Tag: FOTY

Fabric of the Year 2017 Again

FOTY 2017 - early June 2017
FOTY 2017 – early June 2017

It was the end of April when I last posted an update for FOTY 2017. I am still cutting, but the endless Carpenter’s Wheel and brief detour into designing for FOTY 2016 are just two of the projects that have distracted me.

These fabrics reflect a couple of projects. First, the text prints were cut as I was cutting more squares for the Carpenter’s Wheel. The light blues are for the En Provence Mystery Quilt, clue 3.

I also started cutting for a new project. This is the reimagined Daisy QAL. Yes, my podcast pal, Daisy, is leading a Quilt-A-Long. I wanted to do it, so I bought all of the materials. After looking at the pattern carefully, I decided I didn’t like the alternate block. I looked around to see what I could add that would be interesting, then decided that was stupid. At the same time, I saw the quilt I have been wanting to make at Back Porch Fabrics, Triple Star (n.18/19) by Kim Brackett from Scrap Basket Beauties.

I changed direction. I am using the materials from Daisy’s QAL to make the Triple Star. I know I have a zillion other projects, but I bought the fabric and am cutting it up in between the Carpenter’s Wheel and En Provence.

The fabrics on the bottom row in the FOTY picture above are from Alison Glass’ Sun Prints collection. That brown probably has to go. I cut it up, but find that there is a lot of it and I don’t like it enough to put that much in. I won’t have enough fabrics from the layer cake to make the whole quilt, so I am adding in other fabrics as well, including some Philip Jacobs. I need to make it more cheerful.

FOTY 2017 end of April Update

FOTY 2017 - end of April 2017
FOTY 2017 – end of April 2017

After not cutting for a long time, I am on a jag. Here is the most recent group. They are  clear and cheerful. I am pleased that I finally have so many of the mini Pearl bracelets washed finally. I am thinking of making another Sew Together Bag with them.

FOTY 2017 – mid April

FOTY 2017 - mid April
FOTY 2017 – mid April

After stalling out on cutting fabric early in the year, I have cut a lot this week. I have needed fabric that has languished in my ‘to wash’ pile, so I have washed quite a bit of fabric as prep for cutting. Clean fabric cannot pile up on the back of my new chair, so pressing and cutting it is.

I love the mini Pearl Bracelets Julie bought for me as a gift. Having them on the wall makes my imagination go places I wasn’t considering. I having been thinking of making another Sew Together Bag for my embroidery supplies. Except for some Philip Jacobs fabric like I used in my recent One Hour Basket, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use. I wonder how it would look with the Philip Jacobs on the outside and all different Pearl Bracelets on the inside?

FOTY 2017 Starts

First Batch of FOTY 2017 Rectangles
First Batch of FOTY 2017 Rectangles

I know it is confusing to have two of these going at once.

I had to clear off my ironing board in order to put a new cover on it. Mine had a big hole, which wasn’t really bothering me. However, my ironing board is a unique brand and I came across a cover in a store and snapped it up. In order to actually use the new ironing board, I had to move the pressed fabric waiting to be cut. The above picture shows some of it, but also fabric from a recent wash load.

The shape for 2017 is a 3 inch x 6 inch rectangle. I chose that because I want to play with a subway tile look. I think I have decided not to cut smaller pieces for used/in my closet fabric. So far I have only cut new fabrics, so I still have some time to decide. I think I will just make all of the patches the same size. I am also thinking I will stagger the rows like when a bathroom is tiled. This means I need something for the ends. At the moment I am thinking white Ta Dots on Grey. Stay tuned.

FOTY 2016 – Early December

FOTY 2016 - early December
FOTY 2016 – early December

I have another group of squares for the project. For awhile they came fast and furious as I pressed and cut like a possessed thing. Now I am back to sewing up a storm. I have a bunch of fabric pressed, but not yet cut. It is such a frustration to have only two hands. This is one of the few times in my life where I’d like to be an octopus.

FOTY Squares – end of November 2016

FOTY - end of November 2016
FOTY – end of November 2016

You got a little peek at the FOTY squares yesterday when I posted about last week’s design wall.

Here are most of the squares in all their glory. I really couldn’t fit all you could see in the photo into the space I had on the design wall. Yes, you saw them all on, but in order to take a photo, you will have to wait for the rest to show up in the next installment.

There is a lot of yellow in the group. I had forgotten about those pieces. they will make an interesting addition to the FOTY 2016 quilt.

It hasn’t been that long since I posted about this project last. I am gearing up to start placing squares in order as soon as I finish the Peacock, thus I am cutting diligently. I want to get it started and done, though I am afraid the size of the squares will make a piece that is too large for my design wall again. Sigh.

