Fabric Sale Finds for March 21, 2014!

Quilt Home.com - Save 20% off all currently in stock Tula Pink using code QHTPFF (ends today 3/21/2014). Save 20% off all pre-order Kaffe Collection Spring 2014 fabric using code QHSPRING14. Don't forget the Ides of March Sale where you can save up to 60% off selected fabrics by Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry, Valori Wells, & Heather Bailey. While supplies last. Lastly, today's deal is to Save 25% on all Valentine Rose fabric by Tanya Whelan with coupon code: QHXCWK! 

Fabric.com - 15% off select Timeless Treasures, Liberty of London apparel fabric, and Duralee Home Dec Fabric (through March 24, 2014)

Fabric Shack - 30 year Sale-a-bration is still going on with fabrics marked at $6.98 and under with some marked as low as $4.99!! (online only)

Fort Worth Fabric Studio - Today's Friday Bundle Batch includes an amazing assortment of 10 Kona solids based on the Spring Pantone color forecast (see image below)! Get a FQ bundle of all 10 for $16.29 or a half yard bundle for $31.00!!! Alos, Moonflower yardage by Quilting Treasures is now 40% off ($5.70/yd) and Fashion plate by Henry Glass is 40% off ($5.85/yd)!

Fort Worth Fabric Studio Friday Bundle Batch

Quilt Asylum - ALL Denyse Schmidt fabrics are on sale for 20% off now through March 26, 2014.

1 Choice 4 Quilting - Bella Solid Charm Packs now $8.50 and layer cakes are $36.50. Amelia Floral, Little Apples, and Mystique collections on sale.

Cucire (Etsy) - Bluebird Park, Briar Rose, Collage, and lots of Amy Butler in the sale section!

Marmalade Fabrics - Collections on sale: Carnaby Street, Dear Stella Piper, Hand Drawn Garden, Glimma, Modern Bliss, and Comma


Happiness is Quilting - Colorworks Premium Solids on sale for just $4.75/yd!

Southern Fabric - Deal of the Day is a Boo Crew Charm Pack for only $4.99!

Green Fairy Quilts - Moda Charm Pack Sale! Get any 10 charm packs for $69 with code CHARM10.  Get any 20 charm packs for $135 with code CHARM 20. Get any 30 charm packs for $199 with code CHARM30. or Get any 20 mini charms for only $69 with code MINICHARM20. Also, the Spring Cleaning sale is still going on with huge discounts on all Moda and Riley Blake precuts. Remember, free shipping in the US!

eQuilter - On sale through Sunday 3/23/14: Music section is 15% off, and Clearance (Novelty & Holiday) is 40% off

Patterncrush preorders available NOW!

PatternCrush (Etsy) - Preorders available for Far Far Away, Arizona, Jungle Ave, Indelible, AND Dreamin' Vintage. Plus she still has Catnap and Mormor available!!


Fabricworm - Reminder on the sales that never end: Save $5 on purchases of $50 or more with code LINUS5 and save $10 off $100 or more with code BULK10.

Abbi Mays - Save $5.00 of your next order over $50 using code IRISH (good until 3/23/2014)

Sew Lux Fabric - Save 10% on all charms and mini charms. No coupon needed and sale ends 3/23/2014. This week's Stash Worthy Special is a Chantilly Lace Half yard bundle (or yardage for ust $4.75/yd).

Sew Modern - Save 20% off your fabric yardage purchases through Sunday March 23, 2014 with code SORRY20.

Hart's Fabric - Sve 10% on all rayon, voile and Chiffon with coupon code SUNSHINE (ends 3/24/2014)

JAQS Big MODA sale includes Bella Solids!!

JAQS Fabrics - The BIG MODA SALE is NOW! Take 20% off all things Moda Fabrics use coupon code MODA20 at checkout. There are some fantastic deals buried in here… trust me ;)


Cotton Bliss - They have extended the Worldwide Quilting Day Sale through today!! All fabrics and precuts have been discounted significantly for this sale. • Charm Packs $7.50 • Mini Charms $3.00 • Jelly Rolls & Layer Cakes $27.50 • Huge markdowns on Bundles! • Bella Solids $5/yard • Cotton/Linen Blends $9/yard • Designer Fabrics $7.50/yard. Sale ends 3/16/14.



