FABrics I Love

As you may have noticed, I love to sew. I mostly make quilts and crafts, but have been known to sew a little bit of clothing every now and then. One of the reasons I haven't been sewing a lot since I started living the RV lifestyle, is that I am always in remote locations where there is not a decent fabric store within hundreds of miles.

The internet has come to my fabric rescue! Over the last year or so, I have found quite a few sewing, quilting, and fabric blogs, and I read them every day, and drool over all those fabulous fabrics the writers of them are using in their projects.  One of my favorite fabric blogs, True Up, is hosting a MEME where they want you to show your 10 favorite fabrics of 2009.

Since I didn't get into internet fabrics until last summer, I missed out on some that debuted earlier, so some of the ones I am listing here may be older than 2009, but I still love them.

My most favorite fabric I found this year (but probably came out earlier than that) is the Fairy Tip Toes collection by Tina Givens for Free Spirit Fabrics. When I saw it, I fell in love with it, and searched for three weeks before I found it online to buy. I haven't cut it yet, don't know that I ever will, but I HAVE it and that is what matters most to a fabric-aholic like me!

 

My next favorite is called Large Whimsy from Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller Fabrics. I am making myself a quilt using the brown/green/turquoise colorway. I already have the pieces cut and ready to sew.

There are just so many beautiful FABrics out there these days, it makes me wish I had more storage room for it. I have only a wicker trunk to keep it in, though, so I have to be very selective on what I buy. 

And I used two fabrics from the Meadowsweet Collection by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller to make a dress for my FabGranddaughter, Sarah, for Christmas:

 

 

Here are some things that are in my list to get in the coming year, that is, if something new doesn't come along that I love more!

Echino Fall: for Kokka Fabrics

Far And Away by Heather Ross for Kokka Fabrics

Hushabye:  by Tula Pink for Moda Fabrics

Goodnight Monkey: by Erin Michael for Moda Fabrics

MoMo Odyssea: for Moda Fabrics

Full Bloom: by Bari J. for Windham Fabrics

Brandon Mably: for Westminster Fabrics

Girly Girl: by Patricia Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics

And for reasons I don't have to explain, I love these two cute fabrics:

Travel Trailer: Michael Miller Fabrics

Happy Campers: by American Jane for Moda Fabrics

I don't know how many of these gorgeous FABrics I will actually get this year, but oh, isn't it wonderful to dream about them?? Oh, and I see I have gone fabric crazy again, since they only asked for my favorite 10. Hello. My name is FabGrandma and I am a fabric-aholic.

I'm Turning Into A Bag Lady

My fabric shopping trip last week included some heavy-weight interacing so I could make some tote bags for my daughters.  That stuff is expensive! But, I got enough to make four bags. I have two of them finished already:

Greens, blues, and browns for Becca.

 

 Pinks, greens, and beige for Emily.

 

The pattern I used makes three sizes. These are the medium sized ones. That large bag would hold a Volkswagen, I think.

 

And I have yellow and black sitting there waiting to be sewn, for Becky. I don't have fabric yet for Sarah's, but will have it next week. OOooo, I get to go fabric shopping again!

I Got My Fabric Fix

I have not been to a real quilt fabric shop in almost two years. When we are at the North Rim, there is not a fabric store for at least 200 miles, and that is a Joann Fabrics. I thought I had found a fabric store in Kanab, Utah one time, but it turned out to be 2 aisles in an Ace Hardware Store. I was sooooooo disappointed. 

Last week I went to Hobby Lobby in Tuscaloosa, and they had some fabric but not much to choose from. I got a few fat quarters, but I was still starving for a fabric binge. 

Today, I found Carolina Lily Quilt Shop. As soon as I stepped in the door, it was like I was a kid in a candy store!  Not only did they have top quality fabrics, and plenty of it, the nice lady behind the counter knew who and what I was talking about when I asked if she had any of the Fairy Tip Toes line by Tina Givens. She didn't, but it is so nice to have this store within reach, and to be able to just go and touch and feel and adore fabric. 

I guess I went a little bit crazy. I made up for not being in a real fabric store in so long! Ooooooo, I can already feel another shopping trip coming on....

It's Been A Mail-a-palooza!

When I lived in my house in Georgia, my daughter had painted on the inside of the mailbox "I love gettin' mail!" along with a smiley face. My mail carrier told me she never failed to smile when she opened my mailbox.  But I do, I do love getting mail! And I got a lot of it this week!  

My daughter, Becca, sent me a package from Colorado. She had been on a trip to New Mexico a couple weeks ago, and bought that purty chili ristra for me.  She also sent the fabric for me to finish her quilt:

 

and a loaf of gluten free bread from Udi's Bakery in Parker, Colorado:

 

And when I opened the box, I also found her green ink pen she hasn't been able to find. thanks Becca!

 

I loved that bread so much, I ordered a case of it for myself, and it arrived only two days later! all the way from Parker to Greensboro, Alabama:

 

  

I saw this fabric online a month or so ago on Etsy in one yard lengths, and had been trying to find  a seller with three yards in one piece. I was so happy to find it! It's called Fairy Tip Toes, and it is soooo cute.  It was also delivered to me this week. I have to make a baby quilt for my new FabGrandchild that is due in May. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, my son's wife, Sarah is having a baby! We'll find out in two weeks whether it is a boy or a girl. I am so hoping it is a girl so I can use this fabric. But, it it's not, I'll just make something for FabGrandaughter, Sarah, with it. 

