And the giveaway winner is...

Using Random.org:
Comment #3

Patty said...

I am now a follower. Like your blog.

Congratulations Patty! I will be emailing you for your address shortly!

I tried to get a screen shot to prove I was just not too lazy to count to a big number, but I couldn't figure it out!

Happy Halloween...save some candy for me!

Stashing discontinued or rare fabrics...

Since I am pretty new to quilting, there are a ton of lines I have missed out on and would love to get my hands on. Sometimes, like with the Katie Jump Rope, I walk into a smaller shop and I hit the Jackpot. I have found Flea Market Fancy, Katie Jump Rope, Lush, and Heather Ross Lightning bugs...sometimes as low as $2/yard...sometimes still at "regular price" even when etsy or ebay is 3x retail. One man's trash is truly another man's treasure. It takes all kinds of fabric lovers to make the world go 'round.

Want a hard to find fabric? Here are my tried and true tips:

1) When you're driving somewhere new, look for quilt shops along the way. Maybe you are looking for yourself, but maybe it's a great deal you can pass on to others. I am a stay at home mom and I have used these deals to make money which I then put back into quilting fabric *I* like. It's better than leaving a treasure to dry rot on a quilt shop shelf and I'm sure the owners are happy to have room for a NEW bolt since that fabric obviously didn't work well for their clientele.

2) Do not use froogle or google product search! Believe it or not, there are many small quilt shops that do not show up using google product searches. Instead, find the sku numbers for your hard-to-find fabric. These are listed on the fabric company's website even long after the fabric is no longer made. Don't rely on the name of the line OR the name of the fabric. The sku is the key. Type your sku into regular old google web search and start looking. If the SKU alone brings up too much stuff, type in the manufacturer name plus that sku (like Moda, Freespirit, Windham, etc). Today I found almost all the fabrics I needed from an older Moda line for $7/yard...even the desirable prints that are going for $30/yard on etsy. Small time quilting stores abound online- give them a try!

What is your best deal or best tip on sourcing hard-to-find fabrics???

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2010- Autumn Hourglass Quilt

For my first entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, I just had to share my favorite quilt ever. I was going to our church's monthly craft night in September and I knew I couldn't waste that opportunity to make something. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I wanted a quilt that reminded me of that time of year.

On my way out the door I grabbed my stash of Katie Jump Rope, a couple of coordinating dots, and a black and cream floral print from American Jane Peas & Carrots. The black fabric was a last minute addition, but I think it totally made the quilt.

I did a few quick google image searches for scrappy hourglass quilts and saw one where a lady had used reds for the border. I loved how it framed the quilt so I decided to use the black floral I had to be the "frame" or "insta-border" for this quilt since I don't really like doing traditional borders.

I took 9.5" squares and just sliced them diagonally twice and sewed them back together. That's it. I made there were no duplicate fabrics in each square (4 triangles per square). I also made sure I had enough black triangles for each side piece and I used 1 large black triangle for each of the corners.

Loopy Free Motion Quilting

The quilt is bound in Katie Jump Rope Orange Stripe and Katie Jump Rope Bandana dot. I love absolutely loved this quilt and I'm so glad I decided to take advantage of my time to make it.  It has been dragged to bed (by me) like a lovey, been stolen by my 6 year old (and stolen back), helped a whole preschool full of toddlers (including mine) not get scratchy booties from sittin' on hay bales at the pumpkin patch and will serve as decorations in our "It's the Great Pumpkin" Trunk or Treat Car this year..  This quilt has already carved a place in our autumn traditions...I call that a success.

To see more quilts in the festival, go to www.amyscreativeside.com !

Fabric Score of the Century!

Today I decided to visit a 10,000 bolt quilt store. Unfortunately, my budget did not allow for much purchasing. I was doing a bit of recon for when my best friend comes up next week. Apparently, I was running right behind a shop-hop from market. As they were leaving, I was pulling up. I found 1 yd of my favorite Wee Play gingham and proceeded to the next LQS.

