Once Upon A Time....

...in a city far, far away (Portland, Oregon) a sad woman (a non-quilting, sad woman) at the encouragement of her quilting Auntie joined a Block-of-the-Month group at a local quilt shop (Cool Cottons). After a bad break up with a boyfriend, she needed something.

The first BOM lead to another and the adventure began.  But now she had a stack of blocks and too many other ideas she was anxious to try -- the blocks were set aside.  (Her very first UFO.)

Then, a few years later at the siren call of "The Babes" (grandsons) there was a big move to another state. While many household items were left behind, not much left behind was from the sewing/quilting room. (And by now there were more UFOs.)



Fast forward 5 more years: American Patchwork & Quilting issued a challenge for 2018....complete 12 UFO projects this year.  The now-happy woman signed up. (Read January 8, 2018 and February 10, 2018.)

 

Each month a number is published on their Facebook  page. That number corresponds to the number on your UFO list. That is your assignment that month.  May was #6.

Here it is July, but FINALLY, my #6 is ready for the quilter.

The layout is not any particular pattern.  My quilting friend, the "other Charlotte", has a computer program that will figure out layout and fabric requirements.
Quilt Pro.

How cool is that!





Recognize the triangle setting blocks and the outer border fabric?  I've used this fabric in other projects, one being my Nephew's Tee-Shirt Quilt.

You just can't beat a good blender! I did have to search the internet to find more of this fabric.  The original yardage was purchased in Portland at  Fabric Depot a year ago.  

That is why it is always a good idea to keep the a piece of the salvage with fabric information.

The result is both BOM blocks combined

 
This will be for my sister; for her birthday later this month.  She mentioned a few years ago she wished she had a quilt big enough for her bed....this should do the job nicely; 80" X 124.

I realize it is pretty long.  I didn't pay attention to the layout...oh well, it is long enough to go up over the pillows when (if ?) she makes her bed.

Because I didn't pay attention, I ended up with two blocks left over.

Quilters do not make mistakes, they make variations...and pillows.

Happy Birthday, Peanut.

Drive - Work - Explore - Shop Hopping - Day 2

There are a few shops that are unique to specific areas of the country:  Portland, Oregon has their "Fabric Depot."  Paducah, Kentucky has their Hancocks.



Fresno has  "Second Chance Fabrics"  


As I wrote earlier in the week,
I'm traveling and working in Central California this week.
I have been in Fresno the last two days. 

 

It is a creative idea..... resell fabrics the original buyer no longer needs or wants.

This little shop has it all.... fabrics (even kits!), notions, sewing machines for sale, a good size classroom, and very friendly sales people.   If I lived in or near Fresno this is a shop I'd love to spend more time exploring!







Margaret, gave me a tour and explained the concept....
Bring in your fabrics you no longer need* or want.  They will exam the fabric for quality and size and give you store credit.











They package and price the fabrics.  This shop isn't like some shops that have lots of creative ideas dripping off the walls to inspire you, but they have lots of nice fabrics displayed in a way that makes it easy to pick-and-choose what you need*.

Each piece of fabric is folded around a cardboard form and put in a cellophane sleeve.  There is a sticker on the front with yardage and price.

 The fabric is placed on shelves by color.








They also have a big bin of "scraps" (like we need more, right?)
But what if you're making a scrappy piece and need "just a bit" of a certain color????

Here is a clip from the Fresno Bee CLICK HERE

 Yep, this is a good idea and I wish there was a place like this in the O.C.

A friend of the shop made this quilt....
The creator's husband was a biologist and she made this to hang in his office.  Totally Cool!

Next time you are passing through Fresno, stop in.

*let's be perfectly honest, most of us don't "need" more fabric...

Summer Travel - Summer Fun

My end-of-summer travel landed me in Portland, Oregon for a week.  Such a beautiful, wonderful city.  There are so many things about Portland I miss but it is so fun going back for a visit, ESPECIALLY if my visit includes a stay with my quilting friend Dawn White of First Light Designs.

