We are back after an epic road trip to both AQS Daytona AND Quiltcon– 1100 miles! I’ll be sharing some highlights of the week in the next post… but guess what was waiting for me when I returned!

     Truth is, I was pretty excited after my January tablerunner for the February’s challenge– I am creating a project out of just the Sew Sampler box fabric each month this year, as well as using everything in the box. January’s box was fabulous. While I was away, I watched a *SPOILER*  YouTube unboxing one night while on a fourth floor oceanfront balcony. Yep, that’s a geeky quilter. Then I had fun on my iPad doing color studies of the fabric while the waves lapped the shore. It sounds a bit obsessed, but that’s how I enjoy myself!

    IMHO, this is a second month that Fat Quarter Shop has hit it out of the park. I already had my eye on the Corey Yoder “Sunwashed” fabric and the pattern this month is a really good one to go with it. That is one of the best parts of these boxes– you’re bound to get treated to something you might be on the fence about adding to your stash.

     There’s also a box of pins– I am always bending mine for machine embroidery purposes– much appreciated. And there’s a needle case– that would have been helpful on my trip– hee-hee. 

     There’s a pair of thin and super grabby tweezers that will be totally useful when turning projects right side out, or trying to fix a paper jam in my printer! And some bags for quilty scraps– I took a class at AQS that involved a lot of tiny pieces so these will help me stay organized– I really want to finish the class project– I’ll tell more about that in the next post.

    The Sunwashed Jolly Bar also came with it’s own pattern– it’s a super modern and easy one. 

     The Bliss Quilt along is in Block 11– I’m just collecting them for resale. After one more box, a new yearly project will start. Maybe this will be the year I jump in for that, too. All in all, a very generous box– thank you Fat Quarter Shop!

    So back to my project sketches. One of the things I love about buying collection pre-cuts is that you get a little piece of every fabric. I love sorting them into colors and considering the possibilities. “Sunwashed” has a little bit of everything– yellow, peach, red, light blue, darker blue, and green. So I kind of analyzed the pattern block to get ideas. I do love the pattern and would have totally considered making the full kit, but I’m trying to stay true to my original idea of just using the fabric in the box. I may add fabric later on, but for now I really want to use the basic rule of sticking to the box for new design possibilities. Sometimes just setting up some arbitrary rules helps the creative process along.

     I did a super rough sketch of the block, (does it appear I had too many Pina Coladas?) studied how many pieces of each color were included, and colored the blocks accordingly. It seems like I have enough for three blocks– PLUS, I think the border idea on the pattern provided using wide stripes is super good-looking, so I hope I have enough leftovers to work it in. There’s also a ton of white in this collection I’m saving for the borders. Some of them are a bit busy.

     Here some of my favorites– I’d love your input on which you like best– I named them for reference and so you can understand the differences:

     As you see, I’m just blocking with the colors– I’m not showing any of the fabric patterns. The collection includes some large ginghams– I love them, but I know they are going to be problematic. So I will just use my sketch as a color guide and see what happens! 

     This is a really enjoyable process for me. If you start a quilt with a very comfortable feeling, knowing exactly how it will turn out, and that it will be beautiful like all your others–  maybe it’s time to take a leap into the unknown. That uncomfortable, unsure position is the place you want to be creatively– grow! One disappointment I had with the AQS show is that you have the same selection of alphabets and sheep, kids and dogs, and large photographic flowers from the same artists– you could easily swap out the winners with any other show of the past few years. I’d be amazed to see more of a progression in design– some truly new work. In art school, I had a design professor say– “once an artist has achieved commercial success, it becomes impossible for them to create anything of value.” I’m not saying I totally agree, but it makes for a great discussion.

    So that’s my start on February Sew Sampler Challenge! I can’t wait to get started, but of course there’s a ton of unpacking and a March Bowl Filler set that is very, very late!

    Be sure to weigh in with your ideas on the box– so far, I think I’m one of three who are taking the challenge to sew the samplers this year– sew along with us! What better way to experiment and expand your color sense than with a little monthly box of fabric.

xoxo

Carol