It’s Fabric Friday, Friends, and I am in Love with Solids

August 15, 2014August 9, 20149 Comments

Can I just say I am in love with solids? When I first got into quilting nearly 2 decades ago, solid fabrics did not catch my eye. Sure, I appreciated Amish quilts in all their simplistic beauty and I loved the value of a good tone-one-tone blender; but I was not ready for solids – or maybe they just weren’t ready for me…

At any rate, I’ve fallen in love with them over the last few years, partly due to the fact that I love how quilting really shows up on them. Also, when working with solids, the design of the quilt is much more important and makes a much bigger impact.

So it’s no wonder that I jumped at the chance to carry the motherload of solid precuts: Denyse Schmidt’s Modern Solids bundle from Free Spirit. It’s a box full of 75 tantalizing solids in every color you could imagine!

I mean just look at all of these pretties!! I could seriously ditch my stash and work with only solids if given the chance… (but don’t worry – I have no plans to take such a drastic step!)

I only have a limited number of these boxes, since they are pretty hefty. But hopefully FreeSpirit will keep them around for awhile and maybe, if we are lucky, add to the collection as time goes by!

Click here to shop my entire line of solid precuts.

Are you a solids-lover like I am? Or do you prefer prints?

Precuts on Clearance

July 31, 2014July 31, 20141 Comment

I have some fun fabric news to share this week. Jason has set up a section of our precut store exclusively for precuts on clearance. This will give us a chance to drastically reduce prices on precuts that we either bought too many of, or those that haven’t sold as quickly as we would have liked.

Here a few examples of some fun eye candy clearance for your stash:

Dr. Seuss The Lorax Quilt Kit. Clearance price $59.95.

Hoffman Bali Pop Parfait – Clearance price $28.95 (regular retail price $41.95)

Flats Jelly Roll by Angela Yosten. Clearance price $26.95 – Just a few left!

Contempo Layer Cake – Clearance price $28.95

Greener Pastures FQ Kona Solids Bundle – $32.95 on Clearance

Click here to shop our entire precut clearance section!

Fabric Friday – Artisan Spirit Shimmer Metallics

July 25, 2014July 22, 201416 Comments

I enjoy a good metallic fabric, don’t you? I love that fabrics with a bit of sparkle are making a comeback. When I first started quilting around 20 years ago, metallics were hot and everyone loved to call them, “quilter’s gold” because they added just the right touch of elegance to any project.

Hibiscus – Artisan Spirit Shimmer in Shades of Pink

Northcott has just come out with a beautiful line of shimmery basics called Artisan Spirit. The 9 piece fat quarter bundles include a carefully selected gradation of colors in several rich color families.

Peacock – Artisan Spirit Shimmer in Shades of Teal

Aren’t they just stunning? I am a sucker for color, and I tend to prefer solid or tone-on-tone fabrics that “read” solid from a distance.

Earth – Artisan Spirit Shimmer in Shades of Grey

Click here to see the entire collection of Artisan Spirit Precuts

What’s your favorite color to play with?

Fabric Friday – Paintbrush Studio Fat Quarters

July 18, 2014July 15, 20144 Comments

I’m excited to share a fun find for this week’s Fabric Friday. Please let me introduce you to Paintbrush Studio fabric bundles.

Marblehead by Ro Gregg – 55 tantalizing tone on tone textures.

Designer Ro Gregg has created dozens of colorful collections including her signature tone-on-tonal Marblehead line, along with fun themed novelty groups.

I am a sucker for fun, bright geometrics…

Rio 12 piece fat quarter bundle by Ro Gregg for Paintbrush Studio

And classic black and white prints with a pop of red!

Black Tie Affair by Ro Gregg- 10 fat quarters

Neutrals have been making their way back into the quilting scene, and who can resist a modern floral bundle like this??

Elemental Lines 12 piece fat quarter bundle.

