This week I've got stuck in with some old and new projects and been really quite productive:
1: Double Irish Chain Quilt - you're forgiven if you've forgotten that I ever started making this one!
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| Fully sandwiched and basted using Quilters Dream Cotton Request in white rather than natural to keep the crispness of the white fabric - do you have any idea how sore my knees are now?! |
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| The diagonals are marked out ready for quilting using a Clover Hera marker |
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| A section of free motion quilting - might take a while, I've done 5/18 sections and my shoulders are killing!!! |
and 2: A Baby/Lap Quilt - part of the collection I'm putting together ready for opening my Etsy Store so no photos just yet.
On Friday Flicky and I had an unsuccessful trip to the Social Security office in Jersey City. It's not how either of us wanted to spend a Friday afternoon but our Green Cards arrived the week before Christmas and now we need to apply for our Social Security Numbers so that, if we want to, we can work and maybe set up an Etsy store!!! When we got to the SS office, as instructed by my husband, we discovered they moved last March and it was too late in the day for us to get over to the new location on the other side of Jersey City. Well what are two girls supposed to do when they're all dressed up and nowhere to go? What's that? Are you feeling it too? Can anyone else smell fabric???
What a perfect opportunity to visit the Marimekko store on 5th and 23rd Street, Manhattan - I was excited to check out the gorgeous fabrics, there're some great designs and colours there. I didn't stay excited for long, though - the patterns are really large, they'd look great for whole cloth quilts but I'd suggest nothing smaller than a twin, if you started cutting and piecing the fabric I think the fab design would be lost and you'd very probably have pieces that were one solid colour. Still I thought maybe I'd like to use some of these cottons so I asked a sales assistant what price they are - now are you sitting down or at least holding on to something? ... she tells me in a voice that says "if you have to ask you can't afford it"
What a perfect opportunity to visit the Marimekko store on 5th and 23rd Street, Manhattan - I was excited to check out the gorgeous fabrics, there're some great designs and colours there. I didn't stay excited for long, though - the patterns are really large, they'd look great for whole cloth quilts but I'd suggest nothing smaller than a twin, if you started cutting and piecing the fabric I think the fab design would be lost and you'd very probably have pieces that were one solid colour. Still I thought maybe I'd like to use some of these cottons so I asked a sales assistant what price they are - now are you sitting down or at least holding on to something? ... she tells me in a voice that says "if you have to ask you can't afford it"
$53/yard.
Yeah you really read that right but just to be sure that you don't think I've done a typo
$53/yard.
Now this fabric is cute but it's just 100% cotton - no special finish, no handsewn embellishment.
So guess what Flicky and I did?
We left and I'm thinking we won't be back again in a hurry (but don't hold me to that cos it was really cute ;) ).
We left and I'm thinking we won't be back again in a hurry (but don't hold me to that cos it was really cute ;) ).
Guess what we did next?
We headed to our Manhattan LQS and here's a look at what we bought for a far more reasonable $9.88/yard with my NYC Metro Mod Guild discount.
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| 'captain redbeard by De Leon Design Group for The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 'Launch' by Lesley Grainger Design for Robert Kaufman 'Googlies' by Michele D'Amore for Benartex |
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| 'Ric Rac Rabbits' by Marisa and Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics Inc 'The Red Thread' by Marisa and Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics Inc |
I'll use these fabrics to add to my 'Etsy Store' collection, just need to get my Kona Solid colour chart out, pick some gorgeous colours to go with them and order it online. I think I'll save that job for tomorrow. Oh, and I guess at some stage I'm going to have to head over to that relocated Social Security office! :)
For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my side bar :D
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.
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Double Irish Chain Quilt - Strips All Sliced
Another Busy Week
Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?
Two Quilts and Making Progress
Project Update And Shout Out for The Agitprop Quilter
It's Here - It's Available !!!
That was nice to visit the store with you, to see the fabrics and especially to see the pretty unfinished quilt yet.
