Category Archives: Stash Building

Rainbow Thread Eye Candy

January 21, 2015 kittywilkin 17 Comments

I have a confession to make: I’ve never made a quilt for an immediate family member. There, I said it. Yes, I have two kids and another on the way. Yet, I’ve never made a baby quilt for one of my own babes let alone myself or my husband. Well, that’s finally about to change! I’ve been working on a Rainbow Jelly Roll quilt for my daughter Maddie since early July of last year (as seen HERE and HERE), but it always seems to get shoved to the back burner behind projects for other babies, baby showers, and other family members. Finally, on Maddie’s birthday right before Christmas, we laid out the quilt and matched some threads to help psyche myself up for quilting and hopefully finishing her very first quilt.

I decided that I wanted to quilt this with simple seam-echoing straight lines in coordinating thread, but that would require a rainbow gradient of thread (awww, darn! I have to buy a spectrum of Aurifil!?). I had a couple of spools of organic cotton Scanfil and one 50wt spool of Aurifil that already matched, so I went onto the Hawthorne Threads site and ordered the supplementary colors. I opted for 40wt since I had never tried them before and the website said they were good for machine quilting. I figured a little bit thicker than 50wt wouldn’t hurt, so these 40wt beauties were added to my stash.

I’ve since then started and almost finished quilting this Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt, so I think my eye candy photo shoot worked! Here are some more gorgeous photos from my photo shoot with my adorable five year old, her rainbow jellyroll quilt, and the matching Aurifil thread.

matching rainbow thread — Most of the time, Maddie had fun giving me a smile for these photos.

I think she may have been a bit bored during some of it, though! LOL!

I seriously love Aurifil thread. It shines, has never broken once, and doesn’t fuzz up my machine NEARLY as much as other hand-me-down threads I use upon occasion. I’m excited to be slowly growing my supply of Aurifil.

It’s a bit of a motley crew, but I think the resulting quilting is going to be gorgeous!!

Here’s an Instagram selfie I posted while quilting. It’s my first-ever quilting selfie! See!? I’m making progress!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash and Lee’s WiP Wednesday. Building my stash to move a work in progress forward a bit more is always fun!

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Botanics, Two Ways

November 30, 2014 kittywilkin 5 Comments

I finally, finally have the full line of Carolyn Friedlander’s Botanics, in two forms!

Botanics fabric, two ways. — Botanics, two ways.

I have two secret sewing projects in the works, which is fairly new for me. Normally, I may have a sort of secret sewing project since it’s a gift for someone, but these are two entirely new experiences. One is my Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt for the swap. It’s fun since it’s quasi secret, but peeks are allowed (and there are lots of them on Instagram). The second is a completely secret project, which you’ll get to see mid to late January. (intrigued? ;))

Either way, these fabrics came into my stash for my secret sewing. They are technically on standby, but I figured having them would NEVER hurt, since I’ve been wanting the full Botanics collection since it came out. As much as I’d love to buy a bolt of each, charms and layer cakes will have to do for now.

Look at those gorgeous colors! Oh, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to have these fabric packs in my possession, and I can’t wait to make something fabulous!

I also added little bits (a fat quarter and scrap piece) of these awesome fabrics to my stash. I gave in to an instagram destash by my Schnitzel and Boo group momma, Sandra at Small Town Thread.

I’ve been in love with the typewriters since seeing this mini made for Holly at Bijou Lovely. The bicycles are just too cute to pass up. I can see bits of both of these making their way into smaller projects, or as feature bits in larger quilts. I’m already plotting my first little project with them.

I’m linking up with Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash. What’s new in your stash?

