Quilting #3 : Fabrics Coming Together

My quilting fabrics are coming together! I've found a few in my stash (the black & white star pattern, the solid purple, navy circles and the light purple polks dots) and also am very happy that several of the fat quarters I purchased last week will work as well (olive dots, tangerine stars and grey big blooms).

So that's 8 fat quarters down, 2-4 more to go! What do you think so far? Any suggestions on colors or prints?

Quilting #2 : Finding Fabrics

In my hunt for Fat Quarters for my first quilt, I scoured all the fun Fat Quarter bundles at my favorite fabric shops on Etsy, but unfortunately I wasn't finding a pre-arranged bundle that was in the assortment of colors I was looking for.

I then came across a custom listing you could create with your own selection of Fat Quarters at a great Etsy shop called Mimis Fabrics and More....perfect! I loved that I could select my choices from any fabrics in her shop under $9/yd and y'all she had hundreds of fabrics to choose from!


Most of my choices were Amy Butler fabrics, which I thought would work well since the them of my first quilt is around Amy Butler's Bliss Bouquet in Emerald. So, here are the 6 Fat Quarters I chose for my custom bundle:

Amy Butler Momento in Burgandy

Amy Butler Floating Buds in Gray

Amy Butler Sunspots in Olive

Heather Bailey Hop Dots in Tangerine
(see, I said almost all Amy Butler fabrics)

Amy Butler Bali Gate in Grass

Amy Butler Araesque in Ivory

Buying fabric online can sometimes be daunting because it can be so hard to guage the colors correctly, so I definitely don't expect for all 6 of these to be a perfect fit for my first quilt. But, I am pretty sure they will go to good use eventually, right? I can't wait to see them in person!

Quilting #1: I am going to learn how to Quilt!

True to my New Year's resolution to try new things and challenge myself, I've taken another few steps in the right direction towards another challenge.....I am starting to collect tutorials and fabrics for my very first quilt.

Deep breath.....breathe in....breathe out.....I can't actually believe I just said it out loud....because I've now put it out there into the bloggy universe and now I can't not do it. And I am nervous about it. Really nervous.

Thankfully, so thankfully, the incredible talented and inspiring Rachel at Stiched in Color was so nice to respond to my question about the best way to get started learning how to quilt...in fact, she pointed me to her incredibly comprehensive series she documented for quilt beginners on her blog called the Stiched in Color Colorbrick Quilt Along for Beginners. Y'all, let me tell you, if you have never quilted before, this should be your first resource! I am still reading through it all because I want to familiarze myself with all the steps before I start, but she covers everything from selecting fabric, to how to cut and chain fabric together, to how to baste, quilt and bind. And it is all broken down into individuals tutorials. Check it out today if you are thinking that you want to learn how to quilt...it is AWESOME!

Plus, I know my brilliant stepmom will be there to hold my hand, every step of the quilting way.
In addition to starting to familiarze msyself with the quilting process, I am also starting to collect fabrics that I love for the Colorbrick quilt in Rachel's beginner series. This quilt calls for at least 10 coordinating Fat Quarters, so I went through my stash this evening and found a few base pieces that I think I want to use and build my quilt around.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Amy Butler's Bliss Bouquet in Emerald! Isn't it so pretty?! I made may favorite Amy Butler Birdie Sling in it last year and I think it may be one of my absolute most favorite fabrics, not only on my shelf, but of all time. Bold statement? I know.

Eek! I can't believe I'm really getting started, though I know it is going to be a long process because I am not going to rush it, which is going to be hard for me. Wish me luck!