I must say, this image just doesn't do this cutie pie quilt much justice. The thick
sashing is done in one of my favorite (and most popular) fabrics LH 08046 Robin. The designers who are making quilts for market have been
raving about how it goes with everything!
Update on "the Gammill problem"...
Cheryl's piece from Gammill has apparently been lost in UPS. Another one was not forth coming...(we've known this for a couple of days now)...so Cheryl is traveling into Manhattan today to one of those dark and dingy machine (and nameless) part shops on the west side to get her replacement pieces. I don't want to be nasty to an industry powerhouse like Gammill, but an apology is in order, don't you think ladies?
On being being Frugal...
We all have our own quirks about things that we don't like to spend money on. I am weird about stamps and office supplies, and I pretty much hate having to get a new electronic anything. Once I worked for someone who everyone in the office called "Mrs. Three Sheets of Toilet Paper"...you get the idea. Paton collects pretty much everything because in his family, the great maiden aunts and grandmother's favorite saying was "you'll come to want old girl" (if anyone thought it necessary to actually throw something away). I like to tell his family..."You know, they have medication for that now". But being frugal is not the same thing as being cheap, I like to think of it as "getting more bang for your buck".
Here's a couple of example of how frugality plays itself out in quilter's context...
Cheryl has pointed out this first idea out to me in a variety of different ways. Our conversation started a couple of years ago with how to put a border on...primarily because in her long arm business she sees a lot of wonky quilts, and if I happen to be dropping off a project after she has been wrestling with another one I hear about it...
Frugal Quilter tip #1 from Cheryl: Cut your border on the length of grain. Why? Because the warp threads aka the Length of Grain is the most stable way to cut your fabric if you are sewing along the long edge of it. I know that this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but doing this provides a strong frame around your quilt. You assess your inner quilt's "trueness" first, of course and do the usual compensations, but after that your best bet at a "square" quilt is with a border that is all cut length on grain. Where do you save money? The quilting costs! And any extra fabric from the borders is easily used on the back.
Frugal Quilter tip#2 is from me...(indirectly): Buy patterns that offer you several colorway suggestions in one...(like we do!)
Here are two more different colorways in the Doll Dress fabrics of my Mad About Plaid quilt...(which I originally did as a Halloween quilt).
Call me crazy, but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE yellow, pink & red together!
Of course those of you who know my work, now that I LOVE pink and green in just about any combo.
The scalloped edge is there to represent jumbo ric rac...this time I used ric rac from cheeptrims.com, because they have four colors that went with the Doll Dresses fabrics...more on this later!
Do you have a favorite? I'd love to have your input.
Back in two shakes...H2
PS I promise to post the Dolly Dresses quilt as soon as it is quilted & bound.
