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 

Friday Fabric Sale Finds!

It's time again to present you with some fantastic sales going on right now! Enjoy!

Abbi May’s: 20% off a huge selection of fabrics and precuts!

 

Always Mod – Everything Marimekko: End of Season Sale with up to 40% off 100s of items!

Bloomerie Fabrics: 2wently Thr3e, Color Me Retro, Cushion & Dust, Cuzco, Fox Hollow, Ladybug Garden, Noteworthy, Posy, and Tapestry Collections are ALL in the Sale Section!

Blue Ribbon Quilt Shop: Save the date for a fantastic Christmas in July Sale coming July 18-20!

This Just In: Winter’s Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Co., and Ho Ho Ho Let is Snow by Nancy Halverson

 

Britex Fabrics: 50% OFF Plastic Button Category Until July 16th

Fabric Worm: 10% Off Children’s Fabric [ Ends July 18, 2013]
This Just In Stock: Free Range by Monaluna, Astrid by Erin McMorris, La Crème Basics by Riley Blake, Hand Drawn Garden by Anna Maria Horner, Kyoto Gardens by Lori Mason, and Belle by Amy Butler

Fat Quarter Shop: Clover Wonder Clips are the Notion of the Month and on sale for $26.36!

This Just In: Road 15 by Sweetwater, Belle by Amy Butler, and Vivid Reflections Reminisce by Bonnie Christine.
Hand Dyed Fabrics by Lori: Quilt Kits on sale this week at 20% off!

Harts Fabric: Great 30%, 40% and 50% off sale sections, and free shipping on orders over $99.
This Just In: Briar Rose by Heather Ross and Friendly Seas by Robert Kaufman. Plus, preorder Birch Elk Grove, Quilt Girl Comic, and Calling all Nurses.
Hawthorne Threads: Collections on sale include Dreaming in French and Sugar by Pat Bravo, It’s a Shore Thing by Jack and Lulu, Avignon by Emily Taylor, Seven Wonders by Parson Gray, Innocent Crush from Anna Maria Horner, Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, Perfectly Perched and Roughing It by Laurie Wishbrun,  Lucky Penny by Alison Glass, Deer Valley by Joel Dewberry, AND MORE! You seriously need to check out this sale section. IT’S AMAZING!

This Just In: They now carry Auriful’s complete line (252 colors in all 4 weights)!! Hand Drawn Garden by Anna Maria Horner, Woven Stripes from Kaffe Fassett, Astrid by Erin McMorris, Sea Breeze by Erin Shaw, Kyoto Garden by Lori Mason

QuiltHome.com: Save 50% on all Closeout Fabrics!Plus save 30% off Home Dec, Laminate and Fleece with the newsletter coupon code. Just sign up on the site and you’ll have it in no time!
This Just In: Belle by Amy Butler, Hand Drawn by Anna Maria Horner, World Tour by Parson Gray, Technicolor by Emily Herrick and Love & Joy by Dena Designs.

The Scarlet Thread Quilt Co: Many Tiny Givens. Kaffe Fassett, and Amy Butler Fabrics are now in the Sale Section

Stash Modern Fabrics: Nearly 200 items in the Clearance Section including 2wently Thr3e, Shelburne Falls, Lucky Penny, Asbury,

Stitch Sanctuary: 20% off Patterns [July 8-14] and Christmas in July sale [July 15-21]

This Just In: Aspen Frost by BasicGrey, Shades of Black by Me & My Sister, Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey, Les Amis by Patty Sloniger, and Cuzco by Kate Spain

 

As Always, let me know of your favorite shops and what you think I'm missing!!

Carly Ann

Fabric Sale Finds - 4th of July Edition

This will normally be a Friday thing, but with 4th of July happening tomorrow, I thought I would add a few extra sales this week! Enjoy!

Sprightly Fabrics: Use coupon code JULY4 for 30% off your entire order [Valid Thursday and Friday July 4-5, 2013 ONLY].

QuiltHome.com: 15% off Storewide on orders $60 to $99 using code LIBERTY15, 20% off on orders $100 to $199 using code LIBERTY20, and 20% off orders over $200 using code LIBERTY25 [Ends July 8, 2013].

