Scrappy?

                          

Scrappy...being defined as a variety of fabrics of different colors and prints.   

I do so admire scrappy quilts.  But, in my opinion, one has to have something more than whatever it is that I don't have to put one together.

When I buy fabric, I prefer to buy collections.  I try to buy the entire collection.  I guess I don't quite trust my sense of color/style or whatever you want to call it.  For me, it is far easier to purchase a collection, knowing that all the fabrics were made to go with each other.

Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule.  My absolute most favorite quilt that I made back in 2011 was a scrappy one...the Postage Stamp Quilt.  I used several different unrelated fabrics, sewing them into strips with a muslin square between each print square...

I truly loved making this quilt...all 1296 pieces of it.  Baby sister Jill is the proud owner of this one.

I have put together a few other quilts using several prints from different designers/collections, but they each had a color theme, so were fairly simple to put together.  To me, that doesn't necessarily count as scrappy.  Shown here are my two favorites.

One was for my good friend, Doreen, who succumbed to lung cancer almost 3 years ago...

 

The other one was the black/white quilt I made in 2009 for sister Joyce...

                       
Several collections that I have used have made some very awesome quilts.  I rarely buy from the same designer twice, though...but only because there are so many fabrics out there to choose from.  

I have used two collections by Aneela Hoey to make two separate quilts...and even made the same pattern both times!

Sherbet Pips

A Walk In The Woods 

                                    
And, I have combined two of Lotta Jansdotter's collections to make one quilt...

Bella and Echo

      
My taste has changed somewhat over the past 5 years.  One person I have kept my eye on, though, is Anna Maria Horner.  I have been hearing about her - and all that she does - for a very long time.  See her blog here and do follow the link to visit her shop. She is a very talented woman...her fabrics and designs and just everything she does is fabulous and absolutely gorgeous!  I guess you could say that I am a bit late coming to her party.  I bought my first Anna Maria Horner fabric collection last fall.  

I have been following the Blue Elephant Stitches blog for quite some time...and have long been fascinated by the colors/fabrics she puts together.  Her quilts look so vibrant and ultra-rich.  Anna Maria Horner's fabrics are like that...in fact, there are a few quilts on the Blue Elephant Stitches blog made with her fabrics.  

So.  I invested in a bundle of Anna Maria's Pretty Potent line and ended up with this large patchwork quilt (it is not yet quilted)...

Pretty Potent

I love it!  Then, as you may remember from a month ago, I used some birthday money to buy a bundle of Anna Maria's Folk Song line..

Folk Song

Then, one day whilst I was minding my own business, just browsing the web, I found out that Anna Maria offers a monthly gathering of fabrics.  What?  Of course, I ordered the March Gathering...

It  consists of 12 fat quarters...8 cotton prints, 2 cotton solids and 2 cotton/linen blends!  The April offering is available now, so I will be ordering that soon.  I think I am totally addicted!  But, that's not a bad thing, is it?

My point in all of this is...I prefer buying fabric collections.  And, I will buy as much of Anna Maria's fabrics as I possibly can.  I think I will never tire of how those colors make me feel.  

On another, but definitely related, note...in today's mail, I received a late birthday gift from sister Joyce.  Late only because I could not decide how to use the gift card she had given me.  Besides some doll clothes hangers (too cute!), I ordered this book...

From inside front cover, "Get a peek inside Anna Maria's creative process - and stitch more than 24 stunning original embroidery pieces."

It is a beautiful book...put together with much thought and effort.  I am so looking forward to spending a lot of time with it. 

Have a great week! 



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Mini Wonky Charms Quilt...and TagEButt...

 I love this boy...

the (brown) boy and his warthog...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finished quilting and binding this doll quilt.

It measures 15x18 inches before laundering.

front

 back

my label

That's all I have for today!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

A Little Sewing...

Doing a little sewing this afternoon.

Time to turn on the air conditioner.

There...much better.

Wonky Charms quilt in progress.

All the blocks are ready to go...

 Now to sew the sashing...

