::Quilt::

i did it.

i made a quilt.

then i gave it away.

for a good cause

but...

ouch, it stings.

i miss it.

i hope that the person who

ends up with it loves and appreciates it.

I used Camille Roskeley's

Ruby fabric collection.

i bought a jelly roll.

and then didn't know what to do with it.

so i googled and googled and googled

and googled.

many days went by.

i wanted a pattern that was

fast, simple

and didn't require purchasing

any additional fabric

or math or anything

too complicated for a tired,

overworked and underpaid momma.

did you take the picture yet, mama?

how 'bout now?

did i do a great job, mama?

i digress.

finally, i found the pattern for me.

it is easy, fast

and a no-brainer.

i will give you the deets

in another post,

but here's the gist.

trim the ends.

sew each strip end to end

so that you have one

looooooong strip.

when i was finished,

the entire strip was 1600 inches long.

(it started in my sewing room, went through

the master bedroom

through the hallway

and across my daughter's room.)

match the ends together

making sure there are not twists~very impotant!

it won't work if there are twists!

sew the two strips together.

when you get to the fold,

cut it open and finish sewing

to the end.

fold and repeat.

fold and repeat.

fold and repeat.

the back.

it's backing fabric

so there's no piecing involved.

Quilt it with Aunt T

on her long arm machine.

Machine bind it.

Voila.

I loved it.

I'm making another one with

this.

What do you think?

Would you try it?

Anyone?

::Eye Candy::

I love this quilt. I have several vintage quilts but this one is my favorite.

I actually use it because I love it so much.

I never get tired of looking at the fabric prints, the stitches,

and the colors.

I like to think about the woman who made it.

Was she a mother like me?

Where did she get the fabric?

How long did it take her to make it?

Who did she make it for?

Who used it?

Did she snuggle under it with

her family like I do?

I love this red with

the charcoal gray dotted lines.

Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't use this old quilt,

that I should preserve it instead.

But it makes me very happy.

Even happier than

snuggling under a quilt

that I've made!

Gorgeous!

Sarah Jane Fabrics

I love fabric. In a perfect world, someone would ship bolts of gorgeous fabric to my house and I would iron and fold it all day long. And they would pay me too because, hey, this is my dream and I'm dreaming big. As a child, there were always quilts on every bed in our house and our grandmothers' houses. I used to sit and look over all the fabrics and remember the dresses, curtains and other things that were used to make the quilts. Both of our grandmothers gifted their grandchildren with quilts and afghans. It felt so comforting to know that they made a special blanket just for us. We were loved with those quilts. I remember the Crazy quilt Grandma made using satins and velvets and other fabrics and how she hand stitched all different stitches around it. It is so beautiful. Another quilt Grandma made with thick, heavier fabric in a nautical theme was admired by our Dad when he was dating our Mom. Grandma said he could have it if he married her. He did and she gifted him the quilt. I love that quilt; for the fabric and the story.

Thinking back to all the memories and stories and how we were surrounded by these gifts of love, it really is not surprising that I love fabric. To receive a blanket or quilt that took so much time and effort was special because Gram and Nana did it all for each of us. I knew how much it took to make one of these and to think they spent so much time hand piecing (Nana did!) and hand quilting (Gram did!) just for me was the greatest act of love.

Looking at fabric and sewing brings me back to those loving feelings and this line by Sarah Jane is just so precious. Check out how cute these images are. I love the retro look of the pinwheels and carriages and the colors are so pleasing to the eye. I even love the names of the collections and the fonts in which they are written.

And go HERE to see her booth from the Quilt Market. So so so sweet. Sarah Jane's Etsy shop is on vacation, but I'm hoping to buy some of this fabric when she opens back up. Not sure what I'll use it for, I may just iron and fold it. ;)

Are You Wondering?

Are you wondering about this? I promise I've been working on it, cutting more fabric, arranging fabric and sewing and pressing. I have 11 squares made and 4 more laid out waiting to be stitched. Pictures will be coming soon! In the meantime, I've discovered two more quilts that I'd like to try.

Crazy Scrappy Block Quilt by Aneela Hoey ~ what a great way to play with fabric scraps

Aneela is a fabric designer with MODA who has the cutest fabric line, Sherbert Pips.

The Road Trip Quilt by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew ~ I like the size of the blocks and the fact that it is so easy... but I wouldn't use the bus/car/truck type fabrics. I would use something else, probably more girly!

I've been bitten by the quilt bug, but first I have to work on a custom order and more dresses for some upcoming shows!

Progress

Q U I L T i n P R O G R E S S

washed. check

dried. check

ironed. check

now, the cutting has begun.

the fun part.

go here to see what i'm working on

and here to see where YOU can get it.

i've edited my fabric stash about a kabillion times and

i'm still undecided about which fabrics i'm going

to use. i picked two of my favorites that i'm

100% positive about and i started cutting.

i keep adding yellows to my stash, but i'm not

really a yellow kinda girl.

i like blues, greens and pinks with a dash of

red, black, turquoise.

i know i'll be happy if i stick with those colors.

also, i'm wondering...

how often should i repeat a fabric?

should i repeat at all?

Rita has suggestions, of course, but

nothing is set in stone...

oh, and i found this blogger, Amy Smart and I'm

reading all the posts in her series.

wow! love it!

next in line are these cuties

these are in the maybe pile

i'm pretty sure these are going to be in there

maybe one or two of these

these will most likely be included

P.S. a lot of people ask how i find the time to

sew or blog. funny you should ask 'cause i'm

always searching for spare time.

little bits of time here and there.

having a passion for hobbies runs in my family

and i'm so glad i finally found my passion

and i am so very fortunate that my passion

includes my sisters.

what's your passion? do you know?

have you found it?

are you still searching for it?