Christmas Economy Block Quilt - How I'm Making it and Fabrics

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen my Christmas Economy Block Quilt.

I've always wanted to make an Economy Block Quilt and after I saw Tasha's darling one last year, I knew it had to happen.

I'm currently in the middle of making this quilt and hope to have it finished in the next few weeks. Every time I post pictures, I get lots of questions about how I'm making it, where I get my fabrics, and other general questions.  So today, I thought I'd put all the information in one convenient spot. 

I used Tasha's tutorial over on Instagram. Her directions are simple and I love that the blocks are oversized so you can trim them down perfectly. My blocks are measuring about 10.5" unfinished, which will be 10" finished. They really are the perfect size for a couple of reasons:
1. They aren't too small that I have to make a kajillion.
2. They are large enough that the center print is perfect for fussy cutting larger scale prints.  I'm making 42 blocks which will yield an approximate 60" x 70" quilt.

Besides Tasha's quilt, my inspiration for this quilt came from Amy Sinbaldi's Christmas quilt I saw on Flickr years ago.

photo credit: Amy Sinbaldi from her Flickr

photo credit: Amy Sinbaldi from her Flickr

My vision has evolved over the years to an economy block quilt, but I still love the vintage look and design of Amy's quilt.  About three years ago I started searching for fabrics. I didn't have any Christmas fabrics like that in my stash, so I slowly began to pick up prints here and there.  When I find a print I love, I purchase at least a 1/2 yard if I want to fussy cut. When purchasing, consider the scale and repeat of the print. If it's larger scale, you may want to get more than a 1/2 yard. If I really love a print and see myself using it for other projects I get at least a yard.

The most asked question when I share my progress on this quilt is where I get all my fabrics. I literally have picked them up from just about everywhere. (local quilt shops, online shops, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, my mom's garage, etc.) I'm always on the look for fun vintage/vintage inspired Christmas fabrics.  Like I mentioned above, when I find a print I love, I get at least a 1/2 yard. This is mainly to allow for fussy cutting, but also to use in other Christmas projects. I love sewing for Christmas!

Many of the prints in my quilt are out of print. I struck the jackpot last year on eBay when I found a seller destashing many of the Christmas prints I was searching for. Some of them I paid more than I've ever paid for fabric, or will ever pay again, but it was one of those times I wanted to pay more because of the vision I had for this quilt. So if you have your sights set on some out of print fabrics, be prepared to pay more as they are hard to find.

If you are wanting to collecting some vintage or vintage inspirited Christmas fabrics, here are some of my tips for finding them.

1. Search eBay and Etsy regularly for vintage Christmas prints. Search  using "vintage Santa fabric", "retro Santa fabric","vintage Christmas fabric, etc. Or if you're lucky to know the name or manufacturer of the print try that too. Usually around July/August, I see a big increase of "new" prints since Christmas projects are getting on people's radar.  If I'm looking for a specific type of print, for example candy canes, I would search "vintage candy cane fabric" or just "candy cane fabric". I also search by just manufacturer name because many times the person selling knows who made it but not necessarily the name of the print. I often search "Alexander Henry Christmas fabric" because they are great at producing vintage inspired prints. I do the same for "Timeless Treasures Christmas fabric", "Michael Miller Christmas fabric", etc.

2. JoAnn's. The last few years JoAnn's selection of vintage Christmas fabrics has been fabulous. (With the exception of 2016, which has been pretty terrible in my opinion.) Whenever I mention JoAnn's I get asked about quality. When selecting fabrics, I go off the touch and feel of the fabric.  If it doesn't look or feel right, I don't use it. Here's my thinking, these quilts only come out for about 6 weeks a year, then are put away. They aren't being used everyday or going out to be judged. So for me and my purposes, I'm fine with the quality and haven't had any issues, as long as I stay away from fabrics that don't look or feel right.  I have another Christmas quilt with JoAnn Christmas fabric and I haven't had any issues.  One thing to consider. If you purchase a fabric from JoAnn's with lots of red, navy, or other saturated color, I would definitely prewash to cut down the chance of bleeding. Also make sure you use a Shout Color Catcher the first time you wash your quilt. (Which is my practice with any quilt the first time I wash it.) There's my two cents on using JoAnn's fabrics.

