Favorite Fabric Stores

I haven't talked about fabric shopping in awhile so I figured it was time for an update. As my taste in fabric has developed, so have my choices in fabric stores. I started off shopping mostly at Hancocks-Paducah and Fabric Depot. Both are still great stores to shop at for more traditional prints and batiks, and both offer great discounts but for modern prints I've had to look elsewhere.

First up is Quilt Home. I love this store and can't say enough great things about it. They have a great selection of Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Heather Bailey, Erin McMorris, Heather Ross, and so many more great designers. They even carry designer specialty fabrics like laminate/oilcloth and pre-quilted.  I think I have bought a yard or two or three of almost every AMH print they carry to stash away for clothing and quilting projects.

I always take a peek at their daily specials section to see what's on sale. They offer free shipping on orders over $50! I never seem to have trouble filling up my cart to take advantage of that deal. I also love that they take the time to write a personal message on the invoice of each order. I definitely recommend signing up for their newsletter and reading it weekly. They always have great feature articles about designers or new lines and offer great discounts.They also do 2 great giveaways each newsletter!

I've also really enjoyed shopping at fabricworm (the are also on etsy here). I don't find super awesome deals at this shop like I do at Quilt Home but I do love their selection and their mixed bundles are so cute! I love the color combinations they come up with and the way they mix different lines together.

fabricworm is very good about blogging when they expect new lines to arrive or when out of stock items are back in. Unfortunately the first time I shopped with them, my package arrived opened and emptied. I am sure my beautiful Lizzy House Castle Peeps and orange scrap pack are stuck in Post Office limbo somewhere (makes me want to cry) unappreciated and lonely. Hopefully they will end up in a good home eventually! Happily, fabricworm was more than willing to re-cut and ship me my order again at no charge to me. That definitely made me want to shop with them again!

 

Last but not least, I am happy to announce that I found a local quilt shop I actually like and who actually likes me! The Artful Quilter in Burke, VA is filled with beautiful fabrics and friendly ladies just dying to know what you're working on and bend over backwards to help you. It's a little further out of my way than the shop I was going to but it's totally worth the extra 10 minutes. My most recent trip with fellow NOVA Modern Quilt Guild member Kate was very successful! We both brought home at least 5 yards each of Amy Butler Midwest Modern in aqua and cream (my all time favorite fabric) because it was on clearance and several other smaller cuts of various designs.

Happy Quilting!

The New Face of the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild

Check out the new face of the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild!

Our About Us page features useful information about Modern Quilting and The Modern Quilt Guild.

The Photos page will feature work from all of the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild members.

The Events page lists upcoming events for the next 3 months.

The Contact page allows potential members to contact us through the webpage.

 

In other news, I also purchased matching business cards for our guild from Moo.com:

Aren't they cute?!

I hope you like the changes!

Happy Quilting!

Calling All Crafters: Help With Making a Wrist Wallet

Hey fellow crafters--

I am having trouble figuring out how to make a wrist wallet. Have any of you seen patterns out there for an item like this:

It has a hidden zippered pocket for small items and cash and fits over the hand and on the wrist without snaps, buttons, or any other type of closure. In other words it's one continuous loop around the wrist. My step-mom Laurie saw them in a magazine and was hoping I could make some but I just can't figure it out! Help!

Car Seat Quilt for Baby Asa

Rebecca and I went to the Falling for Handmade craft show in Gaithersburg, MD on Saturday. On Friday night I whipped up a little car seat quilt as a gift for her newborn Asa. I used some of my favorite fabrics in orange, green, aqua, and yellow.

I cut them into 5x5 charm squares

 
I sewed 4 rows of 4 charms together and bordered them with 2 different colored 2.5" strips from a Kona solid jelly roll I had lying around. Next I selected my backing fabric and put my quilt sandwich together.