There was the bus again... I was accidentally stalking the shop hop. I went looking for American Jane Happy Campers. I found 1 print and bought 1/4 yard of it. I also got the Flea Market Fancy...almost 9 yards. I took it to the cutting table and then the shop hop stalker became the shop hop stalk-ee. People were waiting at the cutting table to take what I did not want, but homegirl just got a speeding ticket, and that means I was stocking The Etsy Shop.   Don't judge, y'all...This speeding ticket has me flat broke the week before the International Quilt Festival...I need to climb out of this hole so I can get in on the festival goodies!!! BESIDES...I see a giveaway in my future...

There, I'm not so bad now, right?

Batting Battles: Warm & Natural vs. Mountain Mist Cream Rose

I am a total cheapskate, but one thing I have never dreamed of skimping on was my Warm & Natural (or Warm & White) cotton batting. The last quilt I ever did in poly batting did me in- I hate stitches in my big toe and every time I walked over the quilt as I was basting it, the poly fibers pulled at my stitches. It turns my stomach just thinking about it. I hated the slide of poly batting when I was basting, and that was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

I recently learned that Warm and Natural is NOT 100 percent cotton.  Cotton is needle punched into a thin, artificial layer.  I decided to hunt for 100 percent cotton battings at my next excursion to Hobby Lobby.  Enter a contender: Mountain Mist Cream Rose.

As you can see in the photo, Mountain Mist (on the left) is thinner than Warm and Natural (on the right).  It has a silkier feel to the hands.  It touts being easier to hand quilt because of the silky feel and thinner batting.  I've tried hand quilting Warm and Natural, and I can't help but think that is probably right.   Living in South Texas, the idea of a thinner batting is appealing to me, so that is not a pro or a con...just a difference worth noting.

My next test was to stretch the hank out of both pieces of batting.  This is how they looked after stretching.  W&N on the left, MM on the right.  Th

This is how they looked after I tried to fix them by smoothing then back into place. W&N on the left, MM on the right.

Here is some Katie Jump Rope Fabric that has been free motion quilted over a Warm and Natural batting...the crinkles so many of us love.

Here is the same fabric and the same FMQ design  over Mountain Mist Cream Rose.  Good crinkliness, as well.

What about the cost?  With 40% coupons at Hobby Lobby, I can get Warm and Natural for 6.54/yard.  I can get an equivalent amount of MM for 4.99/yard with a coupon.  Warm and Natural is about 32 percent more cost-wise.

My final test was to measure my quilts before and after washing to test for shrinkage.

Warm and Natural Quilt:
Before Wash- 48x56
After Wash- 47.5x56

Mountain Mist Cream Rose Quilt:
Before Wash:74.75x92
After Wash: (brace yourself) 70x88

I lost about 4" due shrinkage both ways.

MM was cheaper and easy to use.  It is 100 percent cotton which I like.  It would be MUCH easier for a hand quilter to use.  It's thinner which might be a plus if you are hot natured or live in a hot climate.  I'm not against using it again, but I really like using one type of batting so I can piece all my scraps together without having to sort by brand first.  I will piece the tiniest batting scraps until I have what I like to call "Franken-batting."  It's got more seams than Sally from "A Nightmare Before Christmas."

I have to say I think I will stick to warm and natural for any quilt where I need a specific size.  Ive had Warm and Natural shrink before, but never anything that was drastic enough to worry me.  I'm glad I made the hourglass quilt with the MM bigger than it needed to be, because if I ended up with a skimpy sized bed quilt due to shrinkage, I would have a serious urge to get all kinds of ugly with somebody.

By the way, this review was not sponsored by a batting company (but I would be totally okay with free stuff from a batting company, AHEM, AHEM!)

So what batting do you use?

Finish: Happy Campers Jump Rope Quilt

I finished binding up this quilt in the car on the way back from our Day Out With Thomas on Saturday.

