Last Thursday I made a trip to the shop - just to pick up a parcel for a friend, say Hi to Jan and show her what I had been working on. I had no intentions of purchasing fabric. My thoughts were solely on the projects I needed to finish before Christmas. Yes I know, good joke, try pulling the other one, but cross my heart I did not plan to buy any fabric. The shop was busy so I filled in time by browsing - big mistake. I should have just sat myself down on a chair and stared off into the distance.
Working my way through the Fat 1/4's I came across this fabric. I took it out, unfolded it , stroked it, refolded it, dreamed - you get the picture. But only a Fat 1/4 what could I do with that. A piece of fabric like this needed to be used for something big - like sashings or a border. At last it was my turn. The question had to be asked "Is this the only piece left?" Now I think you will understand that I was hoping the answer would be both Yes and No. Yes, because the decision is easy - go home with nothing or the piece you are clutching on to. No, "It's on the bolt", well now you have to decide just how much to buy! Do you buy half a metre, a metre, no for a decent sized quilt its got to be at least 2 metres. But what if this is not enough, what if I buy too much? What will I make with it? I've got to have it!
Then the penny dropped. Jan has designed this beautiful quilt called Spot the Yo-Yo, using a 45deg ruler. As soon as I saw this quilt I wanted to make it. I love Jan's choice of fabrics, it makes me think of fun filled summer days.
Now the design on the fabric reminded me of Yo-Yos. How perfect was this for the border and sashings. So how much do I buy, suddenly became easy once I had the project sorted. Ahh, but what fabrics to use in the blocks? I would need 'controlled ' scrappy to go with the busy border. My fabric stash is largely made up of reds, greens and pinks with only a few browns, blues or golds.
So much later, here I was with all this fabric, and yes, nothing like Jan's. We decided I needed at least 16 different fabrics for the blocks. Hopefully, once I start, will find a few scraps in the stash. This will be my January project and I can't wait to start. I'm already thinking - just one block- to see how it will look.
But wait there's more!!
Then I saw this fabric. How divine is this? Just perfect for my favourite bag pattern. My favourite shade of green with pink, how could I resist?
Now I hope you can all see the funny side of this tale because I certainly can. I'm still smiling at how I entered the shop with no intentions of purchasing anything at all and came home with a quilt top and bag. Well maybe next time....