Crazy Busy

This is a post of random notes.

Thank-you so much for the support for Quilts Recover. I'm seeing posts go up around the blogosphere by friends. Emails are coming in already. If there wasn't this rotating postal strike some quilts might even be on their way already!

There've been a number of suggestions for Quilts Recover. Different chapters, financial donations, and offers of quilting tops sent from far away. I promise you that I'm sorting through all the ideas and figuring out ways to maximize quilts and quilters' generosity. You folks are just awesome.

There wasn't a lot of quilting done in the last week. I was up to my eyeballs in writing deadlines. In one day I interviewed Jennifer Paganelli (Oh, she is so awesome!) and a handful of goat farmers (also awesome). In between butt wiping and baking muffins for preschool. Now that's the life!

Lastly, I'm getting the binding on the Shades of Grey quilt. That's today's task, along with prepping for The Monster's 5th birthday party tomorrow.

Then, on Thursday, I'm having knee surgery. Finally. Just one of my knees, but they will check out the other while I'm down for the count. Needless to say, there won't be a lot of quilty action, aside from handstitching that binding, for the next week or so.

On that note, time to get prepping!

Thread Choices

It's down to the quilting on that Shades of Grey Herringbone piece. The first decision is always which thread to use.

I actually starting threading my machine with the normal grey thread I use for piecing. It seemed kind of obvious to use it. It would blend in and carry on the grey theme.

Then I thought about my binding. I'm thinking of going with a turquoise, so I wanted to see if turquoise thread would work. It surely pops! The colour would be great and it would work great with the binding and the back. But I've also got turquoise on the back (shot cottons) and I didn't want to have just one section on the back where the quilting blended in.

Going back and forth between the grey and the turquoise I was torn. The turquoise looks really good on the front, but the grey seemed more in line with the Shades of Grey fabric. Then I remembered that I have a cone of nearly white organic thread. When I put it next to the others I realized that it was the perfect choice. It pops on the back, it reads practically the same as the grey on the front, and it is an organic choice.

This quilt isn't all organic - the muslin foundation isn't organic, the back is a mix of conventional shot cottons, and I tried out a bamboo batting. But I am definitely influenced by Jan's commitment to organics and wanted to push it as much as I could. The organic thread will be a great finish.

Almost Herringbone

There is cutting and sewing and pressing going on! Check out what those strips of Shades of Grey are turning into.

I was completely influenced by the fabric itself. Jan's bold graphics are so inspiring to me. Such a great change from florals these days. The one Ragg Tagg print fit perfectly into a concept I'd been exploring. So I essentially have taken that one fabric and made it large-scale for the quilt pattern itself. It was so easy to do and I love the effect.

And check out how well it all works with our patio chairs.

Depending on how my evenings go I should be able to share the finished project in a week or so.

Please stay tuned for another project I'm launching next week. This one's a biggie!

More Grey

It might seem appropriate that I'm working with grey fabric these days, but I assure you that these Shades of Grey fabric are far from dreary and dull. Clear tones, loads of white, and some amazing graphics on the latest line from Jan at Daisy Janie. This line is also printed on certified organic cotton.

Jan sent me some of this new yardage a few months back. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to it until very recently. Now I have an exciting project underway using these great prints. For now, I've cut strips. And I'm drooling over this particular print and it just might have inspired the design of this quilt, much like the Ogee fabric from Geo Grand inspired my Ornamental Organic quilt.

As usual, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

If you are interested in Shades of Grey, I've seen them available for purchase so far at Fat Quarter Shop, Wondrous Wovens, Sew Mama Sew, and Marmalade Fabrics.