Got My Fabric

None of the quilt stores around here carry much in the way of Civil War prints, so when I went back to my old stomping grounds see my tax guy, I stopped in at the Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills. They have a good selection of repro prints, and I was finally able to get the rest of the fabric I need for my Double Delight quilt. The two browns and the cheddar which I bought are in the lower left hand corner of the photo. The shirting prints are from my stash. So are the blues -- which are not authentic, but I'm going to try them out in an effort to bust some stash.

I see that I haven't posted in over a month. What is that in blog-years? A century? Unfortunately, fast and furious quilting has not been the reason for my absence. In fact, I've accomplished almost nothing creative except for some sporadic work on my string pieced stars. (I'm still trying to work out the best way to construct these. I used a Jo-Ann's coupon to buy an EZ 45° Diamond and I'm going back to Harriet Hargrave's construction method.)

Fabric Score and Quilting Frustrations

Well, I had pretty much made up my mind to make Double Delight from stash instead of 19th Century Repro prints. But then I went to Road to California, and discovered a vendor (Bonnie Blue Quilts) who was offering a beautiful bundle of six different double pinks in half yard cuts. Exactly the amount I'd need for Double Delight. So how could I resist? Since I already have some indigos and shirtings in my stash, I guess I'm back to following Bonnie's color scheme. Now all I need is some cheddar and some chocolate brown.

Not to mention a healed elbow. Sigh. I've been going to physical therapy sessions twice a week and doing the daily stretches and exercises the therapist recommended. But it looks as though I won't be using a rotary cutter for quite some time. And Double Delight calls for so much cutting and squaring up!

From Earthquakes to Fabric Stash

We had an earthquake last night. It was a 4.5 and lasted about 5 seconds, but we're about 21 miles away from the epicenter so it felt interesting rather than alarming. Nothing fell off any of our shelves. Of course, I don't have a lot of breakables. My worldly possessions fall into two main categories: fabric and books.

My fabric stash is not as large as some quilters', but it looks impressive because it is stored in stacking plastic basket bins that tower to the ceiling. But if they tumbled over in an earthquake, no harm would be done -- I'd just have the fun of rearranging it again. (Have you noticed how therapeutic it is to fondle fabric?)

I was thinking of reordering my stash anyway because I cannot find my little collection of indigo prints. Someone gave them to me a long time ago, and I've been waiting for the perfect project in which to use them. Well, it's here now. They're perfect for Bonnie's Double Delight mystery quilt, but I cannot find them among my blues. I was able to lay my hands on my collection of shirting prints which I also want to use in this project. But I find I have very little double pink fabric. And of course I have no brown or cheddar. My stash is pretty weak in earth colors in which I include the brown, orange, and yellow families.

It's funny how the emotional aspect of color can be so strong and yet so individual. Yellow has always seemed an unhappy color to me, but I know many people who perceive it as perky and cheerful. (Was I simply traumatised by Harvest Gold appliances in my youth?) But I'm beginning to learn that even colors I'm not keen on can, in the right place and in the right proportions, add an essential spark to a quilt that takes away my breath and sings to my heart. That's kind of why I want to make Double Delight in Bonnie's colors. (If you're making the quilt and don't yet want to see what the finished blocks look like, don't click on this link.)

I have a few free hours today and plan to visit the local quilt store. My sister gave me a gift certificate for Christmas, and I'm hoping to buy some brown, cheddar or double pink with it. But first I need to figure out where all those indigo prints are.

So Sad!

Bonnie Hunter is posting a new mystery quilt, Double Delight. What's sad is that I cannot play along; I had to call in sick today because the area around my elbow hurt so much. Luckily, I got a same day appointment at my doctor's office. Unluckily, I found out that I have tennis elbow -- which means no rotary cutting for me and no sewing either. Grumble, grumble, grumble! And I have such a good collection of shirting prints that would be perfect for this quilt! Well, you won't have to listen to me grumble for long because I'm not supposed to type much either. Sigh!