Precut Primer {Review and Blog Hop}

  Back to school arrived with a bang as soon as we returned from vacation a few weeks ago.  It has been a little more stressful than other years since we just moved to the Salt Lake city area and we also sent of our oldest to college.  

Normally, back to school feels like "back to business" for me.  A time of the year when I hunker down and focus on quilt projects for customers and gifts.  When I was asked to participate in the Precut Primer Blog hop, I knew it would be perfect to kick-start my way back into the studio.  Fat Quarter Shop publishes books that never steer me wrong. 

The book by Me and My Sister Designs is really, really clever.  And I mean. Clever. 

There is a quilt project for each grade. I spent a lot of time flipping through the book saying things like "OOhhhh. I know which jelly roll to use for that one."

Or "Oh!  I've always wondered what to do with that fat quarter bundle that has been collecting dust!" 

Precuts can sometimes be the bane of a quilter's existences. They are hard to resist when they go on sale. We convince ourselves that we can just buy a precut of a new fabric line to appease the need for the pretties without making a huge investment in yardage.  This book hits all the high marks for having options for charm squares, jelly rolls, layer cakes, and fat quarter bundles. 

Just like my academic career, I decided to be an over achiever and start one of the larger quilts, the 8th grade, with a Daysail layer cake by Bonnie & Camille.   I find it fitting since I've just recovered from my second son graduating 8th grade this past spring and now have another 8th grader this year!

Time for my confession.  I just started the project three days ago.  

I am a procrastinator.
 I knew I could do a small project, but I really, really wanted to make the entire quilt.

I am THAT student that burned the midnight oil to get the paper done or study for a test.  The night
before. All night long. 

 I read recently a study that said it is because I'm an eternal optimist.  I don't remember hearing that in my Psych 101 class my freshman year in college, but I'm going to go with it.  Needless to say, I did feel a bit like Button looks up above after I powered through. But I could not have done it without the easy instructions and eager excitement to see the finished project. 

The eight grade quilt top!

 The only reason it isn't quilted yet is that I have another quilt on my longer set of long arm leaders which needs to be completed as soon as possible.  And I would like to really take my time deciding on the pattern I would like to quilt to compliment this beautiful pattern.

But...here comes the over achiever  part.  I did sneak in this other project I have been dying to do.

I call it my Inspiration Board. 

I've been wanting to have a board in my studio other than my design boards to pin up quilting plans for current project or my freehand practice sketches to trigger ideas while I'm in front of the longarm.

The 8th grade quilt doesn't use all the layer cakes in the pack, so I grabbed two to make a block and set it in a blank "canvas".  Made a quilt sandwich.  Quilted.  Then I attached it to an insulation board exactly like my portable design boards.

It turned out exactly the way I wanted it to. I swirled. I pebbled. I feathered.  I bloomed.
 

I went a bit crazy.  I even did a ghost block to mimic the solo block.

The only concern is that I might get sent to detention for breaking the rules and using only one block. 

Maybe if I can convince the principal that I can pin up my inspiration sketches....practice, practice, practice, right??!!!  

I already have the backing and binding fabrics waiting!!!!

If you are just finding about this book, I encourage you to check out the other quilty classmates that have joined in on the fun! Follow the week long blog hop at Fat Quarter Shop to see all of their Precut Primer quilts, and you just might learn a thing or two! 

September 2, 2015
Me and My Sister Designs
Moda Fabrics
Pat Sloan
April Rosenthal

September 3, 2015
Corey Yoder of Little Miss Shabby

September 4, 2015
Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side

September 7, 2015
Jane Davidson of Quilt Jane
Heidi Grohs of Buttons & Butterflies

September 8, 2015
Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

September 9, 2015
Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting 
Lissa Alexander of Moda Fabrics
 

There is also a giveaway at Jolly Jabber! They are giving away five copies of Precut Primer to five lucky FQS fans. For a chance to win a copy of GET OVER TO THE Fat Quarter Shop blog before the bell rings (September 9th). 