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Alewives Greens

November 16, 2014 kittywilkin 7 Comments

A couple weekends ago, I traveled to one of my favorite “local” fabric shops, Alewives Fabrics, about an hour and a half drive away. I went primarily for the Color for Quilters Class and my first ever Maine Modern Quilt Guild meeting, but also, of course, for the fabric. I knew that in a store like Alewives, I could easily buy enough fabric to fill my trunk, so I went to the class intentionally with the idea of building the greens in my stash, but without a giant fabric shopping list. (If anyone wants to fund my fabric buying budget, I’ll be happy to give you my paypal email address and you can direct deposit as much as your generous heart desires–haha)

I couldn’t resist the feathers on blue or the yellow newsprint fabric, so I let those slide into the mix. I also bought my first ever (gasp) Cotton and Steel. Here’s the (mostly green) fabric goodness I took home with me (from left to right):

1/2 yard of What a Gem by Allison Cole for Eugene Textiles
1/2 yard of Wee Wander by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics

and fat quarters of:

Collage “Newspaper Stripe” by Carrie Bloomston of SUCH Design for Windham Fabrics;
Unknown (but awesome) Fibonacci Fabric in green;
Vagabond Parquet Moon Dial by Parson Gray for Free Spirit Fabrics; and,
XOXO in Picnic Gold by Cotton and Steel House Designer for Cotton and Steel

While I was looking through Alewives’ awesome fat quarter bins, I stumbled upon the amazing Fibonacci fabric. Not only was it green (my color of choice for the day) but it is totally math-geek friendly. As a complete closet–or maybe not so closeted–math and science geek, there was no way I was going to leave that shop without buying the Fibonacci Golden Ratio fabric.

I have no idea what I will do with the fabric yet, but I sure am happy to have it in my stash! If anyone knows any of the designer/manufacturer information for this fabric, please let me know.

I’m linking up with Molli’s fabulous Sunday Stash.

Design, Quilting, Stash Building

A Garden {Quilt} Full of Florals

October 21, 2014 kittywilkin 7 Comments

For as much as I photograph and swoon over flowers, florals are foreign to my fabric stash. Last week, I built my stash with this fabric it rarely sees: florals. I bought in 1/4 yard cuts since it was the smallest possible cut at the local fabric store I visited, and I don’t typically use florals in my projects. I must say, though, I am happy with the floral fabrics I did find, and they are perfect for the project gift I have in mind.

This project is a surprise gift with a short deadline. I KNOW the recipient will love it, and I’m exciting to share details with you. But for now, I’ll just show off these fabrics.

I don’t know the full information for all of the fabrics, since I didn’t have a chance to write them all down, and I bought small enough cuts that the selvedges don’t all have the manufacturer/designer information present. Many of the fabrics are from the Grace fabric line by Mary McGuire for RJR Fabrics, which I love. I had to buy some of the Snug as a Bug (spiderwebs) fabric by Melly & Me for Riley Blake Designs, since how could I resist sneaking a spider web into the garden?! I also bought a couple of fabrics by Andover and Studio E, with two coordinating Cotton Couture (I think?) solids, one for sky and one for border.

fussy cutting plan — Planning my 2″ square assiduous cutting (okay… fussy cutting!), with the help of the 2.5″ square template I made.

As you may have guessed with the little hidden templates, I plan to fussy cut most of these to make a garden quilt wall hanging. Some of it will consist of 2″ squares on point (2.5″ unfinished), and some will consist of 1″ squares on point (1.5″ unfinished).

Some small 1" flowers to be assiduously cut. — Some small 1″ flowers to be assiduously cut.

More than that, I cannot yet tell you. I have my work cut out for me, though (pun intended!). Stay tuned to see this secret garden bloom!

Life, Quilting, Stash Building

Build Your Stash: LNQC Milestone and Giveaway

September 14, 2014 kittywilkin 2 Comments

Do you remember a few months ago (less than 4, to be exact), when my quilting friends Stephanie and Michelle and I decided to launch a new Facebook community for fellow late night quilters, since we were getting so much out of our own nightly conversations? Late Night Quilters Club (LNQC) was born of necessity by midnight oil-burning moms who sew to maintain sanity, and desperately wanted to connect with others in the same position. We knew that there were many others doing red-eyed stitching as silently as possible while little ones (and maybe hubbies) sleep, as well as those sewing at night out of habit or necessity unrelated to little ones, but we had no idea the community would take off the way it has.