3. Basics. For this type of quilt I think some great basics are essential to break up the prints.  You can never go wrong with:
- a good polka dot (my favs are the Riley Blake swiss dots both white and La Creme)
- stripes (Bonnie and Camille and Tasha Noel are ones I've used in my quilt)
- gingham (Bonnie and Camille and Riley Blake)
- metallic gold polka dots from Hobby Lobby that I've loved using
- red and green basics from various Bonnie and Camille lines
- small scale Christmas prints (holly, Christmas trees, snowflakes, etc.)  these I've picked up at JoAnn's and from various designers
- other lines that are currently available that I've used in my quilt are Little Joys by Elea Lutz/Riley Blake, Pixie Noel by Tahsa Noel/Riley Blake, Christmas Kitsch by Anna Griffin

Below you'll find some fabric pictures with sources/manufacturer. I've included the fabrics I get asked about most frequently. This information is correct to the best of my knowledge.  Some of these are near impossible to find, but you never know! Keep looking and you may just get lucky like I did!

The Santa Claus print is currently available on eBay as I'm posting this, but just on the solid cream background!



The Alexander Henry print is near IMPOSSIBLE to find now. If you find it grab it! It's one of my favorites and I finally found it last year on eBay. I saw some a few years ago on Etsy, on the green background, but I waited too long to get it.  The print is much larger scale than I anticipated so I got creative with my fussy cutting. 

The Michael Miller print was available at Hobby Lobby earlier this year (2016). I went and asked the ladies at the cutting counter about it and they said it was a type of fabric they couldn't reorder. They only would get more if the warehouse sent more out. I heard many people couldn't find it at their Hobby Lobby stores. Sorry! It is available on Etsy and eBay, but at insane prices, $16.99 for a HY. I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby. I was on search for this print for years.

Those cute Santas are a JoAnn's print from a few years back. I bought some when I came out initially, but didn't get nearly enough. I was lucky and found some last year on eBay, the person was practically giving it away, so check there. I always see it pop up each year, but it's gone quick.


 Santa's Village is currently available on Etsy. 

There you go, I truly hope this was helpful! Happy vintage Christmas fabric searching and sewing!

LeAnne :)

Calling Fabric Lovers

....might be just about each and everyone of you who reads this blog....

So. Do I have anyone who LOVES the Henna Garden print by Sandi Henderson? I sure do.

Well, if you follow Sandi's blog, you've read that she is reprinting select colors and releasing them as a collection this fall. Wahoo. Here is the great part. She is allowing people to vote for their favorite colors and the results will be considered when she chooses which colors to reprint. You can vote for more than one color, and let me tell you I am having a hard time not wanting to pick ALL of the colors.  I will be voting for pumpkin, melon, red and pink, citrus yellow....okay maybe I will just have to vote for all. If you want to vote click here to vote.

Which ones will you vote for? Okay...off to vote and to start saving pennies so I can get a good stash.

Happy Monday!

LeAnne

Inspiration ... Just a Couple of Years Late

The other night I came up with a great idea for a new quilt. Then today I started looking at fabric options. I couldn't find what I was envisioning, so of course I did the natural thing that I KNEW would  leave me in frustration. I started looking at OOP (out of print) fabric lines. I knew I shouldn't have, but I did. If you are ever in a similar situation just save yourself the frustration because OF COURSE you will (and I did) find exactly what you want. 

enter Arcadia by Sanae for Moda 

I love this pillow made with Arcadia.

source

There are other great projects made with Arcadia on Flickr. However, they are copyright protected so just check them out here or here. (Warning: You will get a chase of serious Arcadia envy.)

  

Now if Arcadia was a year old I might still have a little luck in finding some precuts and/or yardage. But this beautiful line dates back to 2008/2009. Even more annoying is/was the popularity of this line. (That is not the annoying fact. I adore popular fabric lines.) What makes Arcadia's popularity annoying is the fact that it makes Arcadia that much harder to find.

So if there are any Moda fabric gods out there, could you please reveal to me the location of some sweet Arcadia yardage? Oh and to not have it cost an arm in a leg would be great too. 

Think you could fit that one request in for me? 

Please? 

Thanks. 

Sewing

Have any of you just need to sew or {insert favorite hobby here} to relax? Yesterday was that day for me. It helped that yesterday was chilly and kinda cloudy...the perfect day for staying in and having some one on one time with the machine. Plus, I finally cut into my stash of Sunkissed by Sweetwater. It has been sitting on my sewing table since November.

