Happy Friday! I had a very busy week – starting with a very successful grand opening of Montgomery Quilt Company‘s new location. It was so fun to meet a lot of new quilters and be involved in the decisions the every small business has to make as it grows. Plus I was allowed to do merchandising and quilt hanging – neither of which I’m very good at, so it was nice to have an opportunity to practice (although I know that there were a lot of changes made after I left!)
There was also the big news of FreeSpirit/Westminster closing the doors on its fabric business. I’m not sure how they’ve not managed to be successful with their line-up of popular and prolific designers, nor why they didn’t sell their business to a competitor who had a more successful distribution network in place. But, I guess that’s why I’m just a small designer and they’re the head of a large…. well….. unsuccessful company. Anyway, I hope that we will shortly find out where the likes of Joel Dewberry, Kaffe Fassett, Tula Pink and several can’t-live-without designers will land.
I also finally finished a quilt that I had been working on since sometime before Christmas. I purchased the fabric during my Black Friday binge and quickly decided to go for a quick and easy pattern that I found on Moda Bakeshop. I love the Bonnie & Camille Good Life fabric and was intrigued with the idea of two quilts with three jelly rolls. Was it too good to be true??? Turns out that the answer is no! Three jelly rolls makes two magnificent quilts – or it does, if one puts in the effort. So far, I have one fantastic quilt.
I was able to quilt it at our January quilt bee – we all brought UFOs to work on – but it took me a further month to sew on the binding (how embarrassing!). I love everything about the quilt. The royal blue against the Good Life aquas, reds and whites. The flannel dot on the back. The Bella solid in Christmas Red for the binding.
Since this quilt pattern comes from the Bakeshop, it’s this week’s Free Pattern Friday! Despite my procrastination on the binding, it’s a very easy sew – there aren’t any matching seams and the whole thing comes together very quickly. I quilted it in an all-over stipple with clear poly thread with my domestic machine. It was a breeze and I love it! I can’t wait to make the other half.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Becky