Pacific Northwest Peeps.... look for her classes at
The Pine Needle* in Lake Oswego, OR

Not only did she and her husband, Charlie, pamper me oh so much, she gave me the use of her sewing rooms (yes, she has more than one) AND let me "shop" from her stash!  So generous and gracious!

What did I work on while in Portland?  Last May I wrote about making a tee shirt quilt for my very-athletic nephew who was graduated from high school in 2015. (Click HERE)  It was one of those projects that just would not cooperate with the quilt-making process and had to be put in time out for a while..... Ever have one of those?  They eventually become a UFO.

After a time of punishment, Joseph's quilt was released from the penalty box and I took it with me to Portland.

Dawn helped me think though the design as there was no pattern suitable for all the shapes created after chopping up the tee shirts.  She also helped pick a very nice sashing fabric on one of our trips to Fabric Depot.

Of course, it is not perfect (as only God is perfect, we quilters like to say) but I think it is shaping up very nicely.
More importantly, I think Joseph will like it.

I wasn't able to complete the top while in Portland, but I'm far enough along now that I'm motivated to finish it up quickly.
No more time outs.

All good things must come to an end.

As I packed up to head back south
Princess Cordelia inspected my luggage to 

ensure I was not making off with the family silver.

*The Pine Needle and Fabric Depot have both closed their doors since the writing of this post.

Not All Fabric is Created Equal

When I was a new mom in 1983, I was lucky enough to be a-stay-at-home mom for a couple of years.  I took a part-time job at Fabricland.  What a fun job that was...I was my own best customer.  I think I still have some remnants from those days!

Alas, Fabricland is no more. (You will see Fabricland in Canada...different company.)  There was a hostile take over back in the mid '80's.  But, that is how Fabric Depot got started!!  So, something good came of it.

I Love Fabric!  And there are so many talented fabric designers and creative quilt pattern designers and talented quilt-sewers.  It's just fun!

There is only one rule to remember when it comes to fabric....don't buy cheap stuff.

Visiting the Holyland

Yes, I know fabric prices have creeped up over the years.
You can probably expect to pay $12 to $15 dollars a yard for nice fabric (and fabric is more expensive in Canada. Sorry, quilters to the north.)   But it is worth it.  Cheap fabric will not hold its shape, will not hold up over time. And do you really want to put lots of $$ and lots of time into a beautiful quilt just to have it look crummy after a while?  No!  You don't.

Look at the end of the bolt.  You want to see a fabric company name you recognize...

Robert Kaufman
Moda
Red Rooster
Blue Hill
Free Spirit
Riley Blake
Tula Pink
The list is a long one....
And, each designer has their own style; traditional, modern, quirky.

When I started quilting I didn't think I'd remember anything about choosing good fabric.  One way to begin recognizing names is the Fabric Shop Hop.  It is an online shop hop.  It can be time consuming and I don't "hop" much any more.  But hopping accomplished one thing...I started to become familiar with various designers and their style and the many different online shops in cyber space.  It is educational and fun. (And, you can win prizes.)  You should give it a try.

Flat Folds:  A flat fold is fabric not on a bolt.  It could be the end of a fabric run or the last of a bolt or cheap junk.  Unless the designer and/or company is printed on the salvage, there isn't any real way of knowing where the fabric came from since there is no bolt to tell you.  I avoid flat folds UNLESS I see information on the salvage that tells me it is a good fabric.

One last word on buying good fabric....your local quilt "shops" are a pretty safe place.  They will deal with good quality fabrics.  Big Box fabric stores (with the exception of a few; Fabric Depot in Portland, OR and Hancock Fabrics in Peducah, KY) buy what I call "no-name" fabric.  These are the fabrics you want to stay away from.

Came across this article on a blog, National Quilters Circle that explains it very well.

So, get out there and start visiting quilt shops!  Oh, one word of etiquette.  Most shops will let you take pictures of quilts on display...but ask first.  It's just good manners.