Ready, Set, GO!

At Quarterly Quilters earlier this month, we talked about the October project which will be the 1600. Apparently this is a fad sweeping through quilt guilds around the country, and would be right up Kim F's alley since it requires 'punching it.' Most guilds do this as a race (which will be the way QQ does it in October). I did a modified version just to see how it worked and ended up with this quilt that's a lap size.

The basic idea starts with a jelly roll and ends with a twin top. You sew the jelly roll strips together in a VERY long strip and is race-ready. The race is to see who can sew the strip into the top the fastest; it would help immensely to have a pit crew to help manage that long strip through the initial 2-3 seams since the top is formed by sewing the opposite end of that strip together along the long side until you meet in the middle; clip the strip; line up the ends, and repeat until the top fits either your desired length or width (depending on which way you want your strips to run.) I modified the plan for a smaller size and because I had a bunch of strips that aren't WOF, and added the white squares to give it some continuity (and lighten it up).

Rosie's Calico Cupboard in San Diego

Last week, Li and I attended a conference in San Diego.  I took a little time to check out "The Trolley" their regional light rail system, by getting an all day pass, and traveling to this quilt fabric shop that Yuki had recommended to me many years ago.  Their website said they would pick up at the transit station, if they were not too busy.   The woman who picked me up told me that her husband was in Seattle for our annual Seafair, as he was on a Navy ship. 

It is a VERY large store and has EXCELLENT prices.  OMG.  New Kona Bay tonal leaves for $8.50 a yard.    I think the going price in Seattle is about $11/yd.  Once the bolt is priced, they don't change the price to the same price as the new bolts.  I found some older bolts that were only $6.50/yd. 

Most of the store is organized by color, with separate sections for batiks, Asian, 1930s, children, floral and Kaffe Fassett.   If you are ever in San Diego, I highly recommend it, especially because of the transit accessibility. :-)

My recent mood has been  "fear of becoming a hoarder," so I didn't do much buying, but sure had fun looking!