 Won't take long to put the top together.

See ya on the flip side.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Well, Of Course It Didn't...

Best laid plans and all of that...today was not the day to spring clean my bedroom.  No summer bed.  Yet.  ~sigh~  My fault.  It will come.  Soon.  

So, what did I do with my day?  I started a quilt, of course!  Remember I said I was wanting to make one?  Well, I gave in.

But first. Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile may remember this quilt...

front

back

It's the wonky charm quilt I made back in 2011...from a design by Erin of Why Not Sew?.  I loved making this quilt!  I used Sherbet Pips fabrics by Aneela Hoey and Kona cotton solid in white.   I don't usually make more than one quilt of the same design (with the exception of postage stamp and patchwork quilts), but when my last box from Cathy contained a lot of A Walk in the Woods fabrics by Aneela Hoey, I knew that I would be using them to make another wonky charm quilt.  (You remember Cathy, don't you?  The blogging friend who sends me her 'scraps'.)   This will be bigger than a baby quilt, but not quite as big as a lap quilt.  And, I may make a doll quilt to match.  Perhaps.  ~grin~ 

I got a lot done, too.  It's so fun and easy to put it together...

 So far, so good! 

On another note...when buying fabric, I tend to buy fabric collections.  So much easier for me that way.  But, in the last few weeks, I started putting some fabrics together that are not all from the same fabric collection.  I know!  Shut the front door!!!  In the 5 years that I have been making quilts, I have only done one quilt with an assortment of fabrics (scraps, if you will)...and that was the first postage stamp quilt that I made.  See it here.  Otherwise, they have all been of a collection.

Here is what I have thus far...I'd like to add at least this many other fabrics to the pile.  I definitely need to add in some blue and perhaps a bit of pink.  We'll see.  Not sure what my plan is for them.  I'd like to do something different.  I am liking these a lot...

 
Today was a beautiful spring day...a bit cool and sunny!

Hope you had a great day!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Borders...

bor·der

[bawr-der] 

noun

 

1.  the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.

I am not always quite sure what type of border I want to put on each quilt I make.  It depends on the quilt...I treat them all as individuals.  Do I want to use just one big, wide piece of fabric?  Or, do I want to make it scrappy, using several different fabrics?  Do I want to make floating squares?  Perhaps alternating squares?  Do I want more than one border?  Crazy idea...what about no border?  Endless possibilities, really.

So much to think about.  And, that's not all.

How large I want the finished quilt to be plays a major role in determining the type  and size of the border(s). 

As I wrote in my last post, I decided to make only 9 of the 12 blocks of the Summer Sampler Series Quiltalong.  But, even with 3" sashing around each block, the quilt measured just 48 inches square.  I wanted it to be at least 60 inches square.  So, I gave quite a bit of thought to what type and size of border I wanted on this quilt.  I didn't want it to be too elaborate, as the focus should be on the blocks, not the border.  It took me a few days, but I finally hit upon an idea that I really liked.  And, that I thought would work well with this quilt.  

Half-square triangles (aka hst's)!  I had almost decided upon a floating squares border when I started thinking about all of the hst's I've made lately.  Between this quilt and the Aqua and Red Bee Block Swap that I am in....LOTS of them around here!   HEY!  I KNOW!  Why not a border of hst's??  So, that's what I did.  It's simple and frames the blocks nicely...I think it looks great!

I'm hoping to get that one basted/quilted/finished by the end of this weekend.  EXCEPT, I am not sure how I'll want to quilt it!
  

OH!  And, I finished the wonky charms quilt that I first mentioned here.  I am in love with it (big surprise, hey?).  I quilted it with simple meandering.  After laundering, and in all its crinkly softness, it measures 46 x 54.5 inches.  Thanks, Erin, for allowing me to rip off this great idea!

 

I used a charm pack of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hoey for Moda and Kona solid in White.  I purchased a bundle of Collection Coordinates from Pink Chalk Fabrics for the other solids used.  The backing is yardage of Sherbet Pips fabrics with 5 more of the charm squares.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11