Tag Archives: stash building

Stash Building: Alison Glass Sun Print 2018

It’s no secret that I love rainbows. It’s probably also no secret that I’m a huge fan of how Alison Glass does rainbows with her fabric lines for Andover Fabrics. Saturated tone-on-tone fabrics, with a bright spectrum of tertiary-heavy colors, natural elements in each print that sing to my nature-loving heart, and fabric lines that flow into and complement each other wonderfully; what’s not to love?! With the rainbow stage set, I will apologize in advance for enabling my fellow rainbow lovers, but I’m excited to be adding a bit of Alison Glass’s newest Sun Print line to my stash. She & Chen  kindly sent me a fat eighths bundle of the line, and I can assure you there will be more joining my stash (or hopefully if all goes as planned, an actual in-progress project or two!) as soon as the fabric is available in shops (slated for late January 2018).

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbowFeast your eyes upon this! Can you blame me!? I mean, seriously…. is there anyone who doesn’t love a rainbow? Here’s a quick introduction to the line, with attention drawn to a few details I especially love, and far too many photos, as is my style.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow

Here are the full spectrums of each line within Sun Print 2018, from left to right: Diatom, Compass, and Depths.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow diatomDiatom reminds me a bit of Insignia, with its large solid portions, only a bit softer. I love how the colors play wonderfully together, yet you can get different value play within each color.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow compassCompass is definitely the boldest in color, and I love the addition of complementary colored details on some of the fabrics.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow depthsWith the dense white sketch-like pattern on Depths, it reads the lightest in color.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow  and diving boardThe designs are reminiscent of Alison’s most recent fabric line Diving Board, with a definite nautical vibe. You can see one of the Diving Board prints on the card in the center in the photo above, and see how compatible it all is.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow Together, these fabrics make a rainbow that fits in wonderfully with the rest of my rainbowtized stash (let’s be honest, it’s probably 90% Alison Glass fabrics anyway), and I can’t wait to work them into my projects. I already have two new rainbow project ideas in the works, even though I really could do with some project finishing before I begin more new ones (shhh).

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow white and greyI also love that Alison includes white and grey versions of each print, since both act as the perfect neutral to help the rainbow truly pop. She’s thought of everything.

alison glass sun print 2018 rainbow Soooooo so pretty! I’m thinking I’ll use these in an EPP project or two, and I’m planning on using mostly this line (with a few other Alison Glass fabrics of old) in my Quilter’s Planner Sampler quilt for the Sew Along happening in 2018.

What would you make with this rainbow?

I’m linking up with the sparkly Molli Sparkles’ next Sunday Stash since it’s been AGES since I’ve added to my stash and shared about it. I have a few new books and notions to share, too, so hopefully I’ll get those photographed soon! Happy sewing!

 

 

Stash Building: Culcita Box

Living out in the country, if I can order something online and have it delivered literally to my door (rural mail delivery is awesome!), I do it! Don’t get me wrong–I’m all about shop local and I support local businesses as much as I can. But with three little ones to wrangle into and out of carseats for every errand, some things like toothpaste, shampoo, kid sneakers, and … fabric!? Those can be delivered right to my door, thank you!

culcita box march fq boxSo when Jamie, co-founder of Culcita Box, emailed me a while back and asked if I would be interested in checking out their new fabric subscription service, I only needed a little nudge to say yes. That nudge was in the form of a quick perusal of their website and what their boxes included to make sure it was my style, and instead of a little nudge it was an “absolutely yes!” Full disclosure: Culcita Box provided compensation in the form of product, a subscription box with fabric. All opinions expressed are my own. My excitement and heart eyes are also my own. 

culcita box march fq boxThere are many things I really love about what Culcita Box is offering. They include modern fabric lines in their boxes, and you can basically customize your subscription, choosing the yardage and frequency that best fits your sewing style (1/4 yard or 1/2 yard, delivered monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly). Not only that, Culcita Box also offers specific kit subscriptions including everything you need to make a quilt or a bag/accessory, or kits to help you improve your skills. I think those options are super cool and unique, and I could definitely see gifting someone the improve your skills kit subscription if they wanted to get more into sewing.

culcita box march fq boxJamie was kind enough to send me the March fat quarter bundle box, so let’s take a look at what was in it!

