"fabric"

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Shimmer Blog Hop

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One of the very first fabric designers I ever actually noticed was Jennifer Sampou. I'd only been quilting a year (almost 15 years ago). My stash shopping was very limited because I was in grad school with limited time and money for quilting. But after a few purchases I started to notice the names on selvages. And what I noticed was that most of the fabric I purchased was from Jennifer Sampou. I filed that fact as interesting and kept quilting.

Fast forward to two years ago and I am at Quilt Market. And guess who has a booth?! It was my first total fan girl moment. I briefly introduced myself and marvelled at the coincidence that Jennifer is married to my publisher. The next Quilt Market I stopped by Jennifer's Booth to say hello and we ended up chatting for well over an hour about everything - motherhood, fabric, creativity, colour, sewing, books, marriage. My first designer crush is truly a kindred spirit.

Since then I've truly enjoyed the opportunity to play with Jennifer's latest fabrics. When you listen to the designer discuss their inspiration for a fabric line the fabric itself takes on a new light, almost quite literally. Jennifer's neutral palate is inspired by her love of things that shimmer - feathers, shells, crystals, and even fools gold. The fabric itself is metallic or pearlescent (depending on your own description).

When my Shimmer fabric arrived in it was a very special shell from Jennifer. Have I mentioned how much I love shells? I have a casual collection of the shells I pick up from every beach I find. Just the interesting ones, the pretty ones, even the cracked and beat up ones. They sit in bowls and jars throughout my house. I had a completely different project in mind before the fabric and the shell arrived. At the same time, my girls took over the table setting duties. Every night they raid my shells and rather carefully place them around the table. They might forget forks, but the shells are always there.

The fabric I requested - shocker - were all the light prints in the line. You know me and low volume. But rather than play with a pattern I already had or even experiment with another inspiration, I had to incorporate my shells.








Each shell is appliquéd on the osnaburg background. I wanted it to feel like a scattering of shells on your feet at the beach. I used the technique I use to create and sew my appliqué circles. The shells come alive, or at least more realistic with the simple quilting. For the back of the table topper I improv pieced the scraps into a slab, with just a bit of aqua added for fun.

It's almost too pretty to use on the table, but my shell loving girls think it is perfect.






This is my stop on the Shimmer Blog Hop. Check out the other posts and all the fun things people have made with Shimmer. Robert Kaufman and Jennifer are sharing no shortage of inspiration with this pretty fabric.

Leave a comment here for a chance to win a Shimmer charm pack. It will be perfect for your own shell project, among others. Tell me about your favourite beach.

Giveaway open until midnight MST on Friday April 18.

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Hot, Awesome Mess

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Look at that quilt top, floating in a snow globe. Oh wait, that's only half the quilt. Do you know how hard it is to photograph a king size quilt top?

Yes, I made another king size quilt. I couldn't help myself. Last week I needed to flex my improv muscles. Not that I needed practice at improv. No, I needed the therapy of just sewing for the sake of sewing. Mindless, no planning play. It did wonders for my mood (and my cold). And before I knew it I had enough blocks to more than fill my design wall.


Once the blocks were up on the wall I started the puzzle piecing to get it all together. I only went by size, filling in gaps and squaring up as I went. I paid no attention to colour or direction. In fact, the only design decision I made was to make sure the feature fabric was on each corner of the finished top.

Then I made it bigger. At first, it came out to about 83'' by 103''. It seemed like such a funny size, and a few more inches meant it would cover our king size bed nicely, with extra quilt for snuggling. So I added another 11'' on one short end. It seemed totally crazy to make it even bigger, but felt right. And seeing as making this was a form of therapy it only made sense to make it the way that felt right.


This quilt began at Quilt Con last year. I was lucky enough to get a spot in Denyse Schmidt's Improv class. See more about that experience here.

About 6 months ago I made some more blocks with the scraps I had from the class and new fabrics I added at home. Then I packed them all up and they joined my WIPs. My thirty something WIPs. It was such a thrill to pull them out and put them upon the design wall. More of a thrill to get to playing again. Every night last week, after the kidlets were in bed, I entered my studio and exhaled.


Play, play, and more play. Then I totally took advantage of my time with a part time babysitter. Deadlines met for the week, I took a whole day to get the top together. Another couple of hours at night and it was done. Then another hour to add that final strip. 

Sometimes I look at the top and think it is a hot mess. And other times I get giddy with all the little bits that pop out at me. It may be a king size quilt, but there are so many tiny scraps in there. Big and small, they all play together. I do love the way it looks, but I think this quilt's value to me is definitely in the process.

Now, hopefully I can find that value when it comes to basting it.


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Modern Paris

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Modern Paris
72'' x 72''

Do you remember this stack of fabric? And all these scraps? Well, here is the finished quilt. A pattern published in Quilter's Connection too!


This is one of those quilts that isn't difficult, but it does take a bit of time. Loads of half square triangles and circles. I never get bored of those, even with the trimming. And all with some of my favourite low volume love. It started with the Vanity Fair fabric from Dear Stella and an orphan block from my Craftsy class. Then it all came together as a wedding present for friends of ours.

The name came courtesy of our friends, actually. They honeymooned in Paris. And they let me take these shots at their house.


This is one of those quilts that definitely whispers. The value differences in the half square triangles are quite subtle most of the time. Texture matters more than value in this case. It finishes with a very soft and scrappy look. That being said, I think this design would be incredible in high contrast. So bold, especially with the positive/negative part in the circle blocks.

To accentuate the circles I quilted it with swirls all over. And used my favourite Aurifil 2600. That grey goes with nearly everything, I use it all the time.


Thank-you to Dear Stella for providing the initial inspiration with their fabric bundle of Vanity Fair. It is quite the pretty line and it was wonderful to work with.

And congratulations to our friends, may this quilt keep you even warmer as our winter keeps on.