At the Texas State Railroad, my train loving twins decided they wanted to meet the conductor. Here's how that conversation went:

Middle Son: HI! I'm H**** Brown!
Youngest Son: HI! I'm J***** Brown!
Oldest Son: Hi...I'm Embarrassed.

When did 6 year olds become pre-teens??? Everybody had a great day, though...even my oldest cut loose when he realized his school friends were nowhere in sight!

On our way back to the car, I joked to my husband that he should take pics of my then half-bound quilt on the steps of a little chapel.  Knock me over with a feather- he agreed! It's made with Happy Campers by Sandy Klop (American Jane) for Moda...with a little Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt thrown in.

This quilt is a double hourglass done using Cluck Cluck Sew's strip method.  After facing some serious wrist pain (I moved my wrist too much cutting the angles)  I decided it would have to be done checkboard style to reduce the number of pieced blocks I needed.  I actually think I like this better.  It made tons of white hexagons in the negative space!

It's a full size quilt and I tried a new-to-me batting called Mountain Mist Cream Rose that is 100 percent cotton and cheaper than Warm & Natural (what I normally use).

I ordered this Happy Campers Basic Stripe fabric for $3.98/yd from Hancock's of Paducah.  I cut off the darkest stripe (a brown pindot) to use for the binding of this quilt.  When I laid this quilt on the bed I realized the American Jane multi-stripe Fabrics (she usually does stripes like this for each line of hers) are the PERFECT backing fabric.  See...

Doesn't that make the prettiest turned down bedquilt?  I love that little detail!

I added a cracker block for a label.  I went all out on this quilt because I want each of my sons to have a bed quilt that I have put a lot of love into.  I don't always do backings this nice or a label, but they added a nice touch and I think I'll do it more in the future.

Thank you all so much for the kind words on my Moda Bakeshop project.  It was such a nice ending to such a perfect day to come home to such encouragement.  I have a couple of other projects in the works at the Bakeshop and I hope you will enjoy those, as well.  I also ordered fabric yesterday for a tutorial here: My Single Charm Pack Quilt...it's a 50x60 lap quilt.  I hope y'all like it!

I will also post a review of the new batting for those who have never tried it- it was very scary to break away from Warm and Natural!   What kinds of batting have you tried and how did you like it?

Giveaway Day! Celebrate my 1st Moda Bake Shop with me!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, hop on over to Moda Bake Shop to see my first project with them. I am excited to have a project in the bake shop, but the most exciting thing is sharing this block because I think it's a hidden gem.  I found out recently that it's also known as Chuck-A-Luck, but I think I'll keep saying "Cracker" instead, K?

As promised, here is the same quilt in different fabrics. For this quilt, I chose to do 30's reproduction fabrics.

Now for the goods:

Heather Ross blue dogs & blue dots... 1/3 yd each (Oh yes...I did!)

Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope Orange Stripes & Orange Bandana Dot... (I think a FQ of each)

Alexander Henry Sew Now Sew Wow- a good sized chunk (how's that for specific?)

Anna Griffin MacKenzie Christmas fabric (get started on those Christmas crafts!)

Fandango Sarabande in Sand and Raya Sierra Stripe...1/2 yard of the stripe.   The Sarabande is what was leftover from my backing in my bakeshop quilt, and there's a lot of it.

The winner will also receive a digital copy of my first pattern, Helix:

To enter this giveaway, you have up to 2 chances to win.
1) Leave a comment on this post letting me know you are a follower (new or old!)
2)Leave a comment on this post letting me know you left a comment on the Moda Bake Shop tutorial, A Ritzy Cracker Quilt.


I will pick a winner on Halloween...who says treats are just for kids?   If you are marked "no reply" to your comments, please include an email address or some way for me to contact you.  U.S. Residents only...nothing personal, just scared of high shipping costs!  Good luck!

Thanks for visiting my blog...feel free to poke around and see if there's anything you like!

The Curse of the Bed Quilt...

