I just finished quilting this UFO, which has been hanging in my closet for several years. Today I sewed on the binding and moved it into the living room so I can hand sew it to the back while watching TV.
I'm so glad to have this almost finished. A friend of mine bought me the pattern after she saw me admiring the made up sample in a quilt shop.
I stitched in the ditch first, then quilted feathers in the brown setting triangles. Once it is totally done I'll take a better picture of the quilting so you can see how I quilted each section.
A friend and I went to 8 shops on the "Snowflakes and Stitches Shop Hop" - 6 of them on Monday. Below you can see my purchases. I bought more than I had been planning on buying - surprise, surprise! I have some projects in mind.
When shopping, I always look for the "scrap bin" that some quilt shops have to see if I can get some scraps that I can use. I didn't take a picture of them, but Grandma's Attic in Dallas, OR had one and you can fill a plastic bag with as much fabric as you can squeeze in for $4.99. I debated doing it, but decided to see if there was enough fabric I liked to make it worth while. I starting wondering how much fabric you actually got for that amount of money. One of the other shops in the shop hop is our local quilt shop, Boersma's Sewing Center and they have a little chest of drawers with scraps in them - those scraps cost 50⍧ per ounce. I wondered if that was a better deal than a baggie for $4.99.
So when I got home, I decided to weigh some fabric to see how much one yard weighs. I weighed 4 fat quarters and they weighed 4 1/4 oz. One yard of a different fabric weighed 6 oz. So, I kind of averaged it out and figured that 5 oz. is about what one yard of cotton fabric weighs. So, I weighed the baggie from Grandma's Attic and it weighed 11 oz. That means that I got approximately 2 yards of fabric for $4.99. If I bought $5 worth of scraps from Boersmas, which would be 10 oz, I would get approximately 2 yards. So, I think that price is pretty good.
Am I the only nutty quilter who loves to dig through the scrap bins? Please don't tell me that I am!
And, oh, BTW, my friend and I both agreed that the best shops we went to were Boersma's Sewing Center, Greenbaum's Quilted Forest, Grandma's Attic, and The Quilted Hill.
Lovely looking basket quilt; I look forward to seeing how you quilt each section. I've been to all four stores you mention, only haven't been to Quilted Hill since they reopened. The only one that I wasn't crazy about is Greenbaum's. They're a great store, but they don't (at least in the past) carry much in "my style" of fabrics. They have many other good attributes though and are very friendly and helpful.
ReplyDeleteYour basket quilt is so, so pretty; I know you are proud to get it finished. I love the bird fabric you bought. (Did you notice the quilt shop for sale????) Thanks so very much for your sweet note I received yesterday; I truly treasure your friendship! (And hubby's too!) ---"Love"
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it feel good to take action on those long time UFOs? Looking forward to see how you quilt up this great basket quilt. Love the feathers in the setting triangles!
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. A quilt shop near me (that has since closed) used to have a scrap bin and you could fill little paper bags with all you could fit and it was about $3, if I recall correctly. I was the scrap queen. I would dig through the scrap bin for the longest time and then go to the classroom tables and sort and fold everything to get as much in the bag as I could. I was known to fill several bags in one sitting. : )
At the Keepsake Quilting tent sale one of the most fun things is digging through the scrap boxes is the most fun!
Scraps are my favorite thing ever!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE to dig in scrap bins. It's my favorite thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI love that basket quilt! Baskets are probably my favorite quilt block. Your shop hop proved to be very successful! I too love to scrounge around the bargain basements and scrap bins in quilt shops, sometimes all you need is that one piece of perfect fabric for a small project.
ReplyDeleteYour basket quilt in the header is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteI loved that you weighed your fabric to figure out the best deal! I would have thought filling the bag for sure. Looks like you found some great buys.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful basket quilting and quilt! As for loving the scrap bins, yes, it often stirs up my need to "rescue" those poor dear scraps to bring them to where they are loved and appreciated. Often they become my sawtooth star blocks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty basket quilt. I always like the combo of pink and brown. Okay, pink and anything.
ReplyDeletepretty feather stitching!
Are you kidding?! The scrap bin is an absolute must when visiting the quilt shops. I've picked up some great bargains and lovely fabrics. This probably explains why my fabric cupboard is groaning.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful quilt - and I'm not usually one for basket quilts in general. Your fabric choices are perfect! And my mom frequents the scrap bins. I'm not so good with the scrappy style (I want control!), so usually my visits to the scrap bin are limited to times when my mom is along and helping her find stuff I think she'll like. But it IS fun to dig through there and wonder what project each scrap came from and how it made its way into the shop scrap bin.
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