More Mod Sampler

I've been making great progress on my mod sampler!

I took this rather boring picture, because spreading out the batting is one of my favourite parts of quilting, especially using natural fiber batting that feels so nice to brush my arms over and that sticks to the backing fabric. Aaah.


The quilt top looks so different before it's quilted!


I finished the binding just the other day, that was a get-it-done-in-one-sitting-job... took about 3 hours, I think.


Looks just like "Oh Fransson's!"s quilt :)

My Mod Sampler

I FINALLY had enough black and white prints together to start the Mod Sampler that was a quilt-along on Oh Franson's blog last year!


After a couple of minor mishaps in the cutting process - no harm done as there was enough spare fabric... - the blocks came together in a few hours!


The rows were completed quickly as well, though I ran into the usual problesm that come with not squaring up the blocks...
I made the quilt a bit bigger than the instructions called for and am using all the blocks on the front as well, instead of leaving 6 for the back of the quilt.


I got to this stage (below), all rows joined for the center of the quilt, when I realized I needed to re-do 3 seams because sashing wasn't lined up.. what a pain :/



Now the top is complete, with sashing lined up so that it actually forms a square and not a parallelogram :)


I'll probably stipple this one as I haven't stippled in a while and it does give the quilt a nice texture. Also, the Apples and Owls quilt finish from the other day has given me such a boost, I want that feeling of finishing a big quilt again - so I'm going for speed here! :)

A Bit Of Fabric For The Soul

Saturday I was out and about running errands and I came very close to a fabric shop, so I thought, why not pop in. After all, I hadn't been shopping for fabric in ages, or so I thought (it turns out I didn't by anything for 2.5 weeks - a record for 2009, albeit a tiny one).

So after priding myself on being fabric-frugal while walking to the store, I felt just a little bit silly when I walked out with 50$ worth of fabric. How does this happen? But in true fashion, I took my treasures to a near-by beach, listened to my favourite radio show (about advertising methods used in radio and TV ads) and unwrapped my the bundles I had purchased to admire all the colours and patterns!

Here's what I got: I finally found some more black and white fabrics that I could live with! I've been planning to do a belated quilt along with Oh Fransson's Mod sampler, and I like the colour scheme that was used in the example quilt. It was my first chance to make something nice with black and white fabric. However, black and white around here seems to involve tiny florals or really coarse-woven, not very nice cottons.

The top three are Saturday's purchases, the bottom three are former lucky breaks.

The store also had several fat quarter bundles for sale. They were a really good deal: 8 fat quarters for 13$ so about 6.50$/meter. All their bolt fabrics sell for 9$/meter. How can I say no to a good deal?


Some of the pinkish fabrics go really well with a set of prints I've been laying aside for a future quilt, all warm reds, pale magentas and burgundies...


I thought I'd try some close up shots, as I've admired them on other blogs. I like how the fabric by itself becomes an artform.


Loved the luminescence in these bubbles!


And I bought half-meters of a couple of fabrics I liked, the bottom one will definitely be a nice addition to a baby quilt in the future.


In total, my stash had these additions:

Pretty fabrics = happy me :)

Snow Day Fabric Shopping

Spring has come and gone, Winter has returned. After a 10 C degree, sunny weekend, we were pounded by 30 cm of snow yesterday. It never stops, apparently... at least not in Canada.


It was a short day at work, thanks to the storm, so I spent the extra time - what else... - fabric shopping. I've started a little design book and doodled around with ideas for quilts. Now I'm motivated to get going on some new patterns, as well as finishing the disaster quilt and the oriental quilt.

** NEED SOME ADVICE!! ***

In fact, I have a question about the oriental quilt. The only thing missing is some applique pieces on the quilt top sashing. Is the general way to applique before or after quilting? I will probably stipple the quilt, unless I go for a straight line design, and am wondering if it's easier to quilt first, then applique, because that way the quilting won't be interrupted by the applique (i.e. it will disappear below it instead of going around it). Any ideas?

Anyway, the fabrics I bought are mostly solids as I am planning a bento box quilt like this one, and also feel inspired to copy this quilt from a quilt-along on Elizabeth's blog Oh, Fransson!

The solids are coarse, because they're pure cotton sheeting, but I like them as backing or for a heavy-fabric quilt.

I think I'd like to use this ones as the solid colour in the quilt-along quilt - I like Elizabeth's colour scheme so much, that I will reproduce it instead of choosing new colours. From looking at her other variations of that quilt, I will probably make the quilt at least twice! I like to make quilts that don't have the same pattern throughout, though there are many gorgeous ones out there.

I also found one black and white fabric I liked. I could kick myself now, because I've often walked by nice b/w fabrics because I didn't think I'd ever use them, too much contrast for me, but now I wish I had bought just 1/4 m of each...


Along with the other solids I bought and already had, I'm getting quite a decent collection:


I have a quilt planned for the four colours below:
It's based on a block I've seen on The Quilter's Cache website, called Crossed Road to Oklahoma. When I just looked the site to cite it here, I realized that Marcia Hohn provides the pattern. Oh well, I had fun spending a couple of hours last night figuring out how big I want to have my finished blocks be and how I'd do the pattern. I will actually do it slightly differently from Marcia's instructions. As you can see, I'm pretty much following her colour scheme, except with solids and beige instead of white. I may still substitute a pattern for one or two of the fabrics, if I have enough.


Oh, I also found another fabric for my friend's character quilt: Wine


And then I bought a few fabrics that will be nice for binding or in a baby quilt (the dots), and borders on quilts like these ones.