Bernina B 750 Quilters Edition

I received my holiday present early this year - Thank you!! I am really excited, and have wanted to upgrade from my trusty Bernina 130 for a long time. I couldn't wait to share.

In this picture it looks like a little halo under the presser foot, which makes me laugh.  Does that mean wonderful, beautiful quilts and other projects will happen here?

The feature that I love with this machine is that it's big enough to machine quilt large and king sized quilts, which I could actually do with my 130 but 
I would have to wrap it in such a tight roll. With this new Bernina, I won't have to.

It has quite a menu to offer of stitches.  It's going to take me a while to learn it all. We quilters seem to love challenges. 

Below is the Bernina web site.

http://www.bernina.com/en-US/Meta/Search-for?searchtext=B+750+quilter%27s+edition 

Thank you so much for this wonderful gift!!

 Happy Quilting!!

12 Day Sale - Quilt Shop Sale

Every so often I know of a brick and mortar store sale that is outstanding, and I will promote it. www.cottonpatchequiltshop.com is having "The 12 Days to Stuff Your Stocking," sale.

I love this sale, because I don't live anywhere near Florida, and you don't have to in order to benefit from this sale.

During each of the 12 days, they feature a different product. Today there are a few different kinds of scissors. So if you're interested, you place an order, and they hold it aside, and keep a "tab" for you, (with your credit card). Tomorrow, there will be a different product. You have the option of purchasing it, or not. At the end of the 12 days, the customer is charged for the products they chose, and then promptly all your purchases are sent to you. Orders over $200 receive free shipping!!

Check out the web site for all the details. This is really worth it.

Happy Quilting!!

Great Fabric Sale From a Small Business - Cuts of Cotton

There are so many great fabric sales going on out there. Cuts of Cotton, my sponsor has a fabulous 3 day sale going on, which i want to plug a little.

BLACK FRIDAY | small business saturday | CYBER MONDAY SALE!! 

FRIDAY - MONDAY enjoy the following discounts: 

20% OFF Dotten Ovals 
20% off Sun Print Feathers 
20% off Sun Print Party Streamer 
20% off Minimalista 
20% off Kona Solids 
**use discount code thanks at checkout** PLUS - lots of markdowns in the sale section

I am especially thankful that Cuts of Cotton believed in my new blog enough to advertise with us.

How to Build Your Stash Without Breaking Your Budget - Part 5 & 6

Almost Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am combining Part 5 and Part 6 of How to Build Your Stash Without Breaking Your Budget. Why am I doing that? Because I cannot believe how many Black Friday and Cyber Monday fabric sales I am finding right in my inbox. I would rather share this information with you today, so you can take advantage of these great deals. I will be!!


I generally have my main focal fabrics, which I know will be determining my colorway. Stephanie Ryan, a designer from Moda, has recently come out with a line of fabrics called Modern Roses, which I love.
This link from Fabric.com shows the entire line; https://www.fabric.com/SearchResults2.aspx?Source=Header&SearchText=Modern+Roses&CategoryID=1d5f47dc-9991-4088-93f3-26a376046a5e. I know those large roses will be those focal fabrics.

If I am going to use a boarder, and sometimes I don't for a more modern look, I will choose fabrics that contrast with the main fabrics, because they are the star of the show. Boarder fabrics will often be a fabric that has more volume or brightness or less volume and brightness than those main fabrics. Sometimes they will be solids, because the quilting on them will really shine on that solid color.

I choose binding fabrics that are not directional, because it is hard to make the seams line up for the continuous pattern look. I go with small prints that pick up lots of colors to bring the colors in the quilt together. For me, as I look at fabric bolts or fabric samples I can usually tell the colors in the print will bring out lots of colors in the quilt. Sometimes I use the same fabric for binding, as I do for the backing, which creates a nice pulled together look on the back of the quilts.

Backing fabric is often sold in widths of 104" or 108". This makes it easier for the quilter, who won't have to cut and sew large pieces of fabric together to make the back.

So to stretch your fabric purchasing power, keep your eyes out for online and in brick & mortar stores for fabrics that fit those needs.

Building Your Fabric Stash Without Breaking Your Budget - Part 4

Building fabric stash is fun. It seems that most quilters love quilting because of the fabric, or it becomes one of their favorite parts of the quilting process. 

There are large prints, small prints, blenders, tone on tone, text, geometrics, and solids. I have always been attracted to small prints. The example in the photo below is typical of the fabrics I would buy, as is the yellows below that, It's one of those personal preferences. Now with modern quilting and vintage modern quilting, I am slowly beginning to buy more modern prints, and solids, because my eye is getting used to them. 

