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!

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!