Quilting Blenders Make a Well-Balanced Fabric Stash

Whether you're new to quilting or you've been obsessed with it for years, you will need to stock up on quilt supplies to help you make quilts with ease. You surely don't want to be interrupted in the middle of your work just because you've run out of blender fabrics to fill up the gaps.

When you plan on making a quilt, you will need a fabric stash full of different prints and colors. To make the most out of your stash, you have to develop a keen eye for versatile fabrics. These versatile fabrics called quilting blenders will help you to easily connect or match different fabrics.

Quilting blenders are fabrics that blend well with other prints in a quilt. These are mostly monochromatic (though not solid in color) but a bit mottled, or have an abstract, tone on tone, or washed appearance. The photo below from Craftsy.com is a perfect example of a blender.

This Basic Baby Quilt by ThirtyHandmadeDays.com used quilting blenders in green, turquoise, brown, and yellow shades aside from the main animal-printed fabric. It is a good idea to include blenders into the quilt because it makes the main fabric stand out.

FabricLovers.com has a variety a quilting blenders in different shades. These blenders effectively add depth and texture to any quilting project and makes it more beautiful. The quilting blenders are currently on sale so now's the perfect time to grab them and add them to your ever growing fabric collection.

Shades of burgundys and reds for a bold statement

Oceanic Blue shades

Purple Tones for a quilt worthy of royalty

Blender fabric in Olive tones

Friday Favorites: Scrap Fabric, Sewing A Pillow, and My Next Project

It's finally Friday! I finally used up the leftover fabric scraps from my first quilt, found a video on the basics of cutting, and am planning my next project! Productivity has been my middle name this week!

I decided to make a pillow from the scraps of fabric I had leftover. What would go better with the quilt than a small pillow, right? The pillow isn't stuffed yet. I can't wait to finish it!

You can watch me sew on my mom's machine here:



I also got my first rotary cutter and I love it. I had no idea how easy (and accurate) it would make everything! Love, love, love it. But then I realized that I needed to know the basics of cutting, just in case. So I came upon this great video:



Want to save money and stock up on fun holiday/Christmas fabric? Fabric Lovers is currently holding this lovely Gingerbread House fabric on sale! Check it out!

So after I finish the pillow, what's next? I really want to make another quilt but think a small project might be better until I get more practice. What do you think? Should I make a simple tote, another pillow, a table runner? So many ideas and so little time!

Want something to help you procrastinate? Please follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and/or comment below on things you'd like me to feature or talk about!
~Yasmine

A Pillow From Scrap Fabric

After wondering what to make with the left overs of my first quilt, I decided to make a pillow. I was given great ideas, such as a cosmetic bag, safety kit, and so on. I then thought, why not just complete the quilt/nap-time ensamble with a simple pillow.

It's not stuffed yet but I think it looks great so far. What do you think? Any obvious mistakes? I do have to mention that I simply love, love, love, my rotary vutter. I had no clue what I was missing! It cut in half the time of scissors, straighter, and just overall better.

Want to see a video of me making the pillow? See below and down't forget to check out our youtube channel!

Want something to help you procrastinate? Please follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and/or comment below on things you'd like me to feature or talk about!
~Yasmine

My First Quilt: IT'S DONE!

I have learned many things both, about sewing and about myself, with this project. Quilting isn't as easy as it looks, I'm kind of lazy, and I don't have all the tools for sewing. I learned how to whip-stitch, although not well. And although the quilt isn't the most beautiful, I love it.

What was the toughest part? Learning to read instructions and not letting my ego take over. I kept thinking, I've sewing before, this is a piece of cake. Well, my amateur sewing skills quickly showed in this piece. I apparently find it hard to sew in a straight line without guides. I also forget simple, yet essential, sewing steps such as ironing out the fabric. I believe I stretched the binding when sewing it and perhaps that's what made it bunch up.

Overall, I love it and love the fabric. It's made of 100% cotton fabric in greens, pinks, and mustard tones. The floral fabric is lovely and I'm glad I made the strips as wide as I did to show off the design.

My 2 year old daughter likes the quilt but mostly I keep it away from fear that she'll put chocolate or some other sticky substance on it. It's not perfect but I love my first quilt!

Want something to help you procrastinate? Please follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and/or comment below on things you'd like me to feature or talk about!
~Yasmine

Quilting Essentials List - Part 2

Here's part 2 of the essential tools for those that sew. One of my essentials (mentioned in the last post), my iron, I seem to have misplaced! Now that I've moved to a new space for sewing, I can't find it and my quilt got wrinkled! If you have any thoughts on what I can do, let me know!

Now back to the quilting essential tools:

6. Pins (regular or safety pins) will help keep everything together and you can never have too many. Since I forgot to purchase the batting that can be held down by ironing it onto the fabric, I've had to resort to using pins. Be careful if you drop one though! You might end up stepping on it or worse, your child could get at it. I suggest having a magnet nearby. You can sweep this over the desk, table, carpet, anywhere. It'll pick up the pins and you'll be ready to go!

7. Machine needles are one of the must haves. Why? From experience, a dull machine needle is horrible to sew with and when you hit a pin, the needle will bend or even break. I was told that even if the needle looks fine after hitting a pin, that I should change it. This will prevent the project from getting ruined.

8. Having been around fabric, I've realized why so many people prefer 100% cotton when it comes to quilting. The fabric will have less of a tendency to bleed and won't wear out so easily. It's kind of an investment but why would you want to create something beautiful only to have it ruined in a short time? Check out sales. That being said though, don't stop yourself from splurging. Especially if that specific fabric design will be the centerpiece of your project.

9. Cotton thread is something you must get if quilting. Why would you spend so much on cotton fabric if you're only going to mix it with polyester? These other threads could be too harsh on your project. There's also a difference between hand quilting thread and quilting thread. You can' use the hand quilting thread on your machine. Instead, invest in a few neutral colors and sew with those until the project calls for something different.

10. Fabric markers are something I need to get! I could use those to create sewing guides, measuring marks and so on. They seem to sell them in three types. Pencil, chalk, or fabric marker pen. A pencil, I found, is the most common and washes out over time while the chalk can come off more easily but isn't good for details. The details can be drawn out with a fabric marker pen. I still say test it out on a small swatch of fabric just in case.

Stay tuned for the update on my quilt and check out part 1 of tool essentials! You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check out our Youtube page, and like our boards on Pinterest! I hope to hear from you soon.

~Yasmine