Now that's better! A couple of weeks ago I shared how I was contemplating using various blue solids and maybe even some terracotta and orange reds for a flying geese variation featuring these gorgeous organic Moody Blues fabrics by Genuine for Cloud 9 Fabrics. However no combination satisfied like my original vision of classic blue and white. Cloud 9 makes a whitish yarn dyed solid with a light texture - called Limestone, part of their Cirrus collection of solids. My concern was that, like many other light solids, it wasn't opaque enough, allowing seams to show against organic batting a little more than I liked.
To work around this 'problem' I have decided to use a different pressing method when making the flying geese blocks, pressing seems inwards instead of outwards (image 4). In addition I am planning to insert strips of the Moody Blues 'Dots' print between the rows of geese, again pressing seams away from the white.
These geese blocks are relatively large to allow fussy cutting of the delightful prints. I am utilising the corners of these blocks by sewing an extra seam line before trimming the corner off. This is giving me quite a stack of small half square triangles for a yet-to-be-decided project. *
The thinking part is mostly over for now with the near future holding more sewing, pressing and lots and lots of trimming. And if I need a change of pace I just might have to make another SIMPLY MINI Organic Quilt! :)
*Size details: Geese bodies (print fabrics - with some fussy cutting) were cut 4 3/4" x 8 3/4" with white 'flaps' being 4 3/4" squares. I've used a very generous 1/4" seam (my preference on a bias seam, especially with the looser weave of the Cirrus fabrics). A second generous seam on the 'waste' side enables the HSTs to be made. Each pressed flying geese block is trimmed to 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" which will enable sew/finished blocks of approx. 4" x 8".
Each HST is pressed and trimmed to 3 1/2", to yield sewn/finished squares of approx. 3"
Sharing at WIP Wednesday.
I'm very excited to share my latest project! The SIMPLY MINI Organic Quilt is the result of combining my desire to make affordable organic quilts, particularly for newborns who are most vulnerable to chemical exposure, and a love of the beautiful organic fabrics now available.
As the name suggests, they are simple, letting the beautiful fabrics be the star - and they are MINI in size at only 20" x 28" (51cm x 71cm). I believe this will prove to be a very versatile size for baby car seats, strollers and as a clean, soft quilt or mat for a newborn baby. This is also a great size for play with dolls, bears etc. Each comes wrapped with its own business card sized tag.
Now listed in my ETSY shop (pink one has now sold) where you will find more details. I love both of them, but as a mother of six daughters, I must say I really, really enjoyed sewing with a little pink again.....
***Fabric Note: Each of the four printed fabrics are from Eloise Renouf's new First Light collection for Cloud 9 Fabrics.
Just half an hour from home. Miss N was keen for more driving practice and to share a favourite discovered location with some sisters. It sure was a fun expedition with the added bonus of a log truck to follow back into town. I'm quite enjoying our bonus little local road trips!
We seek out the sun's warmth and huddle under winter bedding at night. We've not even had a frost in our area of town this year, yet early mornings are still chilly. The birds sing of spring, all winter long.
Miss E was very happy to be pushed into the pool this afternoon, no need to wait for spring, yet she was also equally pleased to have a warm shower only minutes later!
Our lemon tree is laden with its best crop yet, and so is our avocado tree. The gerberas and camellia bushes flower beautifully. Even a couple of jonquils have graced us with their amazing scented flowers. All of these are wonderful reminders of God's goodness and a satisfying result of many a planting I've made over the years - even if the nurturing has been hit and miss. You have to sow if you want to reap, and keep on sowing for sometimes you don't know where or when the return will come - but it will surely come.
While working on recent quilts I've been trying to decide how best to use my treasured Moody Blues designed by Geninne for Cloud 9 Fabrics which I bought from the US back in March. I've long thought a Flying Geese design suit well, however I don't have an organic white or low volume fabric which seemed to work just right. So they sat waiting.
On the weekend I decided it was time to make a start and see what happened. I cut windows in scrap paper to choose which size would work best, and searched through my organic fabrics for anything which may compliment, choosing three blues/navy and two orange/terracotta. I tentatively cut into some of the fabrics (below), hoping the way forward would become clearer as I started sewing.....
Then on Monday I had a quick look in Spotlight (similar to Joann in the US) for another item and discovered that their stock of Moody Blues had just arrived that day - brand new rolls, not bolts! It wasn't there on Saturday when I went looking!
Early this year I was dismayed to discovered that sometimes the base cloth used for Spotlight's Cloud 9 organic fabrics is different/coarser than the exact same print for Cloud 9's US market. I was keen to inspect Moody Blues closely - and was delighted to find the fabric is the same fine quality as that which I had bought from the US. In fact, the printing on Spotlight's stock is even slightly crisper (insert big smily face)! Plus the Spotlight fabrics are also a touch wider being a full 44" width after washing, not 42" like my US purchases. The selvedges have a clean finish on the Spotlight fabrics, unlike the US ones which have a lightly frayed/furry edge. Spotlight carry only half the prints from the full collection, each one beautiful!!!
Not only was the fabric as good as or better than, but one print came in a new colour way which isn't available on the US market!!! The red/orange seems to be specific to Spotlight only - the colour is deeper than I can catch in photos, a gorgeous rich variegated red-orange. Very excited, I bought half a metre of two prints and this new red.
This is really good news for us in Australia and New Zealand, as we can buy top quality organic fabric (thank you Cloud 9!) from an Australian retailer which has stores in many of our larger towns - a store which frequently has huge fabric sales too!
But now I'm left with a quandary - should I include the new red, which works so well, instead of the orange/terracotta? Should I try to use all these fabrics together? Or do I need to add some white/low volume to balance all the rich prints and colours? Stuck in indecision yet again?!?!
So while I wait to resolve my Moody Blues questions, I'm working with some delightful soft pink organic fabrics (First Light by Eloise Renouf for Cloud 9 Fabrics), making something very small and sweet. Working with beautiful fabrics just makes me very, very happy!
Sharing at WIP Wednesday.
