Penny Sampler!

Well here is my exciting (to me) news.  A few weeks ago I registered for Rachel @ Stitched in Color's Penny Sampler class.

Courtesy of Rachel @ Stitched in Color

I'm excited because:

a) Rachel (as always) has designed the most beautiful quilt, I couldn't resist after seeing the pictures and block previews

b) I get to learn lots of new things and hopefully better the meager skills I already have
c) I learned that some of my New Blogger blog hop friends are also taking the class!

After looking at Rachel's fabric suggestions, and perusing online fabric stores for days, I decided that the Alexander Henry Mecca for Moderns, Urban Garden print would be my "inspiration" fabric.  Coincidentally I visited Joann's this weekend and discovered that some of the fabrics in Juliana Horner's new fabric linematch my color scheme perfectly.  I also ordered a slew of solids, and took a trip to a modern quilt shop today.  All the quilt shops in my area specialize in Civil War reproduction fabrics, so I have to travel down the road to get things that are more my taste... Plus we needed things at Trader Joe's and Penzey's, so I convinced Ryan that the quilt shop was right there so I may as well go ::wink::

So here's my "stack" for the Penny Sampler.  I am really happy with how it looks so far!  I think I might have to buy some more solids, but I think this should at least get me off to a good start with the blocks.

I'd name all the fabrics, but I don't know them all off the top of my head and I'm too lazy to look them all up!  I'm sure you can see all the DS prints in there because I'm totally obsessed.  I will probably add some prints from Florence when it comes out later this month.  I also need a print for the panel under the diamonds on the right bottom half... is this orange print from Heirloom too much orange?  

The solids are (top to bottom) Essex in Slate, Kona Glacier, Cotton Couture in Slate, Kona Aqua, Plum, Flesh, Medium Gray and Iron.  There's also a fat quarter of Free Spirit Tan in the neutrals row too.  I'm still debating whether I like it or not.  Not pictured are Kona Snow and Ash, since the cuts I have of those are >2 yards each and they don't fold well enough to fit in the picture.  I think I'm going to add Essex in Putty too 

In case you haven't seen the Penny Sampler in all of its glory, here's the full picture

Courtesy of Rachel @ Stitched in Color

I believe there is still space in the class if you're interested in joining the fun... the registration information is over here, and you can follow along with everyone's progress at the Stitched in Color Flickr Group!

Sunday Stash #3

Happy Sunday everyone.  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Personally, I don't think weekends are nearly long enough ;)  I spent a lovely sunny day out in my much neglected garden, and I have the dirt under my fingernails to prove it!  Usually I'm pretty on top of gardening but this spring/summer I've been somewhat ambivalent toward it.  I blame:

1. Sewing!  
2. Vacation in March/April which got me off to a late start
3. The hope that we would be moving this summer 

Since we haven't had any success on the house hunting front, we've resigned ourselves to the fact that we probably won't be moving until fall at the earliest (if by some miracle we find something in the next couple months).  So I decided to start fall seeds today.  I got the grow lights cleaned up and set back up in the basement, and am waiting for my broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, chard and lettuce to pop up.

But you're here for eye-candy not garden chatter...  

I can't believe it's almost been a month since I went on a complete fabric binge with all the great 4th of July sales.  I took enough photos of new stash additions today to last me 4-5 weeks of Sunday Stash.  Yes, I've been meaning to post these for weeks, but things are a little crazy around here lately.

First up are some stash builders to fill some color holes in my stash

(L-R)  Bungle Jungle Crossword Puzzle Gray
Lizzy House Constellations Supernova in purple and Asterisk in Purple
Lucky Penny Bike Path in brown
Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow herringbone in grass
Carolyn Friedlander Architextures crosshatch in Plum
Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow herringbone in timber

With the exception of the crossword puzzle print (from Fat Quarter shop), these are all from Pink Castle Fabrics.  Can I just say, finding true indigo and plums in modern fabrics is super tricky.  There's not a lot out there, so I was happy to get my hands on the Asterisk and Architextures prints.  Also, is Architextures out of print?  I really should have purchased a bundle of the whole set when I had the chance, because it's super hard to find now :(

I'll share one more set today since I plan on cutting into it soon for a birthday present for a friend (my deadline is Sept. 1).  She loves Purples and Teals so I couldn't resist some Cuzco prints.

Top: Kate Spain Cuzco
Bottom: Bella Solids in Orchid; Lotta Jansdotter Glimma

This picture doesn't really do justice to these lovely fabrics.  I can't wait to cut into them!

We're going to be away next weekend, so I guess I should write up next week's Sunday Stash now and schedule it to post while we're away.  Even though I haven't been blogging much in the last couple weeks, I have been sewing quite a bit, so I have some more things to share :)  I generally blog at work (shhh, don't tell my boss!) so hopefully I have some desk downtime to I can whip up a few more posts.  Pics taken, I just need to find the time to write!

