Blueberry Buckle

I Joined the Single Girl Support Group

Yep, I did.

It's a group of us on flickr who are making the Single Girl Quilt, hehe.

 

I started working on mine last November, but with the holidays, I had set it aside. This groups is just the kick I need to get going!

This is a fun quilt, and really not difficult at all. I'm so inspired by the quilts everyone is making, and I love that even new quilters nowadays aren't intimidated by templates and curved piecing. 20-something years ago, this would have been considered an advanced pattern. Go young quilters! You're awesome.

I have lots and lots of Kona Cotton solids and Quilter's Linen in the shop if you need any for your 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