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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Nothing Is Finished! Let's Start Something New!!! Tula Pink's Tabby Mountain Quilt is Happening TODAY!

Greetings from the oddly frigid winter wasteland of Charlotte, North Carolina!  I hope your new year is off to a better start than mine is.  I frittered away my New Year's Day baking cranberry orange scones for my family, shopping for fabric online, and falling down a flight of stairs because my socks slipped on the carpet when I was carrying down a laundry basket.  I caught myself with the railing and didn't hurt anything more than my pride, but this was NOT an auspicious beginning to 2018!  My biggest accomplishment for Day One of 2018 is that I found a new quilt project that I want to make, and I am going to make it TODAY.  I am so excited!
60" x 74" Tabby Mountain Quilt by Tula Pink for Free Spirit
This is the 60" x 74" Tabby Mountain Quilt, a free Tula Pink pattern that is available from Free Spirit right here.  All you need to make this is the Tabby Road Fat Quarter collection, which I already own, and a third of a yard each of eight coordinating solid fabrics which I also already own.  I think I could cut and piece this entire quilt top in the time it takes me to make just ONE of my paper pieced pineapple log cabin quilts, and I think it's adorable exactly as Tula Pink designed it, so no need to spend additional time designing an alternate colorway, either.  So, why am I sitting here writing about it instead of upstairs MAKING it, you might ask?  

 Because, in order to show off the large scale kitty cat print fabrics effectively, this pattern uses 30 degree triangles cut from 10" strips of fabric.  Although I own all of the fabrics and I even own a Cut For the Cure 30 degree triangle ruler, that one is only 7 or 8" tall and this is only going to be a quick and easy project if I can quickly and ACCURATELY cut out all of those triangles...
30 Degree Non Slip Triangle Ruler by Creative Grids
The Creative Grids ruler pictured above is 20" tall and it would be perfect for this project.  I just called my Bernina shop (5 minutes from home) and they don't have the ruler I need, so that means I'm either going to JoAnn's (20 minutes away) or to the next closest quilt shop or fabric store (the Bernina quilt shop in Lowell or Mary Jo's in Gastonia, both about 45 minutes to an hour each way depending on traffic).  Ugh.  Maybe I'll drag my teenage permit-holding driver out of bed and make him drive me around from sewing shop to sewing shop for driving practice???  Probably not worth the earful of whining I'd get from my reluctant chauffeur.

Although I really love this quilt exactly as is, with all of the same fabrics, I also think this pattern would be great for using up some of the other large scale prints in my stash.  And in addition to continuing to work on my WIP projects this year, I also need to mix in some quick, easy and fun projects for "instant" gratification -- and much-needed longarm quilting practice.  I need to build up a lot more confidence and experience with that beast of a longarm machine before I can quilt something that I've been working on for years, like my hand applique projects or my pineapple log cabin quilt!

4 comments:

  1. RamonaJanuary 2, 2018 at 12:57 PM

    Oh, I love this quilt! And you are right... it's great just as it is. No changes necessary. We do need the quick projects that can give us a sense of accomplishment and to be able to say we have a finish. I look forward to seeing your quilt from this pattern. Also, I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself in the fall.

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  2. Karen - Quilts...etc.January 2, 2018 at 3:52 PM

    very pretty!and that you have all the fabric is great too bad you do not have the ruler and have to search for it. Good luck with your search - glad you didn't damage yourself, I managed get a good cut sliced on my left thumb which is interfering with my sewing room activities a little bit and slowing me down - I totally forgot I had sharpened my knifes recently and while chopping a butternut squash my thumb got in my way!

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  3. AnnJanuary 3, 2018 at 9:55 AM

    You do not need a special wedge ruler. Christina Cameli’s new book, Wedge Quilt Workshop, gives detailed instructions on how to use a regular straight quilting ruler to cut accurate wedges. While I would also encourage you to buy her book, the pages with these instructions are included in the Amazon preview pages. Think of all the time you will save not driving all over town!

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  4. PreetiJanuary 5, 2018 at 1:36 PM

    Nothing is Finished - Start Something New!!!! Do I even read further? I am on the floor rolling with laughter. That Tula Pink Quilt is a Dreami - makes you want to drop everything and make it. I once explained Dreami to Paul as the other guy in the movie Unfaithful. It makes the wife (Diane Lane's character) cheat on the husband (Richard Gere's character). Hey, if you are gonna drop all your UFOs and WIPs and make this Dreami, make sure you enjoy every moment of it :-p

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