Linking up for Sunday Stash @ Finding Fifth!

Clashy Bright Mosaic Contest Entry

I love bright colors, and I love summer.  So when I saw that Rachel at Stitched in Color was holding another mosaic contest I had to join the fun this time.  The challenge is to create a "Clashy Bright" palette of fabrics based on Marmalade Fabrics stock.

My inspiration is a field of summer wildflowers.  I love the pops of color surrounded by harmonious greens.  Sadly, I found fabric choices to be a little limiting... I really wanted some more bright colors, like magenta, but I had to settle for a more subdued pink.

And here's my color selections.  The AMH fabric was a given based on the title of the fabric line :)  And I tried to select colors based around that fabric swatch.  If you'd like to join the fun, you can find Rachel's contest post here and it runs through July 18.  Happy Summer!

Sewing Space and Sunday Stash #2

If you're visiting from Ellison Lane's Studio Spotlight, this post is from July 7, 2013.  My sewing space hasn't changed at all in the last month (other than the fabric explosion on my DR table right now) so no need to take new pictures, right? :)

Happy Sunday evening.  I hope you all had a great weekend!  My parents came for dinner last night (dry rub  ribs with homemade BBQ sauce, and corn on the cob), but it was way to hot and humid to eat outside.  Soooo... I had to clean up my sewing and fabric explosion in the dining room so we would have space to eat.  I also didn't want BBQ sauce getting on my fabric of course.

I set the sewing equipment back up this morning, and I decided to snap some pictures while the dining room is relatively clean.  Please excuse any non-sewing related clutter, we live in a small house that was built in the 1940s and there is no pantry and very little cupboard space, so my dining room also holds overflow kitchen items.

I actually reconfigured a bit so I would have more room to maneuver around the machine.  The sewing machine used to be where the iron is in this picture, and the ironing board was set up right next to it.  We don't have AC in the house, so I also didn't want to be sitting next to a hot iron sewing anymore.

The little green bin holds my 2.5" squares that I use as leaders and enders... I don't know how I lived without using leaders and enders before, but it saves me so much thread and thread mess all around the machine.

The ironing board and cutting mat are a lot more convenient being right next to each other now.  I was working on cutting up FMF strips to back my table runner :)

This little secretary desk is the perfect fabric storage at the moment; the shelves are the perfect width to hold fabric folded using Jeni Baker's method.  I told myself once I filled up the top shelf I would stop buying fabric... psha... yeah right!

As you can see there's quite a bit of fabric stored in bins on either side.  The file bin on the right holds solids and non-quilting fabric like my bamboo velour (so soft!).  I also have some stacks of fabric I bought recently that haven't made it into the stash yet.  And a whole slew of scraps... I have no idea how I generate so many scraps considering I haven't finished anything sizable yet.  the two drawer bin to the left is actually headed to goodwill, but it was a convenient place to set some stuff that didn't have a good home.  I also have a great big flannel hoard upstairs in an empty dresser in our spare room too destined to be made into liners for Days for Girls.  The top drawer of the secretary holds my UFO's and it's full.  The bottom drawer has fabric dyeing supplies that I've been dying (haha unintentional pun) to play with.

 

If I post a close-up of the stash it counts for the Sunday Stash link-up right?  Oy I have lots more fabric on the way from taking advantage of the awesome 4th of July sales last week :p

Sunday Stash #1

I hope everyone had a great Father's day spending time with all the Father's in their lives.  Unfortunately my dad lives about 3 hours away and I had to work this weekend, so I will see him next weekend.  And my step-dad is in CA visiting my sister... so no Father's day in person for me this year.  It's been super stormy today so, I've been busy sewing up my #xplusalong blocks, so better late than never with this :)

About a week and a half ago, I had the good fortune to purchase a destash FQ set from Jaceycraft and I had this lovely package sitting in my mailbox when I got back from our getaway last weekend :)

I really couldn't resist those adorable hedgehogs!  And I've been looking for that floral print on the far right for a really long time too, I just didn't know what it was called.

Top (L-R): Birch Fabrics Birdie Spokes, Michael Miller Hedgehogs, Joel Dewberry Aviary 2
Bottom (L-R): Julia Rothman Miscellany, Michael Miller Lovebirds, Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi, Amy Butler Midwest Modern

I definitely can use more oranges, tans and browns in my stash so I hope I can find good use for these lovely fabrics.

Jacey has a really lovely selection of destash fabric, scrap packs and handmade items in her etsy shop.  I think they are really reasonably priced.  the fabric I received was clean and well cared for.  She even included some cute scraps and strings that I can definitely put to good use.

Linking up to Sunday Stash, hosted over at Dreaming in Patchwork this week!