Fabric! Fabric! Fabric!

I love, adore, cherish, can't stop searching for....FABRIC!  Really the fabrics out there are so gorgeous I can (and have) spent hours shopping for it.  Thankfully, for my pocketbook, I rarely pull the trigger unless I have something in mind for it.  So sadly, I really do not have much of a stash.  I think because of the mountain of choices I actually feel a paralyzed by the enormity of the selections.  Do people usually by an entire line?  Or purchase just individual selections?  The baby quilts I have worked on thus far have all been from pre-cuts and from a single line.  I must say, I'm not really in love with that look.  I think there ends up lacking depth to the end result.  I don't know if it is from a lack of value difference;  it might just be my own personal aesthetic where I really prefer high contrast quilts.

I have really enjoyed shopping on Etsy, where they sell fat quarter bundles that have been coordinated but not necessarily from the same line.  Some also let you pick your own fabric bundles.  I never anticipated that learning to choose fabric would be just as important as learning the techniques of quilting.  I thought you just picked out some pretty fabric and made your quilt.  But value and color placement are sooooo important.

My X and O quilt

http://kechquilts.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/less-ufo-sightings-reported.html

 

Above are two X and O quilts. The top one is mine, and the fabric selections are light and medium tones.  It makes the the overlook a bit muddled and the pattern does not stand out.  The quilt below is made by Annabell, and see what a HUGE difference fabric selection makes.  The bright contrast in her gorgeous quilt, really make the pattern sing. Clearly, I need to work on picking fabric that compliments a pattern.

My first quilt......Silly Goose

As I mentioned in my first post, my first (completed) quilt was a baby quilt for a friend.  I decided that in order to set a hard deadline that I couldn't back out of without looking like a schmuck, that promising a quilt would be the best way to make sure it actually got finished. By the time I got the courage to make it I think I had watched all of The Missouri Star Quilt Company videos and I settled on Silly Goose. 

The blocks really went together very easily.  In retrospect, I wish I had spent more time matching my points.  The good thing about your first quilt is....you don't know what you don't know!  I didn't know what kind of batting to use, so I got some polyester batting from Wal-Mart (hanging my head in shame).  I machine stitched the binding AND I free-motion quilted it using a stipple stitch and the tension was very.... very off.  But before quilting it I had a friend embroider the baby's name on the front.  Even with all my problems......and there were many, I think it turned out fairly well for a first quilt. 

I really like the fabric I choose but was a little disappointed that the pattern of the quilt did not really show it off.  I found the most difficult part of the whole process to be picking fabric.  I went with a pre-cut charm pack (which made things so easy) and I settled on Sasparilla by October Afternoon for Riley Blake.

I just adored it and thought it was perfect for a little boy.  Also, I wish I had taken better pictures, especially since I no longer of the quilt.   Oh well, my friend was very happy to receive it and I know that it is something she will always keep and that is what is important.

English Paper Piecing

I'm really fascinated with English paper piecing but have yet to do any.  I really like the idea of being able to stitich and create while I'm watching TV or have a sleeping kiddo on my lap (which is often).  As with all my sewing, before I get the courage to jump in I GORGE on YouTube videos!  Also, I signed up for the two week free membership at CreativeBug.  So far I have watched, Liza Lucy's tutorial at CreativeBug and Sue Daley's tutorial for Riley Blake on YouTube.

I must admit, I have not yet jumped on the hexi bandwagon.  Something about them doesn't appeal to my eye; maybe it is the flowers that I generally see created with them.  They have seemed to be a little too sweet for my aesthetic.  That being said, I really liked some of the ideas that Liza Lucy shared by English paper piecing other shapes and also when using hexis to use a stripe or fusy cut your fabric to make other shapes when the hexis are joined.  For me this was really eye opening, seeing hexis in a new light making them, dare I say.....masculine or modern!  I think I'm going to keep doing more research tonight and see what I really NEED to buy to make a project.  I'm ready to get creative!

Welcome!

Howdy!  I'm Amanda and I have caught the quilting bug!  The purpose of this blog is to develop community and inspiration for my quilting and sewing habit.  I'm the mother of four small children, one with special needs, and have just moved from Texas to Arizona.  This prevents me from connecting, face to face with the quilting community of Tucson, so I have decided that I would be brave (which is not in my personality) and try and create my own!

I little background.....I started sewing in the 3rd grade with my 4-H group, The Nimble Thimbles (cute huh?!?).  I did that for a few years before sewing gave way other interests.  Fast forward to 2011 and I took my mother to the International Quilt Show in Houston.  If you have never been it. is. amazing!!!  I was absolutely blown away, especially by art quilts.  My previous notion of quilts had been purely functional, but seeing those quilts I discovered the potential they had as works of art.  It was equally amazing to see the antique quilts.  They were like little history time capsules and you could literally feel the presence of their creators.  Needless to say, I was completely enchanted by the time I left and was ready to be a quilter....or so I thought.

Once home I realized, there was no way I could make a magnificent masterpiece quilt.  I had no idea where to begin and the whole idea was lost to realism since the process felt to overwhelming to me I didn't know where to start.  Enter, Jenny Doan - Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials!  I watched her jelly roll race tutorial and thought....I CAN DO THAT!  I bought a gorgeous jelly roll of Joel Dewberry fabric and began my quilting journey.  Sadly, I have yet to finish that first quilt top it did start me on a path of thinking, this is something I could do.

My first finished quilt was a baby quilt.  Nothing like promising someone a baby quilt to give yourself a firm deadline!  It was just the motivation I needed to finished a project and was a great size for a beginner.  I have since completed two more baby quilts and am currently back to working on the original quilt top with the Joel Dewberry fabric.  Although I am just a beginner and have more ideas than time, this creative outlet has proved to be a wonderful therapeutic journey for me and I hope you will join me on it!