Call me crazy but..

Impulsively last night, I started cleaning my fabric bins.  I don't know why.  Maybe my brain said "that is IT!  Organize yourself before going any further!".  I have no idea.  But I started and found 3 baskets of scraps.  Little scraps, big scraps.  Bits of fabric... some from  my favorite lines and not so favorite.  Then I looked over at Amelia's fabric bucket; which I should have taken a picture of.  You wouldn't believe the mountain of scraps that were in there and I had a vision.  Get rid of them.  Throw them away and never look back.

I went through them and kept some of the bigger pieces for myself and Amelia.  Some went into my Granny Square container because some day I will finish those blocks.  The rest?  Well, here they are.

Well geez.  I wish I could show you but blogger isn't uploading my photos.  What gives, blogger??

I'll just have to tell you then.  I threw out 4 bags of scraps.  FOUR.  Call me crazy but I just couldn't hang on to them anymore.  I have a ton of projects started, another ton that I want to start and work on and all kinds of new fabric lines to go with said projects.  Scraps?  I won't do anything with them.

I feel like I broke one of the most cardinal rules of a quilter.  Throwing out fabric.  Don't throw stones.

It had to be done, my friends.  It had to be done.  And you know what?  I feel much better doing it.

Enjoy your day!
Jen

We're Back

Darn it. Vacation is over.  Back to work and the daily grind.  We had a great time.  Amelia had a morning where she was sick but once everything was out of her system, she felt better.  I'll share some pictures from our adventures in another post.  Today I'll share what shops I visited and the loot I brought back.

First stop was Hayloft Fabrics in Morgantown.  This was the only shop I snuck a couple of pictures inside.  It's located on the second floor of a grocery store!  I was floored when I saw that.  Multi-tasking at its best!  Run out for some milk and some fat quarters!  LOL!  Lots of yardage and a great variety.  I will go back here for sure.  I held back on my spending since I knew I had 3 more shops to visit during our vacation but I wish I hadn't now.

Burkholders Fabrics in Denver is another "need to go again" shop.  This one is in the middle of nowhere but WOW!  What a selection of fabric!  Wish I spent more here too.  LOL!  And so nicely organized.  Great variety as well.

The Old Country Store in Intercourse was okay.  I had a short list of yardage that I wanted but found out it was available online only.  I think their selection online was better than what was in the store. 

Lastly, The Quilt and Fabric Shack... meh.  I'll skip it.  Not worth going to again.  I didn't like how the yardage was organized and there wasn't much to pick from.

Okay, this is the loot I brought home with me.  I bought some Happy, Bliss and 12 Days of Christmas charm packs.  Happy will be made into a quilt for Amelia and Bliss for me!

The cow and pig yardage is going to be made into pillowcases for Amelia as a vacation memento.

 

I picked up some red and black fabrics for an upcoming project.  The polka dot and paw yardage is for a messenger bag that I was asked to make.

I found some very cute scissor fobs and an ADORABLE pin cushion.  I love that pin cushion and had a hard time deciding which one to bring home with me.  I wanted them all.

So that's my trip.  I'll share more pictures soon!

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Economic Stimulation

Hello there!  How is everybody today?  I have been busy creating but I'm not ready to show anything yet.  So why don't I show you all the fabric I bought last week!  We all love fabric!

Here it is.

The Birdie and Candy Land fabric will be made into pillowcases for Amelia.  I love pillowcases.  Quick to do and they show off fun fabrics.  Instant gratification is good in my book.

Next is some Wildflowers yardage by Heather Mulder Peterson.  My LQS has an annual anniversary sale in May and I got these for 20% off.  Not bad.  She just got these bolts in too.  I wish she had gotten more of the collection.  Maybe some of the reds.  But I'll take what I can get.  I have plans to go to another quilt shop on Saturday morning since I haven't been there in ages and see what they have.  Last time I was there, this other shop had Wildflowers.  I'm sure it won't still be there but doesn't hurt to check!

And then I thought I was done shopping.  But NOOOOOOOOO.

