Expanding My Horizons

Do you have a favorite fabric designer or manufacturer?  I've always considered myself a Moda girl.  I love so many of their designers, and the fabric has such a lovely hand to it.  It has always been the benchmark of quality in quilting fabrics to me.  I'm starting to branch out though, and I've discovered that Michael Miller is slowly taking over my shelves of fabric stash.

This is a dreadful photo but that's what happens when you're trying to do 14 things at once and your camera battery dies. Anywho, I made this little apron a few weeks ago to wear at the shop, to keep track of my ever present box cutter, my cell phone, a pen etc. and have had several compliments on it. Not just compliments, but requests to sell them too.  So I've been working on improving my pattern and the overall scheme of putting one together and I'll make some to sell. This apron is made from a Patty Young fabric called Daisy Dots, and I just can't get enough of it.

In light of my new apron plan, I decided my stash needed some enhancing, so I took a wee trip to my LQS this week, Rainbows End Quilt Shop.   First I needed some extra choices for my doGood Stitches blocks for, ahem, March. I just don't have alot of navy in my stash and I've used up most of the grey.  I was also on the hunt for apron ideas.  This cute border print caught my eye.  Won't this make a cute apron? The border for the pockets and the red print for the backing?   I can't wait to finish one! This is part of Gypsy Bandana by Pillow & Maxfield. 


Photo courtesy of Michael Miller on Amazon

Back at home, I dug into the stash to make a new pillow for the garden bench at the shop and found this super easy square panel print, also in Gypsy Bandana.  It makes a 20 x 20 pillow and really brightens up the bench. The lime and hot pink are super cute. (The photo doesn't show you too well, so you'll just have to trust me!)

When I was sewing up this pillow cover last night, I was thinking about pink & green and I dug around in the stash and looked at some selvedges.  I have a nice selection of Whimsy in pink and green prints, some Flora & Fauna and some Mezzanine all by Patty Young.  I think I'm branching out & I have definitely added 2 designers to my favorites - Patty Young and Pillow & Maxfield.  Somehow they snuck up on me!

Are you surprising yourself with any fabric choices these days? 

Stash Enhancement

On my day off this week I decided to stop by fabric heaven, aka Rainbows End Quilt Shop.  I have to tell you, just walking in to the place is good for the crafty soul.  There is inspiration everywhere with shop samples and lots of fun extras, like gorgeous woven ribbons, fabric glitter, patterns and quilting supplies galore.  I was looking for some Breakfast at Tiffanys to add to an upcoming project, but I didn't find any.  Not to worry though, I found plenty of other trouble! 

Some red fat quarters for no special reason, other than I adore red.  The top right is tiny dark red polka dots on a tomato red background.

I was also looking for fabric to go with this gorgeous Flower Fairy panel from Michael Miller.  Last fall while I was waiting for some yardage to be cut at the very same shop, the lady ahead of me showed me what she was getting and I just couldn't resist.  (Temptation is everywhere at this shop!)  I impulsively bought the panel, figuring if my niece didn't like it I could find another recipient, but she does and I want to get to work on it soon.  Of course I forgot to take the panel with me, so I was guessing as to whether any of these fabrics would work.  I couldn't find any other coordinates from the original panel, but I think one of these will do, don't you?

And then I found some other cute prints I just couldn't pass up.  The cupcakes will become a half apron for me to wear at work and the girly pattern will probably become a drawstring bag for travel and toting various things around.  If I still had a vanity, I'd re-upholster the chair with the girly print, but alas there is no vanity in the house I'm living in now.

I'm on a semi-fabric diet.  My plan is to use up some of what's in the stash already, but you know you never seem to have exactly everything you need once you settle on a pattern.  At least that is what I am finding in my own stash.  The red FQs above were half off, and I don't have a specific plan for them, but I'm sure I'll find some way to use them!

The pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow

I finally got into the local quilt shop here and boy, oh boy am I in trouble!  Its called Rainbow's End Quilt Shoppe and one of the workers said its the largest quilt shop in Florida. I don't doubt it!  They have row after row of gorgeous, yummy fabrics in quilting cottons and home dec and flannels too.  The Amy Butler stuff is right inside the front door which of course was totally drool worthy.  But, I had a specific mission so I did a full lap of the shop and then made my selections.  They have a ton of cute Halloween fabrics, and you should see the room full of Christmas fabrics!  They have everything I've seen on the web - tons of lines from Moda and Michael Miller.  I can't wait to go back!  I really want to score some of the Snow Flower Collection by Dena Fishbein, but without a specific project in mind, I didn't think I should indulge just yet.

