After a little clean up in the studio this week I thought I would wrap up one of my latest jobs for KellyAnn’s Quilting in Warrenton VA. So here is a little post I call the Bus Mom Duties on the Quilters Quest Shop Hop. What is the Quilters Quest Shop Hop? Well, you can find out all about it HERE. As the bus mom, my job is to get everyone on and off the bus in an orderly fashion but with plenty of time to shop in each shop, take care of any of their needs on the bus, keep them properly hydrated and fed with lunch and snacks, and, most importantly, make sure they have a GREAT time. I take my job very seriously.
The Start of the Shop Hop
Of course, because I take my job very seriously, I didn’t take too many photos on the trip this year. I was busy taking care of all the ladies on the bus. But here is a photo of the front entrance and Quest Quilt from KellyAnn’s Quilting. Kellyann’s stop on the tour was Gilligan’s Island, which should be at least a 3-hour tour. I also managed to take one selfie with the Queen’s guard at The Crazy Cousin, or as known on the tour, the British Isles. The Crazy Cousin just happens to be my local quilt shop in Fredericksburg, VA and the southernmost stop on the tour.
Shopping on the Shop Hop
Since Quilters Quest was in October this year, it just happened to fall during my birthday and the anniversary of the company. I knew that I wanted to take the opportunity to shop and pick up some special items for myself and maybe even for some samples so I came up with a plan to shop for fabrics to add to my English Paper Piecing (EPP) collection. Below is the current stack of rosette centers I have been making for my La Passacaglia quilt from the Millefiori Quilts book. If you don’t know what a La Passacaglia quilt looks like you can see images HERE which are from a simple Google search of the name.
Fussy Cutting Fabric Stash
The photo on the right is a new fabric I purchased recently to fussy cut in the next layer of the rosettes. I started with fabrics that are heavy in jewel tones so this fabric might work or it may not work. I am always on the lookout for awesome fabrics that will blend with my current fabrics.
I picked up quite a few fabrics that will blend with the rosettes above. As you can see, I like to choose fabrics from all types of lines and colorways to blend together. The fabrics below were purchased at The Scrappy Apple in Winchester, VA and The Crabby Quilter (formerly Cottonseed Glory) in Annapolis, MD. The border print below is from the same line as the fabric above. There are also two prints from Tula Pink, a StudioE print, and several fabrics from the Walkabout Collection. Those crabs are amazing. All of the fabrics below were chosen not only because of their colors and tones but also their ability to be fussy cut into interesting repeating patterns for hand piecing.
An Unexpected Present to Myself
At Jinny Beyer’s Studio in Great Falls, VA, I came across this gorgeous beauty that was hand-pieced by Jinny. Those colors in those fabrics are all me. I wrestled for a little while and decided I needed to have the kit to make this one. Someday when I have all of my company projects complete I will dig into this puppy. Maybe this Christmas.
Christmas Prep Fabric Shopping
Speaking of Christmas, I couldn’t do without some Christmas fabrics. I found the fabrics below left in a couple of kits at Traditions at the White Swan in Hagerstown, MD. They needed a little love and a new home. The below right fabrics came from KellyAnn’s Quilting. Everyone needs a bright red barn with a touch of teal… and those deer… am I right?
The Hunt for the Moncarapacho
My PRIMARY focus of this trip was to get a plan together for another Millefiori Quilt that I want to make from Book 3. I was given three little pieces of the Cotton & Steel fabric below left. I was able to fussy cut 10 trees from the fabric and put them together with a fat quarter of diamond fabric from KellyAnn’s Quilting during EPP Club and decided this would be the focus and center of a Moncarapacho Quilt. You can see the finished quilts by checking out my Google search HERE. Since there is a center rosette that means I can allow a single rosette to sit in the middle and sparkle and shine. I did manage to find more than a fat quarter of that beautiful diamond fabric that brings so much light to this block.
A Little Stash and A Little Searching
I have been searching through my stash for some great fabrics that would work to go with this single block. These fabrics were a few that I picked. This green and white repeating print will make an interesting center for a rosette. But, of course, These few fabrics will not make an entire quilt. My goal was to be on the lookout for fabrics that would work with this block. I did find a few additional fussy cut fabrics with the same coral color and I couldn’t help but grab this yellow as well. It probably will not go into this quilt but it will make it into the next project. The mate to the yellow was this gorgeous mint and blue fabric with a tiny hint of red. While the dot in that fabric is red and not coral it matches the outside stripe perfectly and looked great with the mint and the blues in the tree fabric. Sometimes it doesn’t look like fabrics will work together but I am always excited to show you when they do.
Searching Without A Swatch
So you would think that since purchasing fabrics for this quilt was so important I would bring a swatch of the fabric or perhaps the block with me on my shopping trip. But I didn’t. I just used my brain. I did pretty well with the shades of blue on the bottom left. I did struggle a little with the mint color. The fabrics in the center are the lighter side of the fabrics that I purchased. The stack on the left was a great blend of the mint shades. I fell in love with the fabrics on the center-right but they were all a little too light blue to make it into the quilt. You never know though. These things can take a turn. I will keep them together. These fabrics were all purchased throughout all of the shops mentioned and also Bear’s Paw Fabrics in Towson, MD, Capital Quilts in Gaithersburg, MD, and Patches in Mt. Airy, MD. That gorgeous fabric on the below right was purchased at Material Girls Quilt Boutique in La Plata, MD. I just love that shop and they are my local Bernina dealer. I felt that just screamed border for something for me. I NEEDED it!
The Quest Cuts and Quest Quilts
I picked up the Quest Cuts at each of the shops which this year were 2 1/2″ strips in these gorgeous greens and blues. I also managed to find a great border fabric to go with them. I’m sure I have plenty of fabric to make any of the gorgeous Quest Quilts pictured below or maybe I will make up my own design. Aren’t they gorgeous? I don’t know why but I am really feeling that pineapple quilt from KellyAnn’s Quilting. I was able to play with all the fabrics today and pet them and then put them neatly in a project box for when I get a minute to start.
A great big shout out to all the shops for putting on this wonderful shop hop and a special shout out to KellyAnn’s Quilting for inviting me to run the bus again this year and making it so easy for me to visit with all the other shops. As you can see, I had a blast. I hope everyone had a chance to get out to all the shops this year or even a few of the shops and get an opportunity to enjoy the festivities of the shop hop. It’s a real blast.
Here’s to next year and until then… Happy Quilting!