I am on my way to teach in Steamboat Springs. It's going to be a treat to be in the mountains! I hope to post some nice pictures – both quilt-y and outdoors-y.
I left with the house mostly finished. The floor is all the way down. The baseboard trim still needs to be painted and there are some other small things. When I get home it should all be over. That's good because 2 days after I get back we head to Hawaii! I'm sure I'll be posting. I'm lucky to be able to leave the business part of pieceocake.com in Lorna's hands.
Earlier this week I received a box of the most wonderful linen/cotton blend solids! They are from the Essex Collection by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. I didn't even know that these fabrics existed until I saw them at market! Here's the stack, right out of the box:
They are intense and clear and pretty in the stack. That said, they are prettier when the stack is more thoughtfully arranged…
When I gather fabric for a quilt, I make stacks: foreground and background. Inside those stacks I arrange by color and value. Often I let one color blend into another. I find it so much easier to color a quilt from an organized stack. There is never just one way to arrange the fabrics and, as I work on a quilt, the colors move around.
This fabric is heavier than regular cotton but not so much that you couldn't combine the two weights. That's what I plan to do. After washing and drying, the hand of the fabric is nice. They have that subtle, linen wrinkle that I really like.
Piece O Cake Blog 
I love using these Essex fabrics, as you said, just a touch of texture and the weight difference doesn’t matter at all.
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I know you’re away. There’s no rush to answer this but I have a question about the spinning stars EPP. Is the tiny hex middle sewn in or appliqued on? I took a similar class with someone and it had a circle sewn on top of the middle. It was rather nasty to do because of the bias and ravely middles of the pieces. I had to use a hoop to keep the piece from moving. I love EPP, especially the very tiny pieces. I do not sew through the pieces though, I baste them on. I was interested that you sew through….. SS is one of my favorite spots! Have fun!
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It’s surprising to me how much more appealing those solids are when you stack them with like colors. Looks like great stuff to use for your Amish book. I’m sure you’ll find a great way to use them. Enjoy and enjoy your teaching in the mountains and then in Hawaii.
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I just bought these yesterday! I am using them in a workshop for the Look Ma, No Curves coming up next month.
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I just bought these yesterday! I am using them in a workshop for the Look Ma, No Curves coming up next month.
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