Packaging is everything

To me, quilting is about aesthetics. Part of that aesthetics is in packaging. I know others have written about it, but I feel that this is important enough to reiterate the point.  I'm currently participating in two fabric clubs - one for civil war/reproduction fabrics and the other for batiks. They are supplied by different companies, but both are well-known among the quilting community (which is part of the reason why I have obscured their logos). So here are the packages that arrived for January's deliveries.

Reproduction Delivery

Batik Delivery

As you can see, their approaches to delivery are very different.  While the batiks were packaged in such a way that you could see a bit of each of the fabrics included, the repros were stacked and folded which made it difficult to determine any of the fabrics except the top. You can see the fabrics include in the repro package below.

They are so pretty, why wouldn't you want to show them?  You would think that a company whose sole purpose is to sell fabric, kits, and tools to make quilts would have a better concept of the benefits of aesthetics. I just don't get some companies. Opening a package that is also beautiful is a special treat, but by the same token, opening a package that looks thrown together is a disappointment.

That is all. Just saying my peace/piece.

12-12-12 Sale

Wednesday, as you all know, was the unique date of 12-12-12.  Many retailers had special sales to commemorate the uniqueness and my LQS was no different.  They sent me an email the night before (did I mention I'm on their mailing list?) saying that for every 12 fat quarters a customer bought, they would get an additional 12 for free!! Well, I couldn't pass up a deal like that!  So, even though I was in the middle of studying for my last final, I took a little time to visit the shop and pick out some fat quarters. 

I didn't go with any plan... which may or may not have been a problem.  I ended up getting quite a few reproduction pieces and a few ideas for quilts. Like this blue and brown option...

Or this black and brown...

I liked these flannels...

I always pick up any new hockey prints I find (because it's the best sport EVER) and a few other that will fit into my stash nicely. 

And finally, I added these.  I don't really have any Civil War/Reproduction fabrics, but lately I've really been drawn to a number of quilts that have used them.  So, I thought it might be time to start gathering some to use in a scrappy quilt.  I love them, but I'm noticing that I need more dark reds and browns.  I ended up buying two sets of 12 and getting two sets of 12 for free!

I took my final on Thursday morning and received a 98%!! WOOHOO! Beyond that, I graded Thursday afternoon and evening and got those final grades submitted.  Thursday evening, my hubby's college's football team played in the national championships for their division so we ate dinner at a local sports bar & grill where they had it on the satellite.  Even though the team lost in over time, it was a lot of fun and we're very proud of their first championship game!  Then Friday I did a little cleaning and sewing. The same tonight, with the addition of an awards ceremony (my hubby's colleague won tonight, but hubby won last year).  

I'm kind of missing my family tonight.  As I was working in my sewing room today, I thought a lot about them because I was cleaning up, making the kids' ornaments, and picking out fabrics to use in the stocking for the newest addition of my side of the family.  We have to get the last of the packages mailed on Monday so I need to finish these to include.  I'll post pictures soon.

Batiks

Since, it is pretty much just my sisters (and the occasional visitor from another blog) that read this blog, I will first explain what batiks are and then explain why I love them. 

Batiks have risen in popularity over the last 15 years and where they were once exotic, now they are everywhere.  Batiks originate in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, India, etc) and are hand-dyed fabrics, but they also have a pattern dyed into them using wax impressions.  I know this sounds weird, but trust me it's pretty amazing.  Here's a couple examples of a batik fabric:

I've always been curious as to how they make this fabric, but yesterday one of the designers I like a lot posted a video from Moda (a fabric manufacturer) that showed the process.  Here's the video from Moda:

**WARNING: the video is about 20 minutes long and has weird music, but it is so worth it and I watched without the sound on.**

Isn't that amazing? The scrunching seems both random and specific.  The video did kind of make me laugh a couple of times because it was so obvious they had stopped all regular work/processing so this video could be filmed.  I mean, seriously, who makes one piece of fabric at a time?  Also, there are clearly times where the workers stop what they are doing (which is also clearly a process which is second-nature for them) and look directly at the camera to make sure everyone is on the same age.  But all in all, it's a great video. I've watched it a couple times.