Fabric.com: 15% off Storewide on orders $75 to $99 using code STAR715, 20% off on orders $100 to $199 using code STAR720, and 20% off orders over $200 using code STAR725. [Ends July 8, 2013]. Free shipping on US orders over $35.

Fat Quarter Shop: 50% off a huge assortment of Patriotic Fabrics [end date unknown], also Regular and Jumbo Wonder Clips are this months featured notion and are ON SALE [Ends July 31, 2013]!   FREE U.S. Shipping on orders over $200.

FabricLovers.com: Red, White and Blue Fabric all on sale [Ends July 4, 2013].

Christa Quilts: Save 20% on Peanuts’ Welcome Great Pumpkin Fabric [Ends July 7, 2013].

[EDITED TO ADD]
-  Pink Castle Fabrics: Save a fourth (25%) on your order using code FOURTH! [Thanks for the heads up!]
- Fabric Worm: 10% Off Japanese Imports [ Ends July 11, 2013]


Am I missing some great holiday sales? Let me know by leaving a comment or shooting me an email (link on the right). Hope you have a fun and safe holiday!

Carly Ann

Payday Party! Fabric Sales all around!

Trying something a little different. I obviously check out a ton of online fabric stores (the list is still growing), and I receive far to many newsletters, so I put it all together and decided to share it with all of you!  So without further delay..... ENJOY!

Abbi May's - Save 20% on tons of sale fabrics by using code bigsale20 [end date unknown]

Bloomerie Fabrics - Get 10% off your order using code SUMMER10 [Ends 7/3/13]

 Chrsita Quilts - Save 20% on all Michael Miller Fabric, get a free gift (you choose) with every $25 purchase and there is always free shipping on US Orders! [Ends 6/30/13]

Contemporary Cloth - 50% off shipping using code 50ship plus black and whilte fabrics are over 50% off. [Ends 6/30/13]

Delta Patchwork - 20% off all baby and kids prints, and free UPS Ground or USPS shipping on all orders over $40.00 within the US.

Fabric.com - Take an additional 20% off Clearance using code CLEAR613 and $4.95 sale on over 1,500 cotton prints [Ends 7/1/13]

Fabric Worm - Take 15% off your entire purchase using code 5years. [Ends 7/1/13]

Five Monkey Fabrics - Over 125 items in the Sale Section right now! [While supplies last]  

Mad About Patchwork - Save 20% on Salt Water, Pirouette, Happi and others using code JUNE20, Save 10% on Flame Sprectrum bundles, and Cosmos, Chicopee, Pepper, Remix and Winterkist on sale! [Ends 6/30/13]

Marmalade Fabrics - Seven Wonders, Modern Bliss, Comma, Bella, Textures, Mod Century, Geekly Chic, Simply Color, and Summersville all on sale! [While supplies last]

The Quilted Castle - Huge sale section includes Designer Linen Solids, and Free shipping on all US orders over $200. [While supplies last]

QuiltHome.com - Save 20% off all Valori Wells fabrics, patterns and shirts using code QHAVWS and 20% off Kaffe Fassett fabrics & Books, Philip Jacobs fabrics & Brandon Mabry fabrics using code QHAKC.   [Ends 7/1/13]

Sew Modern - Simply Color, Flutter, Sew Stitchy, Oh Deer!, City Girl, The Birds and the Bees Collections on sale. Get a $5 Sew Modern coupon when you take a class on Craftsy! [While supplies last]

Southern Fabric - 20% off Cherry on Top by Keiki and Free shipping on all US orders over $200. [Unknown]

Sprightly Fabrics - Get 10% Savings storewide using code WELCOME at checkout plus Cocoon, Grand Hotel, Gypsy Caravan, Lilly Belle, Seaside Cottage, and Pagoda Lullaby collections are all on sale. [Unknown]

Stitch Sanctuary - Great end of the month sale that includes 20% off select books, patterns and needles as well as 15% off Batiks and Stabilizers [Ends 6/30/13]

Tactile Fabrics - Comma, Glimma, Bella, Daisy Jane, Color Me Retro, Glimma, etc. bundles are now in the sale section. [While supplies last]

p.s. Know of a great sale or great little shop that needs some extra promoting? Let me know and I will do what I can to help!

xoxo,
Carly Ann

Fabric Shop List Updates!