I still tend to shy away from geometrics and large prints. I am venturing into  some large rose prints I recently discovered by Stephanie Ryan, a new designer at Moda, and Kate Sprain because I love flowers. I am experimenting with them as well as with some geometrics, and my old style is beginning to evolve into something new.

The other part of the fabric journey, that you'll notice is that you will tend to purchase more of your favorite colors. In my case that is yellow, and purple as a close second. Those are my go-to colors, and over time I have filled in with the entire wheel of color choices.

In part 5 of this series, I am going to focus on fabric stash building with backing fabrics, and part 6 with border and binding fabrics. I have a  few strategies I'd like to share about how to build those, especially during fabric sales. 

A few posts ago in this series, I wrote about stretching your dollars. For example at http://www.connectingthreads.com/Quilting.cfm there is a great sale on batting right now. Of course I stocked up, and hope I won't need anymore until this time next year.

Fabric Stores - Brick and Mortar and Online a P.S.

Yesterday I posted 27, (now 28), stores that offer great discounts and deals. And to make it easy, all you need to do is visit them and sign up for their newsletters, and the deals come right to your inbox. I am adding one more to the list, and will add more every six months. So here we go.... 

List of Online and Brick & Mortar Stores That Have Great Deals and Sales 

www.cutsofcotton.com – Great choice of contemporary bundles, and solid fabrics. Can shop by designer or colors. Fairly priced.

http://surlystitches.com – (Also called Surly Sheep). Nice assortments of color wheels options. Five-piece bundles start a $6.00. Also carries clothing patterns. They sell from Etsy and from their own web site.

http://stashfabrics.com/blog - Nice assortment of contemporary fabrics. Can be purchased through Etsy. 

http://www.southernfabric.com – Wide choice of fabrics, pattern and notions. Lots of choices, and sales. Modern and contemporary fabrics. 

http://www.connectingthreads.com – A wide variety of fabric at amazing prices. Free shipping for orders over $50. 

http://www.intrepidthread.com/ - A wide variety of fabric choices. Lots of sales and offers. 

http://www.pinkcastlefabrics.com/ - Huge selection of fabrics. Great sales, a monthly fabric clubs. Every season they offer a retreat. 

http://www.fabricshack.com/ - Stumbled upon this shop and was amazed at how much they offer. The customer service is outstanding. 

http://www.fatquartershop.com/ - Have been a fan of theirs for a long time. The offer lots of great sales and deals of the week. 

http://www.larkcottons.com/ - Discovered them recently. They have a lovely selection of fabrics and good sales and features. 

http://www.contemporarycloth.com/index.htm - Large variety of contemporary fabrics. Owner donates 1% of net sales to various charities. 

http://www.greenfairyquilts.com/ - Good sale opportunities, especially with Moda and Riley Blake pre-cuts. 

http://www.fortworthfabricstudio.com/ - Great variety of fabrics. 

http://webfabrics.net – Huge variety of fabrics. Great customer service and return policy. 

http://www.christaquilts.com – Great weekly specials. I spoke to her earlier this week, and she is dissolving her online fabric store over the next 6 months, in order to create more time to challenge herself in new areas in the quilting world. 

http://www.hypernoodlefabrics.com – Specializes in very hip, retro fabrics. Prices are kept low, and specials and coupons are offered. Customer service is good. No returns on fabrics, except if the shop made an error in the order, and must be addressed within three days. Check their FAQ page.

http://www.moonafabrics.com – Specializes in art gallery fabrics.

http://www.freshmodernfabric.com – Modern fabric sold through Etsy.
 
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com – Wide variety of fabrics, fairly priced. Web Sale Fabrics and really well priced. 

http://www.americanquilter.com – A lot of good deals on fabric. If you become a yearly member, you receive fabulous discounts on fabrics all year.

http://www.shabbyfabrics.com – A great, almost exhaustive variety of fabrics from many manufacturers at great prices. 

http://www.thequiltinggarden.com – Lots of good sales. They offer a lay-a-way plan. 

http://www.thequiltedcastle.com - Great variety of fabrics and designers. Prices are very reasonable. 

http://www.bearcreekquiltingcompany.com – Fair prices and a nicely priced clearance center. http://www.theclothparcel.com – Great fabric selection and prices. 

http://www.cottonblossomfarm.com – Features lots of designers and various types of textiles; not just cotton. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BobbieLouFabric - Wide variety of contemporary and modern fabrics. Only sold through Etsy. 

http://www.craftersvision.com – Huge variety of fabrics and other items, including embellishments. 