DISCLAIMER:
- Yes I will take recommendations and/or corrections. I will even take your shop off the list if you want. Just email me or leave a comment below and I will get right on it. 
- Yes I'm a crazy person that visits all these sites over the few nights before I post. Catch that: it takes a few nights after the day job, so....
- Yes it is possible that the shop sold out before you got there. I also schedule posts to go up during the day while I am at work. So please be patient if I don't respond immediately. 
- Yes I try and alternate the shops I list. If I posted the same exact list every week it just wouldn't be fair! ;)
- Yes I am fabric obsessed and a total enabler to all my fellow fabric hoarders! #kiddingnotkidding
- No I do not get paid to post these sales although I've been known to be bribed with fabric. #kiddingnotkidding
- No these are not ALL the sales available online. There are thousands, and I am only one. 
- No I do not list every piece of fabric each shop has on sale. Not that crazy! #kiddingnotkidding
 

Central Florida MQG Riley Blake Challenge Reveal!

So I didn't make it back here this weekend, but that shouldn't be a huge shock! LOL After working over 60 hours last week, and Zach starting a new job, we got hit by the inevitable sinus infection going around. Most of the weekend was spent alternating DayQuil and NyQuil and generally lounging in our PJs. Not what we intended, but was worth it to feel much better this week! But that's not what you are here for... On to the good stuff!

At the January meeting of the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild our group revealed the results of the Riley Blake Fabric Challenge. If you have not heard about it, you can read up on the MQG website HERE. The basics were that each member was given 6 fat eights of fabric from Riley Blake and we had to incorporate them into any quilted project. We were permitted to add additional Riley Blake prints, or any other solid fabric.

Let me just start by saying that this ended up being a HUGE challenge for me. What I thought would be a fun week-long project turned into a month of designing struggles, and then a rushed 2 day job. Not ideal, but very educational for me. One thing I did recognize in my quilting style is that if I don't have the right combination of fabric in front of me I tend to hit a bit of a design 'wall' (pun intended). Regardless, I did end up finishing on time, so that's a success in my book! Now, onto the show!

The Riley Blake prints we were each given to start with. 

 I wish you could all see this first quilt in person. Not only is the design absolutely striking, but the quilting on it is AMAZING! Each round of circles is quilted in a different pattern, and the all over 'snails trail' in the background is the perfect addition! This is my free motion quilting inspiration for the year. I plan to refer back to it often to remind myself of what is really possible if I would just practice! (okay, well I may be expecting a little much of myself, but it's good to have goals, right?)

Linda H. from the blog Flourishing Palms. 

This is my quilt, titled Accidents Happen. It's not my favorite, but there is a bit of a story behind it that I want to share. I started the project doing some wavy pieced blocks in the hopes of using the array of colors to my advantage. I sketched it all out and everything! After finishing a few blocks, and adding the word 'relax' to run along the bottom I stood back to take a look and hated it. No bueno. It didn't give the rainbow effect I was going for and instead just looked like a serious hot mess! What's a quilter to do but start over of course. At this point I was running very low on the fabrics that were supplied, time to finish, and patience with myself. I decided to throw caution to the wind and just start cutting what was left of the Riley Blake fabric into one inch strips. Sometimes that's all it takes to get the juices flowing. I realized that planning is not my strong suit and really improv is the way to go for me! I finished the blocks and then decided that the RELAX at the bottom needed to stay. Relax is my word of the year for 2014. I tend to get overly anxious and stressed (yes, about everything) and I'm hoping keeping the quilt on the back of my couch will be a good reminder to just relax and let things be! One can hope, right? I free motion quilted this with what I like to call paint splatter shapes. My thought was it looked like a water balloon was thrown at a window and shattered. In other words, Accidents Happen! All in all it was fun to quilt, and gave me a really great sense of accomplishment when I finished it on time. Here's to many more (and less frantic) finishes in 2014!

Somehow this one got turned around, but I WILL find a picture of the elephants on 

the other side. Beautiful use of the colors and fantastic straight line quilting. 

This one I believe was titled The Falls. Again, the picture does not do this justice. 

The falls of water were accented by beautiful blue 'water' stitching and bubble 

quilting where the bowl was overflowing at the bottom. So creative!!

I've already decided to steal this quilt to hang on my sewing room wall. 

I'm not sure how, or when, or where, but I NEED THIS! Ha!

This one I absolutely love! I really love the Gracie Girl (obsessed with this line) she 

added and the improv quilting that she did herself! Those circles are perfection!

This is a different spin on the ever popular chevron quilt that I am dying to try. It's hard to see in the picture but she quilted all the white space and left the chevrons un-quilted giving it a really amazing 3D look.

Yes another project I need to make, a new tote! This just screams 

Florida to me and I love that you can just make out the whirligig blocks in there. 

