Binding and Buying

You guys, I have not sewn a single thing of my own this week. I've quilted and attached binding on multiple large quilts. And spent lots of money.

First up is the quilts. These all belong to Ann. This first one is a set of pillow shams. Quilting design is Windswept and I used a variegated Fantastico thread at her request. I don't typically offer variegated because it is significantly more expensive than solid thread and the colorways are so specific that it's not a sound financial decision to just buy them to have on hand. I don't usually charge a thread fee except in situations like this where I have to buy something out of the ordinary. It does look cool though.

This is a king size batik quilted with the Malachite design. I wish you could see the whole quilt in person. The colors are gorgeous. Thread is Glide Cool Mint. 
And the matching pair of pillow shams.
The next one is quilted with A Fishy Tail. I did this one in a pretty small scale, which took forever. It looks really cute though, so it was worth it. Thread is Glide Pearl.
And this last one is quilted with Fall Foliage using Glide Sand thread. I'm working on attaching binding to the front of all the quilts (plus her Melodic and her t-shirt quilt with minky backing from last week). 
My husband and I took a day last week to go on the Indiana Quilter's Trail Shop Hop. I spent way too much money. The shops were mostly around the Indianapolis area and included a few I'd never been to. I rarely go out anywhere anymore other than guild meetings, appointments, my recent IKEA trips, and very occasionally to grocery shop. So this was a big deal in a way. 

The shops were Not Your Average Quilter (male-owned and worth the trip), Quilts Plus (relocated and tiny but great curated selection), True Cotton Company (different brands than everyone else), Quilt Quarters (under different ownership and very transformed since I'd last been there--huge selection), Always in Stitches (only place that sells Fig Tree from what I can see), Crimson Tate (most fun always), and Back Door Quilts (celebrating 50 years in business this year 🤯). 

Here are all my shop hop kits and other shop freebies. Amanda Castor designed the quilt. Wanna take bets on how long it takes me to complete this top?
I did find a quilt backing for one of my very oldest unfinished quilts. I wasn't planning to buy anything for that, so I had to call my daughter and have her measure the quilt top so I could calculate what I needed. I still love this quilt even though it was one of my first and the points don't match and/or are cut off. 

I was specifically looking for Riley Blake Swiss dots for a quilt backing and no one carried that line. I was totally surprised by that--I consider it a basic. Luckily I was able to order it from Fat Quarter Shop online using a gift certificate I won in the Loves Me, Loves Me Not QAL. That worked out well since the backing is for that quilt. 😄 

I was trying to be really focused and buy backing fabric and the shop hop kits, however...here are my impulse buys. My husband encouraged me on these. The green fat quarter with the words was a freebie from Mike Stephens' shop. Several of the fabrics I bought from Crimson Tate were on sale and the text fabric was a remnant.
Something I was surprised by is how much the cost of fabric has increased. I shouldn't be surprised because I know how much thread and batting costs have risen over the past few years, but the $15/yard fabrics shocked me. This should be good incentive for me to use what I have. I've been trying to anyway, but this was a special occasion, I guess.

We also stopped at IKEA to buy cabinet doors. It was conveniently right along our route. Our project isn't quite complete yet, but here is a sneak peek of the custom walnut legs my husband made. 


The OMG March finish link up is still open for a few more days and the April goal link up opens on Saturday. I think I've decided on my April goal and I shared my March completion on the finish link up post--the last post I wrote before this one if you haven't seen it yet. I'm hoping to find some spare time to go look at all the finishes soon.

Linking with My Quilt Infatuation and  For the Love of Geese.

3 comments

  1. You have purchased some lovely fabrics! I went on a shop hop last month with some friends. I shopped the clearance racks for my purchases. The quilting on the quilts looks so nice. You do such a great job matching the quilting design to the quilt, happy stitching!

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  2. Seven shops in one day--inspirational accomplishment!!! Love that pink rainbow-ish print! Keep on quilting! (You might need to pencil in one day a week or every 2 weeks for your own quilts!!!)

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    1. Woohoo for a good shop hop!! I’m still needing a good trip to IKEA for a new cutting table with storage (files, bolts, projects!!) but it’s going to take some real thought to get it done just right. Might have to take 2 trips! Oi!

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