Cosmic Burst Charms

Look at me, playing with a charm pack!

I couldn't resist when Mark Cesarik, an incredibly funny designer I met at Market in the fall (along with his smart, creative, and equally funny wife, Cara) asked if I wanted the chance to play with his upcoming line, Cosmic Burst. I love Calyspo Swing, his first line, for all those greys punctuated with pink. And having the chance to work with such bright colours when winter is still surrounding us was worth any charm pack reservations I always have.

Besides, Mark and his wife Cara live in NYC and I like to bank contacts there for my one-day-soon-again trip to NYC.

Cosmic Burst is a line of bright, bold, prints. My favourites are the oranges/pinks, but there is a huge depth of colour in the line. It's been fun to play. Stay tuned all week as I document my play with this little pack of charms.

(Cosmic Burst ships in April)

For Peanut

This pretty stack NEEDED to be pulled last week. Not for a deadline, although there is that. Not for secret project, although I can't fully share it yet for reasons which will become shortly evident. Mostly, just because I had to. I've been overwhelmed and swamped with things that HAVE to be done. That meant I wasn't playing, I wasn't sewing just because. And I could tell. I was getting cranky, antsy, and frankly a bit bored with the necessary bits of life.

So I decided to pull a pretty pile of fabric and play. Look at all those solids! Well, for me they are a lot of solids. I pressed, I cut, I sewed, I played, I sewed, I pressed, and in my spare moments of time over two days I had a baby quilt.

And I felt so much better!

Not a moment too soon, either. It helped my sanity as our reno kicks into a very mess part and the pregnancy gets closer and closer to the end. Oh, and because this is destined to be a baby quilt for a new niece or nephew due to arrive any day now. See, there is a deadline and a sort of need for secrecy.

Look at us, my sister and I, getting SO CLOSE to the end we're giddy. Yeah, that's it.

Shades of Grey Giveaway!

Okay, two little bits for you today. You may or may not know about either of them. If you do, then consider this more treats. If you don't, then consider yourself informed and treated.

First off, let's have a giveaway! Jan from Daisy Janie is donating a fat quarter bundle of her gorgeous, organic Shades of Grey line to one lucky reader. And I'm contributing a free Kinda Herringbone pattern (PDF to your mailbox) that was completely inspired by Shades of Grey.

This giveaway is a direct result of Jan and the lovely Cara from Cara Quilts. Have you heard of Talkin' Tuesdays? It is a Twitter chat held on Tuesday nights. (It was that obvious, wasn't it?). Cara hosts and is joined in leading the discussions by the weekly sponsors. Sponsors mean prizes!

So, a few weeks ago I won this bundle from Jan when she sponsored Talkin' Tuesday. Seeing as I've made a quilt, and pattern, from Shades of Grey already I talked to Jan and decided to pay it forward. One lucky reader will get the fat quarter bundle and the pattern.

Jan and I are curious, what are your thoughts on using grey in your sewing? Do you combine it with other colours? What ones? Have you ever used grey by itself? Or, just tell us about your love for grey. To enter the giveaway just leave a comment on this post between now and Thursday 8 pm MST.

Pretty, Pretty Voiles

When voiles burst on to the scene a few years ago, thanks to Anna Maria Horner, I wasn't all that interested. My style may be modern, but I generally prefer the traditional materials like plain old quilting cotton. Then somehow, somewhere someone gave me a piece of voile. I was seduced by the airiness of the fabric, the silky feel, the soft drape.

So, I made a scarf.

And then I started shopping. Just adding one or two pieces onto an order from nearly any on-line store. Only my favourites. Never concerned with collecting from an entire line. I've got more Anna Maria Horner, some Tula Pink, Joel Dewberry, Valori Wells, and Denyse Schmidt.

Then last week I received a few more and thought I better count how many I had. 29. 29 fat quarters or 1/2 yard pieces! It was time to stop collecting and start cutting.

It is going to take me a long time to get through the cutting. Each 1/2 yard piece yields 18 triangles plus 12 side triangles. There is no layering when you cut the voiles because that desired silkiness means the rulers slip. I'd rather take my time and cut properly than risk losing some of my fabric. Oh, and I'm cutting all of this for what I hope will be a king sized quilt.

In my head this pretty, ultra-soft quilt will drape on our bed in the summer months. For when you still want the hint of covers but not the weight of anything over you. Maybe this summer? Probably next.