Sunday Project: Baby Wipes Toy

Do you have an empty wipes bin?  

Fabric scraps?

A baby/child that loves to tear through your fabric stash like it is nobody's business?

This is for you!!!

I am not even going to pretend I came up with this idea!  I found it on the somewhat...okay...VERY addictive Pinterest!

Here is the original project.

via Pinterest at this BLOG

But of course...I tweak.....I love to tweak!

I grabbed fabrics with no rhyme or reason.  They just happened to be decent size fabrics from my stash basket.  What is my stash basket? 

A huge basket that I throw all my scraps or mini bolts for the week.  I have decided I waste a goodly amount of time to return fabric as I work on projects.  I now spend Sunday's (laundry day) re-folding my mini bolts and relegating my scraps to where they belong HERE.

My scraps are different sizes...okay they may resemble a rainbow...I know, I know...I love rainbows!

I didn't feel like appliqueing mine nor hemming them. 

 This was a project to get quickly done and in the hands of the baby.

A simple pinking edge with my pinking rotary tool (not my favorite, BTW...I WILL be buying a pair of pinking shears on my next supply trip!)

My wipe container was boring white.

I pulled out my washi tape and made some stripes.

I can guarantee that Button does not care one bit that I didn't go crazy with applique numbers and letters.

He just likes to shove them into the case. 

 I guess most baby's want them out?

I think he takes after me...a little bit of an organizer!

More than one finish?

Stop the presses!!!

Granted, one finish is not a quilt, but hey...I take them where I can get them!

Button's Bluebonnet Romper

I won't go on and on about it in this post.  Just want to say...not to shabby for 14 years of not sewing much apparel?

If you really are interested it is all HERE!

Hartley's quilt

This quilt is so special to me!  My friend, the one who is also an amazing photographer, commissioned me to make a quilt for her cousin.  Her cousin lost her daughter after a fight in the NICU for prematurity.  She wanted a small infant quilt and also to see if I could do something with her name and prints (like I do for Butterfly Kisses HERE.   She is a darling little thing (both mom and daughter!). 

My first instructions....think girly girl!

Of course, when you are given that kind of request, it is wonderful....until you start feeling overwhelmed with ideas!  So I gave momma a few instructions.

-Check out my quilts, any speak to you?

-Any specific colors?

-Did you have a nursery set in mind for her? 

-Any specific object/nickname that you associate with her (i.e Butterfly for my Jamie)

She responded that she liked my diamond quilt HERE.  And that she was looking at this website Addison's Wonderland here for her the nursery. 

Images via Addison's Wonderland Website

Gorgeous, right?

So I checked out her nursery and asked some online friends if they recognized any of the fabric/fabric lines.  It turns out most were Amy Butler's Modern Midwest, with a few Kumari Garden.

Then, I knew I wanted a diamond design, and I remembered that Tracey had a really unique diamond quilt HERE that I wanted to base it off...

A Birdie in Bliss

 The diamonds and the shape are so unique and special!!

I love her bird and the scalloped circle!!

And her applique seemed like a perfect spot for the embroidery.

My interpretation...

 

Much smaller in size, so I had to adjust my diamond size. Mine turned out a bit boxier than I liked.  If ever I did it again, I would had more rows at the top and bottom.

Jack the seam "ripper" and I became good friends so I could get my points to meet.  I feel pretty good about them.  

My skill needs some work, but I am much further along than before!

I decided to go with an interesting shape I found on my Photoshop software.  I printed it out and appliqued the circle on top of it.  I used a blanket stitch, because I just love a blanket stitch!  I also chose a really soft yellow-cream thread for the prints and font because I wanted it to be soft like the yellow-cream of the Kumari Garden print.

I struggled to decide on a backing, but the Kumari Garden was so cut up in the diamonds, that I really wanted it to shine.  Good choice?  The binding is the same Amy Butler I used for the applique shape.

