March Solids and Some Backings

March is continuing to be part of the never ending winter of 2013-2014. Cold, cold, cold. So much snow. So many snow days. Temperatures below -20 celsius. I think perhaps Sew Sisters picked a very cheery spring photograph to give us hope. We need it.

The picture makes you think of sweeping fields of tulips and a warm spring breeze. 

From left to right: Bonsai, Sunny, Pansy, Tangerine

I already have a place in my heart for Bonsai (I'm using some in the Star Wars quilt I'm making), and the Sunny and Tangerine are bright and lovely. The Pansy is totally awful, in my opinion. I am not a purple person anyway, and this sweet violet-like purple is not to my taste. I'll have to think of something to do with it (my daughter loves it).

 While I was on the Sew Sisters website the other day, I perused their clearance fabrics and found some beauties. Three are destined for backings. The red and white will be, not surprisingly, for the red and white quilt I am making. The other two do not have destinations yet. That lovely grey is Kona Silver and is destined to be the background for an eventual Swoon quilt. You know, in all my free time.

Art Gallery Modernology print on the far left, Kona Silver and two prints I'm not sure about.
Updated: from left to right: Modernology A La Mode Grey, Kona Shadow, Bespoken Beaded Gems Topaz and Good Life Collection Window Scarlet

By now I seem to be an expert at buying fabric. Perhaps now I need more time and energy dedicated to making things with all these fabrics?

Lynn

Seeing Spots: A Finished Quilt

So I finished a quilt this week. Sort of by accident, really. This quilt was not even on my list to finish, as the original intention was to give it as a gift for a baby born too long ago for this quilt to be appropriate. The quilt was from a kit I bought at Greenwood Quiltery on crazy discount.  I couldn't resist the Ann Kelle fabrics.

This is a cheerful, bright, cutesy baby quilt which is not always my favourite. It is also much smaller than I usually make. It was dead easy to make and I have been using it for months as my "not-done-this-project-but-need-a-little-something-to-work-on" project.  And here it is, Seeing Spots, all finished!

Very bright. And very spotty. 

Ann Kelle Urban Zoologie cows, birds and horses. Free motion loose stipple for the quilting in Aurafil White.

A lime green spotty binding.

The binding goes with this aqua and lime print I've had in my stash since I first started quilting.  I think it was perfect for this quilt.

This quilt is destined for a family expecting their second child, a little boy. I hope it is the perfect size to cover the car seat or stroller in this never ending winter.

Lynn

Fabric Binge

Recently some close family friends were in the United States for two months and they made the suggestion that if I wanted to order anything that couldn't ship to Canada I should send it to them. You know what my first thought was...taking advantage of free shipping to anywhere in the U.S. on President's Day!

One of these bundles was a planned-for-in-advance purchase, the new Lotta Jansdotter line Mormor. I can't resist her. This is the most colourful collection of hers yet, I think! This was my Valentine's Day present from my hubby. Smart man, he now just asks which fabric I want for various holidays.

Those teal and navy colours/prints are my favourite. Drool.

Aren't they pretty all together? I'm feeling a bit of reluctance to split them up. Maybe I can just admire them for awhile first!

A fat eighth bundle of Cat Nap by Lizzy House. I love Lizzy House (Pearl Bracelets and Jewels for sure, and Outfoxed may be my favourite line ever) but this line wasn't speaking to me until I saw Oh Fransson's (Elizabeth Hart) Cat-QAL.

I also indulged in some Wee Wander. The more I saw of it on blogs, the more I loved it. In particular I want to use some of the prints in an eventual I-Spy Polaroid quilt.

Come. On. Too cute!!

The colours are so saturated and gorgeous.

And Westwood Acres threw in a little mini-charm pack of April Showers by Bonnie and Camille! What a fun surprise!

Tiny!

Here is the whole huge, indulgent stack. I have it right next to me in the dining room my sewing room because they are too pretty to put away in the basement yet. 

So delicious.

Despite these three wonderful stacks I actually have even more new fabric to blog about. Stay tuned, as I will probably include my other purchases in another post. 

Which of my three bundles do you most covet?

Lynn

Another New Baby

Now, don't go crazy. Not a human baby, of course. A new sewing machine is going to be joining my family.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

(I may be a little bit excited).