Have a great weekend!!

Building Your Fabric Stash Without Breaking Your Budget - Part 3

For the last week I've been researching fabric prices, sales, deals and give-a-ways offered by brick & mortar and online stores. These are great ways for those of us who love to purchase fabric to stretch our dollars and not get into credit card debt.

Below I've listed 27 URL's of some of those stores, some of which I knew about and others that were highly recommended to me by other quilters and bloggers. I signed up for many new newsletters that will come to my e-mail inbox announcing to me about sales and deals. One to check out right now is  http//:christaquilts.com because Christa is dissolving her online fabric store over the next 6 months in order to make more time for challenging herself in new areas of the quilting world. 

On another note, do you know how much willpower it took for me not to sneak in a fabric purchase? Well I will be honest here, I did make two fabric purchases, but I kept the total under $20. I couldn't resist these little lambs or fabric with printed text of all different coffees. 

One other suggestion to save money on fabrics and notions; gift certificates. The holidays are coming, and family and friends are looking for suggestions, ask for gift certificates. 

List of Online and Brick & Mortar Stores That Have Great Sales

www.cutsofcotton.com – Great choice of contemporary bundles, and solid fabrics.  Can shop by designer or colors. Fairly priced.

http://surlystitches.com – (Also called Surly Sheep). Nice assortments of color wheels options. Five-piece bundles start a $6.00.  Also carries clothing patterns. They sell from Etsy and from their own web site.

http://stashfabrics.com/blog - Nice assortment of contemporary fabrics. Can be purchased through Etsy.

http://www.southernfabric.com – Wide choice of fabrics, pattern and notions.  Lots of choices, and sales.  Modern and contemporary fabrics.

http://www.connectingthreads.com – A wide variety of fabric at amazing prices.  Free shipping for orders over $50.

http://www.intrepidthread.com/ - A wide variety of fabric choices. Lots of sales and offers.

http://www.pinkcastlefabrics.com/ - Huge selection of fabrics. Great sales, a monthly fabric clubs. Every season they offer a retreat.

http://www.fabricshack.com/ - Stumbled upon this shop and was amazed at how much they offer.  The customer service is outstanding.

http://www.fatquartershop.com/ - Have been a fan of theirs for a long time. The offer lots of great sales and deals of the week.

http://www.larkcottons.com/ - Discovered them recently.  They have a lovely selection of fabrics and good sales and features.

http://www.contemporarycloth.com/index.htm - Large variety of contemporary fabrics. Owner donates 1% of net sales to various charities.

http://www.greenfairyquilts.com/ - Good sale opportunities, especially with Moda and Riley Blake pre-cuts.

http://www.fortworthfabricstudio.com/ - Great variety of fabrics.

http://webfabrics.net – Huge variety of fabrics.  Great customer service and return policy.

http://www.christaquilts.com – Great weekly specials.  I spoke to her earlier this week, and she is dissolving her online fabric store over the next 6 months, in order to create more time to challenge herself in new areas in the quilting world. 

http://www.hypernoodlefabrics.com – Specializes in very hip, retro fabrics. Prices are kept low, and specials and coupons are offered. Customer service is good. No returns on fabrics, except if the shop made an error in the order, and must be addressed within three days.  Check their FAQ page.

http://www.moonafabrics.com – Specializes in art gallery fabrics.

http://www.freshmodernfabric.com – Modern fabric sold through Etsy.

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com – Wide variety of fabrics, fairly priced. Web Sale Fabrics and really well priced.

http://www.americanquilter.com – A lot of good deals on fabric. If you become a yearly member, you receive fabulous discounts on fabrics all year.

http://www.shabbyfabrics.com – A great, almost exhaustive variety of fabrics from many manufacturers at great prices.

http://www.thequiltinggarden.com – Lots of good sales.  They offer a lay-a-way plan.

http://www.thequiltedcastle.com - Great variety of fabrics and designers. Prices are very reasonable.

http://www.bearcreekquiltingcompany.com – Fair prices and a nicely priced clearance center.

http://www.theclothparcel.com – Great fabric selection and prices.

 

http://www.cottonblossomfarm.com – Features lots of designers and various types of textiles; not just cotton.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BobbieLouFabric - Wide variety of contemporary and modern fabrics.  Only sold through Etsy.

I will update this list every six months.  If you have a suggestion, please leave it for me in the comments box.

Have a great weekend!!