A Glimpse of My Fabric Stash

 

A random stack of fabric from my stash.

Some of this is destined to be handspun into my signature Ragamuffin yarn, some for doll clothes, some for quilts. Oh, the joys of fiber!

New Stash Fabrics (2)

New Stash Fabrics (2), originally uploaded by confections.

Here are the latest additions to my ever-growing stash of quilt fabrics, purchased at the San Diego Quilt Show which took place from September 17 - 19th, 2009.

Most of these are one-yard pieces or fat quarters. They are destined to be incorporated into some new projects, including quilts, handspun Ragamuffin yarn, and yo-yo's. Fall projects aplenty!

Laundry Day Hand-Appliqued Quilt

Laundry Day Hand-Appliqued Quilt, originally uploaded by confections.

One of my favorite late August activities in San Diego County is going to the Outdoor Quilt Show at the Country Loft in La Mesa, California.

The Country Loft is a quaint white cottage with a picket fence entwined with Cecile Brunner roses. Inside is a wonderland of quilt fabrics and primitive antiques. In late August each year, the front yard is filled with donated quilts which are sold in support of Quilt for a Cure.

The backyard features quilts and other fiber arts projects completed by students who have taken classes at the Country Loft during the last year. What a joyful way to spend an afternoon!

My sister and I ran into a long-time quilting friend and her daughter and sister-in-law during our visit on Saturday--fellow kindred creative spirits.

The much larger San Diego Quilt Show happens in about three weeks. That one signals the last bit of official summer and the beginning of fall quilting season for me. Happy Quilting!

Latest Fabric Stash Acquisitions

Latest Fabric Stash Acquisitions, originally uploaded by confections.

My sister and I visited two of our favorite quilt fabric stores on Saturday and this is the partial result. My sister's goodies are not in this stack....

The fat quarters are so tempting. There is a bundle of fat eighths here, too. The William Morris Workshop packet of squares is destined to become medium-sized yo-yo's.

My Blythe dolls will probably get a few new dresses from this stash as well. Lucky girls!

Bohemian Manor Ragamuffin Handspun Rag Yarn

Bohemian Manor Ragamuffin Handspun Rag Yarn, originally uploaded by confections.

Here is my latest skein of Ragamuffin handspun yarn. I got lots of premium quilting fabric from vendors at the recent San Diego Quilt Show and I have been turning some of it into my signature Ragamuffin yarn. I've been making a few yo-yos, too.

Collage of Linen Yo-Yos

Collage of Linen Yo-Yos, originally uploaded by confections.

I was inspired by the yo-yos in a vintage quilt at the recent San Diego Quilt Show, so I have been making a bunch of them lately with my Clover yo-yo making tools.

These jumbo-sized ones (3.5 inches in diameter) are made of scrumptious Belgian linen fabric hand-printed by Michelle Engel Bencsko of cicadastudio. She has a new line of lovely quilting fabrics that just came out, too. Lots to look forward to as fall heads our way.

Eye Candy from the Quilt Show

Eye Candy from the Quilt Show, originally uploaded by confections.

My preliminary haul from the vendors at the San Diego Quilt Show....

Fat Quarters of Quilting Fabric

Fat Quarters of Quilting Fabric, originally uploaded by confections.

The San Diego Quilt Show happened over a month ago, but I had a whirlwind September with family visiting, so I'm just getting around to showing a bit of the stash I accumulated at the vendors' booths.

My sister and a friend joined me for our annual jaunt to ooh and aah over the quilts and to power-shop to build up our stashes--not that they need building up (just sayin'), but quilting fabrics are a form of ephemera, I think, and one has to scoop them up as they fly by! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

About mid-afternoon, following a long-standing tradition, we leave the exhibit hall, retreat to the conveniently located Starbucks in the convention center, and compare yams--uh, fat quarters. This is one of our favorite rituals. Out come the treasures from our bags--patterns, tools, books, gadgets of all kinds.

We are spurred on by the beauty of the quorum of quilts we have just soaked up. All that creativity manifested has an hypnotic effect on us every year: must.make.quilts.

Winter's comin' on.

Yo-Yo Mania

Yo-Yo Mania, originally uploaded by confections.

My sister and I have discovered a brand-new tool by Clover which makes creating yo-yo's for quilting a simple process. We've both been quilters for over ten years, and have quite a stash of quilting fabrics to use in our yo-yo mania.

The set of Clover tools we've acquired is getting a major workout! My sister has a new handbag in mind for her steadily increasing number of yo-yo's. I haven't decided yet what I will do with mine, but I like the idea of making little brooches with them. I adorned one with a favorite faceted amazonite bead. We dipped into our stash of silk dupioni, too, and created some gleamy silk confections. I want to dip some of those into a dyebath and see what happens. I'll keep you posted.