perfectly with the decor in our new house and I added the blue binding to give it just a splash of color contrast.  I quilted curved cross hatching in the outer layer of each block mimicking the curves the Quick Curve Ruler ruler created.  Yes, the pebbling made me a little crazy by the end, but the ribbons broke up the monotony and gives it great eye candy.  I love how it turned out!!!  I will have the pattern available soon.

Jenny is a great sister and she is very motivating to me!  I was fine hiding out in blogland, but she obviously wasn't going to let that last for long.  Congrats to the winner of the ruler and pattern.  Happy Quilting!