Ooh La La Liberty!

I have the priviledge of working with a Liberty fabric for a patchwork/minky blanket for Kim! Its the fabric on the left. I had only heard of this fabric before, never worked with it. It IS $40/yd!! Kim is an accomplished sewer and fellow fabric lover and really wanted it for her daughters blanket, so she bought a half yard for it and had it shipped to my house. She also picked out all the fabrics except for 2 purples I am considering adding pending her approval. Looking at the pic, I like the woodgrain from Eva Basic Grey. It goes with the bird theme. Anna's flowers on the left looks good, but not great. Too many new colors. I think photos of fabric groups really help in decision making which is why I frequently post fabric groupings on my flickr site to help my customers decide on fabrics. Even if she doesn't want the woodgrain added, this blanket will be fabulous~ I'm looking forward to sewing it up and playing with the famous Liberty fabric!!

I Won!!!!

I am so excited, I won the entire collection of So St. Croix in fat quarters, woo hoo!!!!Jennifer Paganelli was having a giveaway on her blog, http://www.jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/ and I got to be a winner! If you haven't seen her blog, it is full of creative ideas for her fabrics and patterns. She is seriously one of the nicest people you'll meet~ commenting thoughtfully on pictures posted in the Sis Boom flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/458917@N25/pool/. I met Jenny through the flickr pool and she also won. She sews the most amazing clothing, here's her blog~ she's already been busy with the So St. Croix fabrics: http://sewprettydresses.blogspot.com/2010/02/so-st-croix-part-3.html. Can't wait to get these beauties and show & tell about it!!!

Yay, Spray Baster!!

I am really loving the spray baster, 505 Spray & Fix which temporarily holds the quilt layers together. I just put towels around the quilt to catch the overspray & reuse the towels a few times before throwing them in the wash. It doesn't gum up the needle & keeps the layers smooth & intact. I can't wait to quilt this one with fabrics from Jennifer Paganelli & Tanya Whelan!

Been Busy

I've been wanting to do a new blog post, but need to finish this order up so here is a pic of more of the custom bedding I've been doing. There is a sea of blue & green in every room ~ practically~ downstairs!! I love this initial pillow. Its for an 18" pillow. What have you been sewing?

Choosing Minky

Which minky would you choose to go with this future random patchwork & minky blanket? I sewed up a block using all the fabrics that will be in this blanket for Alexis to see. She wants the double sided minky spa fleece and I think either of these would work. Which one looks better? I used mostly Anna Maria Horner fabrics with one Sandi H (butterflies) and one Amy B (dots).

Planning a Quilt

How do you plan a basic patchwork quilt?? I do quite a few quilts & minky blankets using 8" squares so I can reasonably price them. I would enjoy doing more intricate patterns, but my labor cost would go way up. Usually, this is the perfect venue to show off all the amazing prints. This is a quilt I will be starting soon for Patrice using Moda fabrics. (The squares are overlapping in certain areas~ they are all 8.5" squares). What I usually do is make a graph & give each fabric a short name like RD for red damask or BF for brown floral and put it in each square on my paper. Then I pin together the squares and sew them all up. Now I have a road map to reconstruct the layout I made earlier without worry. There are so many techniques for every aspect of quilting that I was wondering if you do it any different? My husband said take a picture~ which I did, but now I have to run to the computer to keep checking the order. Tell me your thoughts! :)

Duvets!

This is one of 2 queen size duvets I will be making for sisters. I laid it across my daughters bed to take a photo and to make sure everything 'fit' the way it should. I am working for a really sweet family & both girls knew the focus fabric. This one started with the peace fabric- its a home dec weight. The family is really creative and knew what they wanted so we have had countless emails working out the details~ since November I believe! I knew the colors for this room would be best showcased with Jennifer Paganelli's bright fabrics, so I sent a bunch of fabric samples out with the Libby paisley as the main fabric with all the colors. The green in it is a perfect match for the peace sign fabric. I also used Curves from Valori Wells which will be ins sister #2's duvet as well and Cathedral in pink from Anna Maria H as well as Luna Dots. Next up: bedskirt, pillow shams and neckroll!