Yesterday, Late Night Quilters Club reached a giant milestone: 1,000 members!! The group has been a wonderfully supportive, drama-free, inspiration-generating group thus far and we are thrilled to be the creators. Since its inception, our club has added Stash Swap Tuesdays and Flaunt it Fridays (when members have a chance to toot their own small-business horns), and administration has grown to include Mandy Leins, who has been a most invaluable addition. We four are excited to see where the next few months or years take us!

To celebrate reaching 1,000 members, we admins are hosting five days of giveaways, starting today! This weekend, Stephanie is giving away 3 yards of the brand new Mint Condition collection by Jackie for Camelot Fabric. Leave a comment on her post on the LNQC Facebook page to be entered.

Here’s a sneak peek at what I will be giving away on Monday:

It’s a fabric bundle including half-yards of Migratory Lace Aquatic and Coordinates Plum from Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study Collection and fat quarters of Cross Square in Red, Bleeding Hearts in Red, and Ladder Dot in Fuschia from Denyse Schmidt’s Chicopee Collection.

Here’s your chance to build your stash. If you aren’t yet a member of Late Night Quilters Club, just click here to request membership. Enter Stephanie’s giveaway, enjoy the inspiration and advice given by the other members, share your projects and questions, and stay tuned for my giveaway on Monday.

Since it’s Sunday and this is a good chance for you to build your stash, I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. ps. You don’t have to be a momma to join Late Night Quilters Club! You don’t even have to sew at night. Just bring your quilting, stitching, cutting, seam-ripping, sparkling (?) goodness!

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Fabric Shoppe Winnings

September 2, 2014 kittywilkin 7 Comments

I don’t always enter giveaways on Instagram since I don’t want my feed to be swamped with reposts, but every once in a while there’s one so gorgeous that I just can’t help but enter. A couple weeks ago, I reposted, tagged, and followed @fabricshoppejody in the hopes of winning this lovely Carried Away bundle. And I actually won! Carried Away was designed by Zoe Ingram for Robert Kaufman Fabrics and features some of my favorite colors, not to mention feathers!

Thus, my fabric stash grew a little bit last week when the lovely bundle arrived in the mail. Thank you so much to Jody from the Fabric Shoppe for this awesome giveaway, and for adding the very first feather fabric to my stash–I know, hard to believe I haven’t bought any feather fabric yet!

This weekend, we finally had a somewhat sunny day on which I attempted to capture its beauty.

Of course I had my usual helpers around, and my son wanted to be in the thick of the action more than usual.

I just love the feather prints and I’m trying to decide what to make out of this bundle. I’m dreaming of finally attempting a Sew Together Bag, but I’m also terrified. Four zippers?! How many pockets?! A BAG!? I’ve only really attempted quilts and one extremely basic, somewhat flimsy shoulder bag. We shall see. Either way, I’m super excited to add this bundle to my slowly growing stash.

What would you make with this bundle?

I’ll leave you with one last photo of my little helper, since he’s awfully cute. Then again, I’m biased.

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Rainbow Sketch, Grays, & Aurifil

June 8, 2014 kittywilkin 14 Comments

I’m one of those online window shoppers, with about fifty items in a “shopping cart” at a variety of fabric shops at all times. One of the bundles that has been in my virtual shopping cart forever is the Jewel Tone Sketch Fat Quarter Bundle at Stash Fabrics. Last week, when I saw Stash was having a sale on all Bella Solids, I knew that the time had come. I needed some more gray yardage as a background for my in-progress Canvas place mats, so with the sale on solids paired with free shipping on orders over $50, I decided to build my stash 56 dollars worth. Here’s what I bought:

fabric stash additions — Stash building from Stash Fabrics.

Let’s take a closer look, since who doesn’t want to get a closer look at fabulous fabric?

From bottom to top, I got 1 yard each of Bella Zen Gray, Silver, and Steel, as well as 1 yard of Pointelle in Noir from the Art Gallery Fabrics Chromatic Collection (swoon). I also added in 1/4 yard each of Bee Sweet in Sunset and Morning colorways, from the Sweet as Honey line by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery. I’ve been eyeing them for ages and just couldn’t pass up the chance to have even a bit in my stash.

