Fabric.com sale - Cotton Prints for $3.95 per yard

Michael Miller Whimsy Large Doozie Turquoise

Fabric.com is having a sale on over 800 items, including Michael Miller and Moda, and just $3.95 per yard. Get free shipping on orders of $35 or more, too. (No coupon codes are needed!)

Offer ends at midnight EST on 11/22.

Free admission to the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival in Del Mar, CA!

Visit the Quilt, Craft and Sewing website to download a coupon for yourself (and all your sewing buddies) who are somewhat local to Del Mar, CA (just north of San Diego) for free admittance to the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival on May 20-22, 2010 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Bing Crosby Hall. This is a direct link to the PDF coupon. Free admission is part of their "recession busting efforts." You can also make a copy of the coupon.

The hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm. And they advertise early buying privileges if you arrive early on Thursday. Your ticket is good for all three days.

I attended last year, and they certainly had lots of fun stuff, included fabric, quilting kits, sewing and embroidery machines, other crafts and special deals. I think I'll try to go this year also.

New BasicGrey fabric by Moda

I'm thrilled to see that new BasicGrey fabric will be available this month (May 2010) by Moda. It's a lovely Christmas collection that matches their scrapbook paper line, called Fruitcake. Wonderful vintage colors and prints, the sample I show here is of course the property of United Notions/Moda.

Other fabric lines that are also available by BasicGrey are Eva and Blush. Eva is a lovely combination of brown, pink, rose and a pop of lime green. They contain prints such as stripes, woodgrain, florals, dots, large pheasants, lace, and paisley.

Blush is a wonderful blend of large leaf prints, florals,  birds, dots, swirls, feathered paisley, and elegant script. The colors are an antique feeling: blush, rose, powder blue, chocolate, burgundy, and just a hint of mint. Here is a link to a free pattern that uses the Blush collection.

Save 25% off everything at the Colony

Use the code cybermonday when you check out, and save 25% off your entire order from Jay McCarroll's web store. This includes women's and men's apparel, body & soul, items on sale, accessories, decorate and fabric!

This code is only valid today, Cyber Monday, November 30, 2009. So don't wait!

Jay McCarroll Update...

Jay McCarrol will be carrying fabric (did I hear also some knits?) on his website, for those of you who are having a hard time getting your hands on it.

Check him out on Facebook and become a fan!

BasicGrey fabrics by Moda

I'm in love, love, love with a new fabric line by Moda. Designed by BasicGrey, an industry leader in the world of scrapbooking, these often muted tones carry over perfectly to quilts. Two lines are available, and I recommend them for any beginning to advanced quilter! The prints range from Asian-inspired collage to simple brush-stroke solids.

1. Urban Couture: An ultra-modern collection of orange, gold, browns, deep red, periwinkle and mint that will remind you of autumn. Moda has a fun, paper-pieced PDF quilt pattern to try for free listed on its website.
2. Sultry: A springy collection of roses, greens and browns make up this soft, feminine collection. You can even try out this fun pattern for free. (I've made braided quilts before, and they are fun, fast and easy to do!) It is a PDF file, and may take some time to download.
3. Figgy Pudding: A Christmas collection of traditional colors but contemporary prints: aqua, juniper, brown and burgundy. I get a warm and toasty feeling when I see these prints--I just adore them!

These delicious fabrics are available by the yard, in yard assortments, in fat quarter assortments, in Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and charm packs. So far, I've only managed to pick up Urban Couture, and I've started my first quilt using Jelly Rolls. I'm adding silk to my design as well. I can't wait to post my results!

Jay McCarroll's new quilting fabrics by FreeSpirit!

I was browsing through this month's Quilting Arts magazine--my all time favorite quilting magazine--and discovered that Jay McCarroll (check out his cool online store!), the winner of season one from Project Runway (a Bravo TV show that I adore) has officially entered the world of quilting with his own quilting fabrics. I love them!

So far, he is showcasing two lines: 

1. Garden Friends: This cheerful and quirky line of bunnies and birds offers a rainbow of prints that zigzag through our spring garden of goodies.
2. Woodland Wonderland: Another quirky line (that would probably coordinate well with the above line) offers a woody alternative of grays, orange, teal, lime pink and blue, with deer wandering through a forest. The mushroom print is my favorite!

According to the article in Quilting Arts, Jay has more lines in the works--I'm excited to see them. In the meantime, I have my eyes peeled for these fabrics, and am anxious to try them out!

Beautiful Batiks

My husband has two baby showers at work this week, and asked if I might consider whipping up a couple of baby boy quilts for his coworkers.  Of course, I tend to collect girly fabric, so I searched through my entire stash to find something that would work for a baby boy.  I have decided it's probably worth my while to make up several baby boy and baby girl quilts in advance for just such an occasion, since I tend not to work as well under stress.

I was able to find a fun strip set in my stash, however, and I I loved working with them.  (I did get the first top finished today!)  I didn't use the pattern, so I will upload a picture of my finished project later.  You can find this great kit at Cozy Quilt Shop.

Large Scale Prints

I finally found a pattern for some large scale Alexander Henry prints I have been collecting. I think I will borrow this design here for my project.

I've been trying to figure out a way to use mostly large scale prints without having the viewer get queasy.  You can see my concern in my fabric collection.  I'll be sure to post the results as soon as I can get something worth showing!

Ah, fabric!

Fabric hoarders, unite! You know who you are. I've only been quilting for about a year and a half, and I am stunned at the fabric available today. And unfortunately, my budget shows it.
I have discovered that when it comes to fabric, you really do get what you pay for. If you're going to invest your time in piecing and quilting, you might as well invest in fabrics that won't fade with their first washing. In my opinion, it's worth every penny to get nicer fabrics. My current favorites (Check out their websites for lots of great project ideas, too):

• Michael Miller
• Alexander Henry
• Moda
• Robert Kaufman

If you're looking to keep your budget in check, let me recommend a group on Yahoo called the Fabric Co-Op. Instead of the $9 per yard you might pay at your local quilt store, you can get many fabrics at $4.75 per yard. This works best for backing fabrics, or when you need a lot of yardage, since a cutting fee and shipping applies. But overall, you'll get a great deal.
The sample quilt on this post uses a gorgeous ballerina print by Alexander Henry. It's cream colored, but it has such a nice weave that the seam allowances don't show through. The pattern is a square version of this pattern by Diane Weber. I quilted in the ditch around the panel, half-square triangles and borders. I also tried free-motion quilting around the ballerinas in the center panel, which makes them look dimensional. Enjoy!