Tonight I am giving the 12 Minute Tip at the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild meeting, and was asked to do it about online fabric shopping. Luckily this got me thinking about how to improve my shop list, and I think I have done just that!

As I have mentioned many times before, this is a work in progress, and obviously ever changing. Recently I added categories to each shop (well, I'm working on it), as well as highlighting those shops that have been recommended by readers. The categories break down like this:

It might not be a perfect solution, but I think it gives a clearer picture rather than having to scroll through hundreds of shops to find what you are really looking for (although, I highly recommend checking out some of those smaller shops on there. Some Amazing stuff!).

Have a recommendation, comment, good to bad experience, or knowledge about the perfect online gem? Comment here or shoot me an email (link on the right sidebar) and I will get right on it!

Thanks for your help!
Carly Ann

Don't throw away the key...

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

So let me start by saying that this post is long, and if you are not a quilter, will seem a little insane. Not to say this cannot be applied to other situations/ideas in life, just wanted to put that warning up front. I’m also going to say that I know this probably won’t make me any friends, but I’m okay with that. I’m not trying to cause a fight or make anyone mad, just adding in my thoughts to an ongoing conversation. So, I don’t know if this will all flow nicely, or make sense, but I need to vent. It is what it is.

Recently it seems there have been a large number of new posts/articles/quips about the quilt police. Yes, that’s right, the Quilt Police. For those who don’t know what I’m referring to, it's the Judgey McJudgersons that think that anything that doesn’t fit into a nice little box is ‘wrong’ or ‘not worthy.’ While I am still a fairly new quilter, I am still entitled to my opinion, so here it is: back off. I understand that everyone else is also entitled to their opinion, but there is a time, place and way to convey that opinion, and you don’t have to be mean about it. 

From Day To Be You

 

The Modern Quilting Movement

One recent blog post I read titled Quiltcon and the Modern Quilt Movement (and the Quilt Police) from Heartsong Quilts stated when referring to his recent trip to QuiltCon: 

"I think there is a fair amount of arrogance and elitism at work here. The stratified world of hip has reared its ugly head.   Now we not only have to fear the quilters who have “always done it that way,” and who tell us “you’re not doing it right,” but also those who tell us we just don’t get it, we’re not hip enough, not educated enough, don’t hang out with the right crowd."

While I 100% understand the sentiment here, maybe this exact environment is created by the same emotions, actions, and thoughts coming from the other direction? For example, I (as a younger quilter) walk into a quilt shop to browse around. Sometimes I am greeted warmly and sometimes I’m not (not so much coldly, just with some skepticism). Sometimes when I buy lime green fabric that when they ask I tell them is to back a quilt they scoff or just suggest I go for something more traditional rather than something that ‘obnoxious.’ I’ve been told my work is ‘interesting’ or ‘bold’ in the most sarcastic tone I think I’ve ever heard come out of a grandmother’s mouth. So here’s what I think: modern quilters have made their own way. I don’t know, but maybe other MQers have experienced these same things, or even worse. Maybe they are tired of trying to keep up with McJudgersons so they have formed their own community, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.

 

I am not part of the ‘in’ crowd of modern quilting. Yes, I am a member of a MQG, but I don’t travel to shows, have never been to Quilt Market, have not been published and sure as heck have not won any awards, but I don’t blame others for that. If they are doing those things, bravo. Quilting is, for the most part, an individual endeavor, so if they have been able to form a community among themselves to support each other, fantastic! How can anyone think that people coming together to share their love of an art and bring it back into the mainstream is wrong just because we are not right in the thick of it?

The ‘Industry’

Just this past week there were a few posts on the Love Bug Studios blog that got me thinking about this idea of the quilt police even more. First came The Dumbing Down of the Quilting and Sewing Industry.  Essentially her point was that the quilting industry as a whole is being destroyed by the idea that craftsmanship and pride in our work is gone. That is a very poor summary, so I strongly suggest you hop on over to her delightful blog and read it for yourself. A few quotes that stood out to me:

“And so the cycle goes; someone makes crap, the crap sells. More people make crap, and that sells. Then someone makes something even crappier, and THAT sells too, and pretty soon the whole industry is putting out substandard work; fabric quality degrades, everything is made of plastic and breaks easily, and we buy the books and patterns and magazines filled with glossy photos of crappy projects.  This gives everyone the impression that crap is great, and the standards take a hit.  The bar is lowered, and all of a sudden the crap drowns out the well-made so that people don’t even know what well-made is anymore.”

and

 “I’m not objecting to the idea of making crap, what I’m railing against is the part where crap sells and everybody thinks that’s OK.”

