After much hemming and hawing, I decided to use four different purple fabrics I have and a dark gray background. I confess, the gray fabric came from a 100% cotton sheet I got for my daughter that she never used. It's darker and more masculine than I'm used to, but these four purple fabrics all work well with gray. I'm showing the first two month's worth of blocks plus an extra double nine-patch. One more block and I'll be moving on to a new purple...and feeling ready for that!
I belong to a couple of quilting forums on Delphi, and one of them, the Scrap Quilting Forum, is having a quilt-along hosted by the wonderfully encouraging and creative Char. Each month there are two blocks – a double nine-patch and another block, so we'll have 24 blocks at the end.
After much hemming and hawing, I decided to use four different purple fabrics I have and a dark gray background. I confess, the gray fabric came from a 100% cotton sheet I got for my daughter that she never used. It's darker and more masculine than I'm used to, but these four purple fabrics all work well with gray. I'm showing the first two month's worth of blocks plus an extra double nine-patch. One more block and I'll be moving on to a new purple...and feeling ready for that!
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I have long been pondering a way to combine my passion for fabric with my need for income. I'm sure I'm not the only one to do so. I have been trying to hone in on what skills I have that are best utilized in this particular kind of business venue...and I've reached a decision.
I'm opening an Etsy store called Quick Quilting Fabrics. I plan to sell precuts and kits. I have a few other ideas as well, but for now I'm going to make that Accquilt Studio smoke and cut up some of my scraps for sale. I love fabric and I love a deal, so I'll be offering great prices on precuts from fabrics I acquire. I have a lot of dies, most of which I've never used. I'm thinking there will be all kinds of shapes down the road, but for now I'm going with the basics – charms, 2.5" squares, jelly roll strips. If there is something you need or want or think people would like, just let me know! Today my husband put me on a quest to come up with a way for him to give flowers to some of the women who help him at work. He just wanted something little, nothing that would be a big deal or take up too much room. I had just the idea – a bud vase! I actually attempted this as a craft fair project before, but I got carried away and I didn't really pull it off, to be honest. I made some that were too big and bulky and made people wonder what they were. This time, I was prepared to think it through instead of winging it, and I had much better luck (imagine!). Check it out. I cut three pieces – two sides and one middle. Each of these pieces is 7.5" by 2". Then I cut a pocket piece, 2.5" x 5.5". I leave your color choices to you, but I can tell you it's a fun way to use up scraps. For the pocket piece, I folded and pressed one end over twice, which was the top, and I folded the other end up once, which was the bottom, and pressed firmly. I put the pocket piece face up against the middle piece (which, if patterned, would be right side up to back side of pocket piece), with the bottom that was folded up once matched up with the bottom of the middle piece. To be honest, I did this wrong the first time, but I'm sparing you the gory details. You get to learn from my mistakes! Next I put a side piece over the pocket piece which was stacked on the middle piece, right sides facing, and stitched along the line. When I opened the pieces I had just sewn, I moved the unsewed edge of the pocket piece over to line up with the other edge of the middle piece. It's a little tricky holding it in place, because the pocket piece is wider than the middle piece, so you have the pocket sticking up in the air. I pinned the pieces down carefully, and then set the other side piece on top of the pocket piece that was stacked on the middle piece. I sewed that seam and ended up with the picture below: I pressed flat the pocket piece at the bottom, giving about a 1/8" overlay on either edge. I learned the hard way it's best to then stitch this edge down, as you will see on the second one I made. Sew very close to the edge, and just over the pocket piece. It makes it much easier to hand sew the opening later on, trust me! Different fabric, with the bottom stitched. Next, I stacked a piece of batting, the backing (right side up), and then placed the stitched piece down (right side down). I stitched all the way around, leaving a gap at the bottom. Stacked in order... Stitching all around... Leaving the bottom open...personally, I'd recommend leaving the bottom opening a bit wider than this...it was difficult to turn and messed with the seams of the pocket. For a hanging string, I didn't do anything fancy. I took a huge needle and threaded it with perle cotton, knotting one end really big. I carefully worked the needle up through the piece (the bigger the needle, the easier this is, although it is by no means easy) and popped it out near the seam between a side piece and the middle piece (about a quarter inch away from the middle). I then popped it back in at a comparable spot on the other side of the middle piece and worked the needle back through. I pulled it pretty far through and then tied a big sloppy knot near the end. I figured if the string was too long, I could tie a decorative knot to shorten it. I stitched the opening shut by hand using the ladder stitch. There are probably lots of better ways to do it, but this was the simplest way I know so I went with it. This would probably be a good time to tell you what I used for the vase! It's a plastic test tube. I ordered a pack of 6" tubes from Amazon, and they were very, very reasonable. I figure the ladies in my husband's office can hang these on their cubicle wall, and when my husband needs to show his gratitude, he can bring them a few buds to brighten their day!
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How did I come up with this name for my blog?I will never be recruited into the Quilting Police – I am not a perfectionist when it comes to quilting. I prefer my quilts done (not that I don't have plenty that are only partly done and many many more in the dream stages). I also like to get a deal on fabric, and I like to use up my fabric efficiently. I created this blog to show the method of my madness... Some of my favorite sites:
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