I have a serious problem with bed quilts.  I start with fabric I love for a person I love in a pattern I love...and by the end of it, I am SO- TOTALLY- OVER- IT.  It's a curse.  I just can't shake it.  When I started making a twin size quilt for one of my twins out of my FAVORITE designer's fabric (Sandy Klop of American Jane for Moda), I thought the curse would finally be lifted. 

But I guess all the spooky Halloween Juju dashed my hopes because this little beauty here just grew into...

A MONSTER QUILT!!!!  I am so totally over working on this, but I am pushing through the pain.  If only I could apply such dedication to exercising...I'd be rocking a six pack for sure.  This thing started fraying (I guess the bias edges) and I knew I had to hurry up and sew it together before it was just a pile of unusable crap.  I was thinking about straight line quilting, but I think I will do my loopy quilting since I'm worried about seams popping due to the fraying.

I have binding oozing over my little chifferobe.  This thing is taking over my little sewing area.  Did I mention this quilt ate up all the backing fabric I had bought for TWO QUILTS.  I told you it was a monster!

Another reason I have to finish this thing up is because my husband, my 3 boys, and I are going to see Sir Topham Hatt and ride Thomas on the Texas State Railroad this weekend.  It's 3 hours up there and 3 hours back and my husband has a twisted habit of making the car FUH-REEZING cold because he says it help him stay awake when driving.  I'm on to his game and I am going to try to have this thing ready to bind in the car: productive and prepared...because that's just how I roll. 

SUPER EASY Mini Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial

Last year or so, I found a cute Christmas Tree Skirt panel and bought it to make my mother-in-law a tree skirt.  When I got home, I panicked thinking I had no clue how to do that little circle in the middle except with bias tape.  I really hate using bias tape around curves.  I never get it perfect.  After churning through ideas in my mind, I finally came up with an idea I could do instead...and it was so much easier. 

My son loves loves loves Christmas...he's the kid who gets Christmas books from the library year round and keeps a mini tree in his own room.  I needed to make him mini tree skirt.  This method will also apply to larger tree skirts as well...I've used it on extra large, medium, and mini skirts with great results.

Here's what you need:

1 small plastic cup

90" of binding (the photo is red, but I switched to a green binding in the tutorial, so I hope you don't get confused)

2 12" pieces of fabric

1 12" piece of batting

 Layer your pieces like so: batting on bottom, backing fabric right side up, top fabric face down.

Use a ruler to mark an X in the center of your quilt.

Place the small part of your cup over the center X and trace around the cup.  For a full size skirt, I would use the mouth end of a 32 oz cup (like you get at sporting events).  Sew around the entire outline of your circle.

 Draw a line from the outside of your circle to the edge.  Make sure you mark your fabric will be going in the right direction if you are using a directional print (oops, I didn't!).

 Cut a slit along that line you just drew.

Use pinking shears and cut out your circle.  The pinking shears are important b/c it will keep your seam nice when you turn it out.

 Flip your top fabric around now...pillowcase style.

Iron your fabric  now and quilt as desired.  

After quilting, square up.

 Leave a 10"-11" "tail" on your binding (this will become your tie) and start attaching your binding to your tree skirt on the top side.  Start at the inner circle of your tree skirt, because that is where we will need our ties to land.  Attach the binding all around the skirt and leave another 10-11" on the other end of the circle.

 Now take your 10-11" binding tails and fold under one end and iron.

 Now fold up your raw edge about 1/4" and press.

 Fold once more and press to hide your raw edge.

 Use your machine and sew a seam down the side of your tails to create your tie.

Now you can hand stitch your binding to the other side and you're done!

This is super easy I think it leaves a much cleaner look than bias binding (at least at my skill level!).

If you prefer a circular skirt, you can just sew the inside and outside circles pillowcase style and then pull everything out straight and use binding to close up your slit from the inner circle to the outer circle.  Just remember to always use your pinking shears around the curves for best results.