Q & A Friday

Canning Day Aquas and Orchids

Welcome back to another Q&A Friday.  Thank you so much for submitting your questions.  I always enjoy answering any questions you might have.

If you are new around here, I have been running a (mostly) weekly Q&A post–it was formerly Wondering Wednesday.  This is the time I answer any questions you might have about all things quilting.  It could be fabric questions, design questions, an interest in seeing one of my patterns in another fabric line etc.

Lone Star Pillow

Before we dive in to the questions, thank you for voting for my Lone Star pillow last week.  It has made it to the semi-finals in the Pillow Fight and is up against some beautiful pillows.  You can vote for your favorite here and get a chance to win a wonderful prize just for casting your vote.

And now, on to the questions. =)

T Holzer says: “I have two questions for you:  1.  How do you choose backing for your quilts?  Should we try to match the front or match the quilting thread or what?  2.  Do you ever feel like you only have time to sew with your own fabric lines and that you don’t have time to just sew with fabric just for fun?  For instance, you want to make a fall themed quilt or a Christmas quilt, but you can’t because you have quilts to make from your new fabric line or you have to come up with a new pattern??  Thanks!”

Wide Backing

First of all, I dislike piecing backings with a passion LOL. =)  Because of this, I buy 108″ wide backings by the bolt and will use them if I can.  The stack above is the wide backings I have right now.  The bottom three are the new Canning Day backings.  The gray linen looking one is a Lulu Lane wide backing (I bought two bolts of that one)–the Coral one closer to the top is also a Lulu Lane backing.

The Newsprint one is a Basic Gray wide backing from Compositions.  And the other text print is from Urban Cottage by Urban Chics.  I also have a basic off white grunge backing (11108-101) and a white wide back (11082-98).

These rotate out–as I use them up, I replace them with something else.  I usually will buy a bolt any time my collection has wide backing and then any other Moda collection that has a wide backing that is versatile I will buy a bolt of just to keep on hand.

Wheelhouse Quilt with pretty backing

I will also piece backings (usually using the large scale print from my collection) when none of the 108’s are what I am after.

Prairie quilt back

As far as choosing the backing color, this is probably going to be influenced by your quilt top.  I tend to have my quilts quilted using a non-contrasting thread on the quilt top–often this is white.  So I will think about how that white thread is going to look on whatever my backing fabric is.

Sunnyside Up Backing on Hello Friend Quilt

If my quilt top has a dark background, I am not going to choose a light backing fabric because the thread choice won’t look as nice on the back.

Starflakes Quilt with Etchings Charcoal background

So, think about the thread color you are going to be using to quilt your quilt.  Then, pick your backing fabric accordingly.

To answer your second question about using fabrics other than my own.

Tilda Fabrics

I do have a lot of other fabrics in my stash that I don’t get to as often.  I’ve been collecting Tilda fabrics for years–actually before they were available in the USA.  And I think I’ve only made one quilt using them. =)  But, I love having them.

Lella Boutique Bundles

My friend Vanessa (Lella Boutique) and I have traded bundles of fabric at quilt market–one of my brand new line bundles for one of hers.  When Sherri and I wrote our book Sunday Best Quilts it was a great opportunity to use some lines of fabric that we had been wanting to use.  I used two of Vanessa’s lines in my Dayflower quilt.  Vanessa’s fabrics are always so pretty!

Dayflower Quilt

I suppose sometimes I don’t have as much time to sew with other designers fabrics as I would if I wasn’t a fabric designer myself.  But it is so much fun to sew with the exact fabrics that I want to use because I designed them exactly as I wanted them to be.

And if I want a fall themed quilt or a Christmas quilt, I am pretty quick to reach for some of my fabrics in those palettes.

Maple Charm Quilt in a mix of my fabric lines

Reds/Greens from Sugarcreek:

Sugarcreek Reds & Greens

Or design a line so that I can work with those Christmas fabrics.

Holliberry Fabrics

I still don’t exactly look at what I do as a job, so it has never lost it’s “fun-ness”.  I love designing fabrics, playing with color, and piecing quilts.  I really enjoy writing patterns and even like the math part of things.  I love being able to work from home so I am still here with my family.  I so enjoy the flexibility and yet I like deadlines.  I very seldom feel that “have to” do something feeling and more often than not am excited that I “get to”. =)  It really is a lot of fun!

The next question is from  Larine Dunham:

“…How do you store all your fat quarters and do you starch them when you first get them all (if you starch) — just what is an orderly process??

Fat Quarters

Answer:  I don’t usually buy fat quarters by themselves.  I am usually buying a fat quarter bundle.  So, I will often leave them together as a bundle until I am ready to use them.

Zen Chic and Boro Wovens

And, then I will just stack them on my sewing rooms shelves:

Sewing Room Peek

You can see in my sewing room picture above, I just sort of stack them here and there on the shelves.  You can see those Tilda fabrics I mentioned earlier have their own shelf.

If I have fat quarters that I purchased individually, or if I like them mixed in with another line, I will sometimes bundle them all together like below.  This photo is four different lines but I like the way they look together so I bundled them up (and you can see where I store them in my sewing room, right above the Tilda’s):

Katie Jump Rope, Flea Market Fancy, Pie Making Day, One Room Schoolhouse fabrics

I do have fabric storage underneath my cutting table that is sorted by color.  If I have a random fat quarter not in a bundle, it will end up in the scrap storage.

I don’t starch my fat quarters.  I usually only starch when steam isn’t quite getting the job done.  If I was a starch before cutting person, I would wait until I was ready to start cutting my fabrics before I would starch.

Tulip Market Quilt

One last thing before signing off for today, my Tulip Market quilt is my $5 pattern of the month in either the large size or the mini size.  You’ll find the pattern in my shop.

Thank you so much for reading along today!  If you have any questions for me, please leave them for me in the comments for a future Q&A Friday! =) Corey