ReplyDeleteNana
Glad you enjoyed it Nana, it was a good day out :)
Delete$53 a yard is ridiculous! Do people really spend that much? I saw all those pins in your quilt and have two words for you: 'basting spray'! Give it I try. I did and I love it!
ReplyDeleteI was busy thinking about the price of the quilts I'm making to sell and for a moment I wondered if using Marimekko fabric could be my USP but quickly decided that was a no brainer.
DeleteI haven't tried basting spray yet - most of the quilts I make are for babies/children and my first quilting teacher at The City Quilter suggested that it might not be a good idea to use a spray on quilts for babies/children so I've steered well clear. Of course pin basting smaller quilts isn't really an issue but I think maybe I'm ready to give it a go on larger quilts for adults. I'll check it out next time I'm at The City Quilter. :)
Crumbs - is that the SALE price?? I see from the windows they have a sale on!! Crazy prices! Maybe the fabric comes in a gold plated box?
ReplyDeleteI don't know about "quite" productive - looks to me like you've been VERY productive indeed! I love French General! Great "fussy cutting" you have there - those figures are so cute.
No, to be fair that isn't the sale price - the sale had 50% off but of course only a handful of fabrics (maybe 1/5 or less) were included in the sale (and none that I was interested in) and the majority were still full price. 50% is quite a good sale percentage but we're still talking $27/yard so you don't want to buy even at a sale price unless it's a fabric that you really love.
DeleteI'm so pleased you noticed my fussy cutting. It was a bit tricky as I'm working from a layer cake and there's not that many 'whole' images to work with - I might get one maybe two more good fussy cuts for some more sampler blocks but I think that'll be my lot. :)
I wish I'd been with you!
ReplyDeleteFiona x
Oh that assistant had such attitude F. I think she thought I was a tourist (something to do with my accent and it being opposite the Flatiron building in a more 'tourist' area) and it's not the first time I've been treated 'differently' as a tourist rather than a local.
DeleteLast week my son was given the run around in H&M by Macys - they told him company policy said he couldn't return a shirt that was damaged when it was bought as it was his responsibility to check for damage before buying an item and that he had to take it back to the store it was bought in - I really think they are just giving tourists the brush off thinking they won't be coming back soon. He took it into a H&M that's not in a tourist area and got full on great service straight away, a replacement and an apology. There's nothing else for it - I'll have to get practising my NYC accent! :)
$53/yard? What did it look like? Did it feel extra nice?
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous design but the patterns are HUGE so they'd work better as upholstery or for curtains, cutting into the design you'd just lose all that makes it special. The fabric is just normal 100% quilting weight cotton for $53, nothing special at all - they do do other finishes that are more expensive! :)
Deletethey will be beautiful quilts, love the sampler one. And I really love those ricrac rabbits!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to testing the next sampler blocks Wendy and can't wait to work with those rabbits!!! :)
DeleteGlad the sampler blocks are going down well - yay!
DeleteI've made a bag with Marrimekko fabrics bought in the sale and they were a lot less than $53 a yard I can tell you!
ReplyDeleteLove the French General fabric blocks.
Good luck with your next trip to the Social Security office.
Wow, where did you get hold of it cheaper F? Is it the one fabric that's available cheaper in Europe than the States? The choice of sale fabrics wasn't that large and didn't include any of the designs that I was interested in though they were 50% off but that's still pretty steep by US standards at $27.
DeleteI'm building myself up now ready for that next visit to the SS office! :)
The double Irish Chain quilt is just gorgeous. Such lovely soft colours, but no wonder your knees were hurting, I think quilting should come with a health warning! As you know I just LOVE your French General blocks. And that rabbit fabric is so cute xx
ReplyDeleteOh Sarah, quilting that Double Irish Chain quilt is just killing me. The quilting pattern is just playing havoc with my shoulders. I was hoping to be done more quickly but I had to give myself a few days off to recover and now I'll have to do just a small bit at a time.
DeleteCan't quite believe it but I've also decided to add more hearts around each pattern section and also to do a version of the heart pattern all around the border. I think I must be crazy but I think it'll look so much better for it in the end :)