Some of the most beautiful, intricate quilts I've ever seen have been made with batik fabrics and I'm considering changing my fabric club from Christmas (which I've been getting for a few years and certainly have a decent stash of) to Batiks (which I think are a bit more valuable as far as being inserted into a variety of kinds of quilts).

Giddy

A couple of weeks ago, I read on one of the quilting blogs I follow that Hancock's of Paducah was having a serious sale on a recent collection by one of my favorite fabric designers, Fig Tree & Co.   I seriously love her stuff!  Anyway, the fabric was on sale for 53% off or $5.98/yard!!!  I bought 13.5 yards worth and 2 charm packs for $5.98 each (since the charm packs are normally $10 each this was a steal). What a bargain!

I did not buy any of the blue fabric.  I'm not sure why, but it just did not fit in my vision of this quilt. I'm planning on making the Elizabeth quilt from Miss Rosie Quilt Co. It's an older quilt pattern - coming out in the spring of 2005, but I love it and I think this collection will be perfect for it! I just love the colors.

Obviously, I won't have time to make this until this summer when I'm not in classes, but I want to work on it now.  I'm that happy with the fabric.  I think it will make a perfect quilt for the back of the couch this winter.

What do you think?

Secret Projects and New Arrivals

It has suddenly become that time of year when I cannot talk blatantly about the projects I'm working on.  I finished a birthday gift for one of my sisters (I can post pictures next week after she receives it) and am now beginning to work on Christmas gifts.  It took me a while to figure out what projects to make this year, but I think I've got it.

I did place a small order with Fat Quarter Shop.  I had received a coupon for 20% off my next order and I had already started looking at patterns.   

My booty (plus kitty):

First up is this selection of Farm Fresh - a new line of baby fabrics.  I liked this one because it was gender neutral.  I have a few plans for the fabric.

The other fabric I bought was this Desired Things collection. 

For this pattern:

The original used a blue for the border, but with our bedroom walls a different kind of blue, I thought I'd go with a more neutral color for the border.  I'm looking forward to making this in the spring!

 Finally, I bought these patterns:

 They are mostly quilt patterns, but there's a bag pattern in there too.  I also signed up for the Miss Rosie's Quilt Company pattern club.  I love these patterns and keep buying individual ones, but this way they will automatically ship me the new patterns as they arrive for retail. 

This is the first time that I have bought pre-cut collections beyond charm packs - pretty exciting for me!  Have you bought pre-cuts before?  What did you think of them?  Were they more or less helpful?

New Sewing Room!!

As promised, here are pictures of the new sewing room.  I finished putting the last box (of batting) away this morning while I waited for Dr. J to be ready to have me help shave his head.  As I put the last of the loose stuff away, it occurred to me that I really need to paint the room.  I don't have a lot of pictures (etc) to hang on the walls or a rug for the floor now that I have a room all to my own either.  I think the obvious solution is to make a couple wall quilts to decorate. 

The sewing desk was originally set in front of the windows, but I realized I wouldn't have an outlet if I kept things that way.  So, it got moved.  I think it helps make the room seem bigger.

You can kind of see the racks on the wall in the closet.  Next weekend we're going to put three shelves in there to add more space and organization. Those pink tubs in the closet are all yarn.  I was able to sort my craft books into general crafts and sewing patterns on the first shelf, Quilting books on the second, and crochet and cross-stitch books on the last shelf. Yes, that really is a box of Yankee candles on the pattern table.  I buy a couple when they are on major sale for each season (fall, winter, summer) and rotate them out accordingly throughout the house.

So, I'd be very interested in what you all suggest for wall colors.  Leave a comment with your choice keeping in mind that the office/spare bedroom is a bright yellow, our bedroom is a spa blue, the bathroom a mocha tan, and the hallway ostrich feather (lighter grey brown).

I'm also thinking about changing out the table in front of the windows for one that is more square - not sure about it yet though.

What do you think?

Oh. My. Word.