 

I decided to try straight line quilting which actually worked pretty well with my design and fabric selection. It was so easy working with this size quilt for a change! I chose a nice complementary aqua for both the thread and bobbin. 

In a matter of hours I was finished piecing, quilting, and was ready to put on my binding. I had a bit of extra backing fabric so I cut it into strips and used it for the binding as well which I think ties the two sides together nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

The finishing touch was a hexie label that I embroidered. I really should have drawn what I was going to embroider prior to stitching so I could get the spacing right. The embroidery reads 'for Asa by NMW'. 

Falling For Handmade Craft Show

If any of you NOVA Modern Quilt Guildies or quilters/crafters in the area would like to join in the fun, we will be going to the Falling for Handmade craft show this weekend. For anyone interested please contact me directly by email at nweaver529 (at) gmail (dot) com!

Shopping and Lunch Show and Tell

Don't these fabrics look luscious!?
Do the names Amy Butler, Lizzy House, Joel Dewberry, and Anna Maria Horner make your ears perk up?

The guild will be getting together this Sunday at the Artful Quilter in Burke VA at 12pm (right when they open) for some major fabric shopping (non-guild members in the NOVA area are welcome to join us too)! After our shopping spree we'll be heading to Fairfax Corner for lunch and a little show and tell! (restaurant to be determined) For driving directions please go here.

Bring something you've been working on to show and tell to the group at lunch! We'll have a blast getting to know each other in person and sharing our work

Please contact Natalie at nweaver529 (at) gmail (dot) com if you plan to attend so I can warn the Artful Quilter.

Happy Quilting!

Oak Grove Silent Auction Quilt - Part 3

The Oak Grove Silent Auction Quilt top is done! I will qualify that statement by also saying that I am considering adding a border in the green and gold maze fabric I used for the sashing and/or another batik that ties all of the colors together but I need to mull that over while I sleep...

Sweet Dreams and Happy Quilting!

Tic Tac Toe On The Go Mats

This weekend I've been working on a little project I saw on Jaybird Quilts called 'Tic Tac Toe on the Go'. It's a quilted play mat made from chalk cloth and you're favorite prints. Julie developed her tutorial as part of Castle Peeps Summer Camp (more projects here). Check it out for all sorts of great projects for kids using Lizzy House Castle Peeps!

I am making these little mats as Christmas gifts for all of the 5 year olds in the family and combining them with some chalk sticks, a cloth to wipe between games, and a bag to carry it all in. I followed the instructions for the most part but I did not worry about fussy cutting the sashing. I am sure it would have looked better but the kids aren't going to care and it seemed like a waste of fabric.

Despite not fussy cutting the sashing, I think the first two I made turned out great! I combined Castle Heraldry Royal Blue, Castle Town Royal Blue, and Castle Flags Yellow from fabricworm.com for two of the mats and am planning to make more using the same patterns in red as the main color and blue as the binding.

I don't actually have any chalk yet but as soon as I get some I will show you some action shots!

Happy Quilting!

Freddie and Flor Arrived at Their New Home!

I am so excited to announce that my swap partner received the package I made for her for the Scrappy Pincushion flickr swap! Go check out Hollie on The Undercover Crafter to see her reaction! (I'll give you a hint! She really really liked them!)

Happy Sewing

Modern Swappers Hint 1

Here's a hint for my swap partner in the Modern Swappers flickr swap:

See this photo on flickr

What do you think swap partner? Are hexies your thing? I think they are...

Happy Sewing!

Jane Sassaman Speaks at NOVA Community College

Last Thursday Jane Sassaman spoke at the NOVA Community College. If you're not familiar with her work, go check out her website janesassaman.com or her blog sassaman.blogspot.com

The lecture was all about the history of Jane's inspiration and how she translates that into art on her quilts. This lecture came at a very opportune time because the first Modern Quilt Guild challenge is to make a quilt based on your inspiration of choice. I've been looking everywhere for something to inspire me but I still haven't found the right source. I keep going back to an Orla Kiely pattern that I love but I haven't figured out how I would like to translate that into a quilt.

