Saturday, November 26, 2011

Charmed Prints QAL

oc pictures 2180 oc pictures 2184
oc pictures 2190 oc pictures 2187
oc pictures 2188 oc pictures 2185

Do you start with fabric or start with a pattern first?  I definitely start with fabric!  In fact, you might say I have a little too much.  I joined the Japanese Charm Swap here on Gen X Quilters which was a lot of fun.  Then when a charm pack quilt along came up, I thought the pattern was unique and that I’d give it a go.  But then I got stuck.  I didn’t know what fabric to use (I didn’t feel inspired to use the Japanese charms), and I certainly didn’t want to buy any considering what the shelves in my office look like!

oc pictures 2181

The quilt along started quite a while ago, but I only got my game on during the Thanksgiving holiday.  I’ve made all the “special” blocks for the pattern, a few extra in fact, and I did *ahem* place an emergency fabric order on Fabric.com on Wednesday—butterflies and hearts!-- so I have two more pieces coming my way that I am going to use for a few additional special blocks, but for the most part, all the hard work is done. 

oc pictures 2182

It took a while for the inspiration to hit, but I started with two blocks, picking fabric from my stash and fussy cutting the centers before I got on a roll.  I just picked things I thought Esther (my middle daughter) would like, and then she helped pick out fabric she liked, too.  Her older sister Bea has gobs of quilts I’ve made for her, although she feels a little miffed whenever I’m working on something not for her!

oc pictures 2193

The best news?  I was thinking I’d need to go through and cut a bunch of charms from my stash.  Then I remembered that when I first started reading blogs, I entered a giveaway and WON!!!  It was the first giveaway I’d ever entered, and I was a bit skeptical.  But then a package came in the mail containing two charm packs and a layer cake!  I still have one of the charm packs.  I’ve looked at it enough that the paper band holding it together is missing now, so I’m not sure of the name, but the colors are pretty and, more importantly, even though it’s not totally matchy-matchy with my special blocks, a little white sashing is going to make them look great together!!!!  My special blocks have some lavender in them, so I’ll need to augment the charms with a few purples, but other than that, I’m ready to go on to the next step, making the quilt top, the directions tba on Tuesday.

oc pictures 2197-1

I’m linking this up to Love Affair With My Brother this week.

5 comments:

  1. I love those blocks. Pink is one of my favorites. I wish I had seen that Quilt-a-long earlier, but I will still do it on my own.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh, these blocks look beautiful, they'll make a gorgeous quilt, Jamie!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cute blocks! This light green and pink is so nice together and with those carefully fussy cut centers it´s an I spy quilt at the same time. (Something different: I just had a look at the celebrate color contest entries and noticed your pumpkin table runner is gone???)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your fabric choices. I'm like you! I pick the fabric first, too!
    Thanks for linking up to This Week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I see more birds there. =) Your quilt is going to be so cute. Sometimes I see fabric and a quilt idea is born, and sometimes I have a pattern and see the fabric and colors in my mind.

    ReplyDelete

Some days the only adult I talk to is my husband...help him keep his sanity by leaving a comment so I have another adult to talk sewing with:) I will make sure to reply!