The Saga Continues

Remember the tale of the quilter who needed a piece of velcro and her ensuing trips to Ben Franklins? As happened with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, there is a sequel which must be shared. After the success of Laura Numeroff’s first book , the sequels began popping up with regularity. There was “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” and “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” among others.  Here is the next chapter to my story, If You Give a Quilter a Bargain.

At the end of the first chapter of this story, you might remember that this quilter had returned to Ben Franklin to pick up a piece of Allison Glass fabric to add to the pile being used to make a 241 totebag. While there, an amazing discovery was made where the whole Asuka line by Dear Stella was found on the $5.99 table. I thought that was where the story would end. But no, it was not to be.

Last week the May is for Maker’s challenge was brought to the forefront of the quilty blogger community and everyone was joyfully diving in to buy patterns designed by individual makers (as opposed to those working for large companies.) This blogger happens to love a good cause. Especially a cause that is supported by shopping.

In my related post last week, I stated that I would buy a pattern to use to make a quilt with the Dear Stella fabric. It took a lot of shopping to finally settle on the pattern I wanted to make. There are endless numbers of gorgeous patterns to be had on Etsy and Craftsy both. So many great designs that it was very hard to choose. I started looking at the blogs of my favorite quilters who also sold patterns. I did web searches. I went to my lovely Etsy shopping app and my Craftsy shopping app. Finally I had to just put away my iPad to let my brain settle down, knowing that once I did so, the right pattern would rise to the top of the frenzy.

It did. Here it is; Courtyard Tiles by Kelly Young of My Quilt Infatuation. One of my parameters for choosing a pattern was that it have a large scale design because some of the Asuka pieces have large focus prints. Also, because I am making this for a queen size bed, I didn’t want to piece something too fussy with loads of points to match, angles to cut, etc.

courtyard tiles pattern

This pattern will be great from both angles – not a lot of fussy piecing, and plenty of room for the fabrics to shine. I love that the blocks give an impression of a curve but really they are pieced with rectangles and small triangles to create that curved look. Here is where the saga continues. Looking at the requirements for the queen size, I found I needed another 1.5 yards. Yep, I had to go back to Ben Franklin’s.

image

Fortunately for this shopper, there were still a few pieces of the Asuka line left. There were also a few pieces of Dear Stella that coordinated with the Asuka line. No longer were they all stacked together nice and neat. That’s ok – the thrill of the hunt makes it that much more satisfying. I started searching.

I found several pieces that I had not purchased during my last trip. The orange flowers with the blue centers, the larger scale print (on the bottom to the far left) and the gray dot (on the bottom, middle of the row). I also bought a bit more of two pieces that I already had.

image

I have enough of the print fabrics to begin piecing the quilt. I have not yet purchased the background fabric. I can’t decide what color I want to use.  Currently, the choice is between a very pale gray or a crisp white. My decision is complicated by the fact that some of these fabrics show a creamy white and others have a very crisp white. Oh, how I struggle with color! If you have any input, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Of course, I would be lying if I said this was the end of my story. Once the decision is made about the background fabric, there is still the backing fabric and the binding to be selected. No, this story has only just begun. I am excited to get going on it, but first I need to finish up a few projects that are close to completion.

Linking to Sunday Stash and Main Crush Monday. (You’ll find these links at the top of the page, under Link Ups.)

 

 

13 thoughts on “The Saga Continues

  1. Colleen

    I vote for a creamy over a bright white.
    If you watch you might find a neutral that has more than one white in it. Makes me wonder why someone has not made a basic fabric of whites mixed with themselves or is it out there now

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      I do think there are tone on tone fabrics in white. I just need to take a look and see what is available. Hope all is well Colleen and thanks for your input!

      Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Hi Cindy, Thanks for your input. I love getting opinions on projects and most especially with color choice!

      Reply
  2. Mari

    Looking at your fabrics, I would use a pale solid blue or a tone on tone light blue. It would tie them all together nicely. A pale yellow might also work!

    Hope that helps!

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      It does help. I think blue could work – especially one that leans toward the cool side. Yellow isn’t my favorite so I don’t want to emphasize it. Thank you Mari!

      Reply
  3. Lisa

    You’ve been doing some great bargain shopping. The pattern is wonderful The fabrics will look great in the pattern.

    Reply
  4. Tami

    I think a blue that leans toward gray would pull it all together. These are REALLY yummy. The orange flower with blue center is my favorite!

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      I am leaning toward a blue-gray or just gray. But definitely a cool color. However, I am not even going to buy it until I wrap up a few projects!!

      Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      I think the biggest decision with this project is whether to quilt it on my machine at home. I have only quilted one queen size quilt and I stitched in the ditch for that one. It was so unwieldy.

      Reply
  5. Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

    Drat! Don’t you just hate when you are forced to go shopping *again*?? 🙂 This is the perfect pattern. I remember when Kelly released it – it’s one of my fav’s . Dear Stella fabrics were some of the first I purchased when I started quilting, so I am excited to see your quilt! Thanks for linking to MCM!

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      This is my first go with Dear Stella but I know it will be a pretty quilt. These fabrics are so gorgeous!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.