The lecture was a lot of fun to go to despite all the rain we had that night. It was quite humorous listening to some of her stories from the 60s and listen to her lovingly talk about her husband's passion for making art from found objects (and his hoarded collections of things in all their spare rooms). I can't say that I remember all of the influences she referenced (sorry Jane!) but what stuck with me is that she said if she can see it, she can make it. If she sees a shape, she can cut it. If she sees a color, she can buy it. If she thinks of a design, she can sew it. These concepts seem so simple but they resonate with me because all too often I rely on the fabric to 'do the work' in my quilting. I select beautiful fabrics and colors that go together...but am I creating art? Somewhat. Especially since I tend to not use patterns and come up with my own designs but I think I can do more!


Ginny took a couple of pictures from where we were sitting but we also had the opportunity to view a few of her recent quilts up close:

The three quilts on the right in the photo above were created by appliqueing solid or hand dyed fabrics onto a base fabric. The green vines on the far right were cut from one continuous piece of fabric. The pink in the tree quilt is a hand dyed fabric that adds so much depth and dimension to all of the roots and the egg shape behind the tree.

Below is a quilt made from diamonds and squares. All of the fabrics she used have a black background so they blend into one another seamlessly and make a kaleidoscope effect.

I think I would really like to try making an applique quilt after the holidays when I am not working on so many projects. It won't be in time for the first challenge but that's ok! It will still be a lot of fun!

Happy Quilting!

Oak Grove Silent Auction Quilt - Part 2

I made some progress over the weekend so I thought I would throw up a couple of pictures before I get back at it:

 

The top is about 2/3rds done and I think it's coming together very nicely! This one is going to be a bit bigger than the one I made for the VT silent auction and I am considering giving it a border to get it closer to the next size up in batting. I know it may not be some people's cup of tea but I think it's going to go over really well with the people in the Roanoke area who will be bidding.

Scrappy Pin Cushion Swap Received!

I received my pincushion from my swap partner today and I couldn't be happier! When I saw these online I squeaked a little because they are so cute AND they are for your wrist which is exactly what I was hoping for.

 

My swap partner was so sweet and thoughtful to make not one but TWO pincushions for me AND included a beautiful yellow fat quarter (background) along with bit of Eggplant Kona cotton and bit of Anna Maria Horner Receiving Line in the purple colorway. She researched my responses in other swaps and knew how much I love purple hence the extra pincushion and bits of purple fabric.

 

She also included some glass head pins in yellow and aqua which are beautiful!

To top it off she sent me this really cool card with paper stitched on the front in lines:

I am so lucky to have you as my partner Mary! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity!

Happy Sewing!

Scrappy Pincushion Swap - Even Bigger Reveal

Spoiler Alert!

Swap partner...if you don't want your surprise spoiled....don't read this blog post. I don't even know what you're doing here if you don't. Here...go read this blog: Pretty Little Projects! This girl has serious natural talent for style and craftiness and her daughter is the perfect model!

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Still here? Well, I guess you really want to know!

So here's your package headed your way:

There are extra goodies for you to enjoy including....

A FIANCE FOR FREDDY!!!

Her name is Flor. I decided.

Aren't they cute!? They're like two peas in a pod, or two fish in a bag. Well, they are two fish in a bag.

Also included is your wrist strap of course, a couple of shiny aqua flower pins to accessorize Flor, some red shiny pins that I think are going to look a bit like scales on Flor and Freddy, some super sweet forged scissors for cutting threads, and a strap I made to loop around your scissors so you can hang them from your neck. Keep Flor by your machine and Freddy on your wrist while you're sewing. I've also included some super sweet watery strips of fabric for your stash. I think they will come in handy!

Freddy likes to play with them too!

I hope you love your package and get a lot of use out of your new pals!

Happy Sewing!