Here is some Rebel Roses yardage by Heather MP.  The story goes like this.  Last year some time, Heather was promoting some table runner kits and her Sizzling Sixties pattern book and a 60' ruler on her blog.  I LOVED the tablerunner so I snatched up a kit.  Never looked at it again.  Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  I have so many things started (don't we all) and other things waiting to see the light of day.  So I dug around and decided to make a new runner for my table.  I dove right in and started making my pieced hexagons ONLY to find out that I was shorted some fabric!!  WHHHHHHHYYYYYYY?!?!  I cried!  Of course the hexagons I started were the ones short fabric.

Okay, seriously.  What is up with Blogger??  Every third picture is going to be oriented wrong?!  It's fine in my folder.

I quickly ran to the computer (while swearing up a storm!) and found some yardage doing a quiltshops.com search.  FYI - LOVE that search engine.  It is marvelous!  One shop had 2 of the three I was missing.  I needed to substitute the blue print for another.  No one around had the blue print I needed.  A couple of shops in New Zealand did.... I passed.  Now that my additional yardage is here, I can continue working on my hexagons.  Hopefully I'll have the top pieced soon so that I can show it to you.

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

The Daily Grind

Well, I'm back to it.  Fun is over.  All done.  Back to work.  My Baltimore trip was fun.  We all had a good time.  The Pet Expo, well.... I was a bit bored but then I don't own a pet boutique like my cousin does.  Now if it was a FABRIC expo, I would still be there!  :)

Got home late last night or early this morning, I should say.  We pulled into the driveway at my cousin's house just after 10:00 p.m. but I still have an hour and 20 minute drive from there.  So I'm dragging today.  Thankfully it's a quiet day at work.

I did a little shopping and got myself some goodies.  I stopped at two shops: Seminole Sampler and Bear's Paw Fabric.  Both of their websites are very non-descript so I was taking a chance.  I liked Bear's Paw over Seminole Sampler.  They just had a much better selection of fabrics and patterns and notions.  If I am ever in Baltimore again, I would stop there.

So my loot...

And I'll break it down for you...  Carrie Nelson's new book - Schnibbles times Two.  An older edition of Quilts and More (I want to have them all).  This one is Spring 2007.  2 fun kitchen towels that I can embroider on and 2 variety packs of FQ.  Just so you know, I only bought the Schnibble book, one pattern and one FQ at Seminole Sampler.  The rest is from Bear's Paw Fabric.

Next.... a quilt kit (I'll show you a close up), some FQs.  Some for stash, some for a future project. 

Now, I'm going to digress here for a minute.  I am on the HUNT for aqua-y blue fabric.  See that blue with the white starburst pattern on it in the pic?  Yeah, like that.  It's more aqua than blue in person but you get the picture.  I need more!  Not of this particular fabric (but that would be nice) but of the color in general.  I've seen sooo much pretty aqua out in Blogland being used and I can't find any!  WAAAAAAH!  Someone needs to clue me in on what the fabric lines are so that I can shop some more.  Sharon mentions Lecien Fabrics to me.  I'll have to check them out too.

Okay, next... some yardage for stash and projects (LOVE that Bubblegum Basics!  Glad I found more of it!), tote pattern - new beach bag for this year and a bobbin saver.

The quilt kit.... French Brights by ClothWorks and I LOVE it!  There was a store sample done of it and I fell in love.  It uses the Yellow Brick Road pattern, which I've already done as my first quilt but I am going to do it again.  This one will be lap size and for my Punkie Pie since she LOVES red and she is just so cheery!  Reminds me of her.

So that is it.  My Baltimore trip in a nutshell.

Now it's back to work and back to getting some projects done!  I have a few deadlines for myself.  I'm going to miss one but that's okay! 

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

OOOOOO! I can't wait to bust it open!

Oh. I got one. Delivered yesterday...I can't WAIT to open it! Well, I have opened it and peeked at a few of the fabric squares. I already have my list of fabrics that I want to get in bulk once they are available next year.

I think I need another. Just to look at.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)