Monday, July 18, 2011

Quilting

For my birthday, my inlaws wanted to get me something I wanted and would actually use, so, Susan took me quilt fabric shopping one day to feed my new hobby! Luckily, there is a lovely little shop very near their home.

The Mennonite Quilt Center

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They had a great selection of fabrics and notions. They also hold classes and take orders for machine quilting of pieced works. It’s a great shop and makes me wish we lived nearby so I could visit more often.

A fun touch…. along the sidewalk near the shop, are tiled ‘quilt’ patches in the sidewalk!

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(the sun was very bright so some of these were difficult to photograph)

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and my favorite… I love star patterns.

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We also dropped into their ‘Nearly New’ shop next door – as if I needed anything else to mail home - but it’s an organization that supports good charities, so we popped in. I found a small handful of nice crochet booklets to bring back.

Oh, and my birthday ‘loot’…

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close up of the colors

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There are coordinating pre-cut strips of cool blues and greens, with hints of burgundy and brown, and I picked up a pattern book that will help me use these stripes with a minimum of head-scratching on my part (seeing as I’m still learning!). I think this will make a pretty throw or small bed-cover.

Thank you! :)

3 comments:

Lydia said...

Ooo, that fabric bundle looks amazing! Is it batik? If it is, a word of warning, make sure you launder it before cutting & sewing. I learned that lesson the hard way on a skirt for Eliza.

Connie said...

Yes, they are batiks... I fell in love with the blues as soon as I saw the pack!... All of the fabrics (the strips as well as the batik border pieces) are 100% cotton, same brand, and made for quilting so I figure sewing it all together and then launder, it should all shrink the same. I'm actually more concerned about color bleed, but I have some of of the color suspension stuff (synthrapol - I think that's the name?!) you use when washing out tie-dyes. Most forums say don't wash... esp. not the pre-cut strips.

Expat Mom said...

Wow, 40 colors . . . I'm drooling! Guatemalan fabrics tend to run, as well, so we usually wash anything tipical here with a cup of vinegar. I can't wait to see what you create with these goodies!