CFMQG is an orange and green group for sure! :) 

Okay, scroll down and really look at this one and then come back up here. Done? Okay then, you now know how totally fan-freaking-tastic this quilt is! See those hexagons, they are actually 6 slices a piece all sewn up together. See the tumbling blocks on the top... those are sliced hexies as well! And the quilting...  I could probably write an essay on this, but I think you get the idea that Beth is a seriously amazing quilter. 

This quilt is another one I wish you could see up close. She started with the D9 blocks and then planned ahead for being on the road for the holidays and hand quilted in all those squares (in the car). I think the form of hand quilting with thick colorful thread is often referred to as Big Stitch. If you haven't read much about it there is a good overview over on AMH's blog HERE. 

This one hands down wins the Instagram award! I had previously posted a number of these quilts in my Instagram feed and this currently has the most likes (I'm over here: http://instagram.com/carly__ann on the web in case you don't have an Instagram compatible smart phone). These birds were super cute, and although it doesn't show up perfectly in the photo there are also birds quilted into the background. This is another one I wish I had a picture of the back as there are three little birdies that 'didn't quite make it' back there that crack me up!

All in all I think our little group had an excellent showing for this challenge. We all have very different styles and it was amazing to see how each of us used the same fabric so differently! 

 So I've officially posted once a week for three week's now. Think I can keep it up? LOL

Thrifty Thread Shopping!

Here I am again, just a week later and posting again! Don't worry the world is not ending, I'm just using the few free moments I have to share some info with all my quilty friends out there, starting with a few little research projects I have done recently.

The boyfriend has wrapped up nursing school, which also means school loans are no longer showing up in our bank accounts each semester. A good thing, yes, but it also means I had to take a close look at my budget and sort out what was necessary, and what could wait until after he started working. After narrowing down the necessities I went back and took a look at my quilty expenditures.... yeah, take a deep breath for that one. We all know it is not the most inexpensive hobby to have, but I keep thinking to myself, there has got to be a few things I could be saving on here! I coupon (not extreme) and I shop the sales other places, so why not pay more attention on the things where it can really add up! This week I'm starting with one that I never really gave much thought to before, thread.

It's a necessity of course, but when we know we need so much thread of a certain color I think many of us do the same thing... toss it in the shopping cart (live or virtual) and skip on over to the fun stuff, fabric!Thread is not nearly as exciting to most of us, and much less fun to 'pet' and play with, but it is an absolute necessity! I've seen quilts made from old clothes, sheets, and rags, but I've never seen a quilt made without thread!

So I started to take a look at some sites and stores I generally shop from and low and behold there really is some significant differences in prices. Below I've chose a few different threads, some very popular and some less well known, to give you all a glimpse into how much you can really save!

Let's start with the uber popular, Aurifil! We all use it and love it, and I can't speak for anyone else, but I definitely cringe a little at the price. Sorry, sweet Aurifil, it's just a habit! Below shows some of the best options for your Aurifil shopping! If you notice, there are actually three shops that all came in at $9.50 for the 1420yd, but only Red Rock Threads carries both the 220yd and 6452 yd as well. This is where you weigh your own opinions on what matters to you most... price, selection, free, shipping, etc.

And just in case you were wondering, a totally different shop takes the cake on the 40wt Aurifil, Carmen Warehouse!

Next up is Guttermann. I've heard both positive and negative on a pretty consistent basis, but I'm including it here simply because it is more affordable than many options, and also very readily available. Love it or hate it Guttermann is not going anywhere, and these prices might be part of the reason why! See that there.... 3,281yds of Guttermans 50wt Cotton as Joann's as opposed to the $40.00 you would easily spend on the Aurifil. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

I also included the comparison on Poly for Guttermann as well. I know I'm not the most experienced quilter, but I've yet to have a Poly disaster with any of my quilts, so if I know I'm making it for me or just for practice, this tends to be my go to thread.

These last two are kind of wild cards. The first one is Isacord Polyester. Honestly when I started learning to free motion quilt I watched A LOT of Leah Day's videos. One thing I remember reading was that she uses Isacord Thread exclusively. As much as that tid bit stuck with me I have yet to try it (yeah, that makes no sense), so I decided this was a good chance to figure out the cost savings if I decide to give it a try. Yeah, $15.80 for 5000m! It might be worth it!

This is a true odd one. I have never used Mettler, but it seemed to be comparable in price so I wanted to show it here. I'm hoping someone will fill me in on it as it seems to go on sale quite a bit! 

So who comes out on top? Well short of breaking it down on how many cents, or percent of cents (say that five times fast) we are all paying per yard of thread, I decided to just give you the two best online retailers that 'won' the most categories. Drum roll please.......

