Friday, December 15, 2017

A Plug for Kits

Travel usually means a probable lack of sewing. It can add stress to an already stressful packing time when one can't forecast exactly what one feels like sewing, or forecast all the tools to take to complete the job.  Enter kits. I'm a cautious proponent of them; I have to really really like a quilt to buy the kit. On this recent jet down to Florida for a few days, a kit gave me some much-needed fabric therapy. Florida gave me some colour-therapy too. What a combo.


So. I have three nephews and one niece. Two of the nephews have their quilts, Shift for Callum, and Radiance for Aidan. Next in line is my niece, Fawn. I picked up a couple of pieces of fabric two years ago on sale with her in mind; I had no pattern as yet. Then, last year I saw one of Connecting Threads' kits (affiliate link) using Amanda Jean Nyberg's line, Good Neighbors, and it was so bright and cheery I immediately knew it would be perfect for this bright and bubbly niece of mine. The price was excellent too, as are all of their prices.
Oh Florida with your bright light and wonderful colours; there's just something about pink and orange...

I've already made two quilts using this fabric line. Cutting it, sewing with it, and then quilting the top makes my heart sing; the fabrics are colourful and whimsical. So, when I knew I wouldn't be sewing, because I wasn't taking a machine with me, I thought aha! I can take the kit and get all the pieces cut! I was only going with a small carry-on bag, so I took a quick look at the pieces I needed to cut and whacked off an appropriately sized piece from each fat quarter in the kit. This kit was very generous; I will have enough to make a second top from the other half of the fat quarters, just need to add in 1.5 yards of a background fabric.

Here and there over the course of the 5 days, I fondled and cut the fabric--did you see the latest 'Midnight Quilt Show'? Angela's warning about some material not being suitable for non-quilters?! She cracks me up. Well it wasn't too long before I had those lovely neat stacks of happy fabric you see in the photos above. Here's a close-up of one of the beautiful hibiscus flowers behind the fabric:
MacGyver's variegated ginger plants he put in last year are thriving!

I spent all that time stacking them so neatly, and then I thought, hmm, maybe should spread them out a little, let you see them!


I found it rather à propos cutting these in sunny colourful Florida. My tree frogs were nestled on our front door once more, such a sweet welcoming committee they make. They're so adorable, smiling sleepily.
Both were snuggled on the window arch for the first few days, but today one was perched at the bottom just behind the wreath, aww.

So consider a kit next time you want to have something on hand that, ha, kind of like fast food (healthy stuff, like Subway of course), provides a mindless, ready-to-go project that will still itch that makers-gotta-make itch we all have, even when on vacation. Now, when we come back after Christmas, to stay for a little longer than a few days, and I have my sewing machine in tow, I'll be able to park my butt in my sewing chair, plug in the machine and let 'er rip sewing the squares and rectangles back together to make this sweet quilt! I'm sure you know, but Connecting Threads has lots of kits on sale right now, lots of great sales, period.

Linking up
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts




13 comments:

  1. Lovely fabrics. I always take my hexies with me when I travel.

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  2. I have been opting for embroidery as take alongs but would consider the right quilt kit.

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  3. Enjoy the sunny south. That's a great collection of fabrics. Have fun playing with them.

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  4. What a great idea, no withdrawal symptoms, and fabric to love. Beautiful weather down there, hope it was a pick-me-up on all levels.XXX

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  5. A nice way to spend a few days in the sun!

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  6. Perfect. What a great idea - bringing something to cut up and then work on the next time!

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  7. I have a stash of the Good Neighbor fabrics some purchased from a kit and I've been using it on projects. (BTW, I purchased it before you became an affiliate). Sadly my stash is slowly dwindling and can't be purchased anymore from CT. As for tree frogs, I would be screaming for a fly swatter. Have a wonderful holiday.

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  8. Sunshine, frogs, flowers and gorgeous fabric! Sounds like pretty good therapy. Frogs were my favorite animal as a child, and I had frog *everything*! Stuffed animals, posters, mugs, t-shirts, stickers...you name it. If it had a frog on it, I had it! :)

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  9. Just a short trip to FL? Will you be spending more time down there after the holidays?

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  10. I miss the tree frogs from when we lived in Florida. I had a lot of wind chimes, and at some point the tree frogs learned to jump into the metallic tubes and sleep in them overnight. I think the most we knew settled into one tube was 3 at a time. What fun memories. :)

    The kit looks like the ideal way to have some fabric to pet. Did you go ahead and cut for a second quilt top from the other material to continue to have something to keep your hands going?

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  11. What a great idea. I have always thought I needed fabric cut out before leaving, but doing the cutting there would definitely save on packing/prep time,

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  12. Quilt binding is my "go to" travel project. I would worry that I'd lose pieces if I cut fabrics on vacation!

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  13. Those tree frogs are so so adorable

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