Saturday, September 23, 2023

Fabric Follies

Today I went with my quilty friend Kathie to the Fabric Follies about 20 miles away sponsored by Diablo Valley Quilters. All fabrics were $3/yd and fat quarters were $1. What a bargain! If only someone would sell me storage space as well, since my stash continues to grow faster than I use it up. Here is what I bought... and sort of why.


I love the color and texture of these striated solids. They will most certainly get used. They totaled 2¼ yards.

This stack of 9 fat quarters with a red/white blue nautical theme caught my eye. I actually put it back twice since I have no further need of fat quarters. But I finally could not pass up that sharp, coordinated, graphic look for $9, $1 per fat quarter. These can make a small quilt or a set of placemats I told myself.

This horse print is intended for my horse crazy granddaughter. Will I make pillowcases or back a quilt? I do not know but I have 3 yards of it. I told my husband this fabric does not count because it is not for me. He laughed. "Right..." he chuckled. "But who's counting?" he added.


This lighthouse fabric is a seaside theme my husband really likes. I told him this fabric does not count either since it is for him. This will most likely become king size pillowcases. He just nodded and smiled. I have 3¼ yards.

I know it sounds a little backwards but I have 6¼ yards of this lovely cardinal fabric in my stash, so I bought 1 yard of this cardinal fabric to go with it.

I have been collecting oranges for a pumpkin pattern I want to sew up. This ½ yard will work nicely with the others fabric and it is strikingly different.

OK. Enough of the fabrics I could explain away. The rest of these I bought honestly for no good reason other than that I liked them. But I maintain that a reason of just liking them is a good enough reason. I counted eight different vegetables before this yardage repeats itself. Each color is strikingly bold in and of itself. I am also a sucker for black and white checks. With 2 yards of this I can make eight placemats or a border on a quilt.


These next two small pieces called to me but for different reasons. I had the clear green fabric on the left with the milk bottles and used it up on placemats for the Twelve Cats of Christmas (12/6/2018 post). It reads like a solid but has enough whimsy to brighten up that green even a bit more. I was an eensy-weensy bit sorry to see it go, so this is a partial replacement. As for the gray/beige tones on the right, I liked the intricate details of the stone buildings. It is only a fat quarter but I think it would make a classy, classic pillow for a gray/beige/neutral room or to contrast well on a bright colored couch.



These next two fabrics are so bright and fun I could not pass them up. The first is many different animals and the second is many different vehicles. I have 1⅓ yard of the animals and only a ½ yard of the vehicles, but with each, the segregated individual squares will make them easy to expand to a quilt for a child.


Final fabric tally was:
1 + ¾ + ½ + 3 + 3¼ + 1 + ½ + 2 + 1⅓ + ½ = 13⅚ yards and 11 fat quarters.

I had a fun couple hours with my friend and we went out to lunch afterward. That is a win-win situation for sure. Now I get to stroke the fabric it, refold it, and put it away.

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Savage Quilter with My Daughter

After the Quilt Show in Oklahoma at the end of July 2023, Robin and I did a quick mini Shop Hop to one of her neighborhood stores that I like to visit whenever I travel out to visit her from California.  It is called Savage Quilter and is a well organized shop with color walls by hue around the perimeter for convenient fabric browsing.

I needed to curb my purchases to the limits of my suitcase but I did indulge in some retail therapy. I bought a few fat quarters in an attempt to quench out my orange binging. I also added a couple patterns and a panel. I seem to have a penchant for pumpkins and red pickup trucks with trees. These pumpkins have that peeled back rounded technique of Southwind Designs that I enjoy. These trucks are slightly more unique since they are carrying gifts and not trees.



The panel just seemed to call to me even though I have a drawer full of them. When I bought it, I reasoned with myself that I could use it on the back of a holiday quilt.


But now, after having seen this treatment for a panel at the Brentwood Quilt Show in September 2023, I am wondering if I could be a bit more creative with a judicious choice of fabric in just the perfect colorway. I enjoy pinwheel blocks and they could help put a cute "spin" on this panel. Picking the right fabrics in pink, aqua, and gray-brown, for a winter scene, would be a real blast! It is, after all, a winter scene, but not necessarily Christmas.


That's all for now. My list of want-to-do's keeps growing but is is so much easier to just dream and blog about it.