*shivers*

I'm going on a fabric freeze. This is the last bit of fabric I've bought and will buy for what I hope is not a long while. While I wish I didn't have to do it and really I don't have to, it just seems like a good idea. I won't be buying any fabric until I get my credit card paid off. It's not much, but I feel like the money would be best going towards that than fabric. Look at me being financially responsible.

The only things I will allow myself to purchase are a walking foot, maybe a free motion foot and batting. I'll only buy batting if I run out of what I've got for projects that need to head out the door and on their way to someone else. Other than that, no other purchases are to be made. I'm pretty sure I have enough thread and in the proper colors.

I picked all this up because I loved how pretty it looked. And then I got the bright idea to use this for the Granny Square quilt I plan to make for my friend Jessica and her soon to be first child. I was told she's having a girl and originally planned to use Hope Chest, but saw this and changed my mind. I know this isn't very feminine, but I thought if I added in more of the yellow and red it could be more feminine. And if she doesn't think it's girly enough...um...oh well. Plus last I remember Jessica's favorite color is blue, so I don't see why she wouldn't like it.

Hopefully this fabric freeze doesn't last too long. There's so much good stuff out there that I want and it's so hard to resist the urge to shop when someone drops a good sale in your lap. Maybe I'll win a giveaway or two during the freeze. Or win the lottery so the freeze can end. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Linking up with Plum & June's Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up.

final decision and fabric selections

For the past couple of weeks I've been tossing around the idea of taking all the quilting posts off of this blog and moving them to a blog of their own. I felt like quilting was taking over the blog I'd created for my business and thought since quilting was new to me and just for fun that it didn't belong here. Then I asked my friend Allen of The AIDG what I should do and he told me that I should keep it all together and let folks follow my journey through quilting. And for reasons unbeknownst to me, it just made sense. So for now, quilting will stay on this blog. I'm gonna do my best to not let it take over.

Now let's talk quilting and fabric. I think it's funny that I've spent $200+ on fabric over the last month now that I've gotten into quilting. I'm trying to think of what I might have spent that money on otherwise and the only thing I can think of is probably food. At least quilts and pillows last longer.

I stopped by  my LQS, Crimson Tate last week and picked up these beautiful fabrics. La Dee Da by Erin McMorris and Spring Promise by Ana Davis. When I first picked them up, I intended for them to be the fabric for my Beginner's Quilt-Along. But when I got home and saw the package of fabric I'd ordered from Fresh Squeezed Fabric, I changed my mind and now they are the fabric for the TRAC pillow case that I'm making for Mommy for Reals.

I also picked up these lovely fabrics from Crimson Tate. My inspiration was the bottom piece. Yellow, berry, navy and grey. These will be for Randi of Fresh Squeezed Fabric's June Sew Along. The color palette I intended to go with was grey, berry, white and teal. I saw that bottom piece and changed my mind. Have you noticed a theme of indecisiveness here yet? I'm adding to this a berry fabric I picked up from Connecting  Threads and the grey from the first photo.

California Girl by Fig Tree for Moda. I love Moda fabrics. I picked this up from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics when Randi had it on sale. Love, love, love. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at first. I thought something with HST, but couldn't settle on anything in particular. Then when I opened up the package and looked at it all it just seemed right to use this for my Beginner's Quilt-Along quilt. I just need one or two solids to go with and I'm set. I love these colors and patterns, they're very soft.

And lastly, the last bit of fabric I plan to purchase for awhile, other than some fabric for a baby quilt for an old friend who's having her first baby. This is the berry fabric I'm adding to the Sew Along. I can't even remember why I picked those thread colors. I think the orange is for my Lucy Crab Shack quilt. I need to find a name for that. I'm also trying out the fusible batting. I heard it's good stuff.

I really wish I weren't working so much right now. I just want to get to sewing. I still need to buy a walking foot for the quilting. But I still have some time. I'm also contemplating buying a new sewing machine. Mine is pretty basic. I bought it refurbished from ebay almost 10 years ago. I wouldn't mind something a little fancier with fun stitches and what not. Any suggestions?

OH LUUUUUCCCYYY!!!

It's here, Lucy's Crab Shack by Sweetwater for Moda. So pretty and soft, I just want to wrap myself in all the yardage. And I think I've finally decided on the pattern for the quilt this will make. I flip flopped for a couple of days on it. I decided to do a zig zag pattern with a pieced backing. This will be my first quilt that I'll be doing on my own and the first quilt I've ever made. I plan to take pictures of the progress along the way. I'm not making any promises though.

Here is some more fabric I picked up this week. This is from the sale the Fat Quarter Shop just had. I'd planned to use it for the Quilt Along I joined (check the sidebar) because I thought it'd go with the other fabrics I've picked out from some other lines and now that I've got the fabric in person, the only fabric that really matches is the red. That's fine.  I'm sure I'll figure out what to do with the rest of it. This will probably be the beginning of my stash habit. I really like the orange polka dots. I kinda wanna add it to my Lucy's Crab Shack quilt. 

I'll be ordering more fabric next week when I get paid so I can start working on my Quilt Along quilt. Or actually the week after when I get back from my work trip to Milwaukee.

Also, I'm trying out these larger pictures. What do you think, do you like the x-large photos or the large? I'm on the fence. Maybe I can figure out something in the middle.