Quite interesting that each store led the way in one Cotton and one Polyester category. Anyhow, I know this isn't rocket science, but to me it was quite an eye opener. I was paying $11.99 for my 1420yd of Aurifil. That means from three other stores I could have ordered and saved myself $2.50 per spool. No, that's not much, but if I take it one step further and change over to Gutterman 50wt Cotton I can save nearly $18.00 for every 6500 yards of thread, and I think that can really add up.

So this is my first attempt at sorting through some Quilt Cost Saving. It's not a perfect science, and the prices will continue to rise and fall with the trends, but for me it works. Next up, solid fabrics!

xoxo, Carly Ann

Here is where I put all my personal disclaimers:

1. I have not ordered from all of these suppliers, so I can in no way vouch for their personal delivery time, condition, quality, etc.
2. Yes I estimated some of the conversions for Meters to Yards. I think you all know which size spool I'm referring to, and if not, email me.
3. These prices to not take into account sales, coupon codes, shipping charges, etc.
4. I was not paid or asked to write about any of these stores. I do not have any sponsors or take any gifts to write these posts.
5. If you have read this far you deserve a prize. How about you go get yourself a piece of candy and enjoy the sunshine for a few moments! Happy Tuesday!

Friday Fabric Sale Finds!

Blossom Heart Quilts (Japanese Fabric) - 15% off fabric, patterns or quilts using code HOUSEWARM15. [ENDS 7/21/2013 ].

Bug Fabric - Massive Sale Section (as low as $4.99/yd) including tons of Robert Kaufman, Alexander Henry, Free Spirit, and P&B Textiles. You have to check this one out to really appreciate it! [ While Supplies Last ].

Burgundy Buttons - Christmas in July Sale going on NOW! 17 days of deals! For examply 25% off Mod Century, Apple Jack, and today Simply Color! [ENDS 7/31/2013 ].

Calico Cottage Quilt Shop - All single fat quarter cuts are 20% off, over 1,000 items (including tons of knitting needles) in the sale section AND orders over $100 ship for free! [ENDS Unknown ].

Christa Quilts - Now On Sale: Bella Solids 20% off, Moda Charm Packs and Layer Cakes 20% off and Moda Jelly Rolls 30% off. Collections on sale include: American Jane Pindot, Baby boy/girl Toiles, City Girl Holiday, Daisy Chain, Flights of Fancy, Gypsy Caravan, Lark and MORE! [ While Supplies Last ]. NOW IN STOCK: Textures, Happy Go Lucky and new Kaffe Bundles

Connecting Threads - Now on Sale: Cotton Thread & Spools 30% off and 104" backing 30% off [ENDS 8/5/2013 ].

Contemporary Cloth - Huge Clearance Sale Going on NOW! Organic fabrics are heavily discounted and Black & Whites are over 50% off! Collections in the Clearance section include: Bella, Center City, lota of Cloud 9 fabrics, Daisy Jane, Glimma, Mecca for Moderns, Picnic Pals, Safari Sweet, Silhouettes and MORE! [ While Supplies Last ]. NOW IN STOCK: Hand Drawn, Kaufman Essex fabrics, LouLouThi Innocent Crush, World Tour Parson Gray and Oaskshott Cottons

Delta Patchwork - Sale Section includes collections such as: Soul Blossoms, Cameo, Chemistry, Earth Elements, Mayfly Buddies, Farm Living, Parisville, Pernillas Journey, Prince Charming, Cocoon, Domestic Bliss, Serenade, Folk Art, Lolas Posies, and many many more! Always free UPS Ground shipping on US orders over $40! [ While Supplies Last ]. NOW IN STOCK: Village Green by Carolyn Gavin for PB Textiles

Drygoods Design - Collections on Sale: Melody Miller Ruby Star, Cameo, Field Study, Anchors Away and more (as low as $2.49). [ While Supplies Last ]. NOW IN STOCK: In From the Cold, Dear Stella, Let's Pretend, and Pickering International Oranic Cottons

Fabric.com - 15% off Michael Miller Cottons, 15% off Children's Fabrics and always free shipping on US orders over $35. [ENDS 7/22/2013 ].

Fabricworm - 10% off ALL bundles! [ENDS 7/25/2013 ]. NOW IN STOCK: Le Crème Basics, Sasparilla, and tons of new Alexander Henry

J Hittle Sewing - Notions on Sale: Schmetz Sewing Machine Needles, Aurifill Cotton Mako Thread, Free Motion Supreme Slider, Machingers Gloves, 45mm Rotary Cutter Blades, Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape, Superior King Tut Thread and TONS MORE SALE ITEMS [ENDS 7/21/2013 ].