I decided on free motion loops with hearts hidden here and there.  I wanted the loops to be small and dainty, like the wee one she was!  

Overall, I am very happy with this quilt and can't wait to send it off so her mom can have it!

As for everything else...it will have to wait until next week to share.  I am leaving for my Spring Scrapbook retreat. This one is always important because only two months have gone by since the last, so there is little to update in my family album.  It allows me to  work on a "specialty" album this trip.  

Which one?  

I HAVE NO IDEA!  EEK! 

 Time to get ready!!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

I probably won't have much done for next week...but we shall see!

WIP: Wednesday...already?

First off, I love having my kids and husband home on holidays.  But, man, I pay for it the rest of the week!

This week, I am actually surprised that I have a FINISH despite Baby Button's Birthday and Party!  However, to many WIPs and UFOs I could cry...

Finished:

I only have a sneak peek because I haven't edited all the pictures yet.  It was a really fun, easy Sunday project.  Especially because I could delay laundry until Monday!!

A special project for my pugs! 

Stay tuned...I have the pictures on HERE!!

In Progress:

Butterfly Kisses

I  finished the one elaborate blanket last week and am almost finished with the second.  Unfortunately, My basket filled with THREE more this week!

Rainbow Layer Cake Swap

I finally made a decision on my layer cake assignments for my Distant Pickles swap.  Purple and Red-Purple.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the fabric I really wanted that was there before..and I can't order any online now because I have very little time since I need to mail it out.  The one thing I have learned, is that I really need to check out some of the other local quilt fabrics.  My shop doesn't have the most modern of fabric choices!

  Button was insistent on the stripe.  He kept yelling at me in baby talk and grabbing it from the shelf.  The quilt shop ladies said he was trying to tell me something!  Hopefully, everyone will like my choices?

No Progress:

Christmas quilt.  Hasn't budged.  This one makes me cry.  I think I will force myself to work on it tonight or tomorrow.
Thank you quilt. Fabrics still not cut.
Donation quilt (from Christmas time) Fabrics still not cut.
Baby Button's twin bed quilt.  Design finally decided on.  Fabrics not cut.  I am not even sure the fabrics are going to even work...


New Projects: 

Special baby girl quilt

I was commissioned to make a special quilt so I could include the embroidery prints I do over on Butterfly Kisses. 

I found a quilt on Tracey's blog again.  Hopefully she won't mind!  It just seemed to be the right quilt for this mom that wanted a "girly quilt.

 

The circle will be for the baby's name and feet prints!

 My fabric arrived last week.

Not all of it is for the quilt...I may have gone over my head in regards to my first foray into online fabric buying....

8th Grade Auction T-shirt quilt

Ever wonder what 72 middle school t-shirts look like in a pile?

This HAS to be done by the April.   I already have a plan in mind.  But first I want to scan each t-shirt into my EQ7 to see if my plan is actually a good one!!  Right now?  It looks like it will be AT LEAST a queen size.  Thank goodness for Ole Betsy!

Blogger's Choice Bundle

Have you joined the fun over at Quokka Quilts?

If you happen to follow quilt bogs, it is the HOT thing right now...to see if you can choose a palette of fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop to make your own bundle.  There is a "prize", but I know that I am not really what I consider a "modern" quilter so not even going to consider that I would ever be in the running.

Are you the same way?  Going to opt out because you think you won't win, so why bother?

I thought so too, at first. 
But then, I was intrigued.  Do I have the ability to create a fabric bundle? Isn't that one of the most important things about quilting, sewing, and decorating?  The ability to take a number of different fabrics and make them sing?

With that in mind, I didn't think about inspiration from a field, a memory, or even a season like summer or fall like many of the other quilters are doing.  I decided that my inspiration needed to be hands on. Practical.  I needed to search for an ACTUAL quilt I want to make.  The quilt I need.  An "everyday" one for my family room.