Again, I get the sentiment here, but aren’t we blaming the wrong people (if there is anyone to blame at all)? If I sew a baby quilt and post it on Etsy, isn’t it the consumers role to decide if they want to buy it? If I create a pattern or write a book, again it is the consumer’s role to determine if they want to spend that money. Or even more the editors and publishers choice to produce the product? A pattern that one quilter might think is useless, or difficult to follow, or just plain ugly, another may love. Isn’t that their right? A mom who wants a drag around quilt for her toddler might want to buy that fluffy little quilt made with fleece rather than batting. That is her right. There are tons of examples of things produced just because a person or thing is popular at the time. Look at the movie industry, or TV. There are movies that millions go to see just for a popular actor even if we know they are bad, but that is our choice. Hello, Magic Mike? Bazinga!

In a follow-up post An Illustrated Guide to Craptastic Quilting… or, Why The Quilt Police Have Their Place Ebony clarifies a few things. One part of that is who she was/was not referring to (again, I'm summarizing, so please read the whole post on her blog):

“People I Was NOT Talking To: People trying out a new technique, People learning something for the first time, People trying to master a skill, People who are deliberately and intentionally making “art” for whom certain standards may or may not apply…..”

The only problem I have here is this: Isn’t everyone in the industry trying to master one skill or another? Show me a perfect quilt and I will ask you what factory in what county it was produced in. Part of the beauty of quilts is that each one is different, each stitch is different, and none of them are 100% perfect.

 

Also, isn’t everyone making art when they create a quilt?  In Tolstoy’s What Is Art essay he says: “Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.” That to me, sums things up pretty well.  Art, as is quilting, is a way to convey emotion. Whether it is to be happy, sad, excited, crazy, depressed…. The ability to share our feelings through fabric is art.

Gun Quilt by Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio
[Talk about conveying emotion...]



“People I WAS Talking To: People asking for money for products they sell, be it patterns, quilts, teaching gigs, or supplies; People buying and consuming things that the industry and its professionals put out (so you stop buying crap from people who should know better)…."

So I think pretty much anyone that sews can be lumped into that second one there.  People who sew or quilt buy things. There is just no way around that. A few questions: If I buy $5/yd. fabric at Joann’s because I don't get paid until next week, and not $12/yd. fabric at my local quilt shop am I destroying the industry? If I buy a book that I saw online written by a blogger that looks interesting, but may not meet someone else’s standards, am I at fault? If I sell a quilt that I know has a skipped stitch somewhere in there that I can’t locate am I to blame for the degradation of quilting as a whole?

Okay, last quote for fun: 

“I’m using Quilt Police deliberately, because they get such a bad rep.  But think about it… we have Quilt Police in every industry.  We have Food Inspector Police, because we expect our restaurants and food manufacturers to keep the bug:real food ratio to a minimum.  We have Air Traffic Police, because planes’ running into each other in the sky is kind of bad. We have Real Police too, but if the term “Quilt Police” just really gets your goat, just call it “Quality Control” or “Quality Inspection” or “BS Monitor”.”

Um, I think an eColi breakout or a string of robberies are a little more serious than if my paper pieced points match, so I’ll go with calling it Quality Control. LOL

Here’s something else I thought of while writing this: the progression of art in general. Let’s take a look back in history, to art. In 1981 (not so long ago) Douglas Crimp wrote ‘The End of Painting.’ You can read the full text here. For a good portion of his essay he talks of Barbara Rose. In her 1974 essay “Twilight of the Superstars” she rails against an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art called Eight Contemporary Artists. Her point, as is the point of many of those who are not fans of the modern quilt movement, is that just because it is exhibited somewhere, and liked by a few key influential people, it does not make it great, or make it art.  One of her targets was Daniel Buren who later went on to receive the International Award for Best Artist in 1991 among many others, proving once again how subjective art (and in my opinion quilting) is.