culcita box march fq boxFirst the deets: the March Culcita box included a bundle of 12 fat quarters of luscious Art Gallery Fabrics–from the Take Shape Capsule, two (2) sew-in labels, a Quilt Theory pattern card for Ocean Path (my pattern!), and perhaps my favorite part–a quilty fortune cookie. I love the attention that clearly went into every detail of this subscription box–from the fun text all over the box, the wrapping, the hand-written note, and even a sewing-related message in the fortune cookie!! It’s like unwrapping a present, and honestly, who doesn’t like unwrapping presents?

culcita box march fq box labelsI love that the box included two labels, since I think labeling is one of the most important parts of making, yet it’s something that so many people omit from the process. I bet having labels ready to go would help at least get a name and date added to the quilty goodness stitched with love daily. I’m excited to put these to use!

culcita box march fq box fortune cookieThe fortune cookie was such a fun addition. With a sewing-related inspiring message/fortune inside, and a delicious cookie to boot, how can you not love this little detail? Those who sew, sow peace. Yes!

culcita box march fq box fabricThe fabric is luxuriously soft, as we’ve all come to love about all Art Gallery fabrics, and included fabric from one of the new fabric capsules, namely Take Shape. I love the bold geometric shapes and gorgeous color palette. I also really love that these fabrics are a palette and style somewhat different than my usual saturated rainbow tone on tones. With the inclusion of my Quilt Theory Ocean Path quilt pattern card, I’m really wanting to make an Ocean Path pillow version with 2 offset blocks in these geometric beauties. Will my to-do list allow? Time will tell! Either way, I’m excited to add these fabrics to my stash… or projects list!

Many thanks to Culcita Box for letting me try out their subscription box! I would definitely recommend this box for the modern quilter looking to build a stash of beautiful fabrics, or as a gift for those who prefer making bags, working from quilt kits, or building their skills.

I’ll be linking up with Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash since gosh, it’s been a while since I’ve built my stash!

 

Stash Building: Libs Elliott True Love and Kona Ocean Gradient

I recently made my first fabric purchase in a loooong time, in the hopes that it will jump start progress on sewing some gifts for family and friends. There are two big projects I’m hoping to finish soon (I’ll be real–most definitely not by Christmas)–a table runner for our home, with my favorite designer’s fabric on one side (Alison Glass) and my husband’s favorite designer’s fabric on the other side (Libs Elliott). The Alison Glass side of the table runner is about half finished and uses her new Seventy Six and Insignia fabric lines, and I’ll share more about that soon.

true love fabric by libs elliott for andover fabricsI ordered quarter yards of much of Libs’ True Love fabric line, with half yards of my favorites, since my husband has also requested Libs Elliott pillows. It’s honestly pretty fun that my computer programmer husband has a favorite fabric designer, and it seems fitting that Libs is his favorite since Libs’ tag line is “Making digital code into physical quilts”. Perfect match.

true love fabric by libs elliott for andover fabricstrue love fabric by libs elliott for andover fabricsI had my usual helper, who was quite eager to jump on the fabric. That’s true love for ya! Such a helper!

kona cotton ocean gradient robert kaufman fabricsI also ordered an ocean gradient of Kona cotton solids by Robert Kaufman Fabrics for a baby quilt I plan to make for my dear friend’s new(ish) baby boy (here’s the quilt I made for their daughter, years ago). They requested an underwater ocean themed quilt, so the Kona solids will be the perfect base. I ordered these fabrics from Fabric Depot since their extensive stock of Kona colors and ability to order 1/4 yards made it an easy choice. Neither of my local quilt shops stocked what I needed, but of course I checked them first.

kona cotton ocean gradient with orangeI plan to use the Range Quilt by Nicole at Modern Handcraft as the base, and then applique some free-drawn sea creatures on top in bright orange. Nicole includes the specific Kona colors for a number of different color gradient options for Range, which is so super helpful! I used her palette as a base, and switched up a few of the lighter colors to keep the blue throughout, ending up with (from dark to light): Kona Storm, Prussian, Royal, Malibu, Water, Niagara, Bahama Blue, and Baby Blue, with the orange pop of Persimmon. I very well may add a darker orange for more detail once I get to the applique part, but first up is piecing the top!

finn helperHere’s a peek at my helper, since he’s just so adorable. I promise I am going to work on piecing his quilt top soon, too!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash (shhh I know it’s Monday), and hope to jump on his train a bit more in the coming weeks. I don’t have a whole lot of stash additions, but I do have a few fun tools and fabric bits that have been partying in my stash and have yet to be shared here.