It is so purty...

I love the name of this fabric line; Sunkissed. The perfect name for a fabric line that comes out in the middle of January. Makes you long for the warmth of spring.  (BTW - I hope everyone on the east is surviving the massive blizzard....)  Did I finish the project I started? No, of course not. ;) But don't worry...it will be done soon and when I am done I think you all will love it.

While we are talking about this lovely fabric line can I just say how much I adore the quilt pattern Sweetwater just released for this fabric?

Makes me want another stash of Sunkissed just to make it. Mmmm...may have to splurge next month.

So here is to sewing...whatever the project, whatever the day...I love it.

Gotta Love this Fabric...

Isn't it pretty? Would you love some? I know I would. You can go here and enter to win it....perfect for Valentine's Day.

Craft Show, Coops, and Google...Things I Love

So I just decided to do my first "craft show". It is in three weeks and I just decided to do it today. (That is where the 'Am I crazy?' question comes into play.) It is through my work so it is pretty low key and low cost, so I think it will give me a glimpse into the world of craft shows.

You know what this means...pedal to the medal to get ready.

Oh. A few asked 'What is a fabric coop?' It is a dangerous place. No not really, only if you don't have self control when it comes to fabric. Basically the manger of the coop has a customer account directly with the fabric manufacturers. (Moda, Michael Miller, Free Spirit, the good stuff.) Basically what happens is that a buy is announced and people speak up as to what fabrics they want. (You can request a fabric be part of a buy.) Then if you are interested in a fabric, you say how many yards you will buy from that bolt. (There are about 15 yards on most bolts.) There are no minimums per person or any rules that you have to particpate so often. You spend how often you want and how much you want. The reason why I love them is that you get the top quality fabrics that go anywhere from 7.50/yd- 10.oo/yd retail price and you only pay between 5.50/yd - 6.50/yd. Still pricey but it is a lot less than paying the retail price. Oh and I should mention it is run via Yahoo Groups. I found out about it because another crafty blog I read had mentioned a fabric coop. I guessed essentially what it was, but I wanted more info. So I googled Fabric Coops and learned that most are through Yahoo Groups. I found one that suited me and I love it. So there you go! Fabric Coops 101. (There of course are more deails, but that is the basic info. If you are interested in learning more, let me know and I will email you the details. They aren't for everyone but they have worked for me.)

Oh I should mention that I am starting a little newsletter for the shop. You know announce sales, new items, giveaways...blah blah blah. If you want to be included, there is a little link up on top of the side bar. Just enter your info and I will send out occasional emails. (And don't worry, I won't spam.) I figured out how to do that through Google docs today. I heart Google.

Well have a fantastic Monday everyone! I am off.

Later gators!

Itty Bitty Results

So. First - it is Saturday AM so I am late in posting the results...sorry.

Second. I thought more peoples from AA read this...I guess not! ;) So since there were only two entries and I see both of you on a regular basis AND I adore both Megan and Abby....you are both getting one!!! Wahooo!!!! Lucky you huh?!?!

I am almost done with the directions and will have the kits to you hopefully by Wednesday.

Oh. And I got a big box in the mail this week. :) It was like Christmas. (A few of these fabrics are also from a previous box, but together they looked oh so pretty.) I heart my fabric co-op.

There is some Michael Miller, Timeless Treasures, and of course my favorite lots of Moda. Sigh.

Do You Think I Went A Little Overboard?

So Joann's had their felt on sale...here is my stash.

Okay...I'll be honest...that isn't all of it.

Do you think I have a problem??

And I Present, Captian Indecisive...

So I am in LOVE with the following fabrics. I ordered the first one but I am hemming and hawing over the rest. These will be used for some of my shop's Christmas items!!! I also have an ultra vintagey Christmas item in the works...I hope you like it!

I digress. Fabrics. Which one do you like more? Or are you like me and like all. Sometimes I can be super indecisive.

#1 I heart this...I love red you will all soon learn. :)



These are some of the coordinates. I am more than likely getting some of the green.



What about these two do you like one more than the other or are they just "meh"?



#2 This is the one I am hemming and hawing over. I am in love with it because of this dress on Etsy. Sadly I don't have an adorable little girl to dress up in that dress...but to me the fabric just screams "POSSIBILITIES"!




So whatca all think? I know you are out there. ;)