My current machine, a Brother CS-3500H, was a gift from my husband for my thirtieth birthday about three and a half years ago. I knew I wanted to try sewing. I thought eventually I might even try quilting. Knowing it might not stick, I researched a reasonably-priced but not bare-bones machine and settled on the Brother. This machine has been wonderful, truly, with few issues. I was sewing on it the day I got it. 

After having my Brother serviced in September (for the first time in three years) and then having it break two months later, the service tech guy told me that my machine is not made for someone who sews as much as I do. I set about researching and settled on a Janome. After chatting with Linda at Oakville Sewing, I determined that a Janome 6600 would be a great fit for me. I'm hoping it lasts me a decade at least, even with my excessive sewing.

Isn't she pretty?

I will be blogging extensively, I'm sure, about how the transition goes. I hope I love it considering how much of an upgrade it is (particularly in price!). I know my quilting friend A already wants to come over to check it out and drool over it!

What kind of machine do you have? Who loves their Janome? Anyone have a 6600P and can offer me some tips?

Can't wait to bring her home!

Lynn

Designer Props

Holy cow, you guys. I was quilting the other day and had all my blocks for my Architextures quilt all laid out and, of course, I took a quick Instagram shot. Modern Sewciety tagged it with @carolynfriedlander (whom she knows, if I gather correctly from the Instagram feed of them together!) and Carolyn actually liked and commented on my quilt.

If you don't know why this is a big deal, it is because she designed the fabric I am using for this quilt, Architextures (she also recently released Botanics which is wildly popular as well). How cool is that?

Carolyn Friedlander loves my quilt. Shut the front door.

I'm sort of geeking out over this. So excited! (Plus I think the quilt is looking pretty fan-tabulous!)

Lynn

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

And the winner of the Dori Fat Quarter Bundle from Sew Sisters is...Bethany!

Bethany was comment #77, as chosen by a random number generator. She is a new blogger over at Sew Ruthie. Go check her out! I can't wait to see what she makes with this bright, happy bundle!
Congratulations Bethany, and thanks to everyone who entered. I hope you continue to follow my blog and that you have checked out Sew Sisters!

Lynn

A Sew Sisters Giveaway!

As a young quilter and, in particular, as a Canadian quilter, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to purchasing fabric that appeals to me (not that you would be able to tell from my giant, unreasonable stash). Despite living very close to a major metropolis (Toronto), I often struggle to find the fabric that speaks to me. I certainly have access to the online stores, however shipping from the United States is ridiculously expensive.

Enter Sew Sisters. They describe themselves as "...a Canadian quilt shop dedicated to all things quilting. For the past decade we have offered Canadian quilters great quality fabric, notions, books, kits and patterns, both in our store in Toronto and online. At Sew Sisters we believe you should buy fabric, not postage! So we offer terrific shipping rates on orders within Canada." 

I often buy larger cuts of fabric from Sew Sisters because their shipping rate is so much more reasonable than ordering from the U.S. (Free for purchases over $100! I may have an order coming with three backings and a bunch of Kona Silver for a future Swoon quilt). They also have a Kona Solids Fat Quarter of the Month Club which I subscribe to and post about here. It is the best way to dabble in solids!! They have so many Kona solids, including my precious Artichoke, and I know I can always find the colour I want. Check out their other selections as they have tons of print fabrics to drool over.

I also follow Sew Sisters on Facebook because they have free giveaways every week. It helps me dream about acquiring more fabric because I totally need more fabric. ;)

Why the Sew Sisters love today? Because they contacted me about offering a free giveaway here on my blog! How awesome is that? They are offering a bundle of 8 fat quarters of Dori by Mitzi Powers for Bernatex. I personally like the lime colour way and the teal and yellow colour way. My favourite is the Mod Flame (those bottom two prints). I can think of so many things I would do with it!

To enter to win all you need to do is leave me a comment! If you follow my blog, you can leave a second comment telling me so and earn a second entry! This giveaway is open to international participants. Entries begin today and close Sunday evening at 9:00p.m. (Entries are now closed) at which point Sew Sisters will send you your winnings! The winner will be selected using a random number generator.

Lynn