Stash Building: Cotton Crates Subscription Box

Subscription services are all the rage these days, and who doesn’t love to receive packages in the mail? You can get boxes of stylish clothing in just your size (StitchFix), food ready to prepare healthy meals (Hello Fresh), science experiments ready for parents and kids to build together (TinkerCrate), wine curated to your tastes (Club W), and now fabric and sewing supplies, all mailed to your doorstep each month (Note, I’m not affiliates of any of these subscription boxes, simply stating one of many examples in each case). In the recent months, I’ve seen more and more fabric and sewing notions subscription boxes arise, so when Cotton Crates contacted me asking if I was interested in trying out a box in exchange for writing an honest review on my blog, I was intrigued. When they mentioned that the month’s box would contain 15 fat quarters of bright Riley Blake solids, I was sold. Full disclosure: Cotton Crates provided compensation in the form of product, a subscription box with fabric. All opinions expressed are my own. My excitement and heart eyes are also my own.

cotton crates subscription box fabricLet me tell you about my Cotton Crates experience. There’s something that comes from having a mystery box arriving in the mail that has a different feel than when fabric you specifically selected and purchased is delivered. Yes, any online fabric purchases arrive in your mailbox, but the cotton crates box held a bit of mystery that made the whole experience more exciting. My kids take turns getting the mail, and on this particular day it was my son Max’s turn. As soon as he opened the mailbox and saw the package he excitedly said, “Is it for me!?” I had to contain my glee when I said, “No, this one is for Mommy.”

cotton crates fabric subscription boxDuring the walk back to the house along our driveway, I was excitedly anticipating what I might see inside the box. Sure, I knew pretty specifically what it would contain, but still that excitement was there–specifically what colors would be included? What would it look like? Cotton Crates gives clues on social media (Instagram | Facebook) during the month to give you an idea of what types of fabric are included each month, but once you order it, it’s easy to keep it a surprise. Solids are such a versatile stash builder, since projects using all solids shine, and solids can also be a great compliment to the right print. In my humble opinion, one can never have too many solids in a stash.

cotton crates fabric subscription boxOpening the box was like opening a present, tissue paper, sticker, candy, and all.

cotton crates fabric subscription boxI love that Cotton Crates includes a card with a schedule of inspiration blog posts with projects you can make using the month’s box. You essentially have fabric and projects all in one box, with some candies, too, unless your kids grab them first!

cotton crates fabric subscription boxI captured the beauty of the fabrics, and then, true to my style, immediately put them into rainbow order.

cotton crates fabric subscription boxSigh… ahh, much better!

cotton crates fabric subscription boxI do have a thing for rainbows.

Now, how about some details? You can head over the the Cotton Crates website to read all about the subscription process, see or order previous boxes, and visit the blog for project ideas. Basically, the longer the time you subscribe, the cheaper the price you pay per box. For example, if you subscribe for one month, you pay $38 for the 12 (or in this case 15 solids) fat quarters, but if you subscribe for a full year, you only pay $34, which is a bit over $2.80 per fat quarter. I can definitely see the fun in fabric subscription services, and it is a great option for building a stash.

cotton crates fabric subscription boxMany thanks to Cotton Crates for the opportunity to try out their subscription box!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash since my solids rainbow grew in a beautiful way this week.

Maine Quilt Shop Hop 2017: Rockland Shops

I have officially kicked off this year’s quilt shop hop in the state of Maine! While I don’t anticipate hitting any impressive number of shops with kids in tow, I love that having an official state quilt shop hop month gives me the incentive to visit some of the more distant among my favorite Maine quilt shops, and to try to visit new ones.

maine quilt shop hop 2016 clementineLast week, I had an errand to run down in Rockland, so I decided to make a day of it and visited the quilt shops down there: Quilt Divas and Clementine. Quilt Divas stocks more traditional and cute novelty fabrics, so I stopped in for a stamp and a walk around but didn’t stay too long, especially since I had three year old Max AND mobile Finn in tow.

maine quilt shop hop 2016 clementine kid areaWe spent a bit more time in Clementine. It’s a gorgeous shop that focuses strongly on garment sewing, but also has a great selection of modern quilting cottons, as well as notions, patterns, thread, wool, zippers (do they count as notions?), and more.

maine quilt shop hop 2016 clementine kid areaAs a huge added bonus, they have a gorgeous and spacious kid play space, which actually succeeded in keeping my busy 3 year old occupied for a good 15-20 minutes (which is unprecedented and amazing, trust me). A quilt shop that can somehow cater to kids in tow is an immediate win in my book!

