Category Archives: Choosing Quilt Fabric

Equal Opportunity Quilter

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You may recall that earlier this summer, I made a t-shirt quilt that was made with a whole lot of maroon and white fabric, from one of the two main universities in Texas.  If you want a refresher on that quilt, you can search “t-shirt” (no quotes) in the search box on this blog.

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to put together a quilt for a local business owner who is pregnant.  I know the recipient’s mother and love her to pieces.  Normally, with my MS so out of control these days, I would never have taken on a project that had such a quick deadline…but, because I care for the lady who ordered it and I care for the Mom of the intended, I said I would do it.

This quilt was to be from clothes from the recipient’s father, who passed away earlier this year.  When I finally got the clothes, I was perplexed at what to do with them.  There were two shirts, one pair of khaki pants and a number of golf towels in the bag.  HUH?

I had an MRI in the city on Friday and we had a bit of spare time before we picked up our daughter for the weekend so we stopped at a fabric store so I could pick up some fabric to use on the baby quilt.  Based on the colors of the quilt I made earlier this year, this time, the fabric was from the other major university in Texas – I am nothing but an equal opportunity quilter!

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I spent the weekend trying to figure out how I was going to make this quilt, since the fabrics were all different.  I put together the center of the quilt…then added a bit more…then contemplated the universe how I was going to incorporate the golf towels into the quilt.  Finally, on Sunday evening, it hit me…and I went forth and conquered!  Monday evening, I completed the baby quilt top and it’s ready for the quilter.

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Whew, made it by the deadline without stressing myself and making my MS worse!

AbbiMays.com Five Yard Bundles

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I often find myself with a lot of fat quarters and very little yardage to go with it!  You too?

One thing I have found to keep my fabric stash balanced amongst all of the baskets full of fat quarters and fabric scraps is to purchase a couple of Five Yard Bundles from AbbiMays.com.

These bundles are not the pick-and-choose what fabrics you specifically want but all of them go together, either with matching fabrics or coordinating fabrics.  And the price?  It cannot be beat – $22 for five yards of fabric.  Unheard of, these days!  Here are a few that caught my eye from the “Quilting for Charity” page:

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Just having these beauties would make my heart sing and my quilting gene sore!  Go ahead, check out the amazing specials offered by AbbiMays.com.  And if you purchase there, use the coupon code tammy10 for an additional 10% off your purchase!

My Favorite Fabric Supplier Does it Again! And Again with Coupon!

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I just love shipments from AbbiMays.com!  Here is some more fabric she cut for me, for a future quilt.  There will be more on the way for this particular quilt but these are the first three fabrics in that quilt design’s beginning.

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And now, I get to look at them in all their luscious glory, stroke them, see the quilt design they are intended to be used for and just dream a little about having so many of these lovely fabrics in my stash.  Today, it’s a great day to shop and play at AbbiMays.com!  And EVERYDAY at AbbiMays.com is pricing that cannot be beat!

After Linda read this post, she sent this reply:

Tammy’s is my friend too!

We have mutual friends so you get 10% off anything in my shop!  Just use the coupon code tammy10 (no italics necessary) !

 

Stash Buster Project Organization

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I will be the first to admit that I break training when it comes to keeping my fabric stash organized.  I have a high cutting table (built especially for my height so as not to strain my back) and I am forever piling projects or papers on it – instead of using it for its intended purpose.  Part of my reasoning is that half of the table is out of my reach because my sewing room is the smallest room in the house.  The other part of my reasoning is that I am quite forgetful (thank you MS) and by having my projects right in front of me, I can remember what I need to work on next, after I finish a project.

During the summer, our middle daughter and I had to make a run to a dollar store for some items to get the kids ready for summer camps and I found baskets that I thought would fit perfectly on my sewing room shelves.  Once the baskets were in my sewing room, middle daughter wanted to help me with my organization of fabrics – I also think she was searching for fabric that she may want to use for a project 🙂

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The dollar store that we went to wasn’t actually a “Dollar Store” as the products were anywhere from a dollar and up.  We purchased six medium sized baskets and two smaller baskets – they were $2 each.  Later, on another of my dollar store trips, I *did* find the same size baskets for $1 and snatched up six more of them as my DD had to overfill some baskets because I had more stash on that one shelf than I imagined (blush).

As my fellow quilters know, there are just some quilts and quilted projects (table runners, table toppers, etc.) that are just meant to be made from scraps.  The stash speaks to us, just as a pile of new fabric speaks to us.  Okay, I am going out on a limb with saying that – MY fabric speaks to ME – you don’t have to admit that yours does, too 😀

Here is the fabric I picked out of my stash for a fun quilt project:

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Now comes my long overdue revelation – those one dollar baskets?  They are PERFECT for holding the fabric for the next quilt or quilt project on my to-do list.  And I can organize them by placing one inside the other with the most pressing projects in the top basket!

It’s a shame I am so slow in understanding how important it is to organize my fabric stash – but, it’s downright embarrassing to say that may of you may already be organizing your projects with some type of basket.  I have done well in keeping my stash organized throughout the summer.  Although, I have to admit that once I cleaned off my cutting table, I had to start piling finished projects or works in progress projects there – there just isn’t room for a larger basket and my shelves are all full to brimming over!