I had an early lunch with a girlfriend this morning in the same shopping area as the quilting store.  So, I thought I'd stop in and browse before heading home.  I knew it would empty my wallet, but I went anyway. ;)

Imagine my surprise when I suddenly found myself in another room full of fabric!  It only took me a second to realize that over the course of the last couple of months of absentee-ism the store had expanded and nearly doubled their space!  They had a bus tour when I arrived and with the crowd it wasn't obvious at first, but I'm thrilled with the expanded space!  I enjoyed shopping and picked up a few things.

First, I grabbed this little book.  I LOVE charm packs and I'm always looking for cute projects I can use them in.  I liked this book because not only were the patterns cute, but they were also easy to expand into bigger blankets. 

  

Then this project.  When my parents visited in May, my mom and I had gone to the store and noticed the purse/wallet clasps, but neither of us picked one up.  But this time, they had a physical example of this pouch and I loved that there were so many pockets and a zippered section for coins.  I initially picked out some green and orange fabric, but saw these and knew they were much more my style.

A closer look at the pattern picture.  It's cute, no?

And the various fat quarters I picked up.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the green dots next to the hockey players is little frogs - very cute.  And the one on the other side of the player is more muted than it appears here.  I loved the chickens and the chicken wire prints!

Finally, a few holiday prints.  I'm more about cute Halloween than realistic or gorey - just not my style.  I'll post pictures of the new sewing room layout tomorrow.

New Tea Cozy

We're dealing with flooding from the Missouri River so I have put my machines in storage in case we need to evacuate.  But before I did that I finished this tea cozy for my sister's birthday.

My parents visited last week and Mom and I went shopping for quilting stuff.  Sadly, I didn't get a picture of our loot (what was I thinking??), but I have a couple pictures post-washing.

We've been told to expect this flooding to stay for two months.  I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to sewing/quilting again, but hope it will be soon.

Shopping!

I can't really discuss my current projects because they are gifts, but I CAN tell you about the shopping I did a couple weeks ago.  I had gone to the local quilt shop after my haircut. (No hubby meant I could actually spend some time looking!)  

I initially was looking for a pattern for my Christmas project - last year everyone got stockings or a wall quilt.  This year, I have something else in mind that I saw on another blog and thought it was a great idea!

Anyway, that's why I went there.  But, despite being listed on the designer's website as a vendor, I didn't find that pattern... I found plenty of others.

As you can see I bought a couple of zippered bag patterns and a purse pattern.  I must really like the purse pattern because when I got home I found I already had it in my box.  Oh well.  The other thing in this picture is the "let's twist" pattern book and tool.  They were having a demonstration of this tool and I loved it so much I couldn't resist purchasing it.  I have just the fabric collection that I'm going to use for it.  My plan is to use it for a summer wall quilt.  I can't wait to get through my current projects so I can work on this. (I find myself excited about what I'm working on, but always looking forward to the next project as well - it's a weird paradox.)

I promised a friend of mine that I would make her some pot holders as part of that Facebook challenge I mentioned at the beginning of the year.  She likes orange, so while I was looking at the fat quarters I came across some nice batiks.  There was a nice blue fabric which was part of a Christmas line, but I only found that one fabric.  Then I grabbed a St. Patrick's Day fabric to add to my growing collection.  Finally, some fabrics for the Christmas project I'm planning (I found the pattern online). 

The fabric that really grabbed my attention was, of course, the hockey fabrics.  Hockey is kind of a rare find.  I've been collecting what bits and pieces I can find whenever I come across it - and I hit paydirt here.  I now have a plan for it too!

I'm quite happy with my purchases and looking forward to working on these additional projects!

It's That Time of Year!

This weekend I got the tubs of Christmas fabric out to assess where I am, what fabrics I have, prep the last few fat quarters (wash, trim, iron and fold), and start planning some of my Christmas projects.

I have plans for these, although, probably not together.

This next set may or may not get made into a stocking.  It's a difficult individual and I'm not positive they would like/want the red.  They didn't want anything "whimsical" and I think they might consider the floral on the red a type of whimsy.

I like this set, but think this recipient might deserve a bit more funk.