maine quilt shop hop 2016 clementineI bought a few zippers for upcoming projects, some crushed walnut shells to use for stuffing pincushions, and the most adorable tiny Merchant and Mills Baby Bow Scissors ever. I am itching to sew something teeny tiny for a scissor intro photo shoot! As part of the shop hop, Clementine gave some jelly roll strip swag, which I’ll happily add to my stash.

clementine rainbow wall of zippers and perle cottonFor those of you looking for more information about the Maine quilt shops in the hop, I did a thorough run-down of many of the shops I visited two years ago. This year, I will most likely be less formal with my reviews since I don’t plan to visit many shops, but I’ll be sure to show you where I go anyway! Here are links to reviews from two years ago:

Fiddlehead Artisan Supply & Nancy’s Sewing Center, Belfast, ME
Z Fabrics, Portland, ME
Cotton Cupboard & Choppin Cotton, Bangor, ME
Waterville, Augusta Area Shops

The official State of Maine Quilt Shop Hop website has more information, too!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since there’s nothing like a Quilt Shop Hop to help bolster little gaps in a stash!

Stash Building: Low Volume Loves & 3K IG Giveaway

I recently hit a pretty big milestone over on Instagram when I surpassed 3K followers, so to help celebrate that (and the fact that it was my birthday yesterday), I’m hosting a pretty epic giveaway over on Instagram. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my feed @nightquilter and enter to win! The giveaway will close tomorrow (Monday) night at 9pm EST.

Giveaway nightquilter 3K IGI figured I couldn’t go wrong giving away some of my all-time favorite fabrics and threads, and I’m so very grateful to my sponsors for donating the prizes. The prize package contains (from left to right): a fat quarter bundle of Endpaper from Sun Prints 2016 by Alison Glass (Andover) donated by Fiddlehead Artisan Supply; a low volume bundle of 14 gorgeous quilting cottons curated my yours truly donated by Fat Quarter Shop, and the Simply Color by Vanessa Christensen large spool set of 50wt Aurifil thread donated by Alex Veronelli at Aurifil. Many, many thanks!!

fat quarter shop low volume bundleFat Quarter Shop also sent a low volume bundle for me to keep since I curated it, so I’m super excited to be restocking my low volumes! The low volume bundle is available here. Go check it out, and if you love low volumes as much as I do, I hereby give you permission to treat yourself!

low volume bundle fat quarter shop nightquilterI included a little bit of everything in this bundle, including Cotton + Steel basics, Modern Background Paper, Lizzy House mini pearl bracelets, prints from Anna Maria Horner’s newest line, a print from Wonderland by Katarina Rocella, those adorable scissors from Maker Make by Art Gallery fabrics, and more. You’ll have to visit the post on Fat Quarter Shop to see the full list of included fabrics, but I can tell you I’m loving every one and already plotting the next low volume + rainbow Alison Glass fabrics project (are you surprised?).

As always, I’ll be sure to show you once I start putting these fabrics to use. In the meantime, head over to Instagram to enter for a chance to win your very own stash building prize package! I apologize to those of you who don’t have Instagram, but there’s sure to be another great giveaway here on the blog, too. Surpassing 3 thousand followers needs some celebrating!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since my low volume stash grew in a fabulous way this week, and one lucky follower will be REALLY building his/her stash soon! Best of luck!

Stash Building: Art Theory Panels in a Panic

My recent scour of the internet in search of Carolyn Friedlander’s old Architextures fabrics for THIS project has given me a new appreciation for stashing your favorites before they disappear. Once a fabric line is out of print, especially if it’s been out of print for a while, those fabrics are GONE. Legit, no stores have them, not even Etsy, gone.

art theory panels ex libris alison glassThis realization gave me a little bit of a panic, so I quickly contacted my local quilt shop Fiddlehead Artisan Supply and had them set aside three yards of the Alison Glass Art Theory panels from Ex Libris (Andover Fabrics) in charcoal and one yard in white. Better safe than sorry, right? If I could afford to buy a bolt of each and every Sun Print fabric, too, I totally would. But the line has to be drawn somewhere!!

art theory panels ex libris alison glassIt’s no secret that I love Alison Glass fabrics, and these panels are just SO gorgeous. I have a few projects in mind already for these, and I don’t think I will ever tire of the colors and design. Having a bit of “extra” in the stash never hurt anyone.

