mismatched stripes

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Unlike some of the others, I didn’t let this one sit around too long unfinished. I’m quite in love with this line, Carkai, by Carolyn Friedlander and really wanted to see this one as a finished quilt.

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I love the mix of colors in this collection, and thought it would be fun to pair up the prints and make up a variety of striped blocks. I had received a generous gift of a layer cake of this line from one of my sponsors, Lady Belle Fabric, and thought these stripes could be the perfect use for those 10″ squares. [Luckily I had a bit of fabric left over from my previous Carkai quilt, so I was able to make up more blocks (and a few larger/longer blocks) than I would have had I only been using the layer cake.]

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I decided not to make the blocks a uniform size, which of course made it more of a challenge to sew together!, but gives that look I love so much. I stuck them up on my design wall as I made them, and didn’t actually do too much rearranging before sewing them together (other than filling in some empty spots)

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The backing is mostly this fun print in this great green, along with a little pieced strip of some of the other prints.

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I decided to quilt this one with straight lines on the diagonal – I varied the widths of the straight lines in both directions and I love the resulting texture.

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A little solid binding to wrap it up and a quick wash to really show off that great texture!

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This one measures about 50″ x 75″. I think it’ll make for a spot of fun color in our living room!

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Posted in [search] Liberated Quilts, Fabric, Finished Quilts, Posts about Quilts, Quilts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

improv solids – finally finished!

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It’s only taken me 4 years to finally finish this quilt! But I love that even though it feels like an old quilt to me, it still looks like something I might make today.

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It’s made up of lots of Kona solids, some Essex cotton/linen blends and a few crossweaves – basically whatever was on hand at the time! I particularly love the little striped sections and the tiny little strips of colors here and there.

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I found a great backing in this Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi print. It’s a favorite of mine, and I was pleased to see that it contained similar colors. I even took the time to perfectly piece the backing so you can’t tell where it’s seamed.

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I originally was going to quilt it with straight lines vertically, but then thought I might instead make those vertical lines a bit wavier. (I think I might have liked it better if I had made the quilting lines denser, but unfortunately I realized that too late!) I used 4 or 5 different variegated thread colors for a little added fun.

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It’s great to check this one off the list and finally be able to put it to use!

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Posted in [search] Wonky/Improv Quilts, Fabric, Posts about Quilts, Quilts | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Welcome, Quilt Sandwich Fabrics (+ giveaway!)

Phew, it’s Friday! Today I hope you’ll help me in welcoming a new advertiser to FITF – hello Quilt Sandwich Fabrics, thanks for becoming a new sponsor! I asked Kris and Becca to give us a little information about their shop, and here’s what they had to say…

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Quilt Sandwich Fabrics was started by Kris and Becca, two fabric-obsessed sisters who love to quilt! We started our shop on Etsy in 2008 and we now have over 1,000 bolts of high-quality, fun fabric. Some of our favorite fabric designers and companies are Cotton + Steel, Carolyn Friedlander, Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, Alexander Henry, and Art Gallery Fabrics. We also carry patterns for quilts and bags and pretty ribbons.

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We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and have received great feedback from our customers. We take care to ship your order quickly and package it nicely. We always have discount codes to save you money on shipping – use the code 5OFF50 to take $5 off your order of $50 or more, and use the code 10OFF100 to take $10 off your order of $100 or more!

Check us out online at our blog (www.quiltsandwichblog.com)  or on Instagram (@quiltsandwichfabrics), where we like to show new fabrics and projects we’re working on. You can sign up to receive our newsletter at our blog, or email us at quilt-sandwich@hotmail.com and ask us to add you. It’s a great way to find out what’s new and about upcoming sales! 

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Kris and Becca also have a giveaway for you today! They’re giving away a fun set of colorful fabrics, perfect for Spring! The winner will receive 1 yard of one of their favorite Cotton + Steel prints, Mochi Floral on a linen-colored background. They’re also adding some pretty coordinates to go with the bright colors – a half-yard each of Windham Fabrics Heavy Metals in Yellow and Turquoise and also Cotton + Steel’s Sprinkle in Petal.

To enter, please leave one comment here. I will randomly select a winner on Sunday evening and will update this post.

Update! Winner, winner…

Random.org selected #16, Stephanie, who said “I am mostly a beginning quilter. I have only finished two quilts and they were very simple. Looking forward to trying something harder and this fabric would be perfect. Thank you!” Congratulations, Stephanie!

Posted in Fabric, Giveaway! | Tagged , , , | 205 Comments