Of course, the Jewel Tone Sketch bundle got a photo shoot all its own. How could you resist!? Mid-photo-shoot, I decided that these lovely colors really needed more of a white backdrop. The only problem is, we have blue walls. Here was my solution:

Blue walled background + some momentarily helpful kids who had refused to nap + 1 white poster board = whiter background to help the rainbow colors pop!

Yes? Yes! I love the difference the slightly different angle paired with the white background make.

This week, I also got a fabulous package from Alex Veronelli of AURIfil. A few weeks ago, I semi-jokingly, very-hopefully tweeted:

@CrystalblueRT @alexveronelli if Aurifil is ever looking for another quilter-blogger to supply with gorgeous colors of thread, I’m your gal!

— Kitty Wilkin (@nightquilter) May 22, 2014

Much to my excitement, yesterday I received the best package ever!

It didn’t take me long once I started quilting and getting into the modern quilting community to realize that many of my favorite quilters raved about AURIfil thread. I finally found a local shop that carried AURIfil and bought my very first spool: a gorgeous all-purpose gray. I haven’t used anything except AURIfil since. Look at it-you can see the shine even in photos. The colors are fabulous, the thread is smooth and I haven’t had a break yet.

Rather than swoon, here are some more photographs so that you can see for yourself:

I’m very excited about the color cards, since now I will be able to order the perfect color thread for every project, even though my LQS doesn’t carry the full spectrum. You know how I am about color; I am thrilled to have these added to my stash. I can’t wait to play!

I’m linking up with Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash because, well, it matches my favorite bits on the aurifil color card!

Quilting, Stash Building

Sneak Peek: Fabric Stash Swap!

June 2, 2014 kittywilkin 2 Comments

We’ve been having a lot of fun over in the Late Night Quilters Club on Facebook, the group I started with Stephanie and her friend Michelle a few weeks ago. Tomorrow that fun is about to go up a few notches. If you haven’t joined our group yet, now would be a good time to do so!

Tomorrow kicks off a brand new weekly event–Tuesday Fabric Stash Swap! We decided to keep it at swapping rather than buying and selling, and it will be a great way for all of us to destash the fabrics we’ve loved but that haven’t found their way to any projects, while at the same time swapping for new-to-us fabrics to help bolster our stashes. The swap is also open to quilting tools and notions. I am super excited!

I’ve fairly recently entered the quilting world, and my SAHM budget doesn’t allow any major fabric splurges, so my stash is teeny tiny. Even still, I have a few fabrics I bought with the intention to use, but that just haven’t found their way into any of my projects. I figure it’s a good time to pass them along and see what else comes my way.

The swap goes live tomorrow, but here’s a sneak peek at what I’ll be offering to swap:

Chevrons and Dots

“Mixxoni” by Greta Lynn for Kanvas Studios in association with Bernatex: 1/2yd
Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Bermuda Chevron: 18″x21″ (a hair shy of a fat quarter)
Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Bright Chevron: 13″x20″
Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Spring Dots: 10″x44″

I’ve tried to love chevrons, really I have. I know they are all the craze in the modern quilting world, and I do like large chevron patterned quilts, sometimes. I bought these chevrons thinking that one day they would just hop successfully into a project, but lo… here they still sit, lonely as ever. I know that many quilters love chevrons, so I hope that they find a happy new home.

Watermelon Scrap Pack

Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Summer (Yellow dots): 22″x25″
Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Bright (Pink dots): 21″x14″
Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman, Garden Chevron: 1/2 yard

These fabrics are super cute, and despite the chevron I kinda love them. They would make a really cute watermelon table topper or other summery kitchen decor. I would hold on to them, but my list of works-in-progress is long enough as it is, so I’m letting go. Let it go, let it go! Can’t hold it back any more! (sorry, I have toddlers)

Stripes

Sis Boom Basics by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit, Westminster Fibers, Eliza Stripe (Yellow): 1/2 yard
Sis Boom Basics by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit, Westminster Fibers, Eliza Stripe (Green): 1/2 yard
Richloom Odilon Twill, Jewel: 1/2 yard

When I first started quilting, I joined up with the Spool Along hosted by Laura at Adventures of a Quilting Diva. Since I had next-to-no striped fabric with which to make my spools of thread, I went a bit crazy and bought ~~way more than I needed~~ some. I’ve since realized that the fabric doesn’t have to be striped to make a good spool, and I’ve decided to downsize my stripes a bit. So here you go!

