The Challenge of Working With Precuts

I enjoy working with precuts, but they can present some real challenges. 

I thought I'd use this Moda Candy bundle to make a project bag. It's been sitting in my stash for a while, too pretty to actually use in a project (or that's what I'd convinced myself because the ruler print is so absolutely perfect. Last night the solution finally hit me. Sew the squares into two panels and make a bag -- can't mess the fabric up that way, right?

I was going to divide the squares into two piles and arrange the fabrics so that the colors were evenly distributed. Once I got started, it was like a particularly vicious math problem. There are sooo many of those tiny checks. And a bunch of the prints are directional. And the whole thing just started to make my head spin.

I thought I was close to figuring it out, putting my favorite prints on one side of the bag and the others on the back...except for all of those tiny checks. Some of them even have duplicates! Looking at the pictures as I type this, I can see lots of poor choices with the fabric placement, then I think of sewing them together and keeping every square in the right order and facing the right direction and I think I'll just take the boys down to the river instead of struggling with it.

I do love the fabric collection (Moda Potluck) and could do amazing things with a jelly roll or some yardage, but these little 2 1/2" squares may be the death of me. Or may go back into my drawer of fabric that's too good to cut into.

Nancy's Mysterious Quilt

I've been absolutely dying to show you this quilt! The pattern is a free download from the Moda Bake Shop. You'll find my Nancy Drew giveaway at the bottom of this post.

 

I grew up on Nancy Drew books, always wishing I could find a secret passageway or an old diary...something spooky and mysterious. But there's not a lot of spooky and mysterious to be found when you live in a newly built house.

 

These days, I've got an old barn and and old attic, and a whole collection of antique trunks. But not many mysteries, unless I'm trying to figure out which of the kids did what.

 

When I first saw the previews for Moda's Get a Clue With Nancy Drew fabric, I got giddy. Those book covers...and the spines...and the end papers...  I knew I wanted to make a quilt with it!

 

And while I was waiting for the fabric to arrive, and then for the chance to show you the finished project, I tried to piece a black widow spider and made a cover for my 1930s and 40s era Nancy Drew books which also fits a Kindle. There's a tutorial for that here.

 

And now I'm working on another project for the Nancy Drew blog hop in January... I think I need to buy more of this fabric.  Signups for the blog hop are still open -- head over to Carol's blog for the details.

 

Is it conjuring up as many happy memories for you as it is for me?  I've been having an absolute blast, re-reading a bunch of Nancy Drew books and discovering some series from the same era that I missed when I was a kid -- Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr and Judy Bolton and the Dana Girls... 

 

 

 Did you love the Nancy Drew books as much as I did?  Does this fabric make you feel like re-reading them? I've managed to find copies of four of the six titles featured on the quilt top to give away. According to The Nancy Drew Library, these are vintage Twin Thriller book club editions. Each book contains two complete Nancy Drew mysteries, the same text as appeared in the yellow cover books on the quilt.

 

One of my followers will receive both books - to enter, just be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post before 11:59pm December 10.

 

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you where I found the moss covered mansion (which is actually part of an asylum) to take the pictures! 

Dashes in the Woods

Little Red Riding Hood has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, even if I was scared half to death by a stuffed doll my great grandmother made me when I was little. I think that doll with its scary teeth and eyes is actually why that story conjures up such vivid images for me.

As soon as I saw A Walk in the Woods with the little girl in the red cape and that cute fox, I wanted to make a quilt with it. I've been dying to show this one off! The pattern is available for free at the Moda Bake Shop.



That enormous tree, the one that's almost as wide as the quilt, is directly behind our house. I can see it from a mile down the highway. Our little farmhouse is almost a century old, and the tree was here long before it was built.

If this is your first visit to my blog, welcome! I'm Michelle and I live in a little old farmhouse in Oregon with my husband and our four children. My teenage daughter sparked the idea for this quilt when she saw a picture with pieces of two baby quilts and thought they were both part of the same project.

I love making scrap quilts and go on frequent baby quilt binges. (Later this year, I'll be inviting you to go on a binge with me, so start collecting bright scraps to cut into 2 1/2" squares!)

Since we had so much fun installing my husband's three new hives of bees a few weeks ago, I've been doing my best to avoid the bugs. Sewing my own finger might've been less dramatic. But now I've got my own suit and, although it's claustrophobic inside the thing, I haven't been stung since.

Honestly, I prefer to leave the bees and chickens and geese for hubby and the kids to play with. I'm happier in the house with my quilting and knitting and cross stitching.

This post is linked to the Wildly Original Roundup over at We Gotta Create.

It's Moda Bake Shop Day & Time for a New Giveaway!

Finally, I can show off my new quilt! I'm so excited to have the pattern for 30s Barn Raising available for free at the Moda Bake Shop. The Fat Quarter Shop is giving away fabric to make the quilt top to one of my readers, so make sure you read down to the bottom of this post to enter.

If you haven't been here before, welcome to my blog! I'm Michelle. I love making quilts, the more different fabrics and pieces, the better. When I'm not quilting or knitting or getting excited about some other kind of needlework, I'm spending time with my husband and our four homeschooled kids. We've got chickens, geese, bees, and cats. We all love to search thrift stores and antique malls and antique sales for vintage treasures.



Now back to 30s Barn Raising, the whole reason you're here today! This is a slightly different quilt for me, using only ten different fabrics. It does have 900 pieces, and that definitely makes it my kind of quilt.

One Jelly Roll, a bit of backing fabric, and you've got yourself a quilt top. The whole thing is made up of squares and a few strips of background fabric, which makes it perfect for mindless piecing when you just want to sew without thinking about it too hard.



Want to make 30s Barn Raising in the same fabrics I used? The Fat Quarter Shop is going to give one of my readers a 30s Solids Jelly Roll and two yards of your choice for the background fabric. That's enough to make the whole quilt top!

To enter, just be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post before 11:59 PM January 11, 2012.



And be sure to check back later this come back later this month. I'll be having two more giveaways, one to celebrate my 1000th post. This post is linked to Can I get a Whoop-Whoop??, Finish it up Friday, Manic Monday, Show and tell Saturday, and Homemaker in Heels' Weekend Craft Soiree.