The camera is still incommunicado with the computer so you'll have to see stock photos of what I got.  I was looking for something to do a ruffle on the bottom of the sun room sheers and I wanted pink, pale blue or aqua and pale green of some sort.  I am normally all about the cabbage roses and sort of shabby chic patterns, but I wanted to bring my decor into the 21st century so I was aiming for a more modern pattern.  I ended up with a Moda fabric from their Swanky line and it's gonna make a cute border I think.  There are 4 full bands of the pattern in the width.  Very cool.  I'm gonna use it upside down so that the pale is on top.  This is not as bright as what I saw in my head for the ruffle on those sheers, but I think it'll look pretty cool.

Then I found this great fabric in the clearance section - its from the Floragraphix II collection from In the Begininng.  Too awesome.  I bought all they had left (just under 2 yards, but it was fun to say "I'll take it all!")  I have no clue what I'll do with it, but I think it may go to my shop.  My new logo has teal in it, and this might look nice as a backdrop for the french door to the stockroom, or maybe a table skirt?  It doesn't have dragonflies, but its pretty darn cool.  (The shop is called Dragonfly Garden, in case you didn't know.)

Then I got a couple fat quarters of Leaf Trellis by Lila Tueller, also for Moda.  I just love Moda.  No clue what I'm doing with this either, but I'm really liking the color combo so I might look for more.

A couple other fat quarters made it into the pile, but I don't know where they come from.  I'll have to share pictures later when I can get them uploaded.  There was definitely a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for me there today & I can't wait to go back.

The Fabric Stash

Work has kept me away from personal tasks all week, but I have been able to take some time today to get some small projects started around the house.  Last week I purchased two of those marvelous magnetic curtain rods to use on the french doors in the sun room and I put them up today with bright white voile sheers.  My old house had all cream trim but this house is all bright white so I'm working on new window treatments.  The sheers are just about an inch too short, so I thought the best thing for me to do was unpack the quilting stash to see if there is any cute fabric that I could use to create a ruffle at the bottom of the sheers to extend them a bit and add some character.

What is even better than stashing craft supplies is when you rediscover your stash after you've been away from it for a while.  You get to appreciate all that loveliness without spending a penny, and you see even more possibilities than the first time around.  About 3 years ago, I packed up the bulk of my fabric and put it in storage.  Today I got to see it all again when I unpacked the boxes and filled up my quilting cabinet.  There's a ton of home dec fabrics too, but I saved those for another day and another cabinet.

Fat quarters and yardage and strips and scraps, oh my!  Pardon the lousy photo - I can't find my cord for my camera and I keep forgetting to order a new one.

How do you store your fabric?  I have a nifty fat quarter pile - these are mostly simple prints that I bought on eBay when I first started building my stash.  Then I have a lovely pile of yardage that is just organized by color and finally there is a pile that contains collections that I want to keep together.  One photo box has squares and the other has scraps and strips.  I am kind of surprised it seems so small when I see it here.  Not shown are a couple of plastic sweater boxes that contain coordinating yardage to do specific quilts and I want to keep those items stored together.  I have one sad box that contains a lovely hunk of blue and yellow and white teapots that I was going to make into a lap quilt for my mom but I never started it.  Now that she's gone, I might make it for my sister instead or I might make it and donate it somewhere.  I really wish I'd done it for her so she could have been wrapped in love from me.  It made me very sad to unpack that fabric today and I hate to have regrets.

Most of my fabric stash has not been washed.  Do you wash yours as it comes in, or as you prepare to start a project?  I guess I'm just being lazy by not washing it right away.  My other concern at the moment is that none of this fabric is what I was hoping to find to improve the length of my sheers!  I wanted something in pink and aqua and pale green, or at least two of those colors and I need more than a fat quarter.  I may just have to break down and visit the local quilting shop tomorrow - it's important to support local businesses right?  ;)

Hope you enjoyed the small view into my stash.  I keep opening the cabinet door to look - its inspiring to see it all again after so long!