You know, one of the reasons I love running my precut store is that I know I’ll never be able to make all of the quilts I want to. Playing with fabric gives me a good excuse to imagine the possibilities, even if there’s no way I will get to them all in one lifetime!

Fabric Friday – Reduced Prices on Precut Yardage Bundles

July 11, 2014July 11, 2014Leave a comment

Jason and I have been enjoying managing our new precut store, seeking out new products and experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t.

If an item doesn’t sell as well as we’d like, we are not above discounting it to clear it out and make room for something new. That’s a win for us as it allows us to put our efforts into finding other exciting precuts – and it’s a win for you because you can get a great deal on some awesome fabric!

12 yard bundles of chevrons, dots and gingham in a dozen different colorways!

While we loved the idea of selling precut yardage bundles (1 yard cuts of a 6-12 coordinating pieces), we’ve learned that most people would rather pick and choose their yardage; or if they want a full collection, the smaller more economical precut bundles are easier on the wallet.

Lula Magnolia Bundle – Under 9 bucks a yard! – Comes in 3 Colorways!

Therefore we’ve reduced the prices on all of our existing yardage bundles. The regular price for a 7 yard bundle retails at $77. However, ours are now selling for just $62 which is under 9 bucks a yard (which includes free US shipping)!!

There are plenty of Halloween bundles on sale, too!

We have over 60 different yardage bundles, with more on the way from orders placed earlier in the year. However, once these have sold out, we won’t be carrying them anymore.

There are plenty of novelty bundles on sale – perfect for that next baby quilt!

Click here to see all our our reduced price yardage bundles and stock your stash with pretty prints!

Fabric Friday is Pretty Potent!

July 4, 2014July 1, 20143 Comments

Even though I’m out of town this week, I can still take time out to tell you about some fantastic new fabric finds! (I love our precut store – I can still be “in business” while I’m on vacation!)

Pretty Potent is Anna Maria Horner’s latest line from Free Spirit Fabric. Seriously, I love everything she does! Her color sense and imagery knock my socks off, every time! I have both the 30-piece fat quarter bundle (some are duplicated) as well as the full-range design roll. (Unfortunately we aren’t carrying the charm packs – they are too small and too pricey for our tastes!)

Quill by Valori Wells – Persimmon Colorway

Next up is Quill by Valori Wells. She recently switched fabric houses, designing for Robert Kaufman which I’m pretty excited about. Their warehouse is closer to us which means we can restock these guys in a hurry when they sell out!

Quill comes in three beautiful colorways shown above and below. Hands down, my favorite is Persimmon – I just love that orange and purple combo!

Quill by Valori Wells – Cabana Colorway

Each precut bundle includes 6 or 7 fat quarters, plus a full 2/3 yard panel. Just think of all the luscious things you can make!

Quill by Valori Wells – Vermeil Colorway

Oh yeah, and just in case you were wondering, Valori’s Blueprint Basics line of precuts are all back in stock, too – FQ bundles, charm packs, layer cakes, and half rolls.

Valori Wells Blueprint Basics

Happy Piecing!

Last Call for Fabric Clearance – We’re Shutting Down the Old Site!

June 24, 2014June 25, 20145 Comments

But first, I need to announce my charm pack winners. Congratulations to Peg H. who won the Moda charm pack blog giveaway, and @fedewala who won the instagram bundle. Thanks so much for your input on my newsletters, too. Monday was the preferred day, so I’ll take a week off and start sending them again on a regular schedule. That works better for me, too. 🙂

Just in case you missed it, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter here.

Now for the bigger news, we are downsizing and shutting down the old website at the end of the day tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25th and everything remaining is now 50% off.

This is so we can concentrate our efforts on our new leaner (but in no way meaner) precut store where we sell fat quarter bundles, charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes, and just about any precut you can think of from all the major manufacturers. We also carry a large selection of Aurifil thread by the spool or by the bundle. It’s been so fun to seek out new precuts and new ways to use them!

