Random Patchwork Quilt Along

I've had some requests for directions on my random patchwork quilt, so I thought I would do that with a new baby quilt I'm working on as part of a set for Cortney. I am warning you that many of these directions are 'random'!! First, the number of fabrics needed? A completely personal choice. The more the merrier as you will see~ if you don't use enough of a variety, you will have duplicates near or next to each other. For this quilt, size 40x46 (apx), I have used various prints from Jennifer Paganelli's Poodle, Sisboom basics, Flower Power & Pretty Please in fuschia, turquoise, blue, pink & yellow. Usually I buy 1 yard of each print & use a little more than 1/2 yard of each in cutting them up. I like 10-12 fabrics in smaller & of course more for my larger sizes. I play with the pattern as I go, so I want a variety of sizes for every color & print, but not every piece will be used. I love to have at least 3 colors with one of the colors being a 'pop'. In this group, the yellow is my pop. The pile above is what's left after I designed the top. Probably enough for another 40x46. See what I mean about random?? Okay, here are the cutting instructions:
*From each fabric, cut strips in these sizes:
8.5, 6.5, 4.5 (for larger quilts I also cut 12.5)
*Then cut your strips again lengthwise into 8.5, 6.5, & 4.5
* When finished, you should have these sizes:
8.5x8.5, 8.5x6.5, 8.5x4.5, 6.5x6.5, 6.5x4.5 & 4.5x4.5
Next, I find it helpful to separate the piles by size & color on my floor or table. All 8.5 squares together in piles by color. The next post will be about the next step. If you have any questions, either leave a comment on my post if your profile links your email, or email me at sewfunbymonique@gmail.com.

Inspiration is Everywhere!

One of my favorite flowers is the morning glory. The ones in my backyard are actually my neighbor's vine that came over to hand out in my yard. I was thrilled! I just love their color & the brightness it adds to the shady side of my yard. I realized when I recently bought Amanda Fleur in blue that it would be a gorgeous picture together, so I pulled out my Lee paisley to coordinate & then pulled fabrics from her other lines until this top was filled with royal blues, aquas, bubblegum pinks and purpley pinks. I just love this combination that started out in my garden!

Holly's Fuzzy Friends

My daughter has been in love with all the plush animals on etsy. You will probably always see one favorited on the right side of my blog. My husband encouraged her to make her own as she is very creative. We bought a book called Felties & she is hooked. Just in the last 2 days she made the 3 animals. First the panda, then the mouse & the owl is her own design. Its fun for her to be sewing right by my side. Maybe some of her friends will appear in my shop as Christmas ornaments??

Selvedge Edge Project

A really fun project I have been occasionally working on. Its a dresser & I've been trying to use each fabric line once. I need about 6 or 7 more on the side. I have different plans for the drawer fronts~ they are really cute & different. So far I've been using spray glue & I think I will mod podge all over when I'm done. Its going to be a great memory of all the beautiful fabrics I've worked with the last couple of years!

New Sewing Room!!

I am so excited because we are adding on a larger sewing room for me!! You can see the plans in the first pic labeled 'new sitting room' because its off the master. Notice it will be bigger than our bedroom! :) I will be painting the walls the second color on the color chip based around Jennifer Paganelli's Loopy Vintage blue. I am also going to incorporate pink & green. I'm excited because my whole house is a dark red, olive & wheat. This will be a fun, creative area where I can use brights & vintage finds that are in my closet with no place to go (yet!).

Under that is half of my fabric closet in my old sewing room, then my unused old sewing room & then my dining room turned sewing room that drives everyone in my house nuts! I have been reading 'Studios' by Cloth, Paper, Scissors & would like to get 'Where Women Create' to get some ideas. Also, I have been favoriting sewing room pics on flickr. So far my wish list includes:

*Wall of cubbies for fabric organization

*Cutting table to fit my large 70x40 cutting mat

*Large 2'x5' ironing board

*Some sort of rod to hang ironed fabrics over

*Sewing table oriented towards back of room to look out the window

*12x12 laminated floor tiles to act as another measurement tool for laying out quilts & bumpers

(originally it was going to be wood, but loved the idea I saw about using the floor as a measuring tool!)

*Desk area with my computer, printer, etc.

*Fleece covered movable design board

*Counter space around half of the room to spread out & work on multiple projects

Sooo, what are your favorite things in your sewing room that you think I could incorporate in my 14X19 room?? I would love to hear any and all. If you have a link to a well organized sewing room I would love to see that, too! We are starting in October, most likely. Can't wait!!!!

Holly's Blanket

My daughter finally got her own minky blanket! We have gone back and forth ever since I started making them a year and a half ago about which fabrics. She really likes this quilt she's had from Target, but wanted an aqua room. After going around and around she decided to stay with her current colors, but we found that the colors in the quilt were difficult to match. The pink is a purpley pink or berryish. She's an exact match kind of girl, so we had to audition fabrics exhaustively! We finally settled on this beautiful combination from Tanya Whelan and Jennifer Paganelli. I think it really brightens her room & adds something special. She has a queen size bed, so she chose the 40x56 as a throw size to coordinate. Cute little plush from etsy's Talkproof and Fuzzymuffins on the bed.

New Look!

I am so excited that I finally got a new design for my shop & blog. I used Renee of http://www.etsy.com/shop/Thompsondesigns. She was so easy to work with & really listened to what I wanted. She included snippets of 2 of my fav Jennifer Paganelli fabrics, Elizabeth Rose and Loopy Vintage Floral. I asked Jennifer if that was okay & she said 'absolutely!' Pictured is Robin's order with my new business card attached. The card looks great with it, don't you think??