Star Beginnings

This has not been my lucky week for sewing time!  This group of nine star blocks is the extent of my sewing so far.  As you may have guessed, this is a tentative beginning for my son's quilt.  So it's not rainbows, but it's not mostly grays either, so we're finding a happy compromise (I think!)

Big surprise, I decided to go with wonky star blocks, because star quilts always win in my opinion.  I might mix in a few other blocks as well, or not.  These blocks finish at 9" square, so I'm planning to make 63 of them.

These 9 blocks are a good start right?  They can get a little tedious to make, but I think they're a no fail recipe! 

The Great Neutrals Hunt

That's right!  I'm on a "Great Neutrals Hunt"!  This is of course a fun hunt, because it involves fabric shopping, but since I do most of my shopping online, not every print that I buy becomes a 'Great' neutral.  Therefore I thought you might be interested in following along with me as I try to find a few more favorites to add to my stash.

So for me, the obvious start is with my sponsored shops.  (you can find the list of them under the link on my sidebar).  The photo above is a yummy stack that I picked out from Sew Fine Fabrics.  Not all of these are neutrals as I'm planning a specific quilt with them which I'll show you soon.  But I was thinking about the Great Neutral Hunt when I made my choices.  More opinions on my faves in that bunch soon!

Next here, we have an assortment that I ordered from Fabric Spark.  In full disclosure, I realize that the feather print is not really a neutral, but bear with me, I'm in love with it:)

When you look at this stack above, it illustrates how grays and creams that look so similar on a computer monitor can look so different from each other in real life.  That's why I think it's so important to have a good stash of these useful guys, cuz you need the right one for the right quilt!

So these two above have stolen my heart.  They are secretly my two most favorite of this stack that I bought.  That sailors' knot print might not work in every application because those ropes not matching up in smaller piecing just might make you crazy.  But for larger patchwork pieces?  Awesome!

And the feather print?  Well, it's not really a neutral, but I know it's never ending up in my destash pile!

Here's two more prints from my purchase.  They are both Empire by Parson Gray.  I love these as well.  They have a hand drawn imperfect look that I'm crazy about.  They're a slightly cooler gray, with a gray toned background (rather than cream or white)  That Fishnet print on top is very versatile so I know I'll be using it a lot!

(Excuse this loooong photo, guess I was  trying to include the whole ginormous stack!)  Anyways, this stack is my current choices for my son's bed quilt, and quite a few of these latest purchases will find their way into this stack since my goal is to sneak in quite a few more neutrals.  Hopefully my rainbow loving son won't notice!

And one more non-neutral fabric that you can purchase at Fabric Spark and which I also adore is Blast from Rocket Age. 

Even more convenient, Fabric Spark is having a large-ish sale!  25% off all orders over $50!  If you're looking for more neutrals, now's the time to stock up!

Neon Granny

A Country Quilt

Suburbs

This Suburbs quilt pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew was also on my list of quilts I wanted to make.  The reason I didn't include it on my earlier blog post is because the top is already completed!

Let me say I love this pattern!   It's so simple, and goes together really fast.  I'm pretty sure I'll be making another one of these sometime.

I went away from my usual zone and did an (almost) all solids quilt.  I think it gives it a beachy vibe that's perfect for a child.

I used a Kona Classic bundle from MadAboutPatchwork, then chose my favorite colors from this bundle.

I made the throw size, which  calls for 10 fat quarters or quarter yards to make the houses.  Here's a list of the colors I used from this bundle. 

Kona Cottons

Cyan
Lagoon
Bright Pink
Bright Periwinkle
Canary
Tangerine
Flame
Sour
Papaya
Eclectic Elements Subway Signs (the black with white letters)

For the sky, I used Kona Aqua (best sky color!), and the background was Kona Snow.

I've decided on a fun backing that will really finish off this quilt, so hopefully I'll be getting to that soon!

Florence Baby Quilt