And thanks to those of you who listened and cheered me on during my interview on Pat Show’s quilting podcast yesterday. I was super nervous to go on, but she instantly put me right at ease. What a fun lady and a great host! If you missed it live, you can listen to all of Pat’s archived podcasts here, and you can subscribe to the show via Itunes (search for American Patchwork and Quilting Radio).

Time for a Giveaway – Win 8 Moda Charm Packs!

June 19, 2014June 19, 2014624 Comments

Just for some random fun – how about another giveaway? One lucky follower will win this bundle of 8 Moda Charm Packs!

8 Moda Charm Packs by Some of Your Favorite Fabric Designers

Win Them Before You Can Buy Them

The generous folks at Moda sent me a box full of charm packs from their upcoming collections so I could pick and choose fabrics for some future projects. How nice. 🙂 Now that I’ve made my selections, I have a bundle of charm packs to give away to one of you!

These are so new that they aren’t even available yet in my precut store.

Here’s How to Enter:

Leave your comment below letting me know your opinion on my weekly newsletter – would you rather receive it on Mondays or on Fridays?
If you aren’t currently a newsletter subscriber, you can join here.
Giveaway will run through the end of the day on Monday, June 23rd.
I will contact the winner via email and will post their name on my blog on Tuesday.
Giveaway is open to everyone worldwide. International winner is responsible for shipping costs.

A Bonus Instagram Giveaway, Too!

Now that I’ve joined the online community of Instagram, I’ve decided to spread the love over there, too. Just go to my feed @christaquilts for details on how to win an additional bundle over there! It’s a different set of 8 Moda charm packs. 🙂

Super Huge Clearance – Getting to the End!

June 2, 2014May 27, 20146 Comments

Hey guys, I appreciate the support you all have been giving me as I clear out all of my older ChristaQuilts fabric and gifts. We are getting close to the end here and more than half of the clearance items are now reduced to 50% off!

Palm Fan by Kaffe Fassett – such a cool print!

This weekend we just marked all remaining Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett fabrics to 50% off and everything else is at least 30% off!

Yes, that still includes the free US shipping with reasonable international rates, too.

Buttons by Kaffe Fassett – It needs a good home!

Our plan is to shut down the old website at the end of June while we travel and attend to other things (meaning deadlines) this summer. So shop early for best selection and scoop up some super summertime savings!!

Thanks a bunch! 🙂

Fabric Friday – Shimmer and Blueprint Basics

May 30, 2014May 27, 201411 Comments

This week I’m excited to tell you about some fun new fabrics that are just arriving in the precut store!

Shimmer by Jennifer Sampou – Love it!!

First up is Shimmer by Jennifer Sampou for Robert Kaufman fabrics. Thanks to social media, I learned about this line from fellow bloggers out there, even before my sales reps showed it to me! It just goes to show how word spreads quickly online. 🙂

Shimmer includes a beautiful assortment of neutrals with just a hint of sparkle. Modern geometrics are always a favorite of mine! The precut line includes a 25 piece fat quarter bundle (one of every fabric from the line), a regular size roll up (4o – 2 1/2″ strips), and precut 10″ squares. I just checked my inventory and these guys are selling out fast!

Blueprint Basics by Valori Wells – a perfect set of colors!

Next is Blueprint Basics by Valori Wells for FreeSpirit. I’ve always admired Valori Wells’ work (as well as her mother Jean Wells’ quilts, too). The tagline for the collection is, “a collection of classic modern designs in glorious colors for your adventurous creative pursuits.” I think that’s a great description, don’t you?

Blueprint Basics – swatch layout by Jason Watson, (copyright Christa Quilts Inc. 2014)

Blueprint Basics precuts include half rolls (20 – 2 1/2″ strips), ten squares (layer cakes), charm packs and fat quarter bundles. As of this writing, not all of the precuts have made it to the store warehouse quite yet, so keep an eye out for them in the next couple of days!

Our goal is to add new precuts every week! Which are your favorites?