My Quilt Show Purchases

A girl can't go to a big-time quilt show and not make some purchases, now can she?? I went into this knowing that I would allow myself a couple of indulgences, but I had determined ahead of time the one or two things I was specifically looking for. Controlled buying, if you will.

The most important item on my list was to check out the vendors carrying Kaffe Fassett fabrics and focus on buying purples. DD Emma wants a Kaffe quilt now that DD Erin's is finished, and she wants hers to be predominantly purple. Guess what?? Of all that KF I have in the sewing room, I had very little purple!!

I had a blast picking out purples!! I love the selection I came home with, too. I have already sent this pic to Emma for approval, which I got followed by many exclamation marks. (She must be related to me!)

While Erin's quilt is made with diamonds, Emma wants hers to be a chevron design, so that means HSTs and lots of them. Oh goody!! Making her a quilt is not on my 2013 list, but maybe I will add it. We shall see. If you missed seeing Erin's Diamond quilt, then you can click here.

Some of the other less essential purchases are shown here. Three bag patterns (technically, I only bought one at the quilt show), a stack of Judy Rothermel fabrics, and some precuts that were priced reasonably for the show. The reason I mention that only one bag pattern was a show purchase is because we stopped at a quilt shop on our way to the quilt show, and I got 2 bag patterns there. I will do a post about the quilt shop in a coming post.

My other purchases, not shown above, included some Bottom Line thread by Superior. I have used that in my bobbin for years now, and it really does reduce the amount of lint that gathers in the bobbin area. Not eliminated, but definitely reduced. I also got a little pair of scissors to use when appliqueing, and other tools that the applique lady was using. See last post to understand that reference.

Back at home and working in my quilting room, I have returned to the Kissing Fishes blocks.

A stack of untrimmed HSTs led to a pile of scraps and ready-to-go HSTs. Pic is blurry, but you get the idea, right?

And off to the sewing machine they went, and before I knew it, they'd all been chain pieced, pressed and they now await a trip to the guest bed, where I will lay them all out. Pictures of that coming soon, you can be sure.

The exciting new thing I am teaching myself since coming home from the quilt show is the applique technique. I guess it is Nancy Amidon's version of the freezer paper method.

 

You know I am critiquing my work, and I suppose you are, too. That 3rd one looks the most round. It takes practice, but I am getting better at it. This is going to be such a great help to me in finishing one of the items on my goals list for this year. One long-term UFO will be finished if I get this technique perfected - and I am determined to do just that.

 

Today's agenda involves a morning of errands, followed by an afternoon and evening of sewing. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Ideas to Infinity

It is almost impossible for me to focus lately! I have so many quilty ideas floating around in my head that it takes some serious effort to focus on just one. I read this blog a couple days ago, and she describes it perfectly. Take a minute to check it out, while I focus on what I want to say next...

News of a new baby - and first grandbaby - for dear friends of ours, I went immediately into baby quilt mode. I had several (understatement) quilts pinned on my Pinterest quilt board, and really wanted to make one that was super-bright and lively. As luck would have it, the mother-to-be leaned toward those same choices when she was looking for ideas.

So I started playing in the quilting room.

In my Kaffe stash, I knew I had left over squares, so I rooted around until I found them. Then I got busy making HSTs. They offer such versatility.

I like that variety. But, the baby is to be a girl, and so none of these will work! Consequently, the trip to  The Laughing Ewe on Friday was such a welcome little event.

But, instead of focusing on this, I need to be focusing on the red Confetti Stars, as it is so close to being finished. Then there's the Kaffe quilt that DD Erin picked out. Then the t-shirt quilt for DD Emma needs the binding stitched down.

So Quilters' ADD abounds! Off to the sewing room!

Happy Quilting, Friends!