The problem.  
The family room IS one of my decorating challenges right now.   

Mr. Boss loves the couch, but it isn't my favorite color.  It is a bit to "gold" for my taste. The accent throw pillow fabrics and throws are my favorite, but they are almost 10 years old, so it could use a pick me up.

The rug is fairly new.  I LOVE it.  And if you haven't guessed by some of the previous rooms in my house, I tend to gravitate to the greens.  I adore my Martha Washington chair, and the green/gold fabric is perfectly fine.  But I think we need COLOR!

Unfortunately, both of us fell in love with these shades from Pottery Barn and they are pretty much void of color.  They actually are the shades of green and copper/rust of the rug.

And I adore the "pop" of yellows and greens of my mantle portrait.


So off I went to the Fat Quarter Shop...
and promptly lost my interest because I couldn't keep track of all the fabrics I liked on my iPad.  I even started writing them in a notebook, but when the list reached twenty...I tossed in the towel.


I figured out that I am a touch/feel/see kind of girl.  I realized that I am STUNNED that so many are able to purchase fabrics online!


But my online quilting buddies urged me on.  They gave me tips that I will pass on to you. Go to your computer...forget the iPad or iPhone.  Save the images in a file on your computer.  When you save the images, the SKUs are included so you can go back and find them again! 

I started with colors.  I knew my colors, yellow, green, brown, and rust/orange were important.  I saved each image...however when I reached 84..I had to STOP.

Then I just stared at all the thumbnails. 
My solution?


 I made a mosaic with ALL the fabrics.

81 choices

Then started eliminating obvious blaring ones that weren't what I was looking for.

63 choices

And then eliminated more and grouped into more colorways.

48 choices

And then remembered that I could only have three solids, so I confined them down and took a few more blaring fabrics that just didn't work, even though I really loved them!

36 choices

Another glance back at my family room photos and quickly realized a lot of modern just wouldn't work.  There is nothing modern about the room whatsoever!

26 choices

And then I was stuck.  What to do?!!  I would rather make a quilt with ALL of these fabrics then only 15.  But I girded my loins, and really started slaughtering them, no looking back.

1. Garden Party Sage Green
2. Pressed Flowers Chestnut Tonal Poppies
3.  Lily and Will II Yellow and Brown Dotted Flowers
4. Poky Little Puppy Rust Allover
5. Nesting Brown Starlight
6. Elizabethtown Rust Fern Flowers
7. Wellesley Green Dots
8.  Desired Things Yellow Tonal Oblong Dots
9. Elizabethtown Khaki Fern Flowers
10. Generals' Wives Tan Large Mono Floral
11. Cotton Club Red Packed Dots
12.  Lily and Will Green Dotted Flowers
13. Bella Solids Rust
14. Pure Elements Empire Yellow
15.  Bella Solids Prairie Green

What do you think?  Close?

The point of my post?


A.  I have a new found respect for the ladies that buy fabric online.  I think I could do it, but definitely know now that I prefer not to, unless something is already pre-bundled.


B.  I have a new found respect for fabric designers, quilt shops,  and the Fat Quarter Shop for the work they put in designing lines and making bundles for someone like me!  Even though, I truly don't use a lot of bundles.  But I sure do fall in love with them!


C.  I have discovered that it is really important for me to take pictures with me next time I go to the fabric store.  I become very distracted by all of the colors, shapes, styles.  I want it all.  Using the photo of the room, person, etc as a guide to redirect my attention to keep me focused!

D.  Creating your own "bundle" is a great way to narrow down the choices!  Forcing myself really made me think about the amount of each color I wanted. It made me think about whether I wanted a focal fabric or not!  Stripe versus floral.  Tonal versus a blaring patterns!  And also the fun part of throwing in a Poky Little Puppy fabric in there to make someone take a second look!


If you did join in, 
how did YOU make your selections?

And if you haven't? 
What are you waiting for?  Go figure out what your next quilt fabrics will be HERE!!