feasting

 get ready, i'm gonna talk fabric a whole, whole lot. you may just want to come back later.

first trip out in 6 months

 my fabric fast is over. i stopped and started, soared and fell, for the first several months of this year, not making it through the goal of 6 months. but then i did it! i went 6 whole months without purchasing a single inch of fabric, not even my allowable exceptions. i was going to just continue on until the end of the year but i got wind of some favorite solids being discontinued and on sale.

crash, bang, boom, bang! that was the end of the fast.
and the beginning of the feast.

i don't know how pleased i should be with myself when as soon as the fast was over i went out and purchased everything i'd wanted to in the past 6 months. really, did i accomplish anything at all?

i ordered from a few online stores and then went local to find some more bits for penny patch 2.0.

local store #1, etc, used to be my favorite scrapbook store. when they started carrying designer quilting fabrics, that's when i got into the world of modern quilting. (or the modern world of quilting. i don't think i'm fully a modern quilter if you talk about style and aesthetics. anywho . . . that's how i got started.) they have a very nice selection of quilting fabrics but don't carry everything my little quilter's heart could desire. then again, who does? they also have a rewards program so i routinely get my purchases at 10% off. and seeing fabric in person is the best possible way to select fabric. while there, i got lots of little bits for the blue/red/yellow/black chevron quilt i want to do and stocked up on some old favorites that were on 60% clearance. i also signed up for two new classes.

on my second trip there a few days later (for a class), i picked out some fabrics for the baby shower quilt i needed. i was starting to second guess my recent pull so i began replacing the missing fabrics for my original plan A (corals and purple dot). and i also picked out some fabrics to go with the plan B pull i'd made (pink and black dots). it wasn't until later that i realized i didn't need to shop for both pulls because it was an either/or situation. oh, well. i also got a new DS print for my triangle quilt. then i spied the zen chic circles in green and orange. yikes! these are such perfect blenders/low volumes that i thought were all gone. 2 yds each now stocked.

 next i stopped in to local store #2, which is a more traditional store - the kind where you find a loooooong aisle or two of batiks and sweet little white haired ladies wandering around. mulqueen's caters to the large group of snowbird/seasonal retired persons who visit each winter, and their style of fabric and quilts reflects this. however, they have some really great things going for them. firstly, they have a huge selection - tons of choices. if i take the time to scan through everything, i can always find some nice surprises. secondly, they only charge $6.95 a yard for designer quilting fabrics. wowsers, that can't be beat! thirdly, there are some really sweet ladies in there. it's always worth the stop and hunt if i'm on that end of town.

also local, is the national chain, joann fabric and crafts. they now carry a growing selection of designer fabrics from the likes of denyse schmidt, jennifer paganelli, cloud 9, and julianna horner. the big pre-christmas sale of 40% off is hard to pass up and a great time to stock up.

are you tired yet? i am. but we haven't even gone online yet!

llama fabrics on etsy surprised me by including a nice chunk of samples with my yardage. all those smaller cuts on top were extras. (i keep saying, "llama face!!!" in my best david spade voice every time i see the shop name. hee hee! anyone else an "emperor's new groove" fan?)

at llama i found the elusive katy jones art gallery line, priory square, i was looking for. also, some fox field stars and various low volumes to build my stash.

the darling and talented heather bailey has a lovely holiday sale going on so 1/2 yd cuts of up parasol are finally mine! and i already think i need more even though i've only cut into one of them. heather just knows how to produce fabric that makes my heart sing. i'm obsessing over the quilt market brochure she included in the order which features her up-coming clementine line and the most amazing "spin daisy" quilt pattern. i think it's time for me to tackle curves and templates just for "spin daisy." (it's not on her blog yet but you can see it on IG.)

there are two orders from fabric.com on their way here. yes, two. darn cyber monday.
and a fat quarter set of summer love from art gallery so i can make this plus quilt like jolene's.
that's enough. i've already made myself sick thinking about all of this at one time so i'm done for today.

happy sewing!
i hope you are more responsible and less of a hoarder than i am.