If any of these bundles strike your fancy, be sure to check out the Late Night Quilters Club Stash Swap tomorrow!

What fabrics are you looking to add to your stash?

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Shot Cottons and more!

May 18, 2014 kittywilkin 11 Comments

One of the best parts about taking on a new quilt challenge is the fabric shopping that ensues. Since I’ve officially joined the Supernova Friendship Swap partnering with Laura from Adventures of a Quilting Diva, and we finally decided on our color plan and background fabric, I had to do a little fabric shopping.

Since I was shopping online so that Laura and I could be sure that we were getting the same exact background fabric, I ordered a few more prints to bring the total to >$50 (free shipping from QuiltHome!).

I ordered mostly half-yards, and 2.5 yards of our background fabric, since the pattern calls for 2 yards and I wanted a bit left for another project-in-the-works. Here’s what I bought:

Pretty Potent-Candy Fabric by Anna Maria Horner
Pretty Potent-Outloud Fabric by Anna Maria Horner
Edges in Sky by Laura Gunn
Acacia-Honey Fabric by Tula Pink
and some Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons in:
-Ice
-Spruce
-Eucalyptus
-Quartz
-Heather/Mushroom
-Granite
-Prune
-Coal

We chose Kaffe Fassett’s Granite shot cotton as our background, after debating between various shades and textures of gray. As you can see (the third one up in the stack is the granite) it is very purple! Yet somehow, with our jewel tone color choice, we both think the greyish purple shot cotton will be awesome! Everyone uses gray as a background. We’re going to push the envelope a bit. I’m nervous and excited all at once.

I plan to incorporate some of the Anna Maria Horner, Laura Gunn & Tula Pink fabrics into the Supernova blocks, too. The other shot cottons will be made into place mats as I test the Canvas quilt pattern by Leanne at She Can Quilt. I’m excited to use these awesome shot cottons for such a simple and elegant pattern.

Radiant Orchid Color study with the Canvas pattern by Leanne at She Can Quilt.

The shot cottons are all they’re made out to be. The colors are so dynamic and deeply rich; they just beg to be touched. I have a feeling these will not be the last shot cottons to enter my stash.

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash.

What’s new (or what do you want to be new) in your stash?

Quilting, Stash Building

Stash Building: Happy Birthday to Me!

April 9, 2014 kittywilkin Leave a comment

Today began in the best way: in the garden with my children, smelling, exploring, and admiring the growing sea of blue flowers. The day was a whirlwind day of sunshine, playgrounds, and shopping with Grandma. Since today is my birthday, my mom treated me to some fabric. Since it was right before lunchtime with two cranky, hungry kids, my browsing time was quite limited. “You can get whatever you want, as long as you get it now,” my mom said as we arrived. Anyone who has shopped for fabric knows how long one can spend deciding on fabrics.

I’ve been really drawn to black & white and grey tones lately, which is very much reflected in my choices. Within five minutes, this is what I had grabbed:

You can tell that today I was drawn to black and white and grey... with just a splash of color! — You can tell that today I was drawn to black and white and grey… with just a splash of color!

I got 1/2 yard of the black and white hexagon fabric, and 3 yards each of the other two. I think the two grey tone color-splash fabrics would make great quilt backs. Especially the yellow and grey fabric; wouldn’t it make a great back for a quilt like this free pattern from Craftsy?

Star-Bright-Quilt-1024x927 — Star Bright Free Quilt Pattern by Swim, Bike, Quilt found on Craftsy

I have been saving and buying small amounts of grey and black & white fabrics so that I can make this quilt, so when I saw the black, grey and yellow fabric, I had to get enough for a quilt back. Maybe? Yes? Whether I use it to back this quilt or not, I think it’s a great fabric to have in my stash.

Now that I think of it, I could bind the quilt in dark red and use this fabric for the back, instead: