American Jane Purchases

Yesterday I went to  one of Sandy Klop's quarterly open houses, held at her home in Walnut Creek, CA. Her fabric line designed for Moda is American Jane. I attended one of her workshops January 23, 2016 and am working on her flying circles quilt pattern. It was a delight to visit her home. The first floor is filled with fabrics and patterns and kits of her own designs but it was the overall ambience of the home decor that was so fun to see. Her style is a cheerful one and her home reflects it. I bought some items of course and this is my obligatory shopping post in which I show my purchases to my daughter in Oklahoma.

These ducks in a row waddled their way into my heart. Perhaps they will make a cute sundress. I find these blue checks very versatile and replenished my supply of them.

The ticket fabric will make a cute sashing and there are enough color selections that I suspect they will fit into many a quilt. The cloth book in the center has a vintage look to its pictures and I liked the narrow aspect ratio. The strips of tape measure fabric will make cute accents on a sewing themed project.

Finally I caved and bought a kit made up of Pezzy prints in an assortment of colorways with coordinating Moda Bella solids. It was just so cheerful and perky I could not pass it up. Plus it will introduce me to buying and using solids, something I currently have none of in my stash.

This kit also came with a Better Homes and Gardens special interest publication American Patchwork and Quilting from October 2012 that contained the pattern called Pixie Sticks. This is my second kit purchase of the year and so I have reached my self-imposed quota, set to reduce my stash of quilt kits. It is only halfway through the year so I hope nothing super-special comes along. I am weak-willed so I'd better not look.

My first kit purchase of the year had been in April from an online Craftsy clearance sale. It was called Hedge Maze and was composed of Kaffe Fasset fabrics. It sure looks like a lot of HST's but I really liked the combination of cool blue-green tones. Unfortunately and admittedly, I let the bargain price influence me.

I reasoned that I have been wanting to experiment with Kaffe Fasset's riotous color style but find it difficult to allow myself to put together fabrics of such various patterns without trying to micromanage. This kit combines them for me. These are the fabric selections. I rationalized that I do not think I would ever buy these separately myself but they do play nicely together. The kit was indeed an impulse purchase but that does not mean I have buyer's remorse. I still like it. I just hope I do not like something more later in the year!

Hedge Maze is meant to finish at 63" x 63" so it is a candidate to finish in a reasonable amount of time. I need to remind myself to avoid ruler work and do free-form FMQ when quilting it. My daughter asked me if I completed a kit, did that mean I could buy another? I welcomed the proposed loophole to my resolution but have to consider the consequences. After all, my goal is to reduce my number of kits, not maintain the quantity at the "way too many" level. I'd better start sewing and stop shopping!