Last year, you may remember that I sewed along with the Ice Cream Soda quilt along. It was created by Jodi at Tales of Cloth, an Australian quilt shop. Each month I received a tiny little package full of paper pieces, and the plan was to stitch up 8 blossoms (or part blossoms each month). Inevitably I fell behind, but I thoroughly enjoy these blocks. They are quick and easy to stitch, I'm using a totally random fabric selection, and they look so pretty. There's no complex placement so these are the perfect sewing for travelling! All of Jodi's papers are cut from recycled paper, and they are just a little bit lighter-weight than the papers from Paper Pieces or available here in the UK. At first I was dubious, but they are so easy on the hands. I'm also working on the Round You Go quilt, using papers from another Australian source - Sue Daley Designs. These are the total opposite, glossy and slightly heavier weight than most. And you really can tell the difference. I'm much preferring the feel of sewing up the Ice Cream soda blocks.
With that in mind, it was a no-brainer that I would join in Jodi's latest offering. The 2018 quilt is called Mandolin. The blocks are bigger and there's fewer of them, but each has more, larger pieces. Jodi gave away some packs at the end of November - great bit of marketing! I was lucky enough to get my hands on one, and on boxing day I finally decided on my fabrics: I'm going to use a selection of fabrics from Tula Pink's Spirit Animal line, broken up with some pieces from my own stash. I'm not generally a huge fan of Tula's fabrics, but this one, with those little otters, seems to have got me. Thanks to the boxing day sales, I picked up a "few" fat quarters (and half yards of the otters).
I've put together that first block now. It was delightfully easy, the shapes were perfect for a bit of fussy cutting (something I want to try more of this year), and I love it (sadly, so does my daughter....)
If you want to join in, you can sign up at Tales of Cloth. I've paid for my whole year in advance, which saves postage - that comes to about a £20 saving over the course of the whole year, so definitely worth it! And I still get a little package from Australia each month! Do it - you know you want to!
With that in mind, it was a no-brainer that I would join in Jodi's latest offering. The 2018 quilt is called Mandolin. The blocks are bigger and there's fewer of them, but each has more, larger pieces. Jodi gave away some packs at the end of November - great bit of marketing! I was lucky enough to get my hands on one, and on boxing day I finally decided on my fabrics: I'm going to use a selection of fabrics from Tula Pink's Spirit Animal line, broken up with some pieces from my own stash. I'm not generally a huge fan of Tula's fabrics, but this one, with those little otters, seems to have got me. Thanks to the boxing day sales, I picked up a "few" fat quarters (and half yards of the otters).
I've put together that first block now. It was delightfully easy, the shapes were perfect for a bit of fussy cutting (something I want to try more of this year), and I love it (sadly, so does my daughter....)
If you want to join in, you can sign up at Tales of Cloth. I've paid for my whole year in advance, which saves postage - that comes to about a £20 saving over the course of the whole year, so definitely worth it! And I still get a little package from Australia each month! Do it - you know you want to!
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