art theory panels ex libris alison glassMaybe I’ll even get brave and cut into a few to use bits and pieces in a project beyond the full intact round panel. Maybe.

art theory panels ex libris alison glassIf you want to stock up before it’s too late, Fiddlehead does still have some yardage of these panels available, I think. They are not listed online, but if you call the store you can order some. No, I’m not *trying* to be an enabler. No, I don’t work for Alison Glass (to answer your question, Nancy! lol But wouldn’t that be a dream!?), but I really do honest-to-goodness love the vivid designs in her fabric. I’m trying to help. Really. Or if you are on a fabric diet, go ahead and let me know your birthday and I’ll set a panel aside for you.

art theory panels ex libris alison glassI mean, look at those details!

I’m linking up with Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash traveling edition, which is hosted by Irene from Patchwork and Pastry today.

 

 

Christmas in February

Sure, it’s February and the silly groundhog just predicted an early spring, but as far as I’m concerned, Christmas has finally arrived! In the past few days we not only got our first solid snow of the year, but I also received my Christmas gift from Santa–fat quarter bundles of Alison Glass‘s full Sun Prints 2016 collection for Andover. I’m so glad I had the foresight (and patience) to preorder these Sun Prints, since even though I didn’t have them to unwrap under the tree, they are well worth the wait.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andoverThe Sun Prints 2016 collection includes new lines Sphere, Grow, and Endpaper. It probably comes as no surprise that I love them all.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andoverI took them all out into the fresh snow for a photo shoot with a new camera lens, a 50mm 1.8f lens that was a Christmas present from my awesome husband. While I love this lens, I definitely should have taken these photos with a deeper depth of field. I’m still getting a feel for it. For now, here are the way up close, pinpoint focal point photos of these gorgeous fabrics.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andover sphereI’m not typically a polka dot fan, but there’s something about Sphere that grabs me. Perhaps it’s the fact that these dynamic little bulbs remind me of the earth with latitude and longitudinal lines. Perhaps it’s the fact that the sphere colors help blend the fabric lines together subtly and flawlessly. Either way, it joined the ranks in my AG stash.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andover growGrow is a design that also appears in Abacus, with charcoal on white. It was one of the first Abacus prints I bought and I cannot wait to embroider on it. The Grow Sun Prints let us use the gorgeously sketched botanical design in a full spectrum of colors.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andover endpaperEndpaper is the epitome of my favorite types of fabrics. I love tone on tone blenders, and endpaper nails those categories. The colors are rich and deep, and include my favorite tertiary colors.

alison glass sun prints 2016 fabric andoverThese three new collections blend beautifully together when combined. I love the subtle flow that emerges between fabrics and colors. Every time I finish another rainbow project, I think maybe it’s time I explored other color combinations. But really, how could I not create with these? I have a feeling you will be seeing quite a few more rainbows in the not too distant future!

Fiddlehead Alison Glass displayI also recently saw that my local quilt shop Fiddlehead Artisan Supply is stocking the full Sun Prints 2016 collection, and has it all shelved with some of Alison’s older Sun Prints and other fabric lines. It’s glorious! If you’re local (or an online shopper), you can get your rainbow fill, too! I’m sharing a screenshot I took of Fiddlehead’s Instagram feed so that you can revel in the rainbow gradient beauty, too. Sooo good.

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. It’s been a while, but I have a lot of stash additions to share. It seemed only right to begin with the newest and most gorgeous fabrics!

Stash Building: Autumn Dusk Blogger Bundle & Giveaway

I’ve been trying to stretch out of my comfort zone lately and create with color palettes other than rainbow order. With that goal in mind, I put together another blogger bundle for Fiddlehead Artisan Supply in Belfast, Maine, including some of my favorite autumnal colors. To play with the Summer Nights bundle I curated in August, this one is called Autumn Dusk. To double the fun, I have a bundle to give away, too!

autumn dusk fabric bundle fiddlehead artisan supplyThis color palette feels peaceful to me, with the soft purples, burgundy, magenta, mauvey peach, and a pop of turquoise. I’ve been working on a project using my bundle and I admit, it feels weird to be working with a non-rainbow color palette with no low volumes or black/charcoal neutrals…. but I like it!

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing a tutorial for the project I’m making with this bundle, so if you want to add these fabrics to your stash and immediately put them to use (fabric added to the stash doesn’t count if it’s immediately created into something beautiful, right?), you can with ease.

autumn dusk fabric bundle fiddlehead artisan supplyThese fabrics are all great stash additions, and help bolster my weak purple collection a bit. They are consistent with my love of tone on tones and blenders, which means my scraps will surely make their way into a rainbow somehow.