Daniel Buren
I chose him because I just want to make quilts out of everything he has ever done.

So what’s the point of all this, who knows. I guess I just wanted to put my two cents out there that I believe everyone has freedom to express themselves however they see fit, and every consumer has the right to spend their money how they see fit. In the not too distant past, quilting was all but unknown by my generation and the one before me. Now, thanks maybe in part to this unconventional modern quilt movement, it is alive and well. Will controversy ever go away in art? No. But the choice is ours as to whether we move forward and express ourselves how we please, or spend our time chastising those around us for trying to do the same thing (perfect ¼” seams or not).

OKC Modern Quilters: Oklahoma Tornado Relief - Moore Love

Information here: OKC Modern Quilters: Oklahoma Tornado Relief - Moore Love

And while I'm here...

A dear friend (and co-workers) sister passed away unexpectedly this past Friday. I am trying to help her daughter plan a memorial while covering for her at work and helping other friends plan an engagement party. Needless to say I'm just treading water at this moment. Hope things get back to 'normal' soon. Thanks for understanding and for all your kind Birthday emails!

xoxo,
Carly Ann

My Girls #2 - Donna's Quilt

In my last post I summed up my group of girlfriends pretty well, so this post will not be nearly as long, but I think each girl, and each quilt, deserves their own entry. Next up this month was Donna.

I think when I look at the whole group of us, Donna is the rock. It's not always easy, but she has finds a way to balance A LOT on her plate and still be a constant support to those around her. She is the one I turn to when I'm lost, and whether she realizes it or not somehow I end up 'found' in no time at all. A good cup of coffee on her porch, Sunday dinner at Pei Wei, or a Wednesday yoga session in her garage and it just seems to calm me down. She has the gathering house and I can't even come close to counting the number of birthdays, holidays, etc. we have celebrated there. Not only is she a wonderful friend, but an unbelievable mom to my favorite 7 year old Roxy. All of this together is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm so glad we are 'neighbors' now, and can't imagine it being any different. This kind of sums it up though.....

So onto the quilt. A while back I asked the girls to send me some ideas for colors, shapes, designs, etc. that they would like. In all fairness it was a pretty broad questions, but Donna's answer by far took the cake. Her reply, and I quote:

"...I like flying pigs in any color, hearts, polka dots, Xs and Os, and weenie dogs..."

I'm not even kidding. Megan gave the best response: "You're weird." I pondered this one for quite a while. How the heck do you take all this and put it into a quilt? I mean hearts with Xs and Os are easy, but would be very Valentines. Oh, and where in the world do I find weenie dog fabric? Yeah, this was a tough one.

I searched online for different polka dot quilts. I figured I would start with the easiest of the patterns she mentioned and work from there. In doing that I came across this circle quilt from Bijou Lovely. It's not exactly what I was thinking, but it was enough to get the creative juices flowing.

Next stop, fabric! Being the procrastiquilter that I am I did not have enough time to order online, so I did the dreaded Joann's trip. Don't get me wrong, I luck out there a lot, but it's just not ideal. I decided once I was there to start with the hardest fabrics and then coordinate with those. This meant I was searching for flying pigs and weenie dogs. Lord help me!

I struck out on the flying pigs. There were pigs, there were angels, but the two combined, no go. Even when I looked later online, there was a serious lacking of flying pigs. Can someone work some Spoonflower magic for me?

Weenie dogs on the other hand, appear to be all the rage! Who knew? I first found this one...

Seriously... Weenie dogs in sweaters? Adorable!

It was almost perfect, but red is not really the color I think of when I think of Donna. It was a little over saturated, so I decided to keep looking. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this....

Dachshunds in rain boots! Um, yes please!

I'm not so much an OMG sqee kinda girl, but this is some seriously cute fabric. I also lucked out that there was about 4 yards left. I bought it all because you never know when you will need a good dog fabric, right? The easy part came after locating this one. I decided to look for the other elements in coordinating colors. The polka dots and hearts were easy, and I found a great graphic floral and a fun chevron that fit perfectly.

