a few of you have asked if i’m still got this McElligot’s Pool fabric stack hanging around. yes, it’s one of the lucky few that has not been pulled apart and used mercilessly in other quilts. (ok, a few of the fabrics were stolen for other projects, but i did my best to replace them)
i’ve been thinking and digesting on this one for a few months. i never could land on the the perfect pattern. i had a lot of ideas, i had almost decided on a wonky cross quilt, kinda like this or this. (totally love both those quilts, maybe i should still do it)
in the end though, i settled on something inspired by this and this. i never intended to interpret the ‘fish’ theme literally. i was only thinking of the color scheme. but i do kinda like how this pattern looks a little ‘fishy’. i think that must be why i went with this design, because i actually really dislike making half square triangles! it’s one of those mind-block things, kind of like cleaning out the dishwasher. it’s a relatively quick and simple task, but i always put it off!
i don’t necessarily say that i won’t change things up part way through! i may get bored, which is when things tend to get interesting!
random point number two!
i find it interesting how my taste in fabric evolves over time. i buy mostly online, since i live in an igloo and my dog sled is frozen in a snow drift. buying fabric online can be tricky although after a few years, i have less mistakes (aka: fabrics that i thought looked good online but in person just aren’t my thing)
anyways, i tend to just buy what i love and usually that works out great. i rarely think consciously about what makes me love a fabric and reach for it over and over and feel panicky when it runs out.
the other day i did have a light bulb moment though, and realized that i tend to like fabrics printed on a slightly creamy background more than pure white ones.
hence the above example. the top photo with five fabrics are ones that had pure white backgrounds (or more ‘blueish’ undertones) i decided to try giving them a bit of a bath in tea dye.
the second photo shows the only two that had any noticeable change. (i used an actual tea bag in water and just dipped the fabrics in and swished around a bit, then rinsed) they definitely have a different tone now, although i’m not sure if quite the ‘right’ color.
and my final random mention for the day… a while back i talked about one of my favorite online fabric shops, you can read about it here. i just received an order from another fave shop, so i thought i’d mention them as well.
that would be Mad About Patchwork!
Pros:
♦ they are in Canada! this means that for once in my life, the shipping slogan that says ‘FREE SHIPPING!!’ actually applies to me 🙂
♦ that also means that if you’re in Canada, there’s no risk of duty costs and you’ll receive your fabric within a week or less!
♦ they specialize in basics, which is really so very good for my fabric diet right now! they have many of the Kona solids, as well as Kaffe Fasset shot cottons and Essex Linen. they also have some other lines of fabric, and a nice selection of modern books and patterns.
♦ their yardage prices are just slightly higher than most stores in the US, but when i figure out the price of postage and add in the idea of supporting a Canadian shop, it makes me more than happy to buy from Pam!
♦ last but not least, super duper customer service! awhile ago i made an order of shot cottons and asked if she could jot the names of the colors on the selvedge, just because i had such a terrible time with guessing which color was which. guess what she did? she sent me three sheets of paper filled with samples of all her shot cotton colors!! and i think she now has those sheets for sale in the shop!
Cons:
♦ hmmm… can’t find too much to complain about. the selection of new collections coming in is very well edited and a nice selection, but of course i can’t find everything i want here, so i end up buying most of my prints elsewhere. i think i may find myself shopping here more and more in the future with the crazy cost of shipping though!
by the way, i’m not being compensated, this is my honest review!
well, that’s all for random Thursday! i’m linking up with Cindy of LiveAColorfulLife, because i love me some random!
Thank you! I love finding out about good Canadian places to order fabric 🙂
I'm going to try this again. Blogger doesn't want to post my comment. 🙁 I love that you pulled such great fabrics based on that book. And also the fact that your blocks DO look a little fishy! And the fact that you write in lower case–that makes me really happy for some reason.
I also like creams rather than dead white. And I bought my first batch of fabric from an online source this week. The fabric arrived last night. So, how much fabric do you buy if you aren't buying for a particular project? And how often do you find that one or more of the fabrics for a project weren't quite right? What do you do about that?
Good questions Stella! I almost never order fabric with a project in mind, unless it's something I've ordered before and know i like it and want to use it. I try to keep enough selection on hand that I can work from my stash for all my projects, and then rather order new fabrics to replenish my stash.
I realize it's not always an option to have a large stash, so if you want to buy for a specific project online, then I recommend buying all from one fabric line, or else buying a premade bundle that the shop has put together.
As for amounts, I never buy more than half a yard of a new fabric that I haven't seen before. If I receive it and find that's it's something I use a lot, I'll sometimes order a yard or two more.
Visiting from really random thursday. I love love love the quilting you are doing. The colours are gorgeous and the effect looks amazing
I think I say this every month or so — I do not know how you pair your fabrics, but I wish I could do it.
Wow! I am in Canada too and can't wait to log onto that site and shop. Thanks! I found another little Canadian Shop the other night and was planning to place an order from them over the weekend. Its called http://www.myfabricspot.com
Just made my first order from Pam earlier this week and I can't wait to get my fabric! I'm also plotting my next purchase.
I love Pam for all the same reasons. Super speedy service, too!
Thanks Jolene .. I'm thrilled to be on your list!
Hi Jolene, I was looking at your fabrics you showed with the yellow chevrons and fell in love with that grey fabric with the white anchors on it. Do you know what it's called? I want to make the tula pink anchors away quilt for my other half and I think this would be a brilliant print for the backing of the quilt. Cheers 🙂
If you could also say the name of the white fabric with thin black lines that you tea dyed, I would appreciate it. Your fabric selections and quilt style really speak to me–THANKS!
I like your not too "fishy" fish quilt in progress. The top right block makes me think of Dr Seuss and "one fish two fish, red fish blue fish".