Autumn Dusk fabric bundle fiddlehead artisan supplyFiddlehead Artisan Supply is generously offering an Autumn Dusk fat quarter bundle to one of my readers. The bundle includes fat quarters of the following six fabrics (clockwise from Tula’s ponies):

  • Pony Play from Fox Field by Tula Pink (Free Spirit)
  • Leaves in Turquoise from In the Bloom by Valori Wells (Robert Kaufman)
  • Full Circle in Petal Pink from Shape of Spring by Eloise Renouf (Cloud 9)
  • Bike Paths in Lilac by Alison Glass (Andover)
  • Twinkle Twinkle in Burgundy from Natural History by Lizzy House (Andover)
  • Jewels in Purple from Hello Pilgrim by Lizzy House (Andover)

To enter the giveaway today, visit Fiddlehead’s online shop and tell me your favorite quilting print from their online offerings (click here for a direct link). Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win.  If you’re a follower of Night Quilter, leave a second comment telling me how you follow for a second entry. ‘Like’ Fiddlehead Artisan Supply on Facebook or subscribe to their newsletter and tell me how you followed them in a third comment for a third entry. That’s three separate comments for three entries to win.

This giveaway is open to US and international participants.  The giveaway will be open until 8pm Sunday 12/6 when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. Good luck!  This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Linda!

Fiddlehead is also having a big online sale through tomorrow (Monday 11/30) so you can get 15% off your entire online order with the code Thanks2015. That’s as good a reason as any to bolster your stash, don’t you think? *wink*

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. I’ve been quiet in the stash building department lately, but I have a few fun new stash additions I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks! I’m gathering fabric to last me through the snowy season; after all, winter is coming.

Beginning is the Hardest Part

I did it! 17 days after Finn’s birth, I finally turned on the sewing machine and did some machine stitching. That sure beats the six weeks I waited after Max was born before realizing that I could make progress in tiny baby steps. Beginning is the hardest part, so hopefully now that I’ve begun, I will be able to sew for 10-20 minutes per day (or more likely, night). Of course I began a new project while I was at it.

snuggling kiddos under rainbow quiltAfter seeing my kiddos curled up under Maddie’s Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt, I decided that my boys really need quilts of their own. I knew I wanted to keep it simple and use a rainbow of color (why not? I love rainbows; kids love rainbows; my stash is a rainbow… perfect!), and inspiration struck in the form of a sneak peek Instagram post of a mini quilt made by Kim at _glass_half_full.

rainbow low volume fabric pullI sketched out some ideas for enlarging the quilt, decided on a 7×7 grid of 9″ blocks for a 63″ square finished quilt size, and then came the fun part: fabric pull! I pulled out all of my low volumes for the background, and decided to put the gorgeous rainbow fat eighths bundle I won from Pile O’ Fabric back in April to good use.

new fabric rainbow fat eighth roll

rainbow fat eighths bundle winnings from pileofabricTypically when there’s a bundle or collection of fabrics, I’ll like most of them, but not all. This bundle is an exception, as are many of Alyssa’s bundles at Pile O’ Fabric. I honestly love every. single. print. in this bundle. It’s a collection of 35 fat eighths, five (5) each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink. They are mostly the color-heavy “basics” that read as one color in particular. It’s ideal for a rainbow quilt, and I’m excited to add these fabrics to my stash.

Rainbow Strip Quilt progressThe blocks sew up very quickly; I’ve already made 6 of the necessary 49 blocks. It doesn’t look like much yet, but I am hoping that as more blocks are added and you can see the design better, it will start to be a bit more exciting. A quilt like this might be best seen either super close so that the fabric details are there, or complete and in full so that the overall aesthetic is there.

I haven’t yet squared up the bottom left red block, since I haven’t decided if the diagonal path of the low volume print will drive me nuts or not, and whether I should re-stitch it with the print parallel to the red strip. What would you do? I’m trying really hard not to micromanage the piecing of this quilt, and to let the somewhat scrappy randomness evolve on its own.

Koi and carrot crops
Koi and carrot
red cross hatch and botanics
Red crosshatch and botanics

Baby steps. Even they will result, one day, in a baby quilt. 🙂

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since I’m finally sharing this gorgeous rainbow fat eighths bundle, as well as Monday Makers & Design Wall.