Blueberry Buckle

I Love Me Some Kona Cotton...Do You?

At the end of every bolt of Kona Cotton fabric is a small piece that isn't enough to sell on its own, but definitely big enough to use, and certainly not something anyone would want to waste! Sometimes it's even a 16" or 17" cut of fabric, which is certainly very useful. Yikes, that's almost a half yard!

So these pieces were piling up in a bin in the studio until my friend Erin came over and sorted them all into these very sweet Grab Bag collections:

 

 

 

 

They're all available in the shop and priced ridiculously low. I love a bargain, don't you?!

There's also Exciting News!

Cara from Me? a Mom? is hosting a quilt-a-long and we've partnered to give away 7 yards of Kona Cotton! Yes, 7 yards! More than enough for the quilt-a-long! The winner will quilt-a-long with free fabric. How cool is that? Please pop on over to see what Cara is up to. I don't know how she does it...busy mom with three of the most adorable little girls I've ever seen...and she quilts and lives to blog about it. I love Cara.

*Ha! There was a time when my kids were small and I was super busy like that. I used to dream of the day when my kids would be older and I would have more time to quilt. I think I was more productive between changing diapers and filling sippy cups than I am now. I'm either getting old and tired, or perhaps lazy at this point in my life. Did the energy go away as I've gotten older? Did I use it all up when the kids were little? Have I become less efficient because the house there's no rush to get anything done? Has getting a full night of sleep every night somehow negatively affected my energy levels? Hmmm. End random thought.*

There's also a Flickr group for the quilt along. So much fun! I'm making this quilt!!!

Single Girl Auditions

One quilt pattern that caught my eye earlier this year is Single Girl by Denyse Schmidt. I love that she's designed a funky, modern quilt that's a new take on a very formal, traditional design. That I kept going back to look at the pattern as well as all the Single Girl quilt photos on flickr meant that I was destined to make a Single Girl quilt, too.

For myself. Not a single girl, mind you. I'm very happily married to Eric, thank you very much, and I want this quilt for myself, haha. I saw the Free to Grow organic cotton prints by Nancy Mims for Robert Kaufman and knew they were the right fabrics for me. Girly but not froo-froo. =)

 

But what to use for the background? Initially, I thought Kona Cotton...in Ash or Coal or Snow.

 Ash

 Coal

 Snow


Really, any of these would work with Free to Grow.

BUT...

I just received the first shipment of Quilter's Linen by Robert Kaufman for the shop, and I lurve it so much that it's going in this special quilt. Quilter's Linen, which is actually 100% cotton, is cleverly printed to look like linen...subtle variations of shade that give the fabric a the look of texture and dimension. It looks so cozy and natural, and it's very soft and the colors are fabulous!

Let the auditions begin!

 Blue. Love this! Just not "me".

 Charcoal. Love this, too! But too dark for me.

 Cocoa. A contender. I love brown.

 Leaf. A very pretty color, but not right for this project.

 Taupe. Another shade of light brown would work better.

 Teal. Zing! This is it! The photo just doesn't do it justice, but I think I'm going with the Teal. It's actually more of a dark royal than teal, IMO. And it works. Lots of contrast so the prints stand out, and a color I can live with (a lot of). If I feel about it the same way when I pick up this project again, I'll go with it, haha.

In the meantime, I've got a craft show in less than 3 weeks and I've decided to focus on gifts for under $25. I'm searching the web for ideas and inspiration. They need to be things I can stitch up in quantity, using fabrics and supplies I have on hand, and do not involve zippers. Ahem.

Can you believe it's November, already? Seriously, though, this year is flying by.

Happy quilting!

Sue