Background Fabrics

When making a quilt or table runner do you tend to have the background all one fabric, or a variety, and what about color, do you lean towards white and cream or do you like to switch it up and use a color?

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In the past I always chose one fabric for the background, and it was generally white or light grey. During the past year have been forcing myself out of that box and have worked on changing up both the color and the number of fabrics I use in the background. I have learned that a scrappy background can add interest and uniqueness to a quilt in a way that a single fabric background cannot. Also sometimes the blocks resting on a color are just what the quilt needs to pop! If you are scared to try out different backgrounds a great place to work on it is a sampler quilt or Block of The Month. Art gallery also has a great variety of low volume prints perfect for those scrappy backgrounds. Esther is using them in her Inspiring Stitches Block Of The Month.

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We just got a new line by Zen Chic in store that is perfect for scrappy backgrounds. It is called Modern Backgrounds Colorbox, and we have the porcelain colorway available. This line also includes a panel that makes a great cheater quilter. Just cut the desired length, quilt and bind it and ta-da one of the quickest baby quilts you have ever made!

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SXLLM​​This past Saturday was another of our Collage Classes. We had a great time and I always love seeing everyone's fabric choices, and the wide variety of florals that come out. One lady was doing the pattern called Garden Girl and the method is a little different than the floral collages so I decided to do it as well to learn the method. I am using Me and You Batiks for mine, she decided to make her flowers resemble sunflowers and so was sticking to mainly yellows, oranges and reds. Once again a simple change in fabric can change the look of the pattern so much. 

Bingo in February starts on Thursday, if you cannot make it in store before then, send us an email or a private message on Facebook and we will reply with a photo of a bingo card for you. This game is only taking place on Facebook and you must follow our page, Chicken Feed Quilts, to get the Bingo number every day. 

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Today Esther met with our reps from Trend-tex, this was the fifth meeting since last Monday, but she had to get them all in before her vacation. All I can say about these meetings is that there will be no shortage of fabric in our store this summer! We have also received multiple shipping notifications again, so watch our Instagram for pictures of new fabrics.

Also on Thursday it is a new month, already, and so on Friday I will do a blog post about the new ruler special. I wanted to finish the project for today's post, but for some reason the boys in my house thought that having clean clothes and supper was more important than my sewing!This also means that there is only 1 day left to get the Stripology at 20% off.

Kayla

Sewing Spaces

SLXLM​​I thought I would share some pictures of my sewing space today, as well as some tips on how I stay organized. 

I spent some of my Christmas break cleaning up my sewing corner. I did a lot of organizing of patterns, projects, books, and fabric. My space is not a large area, its actually just a small corner of the basement that I took over, so staying organized is important. It also happens to be in a section of the basement that everyone needs to walk through to get to our rec area and so it needs to be kept somewhat neat, I can't just close the door on it. I generally tidy up every time I complete a project. I also try to work on only a couple projects at a time and make sure the rest are put away so they don't get mixed up.

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 My thread is stored in most part in Aurifl Cases, with my most commonly used ones on a spool stand and the bobbins stuck on top with bobbinis. 

For my paper patterns I use binders. I currently have 3 on the go, one contains quilts, table runners and minis, the second all my bag patterns, and the third contains the instruction sheets that come with rulers as well as specific ruler patterns. My books are arranged on the shelf beside the binders along with a stack of magazines I have purchased for vacation reading over the years. 

My rulers are all on hung on nails on the wall, though I need to hang some more nails to accommodate them all. I also have an old ruler that I used vinyl letters to write Get A Grip on, but have yet to hang. 

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For my ongoing or upcoming projects I like to use shoebox totes. They are inexpensive, and they are clear, so its easy to see which in is each bin at a quick glance. The desk I work on is quite deep, so I can stack them all at the back and still have plenty of room for my sewing machine in front. The drawers in the desk work great for rarely used tools, sewing machine parts and manuals.

For my cutting table, I repurposed our old kitchen table. One day I hope to paint it a fun color, but that would mean no cutting table for awhile, so that likely won't happen anytime soon. A small end table with basket drawers works perfect for small trimming and keeping my current projects close at hand. 

I love my little tins for containing my small scissors and marking pens, my binding kit, extra needles, and other small things that can easily be lost. We have more of these tins on order, so if you want some they should be in store in about 2 weeks. 

My fabric scraps are stored in a large tote under the cutting table, while my treasured pieces are kept up high on small shelves.

As for decor, I don't have much, some cards with quilty sayings and all my row by row licence plates adorn one wall. I am hoping to make some minis to hang, but as always time is the issue. 

I love my little corner, and as one of my coffee mugs says, "My sewing room is my happy place."

Are you lucky enough to have your own sewing space, or do you have to set up and take down every time you want to spend some time on your hobby? How do you stay organized?

Kayla