Here is my progress so far on the Very Hungry Caterpillar. This project is now completely associated with Dexter - I high quality show I recommend to everyone! I have watched the first two seasons while sewing this guy. Is it wrong to sew a Very Hungry Caterpillar while watching a show about the trials and tribulations of a serial killer? ... Nah!... As I am unwilling to buy Showtime, I am going to need something new to sew to, though.
Here is my newest project (kind of). I've had this kit for a long time. My mom bought it for me after I lusted for it at Ben Franklin (where I picked up many crafts and lost many dollars!). I am finally getting around to making it. Currently, I'm making the blue and yellow squares. It's for Juno, one of the cats. She is really annoyed I gave away both of the blankies she was sleeping on. I think it's about time to make her one that won't go away. Also, if I don't, she will start plopping down on whatever I am working on at the time. Even when I have it in the machine. I turn my head, I look back, and there she is! So, yeah, it's a bribe. A very cute bribe. Just look at the giggling mice!
Hee hee hee!
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Moda has a fascinating video on how they make their fabrics from start to finish. Here is the link: video. They also have a bunch of pictures of magazines covers of issues in which they have been featured. One interesting headline: "McQuilting: Are We Taking The Creativity Out Of Patchwork?". Yup, we totally are. Patchwork is supposed to be hard. We are supposed to delight in the hunt for color-compatible prints, not be able to buy a set of designed-to-match fat quarters. However, I am not going to complain (that much). The former method, while challenging, can be very frustrating, and requires a huge stockpile of fabrics. I don't want to have a huge stockpile of fabrics - that's what the stores are for. Further, I find more delight in the skill side of piecing (precision points). So I am torn on this issue. Luckily, I don't sew enough to really worry tremendously.
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So last spring I was looking for a specific black and white print to finish a certain project. I ended up visiting a number of shops in my area which I had never visited before. This had the unfortunate effect of causing me to pick up fabrics while I was in these shops. One thing I discovered is that Moda is king of the fabric companies right now. Boy, do they make some beautiful prints. What is worse, they sell sets of these prints in precut form for each line of fabrics. You can buy 2 inch wide strips, or 10 inch squares, or 5 inch squares. For someone like me, who is highly attracted to both sets of things, and scrap-type quilts, this is a nightmare. What this means is that I can buy a 5 inch square of practically every fabric Moda makes. I can collect them all! So far I have resisted. I still dream of a 5 inch square of every single 30s reproduction print ever made, however.
I did encounter a set of 5 inch squares ("nickles") that I couldn't resist. It was pouring down rain that day, and the prints were just so springy! I went home and decided to use a nine-patch crib quilt design from Quilt: Handmade Style. Too bad I'd need a second nickle pack! That gave me a chance to get the fabric for the back, anyway. Fortunately, I already had the white print. That had been for a project that never got off the ground. Thrifty!
I had to set this project aside at the begining of the summer to finish the signal flags one, but I was able to finish it off right after.
I decided to do something new with this one. I am getting it long-arm quilted at the shop. I am getting dragonflies stitched all over it! Another new thing I did: not pre-washing the fabric. Because it came in 5 inch squares, pre-washing didn't make sense. So we shall see what happens its first time through the dryer!
So that's the story! Here is the picture of the finished top, with the backing fabric:
I eagerly await the phone call telling me to come and pick it up!
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Bordered, backed, batted, flipped, tied, packed, and SHIPPED! Only a few days after the little guy's 6 month birthday. Not too bad, really. Here is a photo:
Since the cloud print was long gone, we have a stormy water border. This is the back fabric:
I LOVE IT! So beautiful. And nautical, too! I have a strip left over. I would love another yard, though. What would I do with it?
So there we have it - I finished something! Yay! \o/ That's not all I have finished, though! More later!
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Hee hee hee!