Lark Cottons - Collections in the Sale Section include: A Walk in the Woods, Apple of My Eye, Chrysalis, Deer Valley, Farm Fresh, Haven's Edge, Heirloom, Little Folks Voile, Midwest Modern, Night Shade, To Market To Market, and Wrenly Voile. [ While Supplies Last ]. NOW IN STOCK: Briar Rose, Mod Basics, Essex Linen, Technicolor,

Mad About Patchwork - Collections on Sale: Chicopee, Cosmos, Fortiny, Happy Drawing Too, Pepper, Pirouette, Winterkist, select Batik Bundles and selec Kona Solids! Save 20% on select lines using coupon code JULY20. [ENDS 7/31/2013 ].

Marmalade Fabrics - Collections on Sale: Seven Wonders, Modern Bliss, Comma (bundles, jelly rolls, charm packs and yardage), Avalon Take Flight, Bella, Textures, Mod Century, Center City, Type, Geeky Chic, Summersville, A Stitch in Color, Juggling Summer, Lucky Penny, Simply Color and Curious Nature [ While Supplies Last ].

Quilt Asylum - On Sale Now: The larger the cut the more you save! 2 yd cuts = 10% off, 3 yds = 15% off, 4 yds = 20% off, and 5 yd cuts = 25% off! Be sure to enter code LONDON in the comment section of your order to receive the discount. [ENDS 7/27/2013 ]. NOW IN STOCK: Simply Style and Texas Lone Star State lines by Moda

QuiltHome.com - 20% off Free Spirit Fabrics, Books & Patterns using code QHAFSF [ENDS 7/22/2013] and 30% off Home Dec, Laminate, and Fleece using code QHHDLF. [ENDS 7/29/2013 ].

The Little Fabric Shop - Now in the Sale Section: $5/yd including Origins, Make Life, Tradewinds, and Nantucket Summer. $5.50/yd including Curio, Chrysalis, Domestic Diva, and Magnolia Lane. $6/yd including Pernilias Journey, Daisy Cottage, and Prince Charmning. That's just a small list. The sale section is FANTASTIC! [ While Supplies Last ].

ENJOY!
Carly Ann 

It couldn't have gone far!

Something happened these past few weeks, I lost my creative mojo. I cannot put my finger on exactly what happened, or when it happened, but it did. There’s a conversation in an episode of my favorite show ever, The West Wing, where two speech writers are talking about losing their talent. One of them says to the other something along the lines of: It must be in the building, it couldn’t have gone far. That’s what I felt: that my talent, my inspiration, my love for making had flown the coop.

I wandered back into my sewing room a few times to survey the scene, and it wasn’t pretty. Well that’s just it, it was pretty. It was clean and organized and all ‘put together’. It was not at all what I am used to with WIPs strewn across every possible surface and scraps from my last 2 or 3 or sometimes even 4 last projects littering the ground. There was nothing. No life. So that’s where it stayed.

So I’ve spent a lot of time working my day job at night, sleeping, reading great books, sleeping some more and generally feeling pretty glum. Until finally I just said enough is enough. The next CFLMQG meeting is right around the corner and I need to get a few projects done for that, so as much as I hate forcing myself to be creative, I did.

I started working on a nametag….

FAIL.

I tried again…

FAIL.

One more time because third times a charm….

FAIL.

I threw that aside and tried working on the BAM-BOM that we are participating in….

FAIL.

Nothing was coming together. Nothing was working. I actually cried. I was officially pathetic. I was forcing the fabric to go together and look like it “should”, which is not what I do or have ever done. I do what I want. I sew what I want. I don’t follow directions well, and I hate to measure and be precise. As these thoughts drifted back into my mind that’s what I decided to do (or not do).

So I grabbed a pile of solids and randomly cut some squares and strips and went to town. There wasn’t a plan, there wasn’t a size, and there was nothing in mind. I just needed to sit behind my machine, blast some Dinosaur Jr. and drift away. So that’s what I did.

Then it happened. Slowly (very slowly) by surely my creative mojo came back. I sliced and stitched and sliced and stitched late into the night Friday, and these wonky little haphazard blocks that emerged made me smile.



As I laid them out on my ‘Design Floor’ I realized I had stitched myself up quite a puzzle. No worries. I grabbed the pile and threw them next to my machine and just started piecing them into larger blocks. Once I had it down to about 6 sections I went back to the floor, sorted out the mess and got the final layout. A few quick passes through my machine and I ended up with 30 inches perfectly square. Exactly.



I have only started to quilt it, but that’s ok. This is my creative mojo wrapped up into one project and I will cherish this more than any other beautifully precise masterpiece I have ever made.