In comes procrastiquilter again, and work took over my life for a few days. I got the fabric cut and the backing measured, but the final piecing and quilting had to wait until Saturday. You guessed it, the day before her birthday. Do you see a pattern developing here?

I created some basic circle templates with card stock. If you can't tell, I used a drinking glass, coffee mug, dessert plate and dinner plate as templates. I found that these four make a great variety.

After tracing the templates onto fusible I cut, cut, and cut some more. For each set I layered about five pieces of fusible together, pinned and cut. For me, this is a huge time saver. Being so rotary cutter dependent makes me dread having to cut things by hand.

Once I had what I thought would be a good number of circles I cut fabric. This might sound a little backwards to some people who like to iron on fusible before cutting the circles, but I was really unsure of the layout, so I decided to cut the fabric first, then iron.

I don't even want to tell you how many times I moved these around. Up and down and back and forth. Switching colors, sizes, rotating designs, etc. Finally I said enough is enough and started ironing. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I will share it anyway. After ironing the fusible to each circle I score them with an X with a needle.  This makes it so much easier for me to rip off each little piece of the pie, rather than trying to pick off the paper. This is especially helpful where there are no sharp edges or corners!

So fabric ironed to fusible, and fusible circles ironed to the backing, it was already time to baste the quilt! At this point I got a little over confident on my time schedule and took a nap. Big mistake! Oh well, lesson (not) learned. So, all well rested I got back to work basting. I'm an over pinner. I'm not careful about smoothing and checking while I'm quilting, so I have found it works better for me in the long run. You have to find what works best for you.

Still feeling pretty confident on time I took another break to hang out with the boyfriend. I'm not sure I've mentioned it before, but he is in nursing school. That means that when are both home, and he's not studying, I try and take advantage! So yeah, another big mistake on timing, but well worth it. Now, onto quilting. I stuck with what I know and did a mixed up meander. No real good process pictures of it, but this gives you an idea. My stitching is not as even as I would like, but I am getting better. I think.

So I took my time on this part and before I knew it, it was 2:30am. Oops. At least I had a nap, right?! I whipped up some binding (without measuring of course) and took a quick coffee break. At this point I was seriously regretting the whole nap/dinner/boyfriend time I took. LOL

3am still binding. This picture also gives you a good idea on my whole spool binding deal. I move my thread over to the horizontal, and put an empty bobbin on the vertical spool holder thing (does this have a name?) with my binding spool on top. This keeps it out of the way (empty bobbin gives it height to be over top of the thread spool), untangled, and the best part, I don't pin and it doesn't matter. I just pull the binding off bit by bit and it feeds through the machine. Easy peasy.

UPDATE to answer a question: Yes, that is the machine I do all my quilting on. It is a Huskystar C10 that I think I bought back in 2005 or 2006? I tried to find one on sale somewhere to find out the real details on it, but apparently they don't really exist. Not surprised. So yeah, it's got 5.5 inches under the harp there that I shove all my quilts through. Good times. It has tension issues, and it likes to break needles, but that's ok. It's what I have, and I have learned to work around, and most of the time laugh at, her little quirks. Would I like a new machine? Of course! Can we afford one? Not at all. Oh well, it's something to work towards! Goals are good!


Side note on the UPDATE: I named my machine Mardell after my grandmother. She lived across the country, so I never got to sew with her, but she is still my inspiration. Oh, and naming your machine after your dead grandmother is great until she acts up and then it sounds like I'm yelling at my grandmother's to settle down among other colorful expressions.

Okay, sorry about that. Back to the quilt. I finished up around 4am, just in time to throw it in the wash, have a quick 4 hour snooze, toss it in the dryer, and then off to Donna's for birthday breakfast. Again, don't know how I finished, but I did. I amaze even myself. So Donna literally jumped up and down while saying "I wanna see, I wanna see, I wanna see." I had been teasing her all day with little snaps on instagram. Little jewels like this one that kept her in suspense. Even made it black and white so she couldn't see the colors. Sneaky sneaky!

So without further ado, Donna's birthday quilt!

Added a "D" at the bottom in hopes that she could keep it from Roxy ;)

Only one time through the dryer, so I'm hoping the circle edges will continue to fray.

So in love with this backing!

  That's all folks. Now, I need a nap!