FOTY 2016 Squares Progress

FOTY 2016 Nov 2016 Squares
FOTY 2016 Nov 2016 Squares

This group looks like it would be a wonderfully cheerful baby/toddler quilt. Turquoise and pinky-red! What could be better?

It makes me want to just toss all the FOTY 2016 squares up on the wall and sew them together in a way that creates a larger cheerful quilt with this look. This tells me that I am getting tired of the project.

Don’t worry; it is a stage int he process and I will get through it. It is a good sign and perhaps I will start arranging right after New Year’s Day. We’ll see.

I looked in the box of squares yesterday and found it stuffed to the gills. I hope I don’t have to cut the squares down. I don’t want to.

Finished: FOTY 2015

Someone asked me why I finished FOTY 2014 in 2015 instead of in 2014. This was before my trip, so the comment annoyed me. Now that I am much calmer and have had time to think about it, I realized that some people may not understand the concept. Don’t worry I am not going to rehash it here, but you can see a detailed explanation of the concept on the Works in a Series page about the Fabric of the Year quilts.

Fabric of the Year 2015: Finished!
Fabric of the Year 2015: Finished!

I finished FOTY 2015 last week (or perhaps the week before). I was still sewing on the sleeve when I took it to BAMQG last weekend for show and tell.I needed DH to help me photograph it and that didn’t happen until last night.

I am pleased with how it came out. I really like the layout using rectangles and squares. The two different shapes add interest, I think.

Fabric of the Year 2015 Back: Finished!
Fabric of the Year 2015 Back: Finished!

I used large pieces for the back, which should come as no surprise. I have been trying to minimize the fiddly little piecing I can get into for backs. I like large print fabrics and the ultimate goal is to get backs done. I need more of that yellow fabric as I used the last bit for the EPP Stars and was short one leg of the EPP stars.

I have started cutting for FOTY 2016.

FOTY 2016 Overflow

FOTY 2016 - Late June
FOTY 2016 – Late June

I mentioned the other day that I haven’t had a lot of time to sew lately. I have had a few minutes here and there, which I have used to press and cut fabric. This means more FOTY squares. There are a few from various projects as well, but the bulk of them thrown together look a little depressing. I’ll have to do a load of oranges or yellows to ensure that FOTY 2016 isn’t heavy on the dark side. 😉

FOTY 2016 – More mid-June Squares

FOTY 2016- mid-June #2
FOTY 2016- mid-June #2

These are a combination of project fabrics and new fabrics. I just keep cutting!

My Mom said that my fabrics look darker this year. I think tht may be the case because I have washed a few loads of blues and the fabrics are in the approximate order in which they were washed.

I have a lot of blues, but also a few whites and lighter colors.

FOTY 2016 – Mid June

FOTY 2016 squares - mid-June
FOTY 2016 squares – mid-June

I spent several evenings cutting fabric while DH worked on his NSGW stuff. It was nice to cut up fabric and move some of it off my ironing board, but it was different than our routine and a little upsetting.

You can see that I am working through a load of blues nad other cool colors. Sometimes I got tired of the same colors and dug around for some others to entertain me. Pressing and cutting she stripes makes me want to bind something with those stripes.

FOTY 2016 squares - mid-June
FOTY 2016 squares – mid-June

I had to keep moving the squares off the design wall as I was cutting so much fabric. It was nice knowing I was making some progress. Why wasn’t I sewing? I don’t know.

FOTY 2016: early mid June

FOTY 2016 - early mid June
FOTY 2016 – early mid June

With all of the cutting I have been doing lately, patches for FOTY 2016 are already piling up. I have a lot of black from the Food Quilt #3, though who knows how much it will look like relative to all the other colors I accumulate.

A number of the food fabrics have crept in due to cutting new bits for the last few food 9 patches.

In the photo above are the recent pillowcase fabrics and few I have cut that have been recently washed.

FOTY 2016: Good News & Bad

FOTY 2016 Patches: Late May 2016
FOTY 2016 Patches: Late May 2016

I am plowing through fabric so more patches for FOTY 2016 are being cut. In this batch, you will see some from the back of the FOTY 2015 as well as some Ta Dots, which I am cutting into squares to make HSTs using my Triangle Technique. I thought I had all of them cut and then found a few more.

The black and whites  plus the couple of browny-neutral fabrics were originally from Cityscapes, but I am doing another quilt in similar colors. Stay tuned for more on that. There are also a couple of random purples in there. Fun to think about projects I have made or am working on when I see these patches.

The BAD NEWS is that I mislaid the box I had been using to store FOTY squares. All the squares you saw last time were in that box. I had to clean up the workroom and I remember putting the box….somewhere. Exactly where is a mystery. It is not gone forever, I know, but I just don’t know where it is. It will turn up. This is what I get for having projects in process everywhere.