Gone To The Beach: sewalong

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Color Stories ~ Choosing Fabrics

Good morning! The sun is out and it's a beach day, so I am typing fast. Yesterday was cold and rainy,

...and I spent an enjoyable hour or so choosing fabrics for the Fall sewalong on Humble Quilts. This year Lori is inspired by a shop in France called Sajou here and her fabrics have a French theme too, from French General https://www.frenchgeneral.com/.

I look forward to this sewalong every year, have only missed one or two since I began following Lori's blog. It's always a mystery [we do not see the design until the end], not my fave, I like to know what the heck I am making; but the results are always great.

I have NO French General fabric. Well, one a small piece of monogram print in taupe. I am not a FG fan. I love the designs but find the quality of the fabric, with its odd pearlescent sheen and surface printing off putting. But. Love the look, so I went though Fat Quarter's offering. here Yes, lovely, but probably out of my budget, so back to the quilt room to see what I could find.

I love imagining my tiny quilt and finding pretty fabric to make my version. This is a big part of my motivation to quilt. We need a central ''medallion'' fabric, a focus fabric. [Will we be featuring this or appliqueing on this? Do not know, it's a mystery.]

I found probably enough reds for a Christmas red quilt. One medallion choice is a Santa toile, the other is a Birds toile.

Coordinates, light/ medium/ dark. Stripe. Dot. Sprig.

As I studied Lori's post I realized I have a blue Jacobean toile that might make a blue version--or how about this large scale seashell print?

How about a Pug?

Here are a few coordinates. I have other blue projects going and didn't want to disturb the blues unless I make my little quilt in blue. You get the idea though, I think. The blue lower left doesn't work, etc.

When I pulled out the seashell print, I saw this great black and white, very large scale print with vintage vegetables, how fun.

I keep modern and large prints on that shelf and immediately threw together a cool and different black and white story. I love it. But not for this quilt.

So there I have it, three ideas and the start of the sewalong. Maybe.
.........................................................
People in blog-land often muse about why they blog. I blog because I like to take photos and write; I like the diary aspect, as Blogger keeps one's posts forever unlike FB , gone tomorrow; I like having a record of my life, my projects, my little beach world; I write in memory of my mom and our weekly letters and shared journals.
But a blog is also a great tool for a quilter. I took photos of each color grouping and as I post them here I will get a better sense of what works, what doesn't and what I love in each colorway. For example, the blue above, or below, you can see the bright roses print does not work, but depending on the mystery design, I'll keep it in for a possible pop of needed clash.

I also belong to groups on FB. Why? To share interests---quilts, antiques, pugs. I try to participate if I bother to belong. And maybe I am sometimes too enthusiastic.
I posted pics on FB of my three color groupings. I thought the idea of choices found in one's stash would be interesting to other members. I have noted that members mention they have problems choosing fabrics, a ''chore'' that I dearly love and probably the main reason I quilt since I don't like to sew and my kids despise quilts. I meant well. I wanted to share.

I immediately got a rude and snippy comment that reduced me to tears on a cold rainy Friday, home alone [sob!]. The person said,"Get a grip, it's only a 20" project." Well that shot me down bigtime. Burst my bubble,indeed.

Mommy?

Funny how just the wrong words can spoil your fun.

I took my post down immediately. I felt so stupid and I hate feeling stupid.[as do most of us.] And the truth is, I could expend as much effort on choosing and sewing a patch on my daughter's jeans : boro? linen turned? slapped on top? Match the denim or use a pretty print? How about velvet?
I don't want to get a grip, what's the fun in that?
I sadly spent an hour putting the fabrics back on their shelves, in their bins. I'll see how it goes, but right now, I am off to the beach with Bitty and my admittedly horrible hand quilting. Talk to you Monday.

Many thanks to everyone who ordered hearts from my etsy shop! You're the best! Here they are in their pretty packages.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Monday, February 6, 2017

New Project 2017: Fall Festival

Hi! Here it is, our Humble Quilts project for this year! The
name of the design is Fall Festival. I'm not sure if I'll call it that [FF] or Harvest, or Pumpkin Patch?

I'm quite excited. I've resisted all the other tempting sewalongs online but as soon as I saw these pumpkins, way last summer, I knew I'd be making this quilt, which is featured on Lori's blog, here, and on her FB group. This quilt is designed by Jan Patek [again], and while there are some, many, repeats from our other quilts I think in this instance everything works wonderfully and the Pumpkins are a bit of a change. Though I kind of miss having a Harvest Moon?

The color combination is unusual too, brighter than some of Patek's designs and instead of brown and orange for Fall she has done an interesting palette of tomato red, brown bag brown, lime green, and soft aqua blue. This isn't a color combination I'd chose on my own but I love it. Unlike Summertime and P2, I decided to do my version in this colorway.

I had read on FB a post from Bonnie Hunter [famous and respected quilter/ teacher/ designer] her suggestion to use paint chips to organize one's color scheme. I felt a little bad at the hardware store , taking the chips, even though I was also getting chips for some redo in my house. But --well, the guy said, Sure, they're free! so here I go. I chose these without looking at the pattern. Darn close!

And of course went to Joann's [all I have for fabric shopping here] without the chips or my colorboard I made.

Again, really close!

Here is my not-fancy colorboard, plus I used the extra bits to make a key ring of color swatches for my purse, or pocket since I don't use a purse, lol. Fabric colors are off in the photo.

I was fed up while making P2 with never having enough of any fabric, always piecing and making do, and decided I'd get some yardage instead of only using stash. Mostly for backgrounds. And sashing.

This olive brown is a vintage-ish piece [below, at bottom] I've had for years, I think I brought it home from work. It says "Peter Pan" which is/ was Henry Glass, I think. It's three yards but someone cut big chunks out of the center, so half is gone. I cut ahead to be sure I had enough for the inside sashings and the Geese sashing blocks. Yes!

And I reordered from Fat Quarter Shop yardage in the soft duck egg blues for outer sashing and moons and baskets and so on. [my favorite color!]

Of course by the time I played with all these ideas, Month One was almost gone! Last week Mo and I worked hard to get the Pumpkin and Crow sections done.

Mostly needle turned /freezer papered applique with some wool.

I'm not sure what this is, a flower?, but in my world its an acorn!

The wool will be hand stitched and or machine stitched as I did on the crescent Moon spacers, also part of Month One. My wools are from Quilting Acres/ etsy. Both QA and FQS have wonderful customer service, so very friendly and helpful. I try to buy from resources who try so hard and do so well.

Got the moons done today [Sunday] just in time to take their picture in the daylight.

I can't wait to see everyone else's blocks! And I'm looking forward to Month Two~ Whichever will Lori choose?

PS While hunting for beautiful duck egg blue fabrics I've been keeping an eye open for subs for this seaweed blue fabric from my stash. I only had a fat eighth, have had it maybe 15 years? I like the new versions, but am still looking, if anyone has a hint. [Mel and I have looked everywhere online!].