And. the last thing I got in the mail was a new copy of "The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide".I love this book! I can find out really quick if something I want to buy is on "the list" or not.

Ooooooo, I can hardy wait for next week to see if I get anything good in the mail!

My New Project

Ok, it is not really new--I cut the original 3" inch strips and sewed them together in March of 2008. The next step was to cut them on a 45 degree angle, then sew them together again. I had a fear of the 45 degree angle, so I put the entire project under the bed and slept on it, literally, for over a year.

(This is the pattern I am using)

Today was the day I decided to tackle those cuts. My folding table is stored behind the back seat of the truck. My iron is in the linen closet. Scissors, rotary cutter, thread, magnetic pin bowl are in the wicker trunk in the living area. The sewing machine, folding chair, cutting mat and rulers are all kept under the bed. It took a while to gather everything together, but I finally got started. Then I couldn't figure out how to place the ruler on the fabric to accomplish the 45 degree cuts. Dang.


The guy who lives next door is a carpenter. I went over there and asked him about it, so he came over and helped me figure it out. Thanks, Dennis. Between the two of us we got it. He went home and I worked on it all afternoon. The picute above are all the strips I cut today. They are numbered because you have to sew them together in a certain order to get the pattern to come out right.



There are eight sections in all. I finished three of them today. This is going to be a really large quilt, queen sized at least. This one is for Becca and Ken. I have another set of strips all sewn together, with all the same fabrics except one (I didn't have enough of all the fabrics to make two quilts). The second one is for Seth and Sarah. I am going to send both of them to be quilted by the lady who quilted Becky's quilt for me. I think these are going to be gorgeous.

Getting Creative Again

One of my new co-workers is adding a baby boy to their family soon. I had bought these fabrics in Flagstaff on our way up in April, and have been letting them sit there for a while, while I figured out what to do with them. I think they will make a very nice baby quilt for a little boy, don't you? Now I just have to figure out what pattern to use...

I just love that puppy dog fabric!

I Won A Prize!

I read a blog called Art Gallery Fabrics. Back on April 30 they announced a giveaway for Mother's Day. To enter, all you had to do was comment on that post saying what would be a perfect Mother's Day for you, but they chose the winners randomly. Yay!

My prize is 40 (forty) 6 1/2" squares in an assortment of all her collections of fabric. I can hardly wait to receive my squishy in the mail. It will be so much fun to make a quilt using those precut squares of her gorgeous fabrics! I'll post some pictures of the fabric as soon as I get it.

Almost Finished

Are you a lister? By that, I mean, do you keep a list of things you need to do, should do, must do, either written down on a piece of paper or in your head? I am very obsessive compulsive about MAKING lists of things I need to do. But when it comes to actually DOING those things, well, that is a different story. Sometimes I feel like I will literally die if I don’t have that list in my pocket. But there are some things on that list that have been on it for years!

Now that you know that particular thing about me, maybe knowing it will let you understand how happy I am that I actually accomplished one of those things this week. A major thing.

The item that has been on my list of things to do for the longest was the first thing I accomplished this week. You see, seven years ago I bought the fabric to make a quilt for my stepdaughter, Becky. I can remember the day I showed her the pattern and the fabrics I had picked out. She was excited about it, and happy that I was going to be making it for her. She was going to use it in the guest room of her first house that she had just bought. Five years ago, I actually cut out the pieces for the top and sewed them together. The top has been folded neatly and stored under my bed ever since then. It has traveled with me to Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and back to Georgia. She has moved on to a new home, with no guest room. Hmmm, could that in itself be a hint?

The last time I said anything to Becky about it, she said, “Don’t tell me anything else about that quilt. I am never going to get it, and you know it, so just hush.” It’s not that I didn’t want her to have it. I really love her; she has been in my life for more than 16 years. And while we didn’t see eye to eye when I first became her stepmother, we have become closer and have had some fun together since then.

And, that quilt top lying unfinished has prevented me from starting on a couple of other projects I have to do. How can I finish the quilt I made for Becca, my daughter, when the one for Becky just lies there, accusing me of being the procrastinator I am turning out to be? How can I start on any other thing when I have not completed that one? And now, after all these years, it is a matter of pride, a matter of proving that I do really mean for Becky to have that quilt. So, on Monday, I took it to the quilt shop and dropped it off to be machine quilted. I can hardly wait to get it back so I can put on the binding and sign it:

“To Becky, from your loving stepmother, Karen. May your days be as cheerful as these colors are bright, may your dreams be happy throughout night.”

Owen's Quilt

I figured since he is already here I better get off my duff and finish it up. I had the whole thing finished except for the binding, just sitting there for months. So, yesterday I made myself sit down and do it. Of course, I had to go to the fabric store to buy a half yard of fabric to finish it up. I thought I had enough of a yellow or a purple to do the binding, but could not find one piece that would work.

I love the colors in this one. This picture doesn't really show the deep purples. There is a lot of family history in this--the fabric in the big yellow blocks was also used in a quilt for Spencer and one for Becky; a couple of the purples were used in a quilt for Sarah; another purple was in a quilt for Becca; a yellow plaid was used for a dress for Sarah when she was a baby; and the purple plaid was bought on a trip I took to Mexico. I am sure Owen won't care where the fabrics came from, all he will care about is that it is warm and soft.