Friday, January 25, 2013

Win-Win!!!!

Happy to say that I managed to get this done this week.  This top went together like a charm!  I mentioned in this post last week that I was using Wanda's Cross Quilt tutorial from her Exuberant Color site.  If you do what she says (and you have a design wall), this goes quickly and is pain free. I will definitely do it again and am thinking this may be a great project for those 2.5" strips I keep planning to cut from the men's shirts that are calling my name.
I also had the opportunity to shop a guild member's stash and I have to say, it was a bit awkward (for me -- probably not for her).  This woman has had her home on the market for two years and her family is in Ohio - children and grandchildren.  I think she has been widowed about six years and she wants to get closer to her family.  Who can blame her for that!

To her credit, she is lowering the price of her house one more time, planning to downsize, and is leaving Kentucky.  I applaud her!  One of the things she had to do in order to make this work is get rid of a LOT of her fabric, her quilting books, some batting, thread, patterns....

So on Saturday, she opened up her studio to our guild and we responded!  All fabric was $3/yard and her "yards" were generous.  She sold in increments of half yards and rounded down.  Some of the 1 yard cuts I got were almost 1.5 yards.  Fat quarters were $1.00 and easily more than FQ in many cases.

But, it felt a bit uncomfortable to be digging through stacks of fabrics.  I almost felt like we should be saying "may she rest in peace".  She, on the other hand, showed no remorse, had cookies for us, and was moving the fabric that would get her "home."

I got this stack of peach/orange fabrics for $15 and the cuts range from scraps to half yard cuts.  I was trying to be deliberate in choosing fabrics in colors that I don't gravitate toward -- orange, purple, and pink.  I made progress!
Look at these!  These are neutral charms and were $2.00 -- along with some odd cuts.  Who could pass that up?  Or a bag stuffed full of 2.5" and 2.0" squares for $1.00.  Seriously -- I have lots of squares but these needed a home!

The good news is -- she was pleasantly surprised with how much she sold and is hoping to sell the rest tomorrow when she opens up her studio to a different guild!  I wish her luck.  And, lest any of us worry about her, she has three full cabinets of fabric, books, and kits that are moving with her -- not to mention her Innova.

As far as I'm concerned, this was a "win-win"!  I hope you have had a wonderful week full of fabric surprises!

Jan

29 comments:

M-R Charbonneau said...

Oooh, I love your cross quilt, Jan!

Nat at Made in Home said...

As I said in my comment, looks amazing!

Mel@Mellywood's Mansion said...

Oh I love it, my mum quilts and I've just started my first scrap quilt, you must have a lot of patience, it takes forever!

Awesome about the fabric buys!

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of a quilt from men's shirts too - it would look fab:)

Gari in AL said...

Love the cross quilt: I'm going to run over to Wanda's to see that tutorial. And what a great way to declutter a house for sale. And how nice of you all to drop by to help. ;-)

DeeDee said...

Thanks for sharing the tutorial and your cross quilt is great.

Rhonda said...

Lovely Cross quilt. I love scrappy quilts!

Erin said...

That cross quilt is fantastic!

Anonymous said...

this is a lovely quilt and a quilt rummage sale is a great idea, your purchases are really nice looking! Have fun playing with all that fabric

Jill said...

Beautiful cross quilt!! And what a great score of fabric! I recently helped out an old lady here who was moving to be closer to her family and needed to get rid of her fabric stash. She wouldn't take any money for the fabric - but was just happy to know she was passing it on to people who appreciated it and would get good use out of it!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Diana of Diana Rambles said...

Absolutely GORGEOUS!!

jjthor said...

I love your quilt!!
You did good with your new stash!! think of it this way at least she knows her stash is going to a good home andwill be appreciated and not just dumped. makes it easier on her when she has to get rid of what is left over for her downsizing.

Patricia said...

The quilt looks Great! I want to make one too.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your plus sign quilt - how wonderful is that? That's one of the next quilts I want to make! I love your blog.

Anonymous said...

Love the plus quilt. Lucky you...you got those lovely fabric .

leena

Needle little Balance said...

Your plus quilt looks amazing! I can also imagine a stunning plus quilt with all men shirt fabrics, nice!

Valerie said...

Lovely quilt & how nice to help her reduce her stash!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Your quilt is beautiful and how fun to add all of those neat fabrics to your stash! Neutrals.....we can never have too many of those! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

Angie in SoCal said...

I love that cross quilt. I'm going to have to bookmark the blog you mentioned.
Thanks!

KatieQ said...

Your cross quilt is beautiful. I love the way the light colors give it a little punch.
That quilter chose a great way to destash. It must have made it easier for her to see her fabrics go to homes where they will be loved and used.

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

Your crosses look fab. I hope the lady manages to move somewhere she likes soon :)

Lucy | Charm About You said...

ohhh I so want to make a cross quilt! Great work! Well done on the bargains :)

carla said...

Hi!!! Your cross quilt is very pretty!! I love your fun find scraps too!! Great finds! I live in KY too!!! La Grange Ky!!! I followed over from quilting bloggers!!! Great quilt!!! Thank You

Heather said...

The quilt is gorgeous! And what a wonderful way to add to your stash. I'm sure she is grateful for your purchases!

Stella Nemeth said...

You did her a favor by coming to her sale, and you did yourself several favors as well.

The 2 1/2 squares are perfect for hexagons, by the way. Especially if you don't trust them to be perfect squares.

Hilary said...

My jaw just dropped at your fabric SCORE!

Be Colorful Coastal said...

It's obvious that you have a lot of empathy for her but I watched my mom downsize and I think it was harder on me than it was on her. Like my mom, maybe your friend has had time to mourn the things she is letting go of or realizes that they are just things and that a life with her family is so much more valuable to her. Thanks for sharing.
p

Lisa Lynn said...

Love the quilt! I would love to have you join me as I kick off my brand new Creative HomeAcre Hop today at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/category/the-creative-hopmeacre-hop

Emily said...

Beautiful quilt! I so love those shot cottons! :)