Thread Thursday – New Aurifil Collections

June 12, 2014June 7, 20146 Comments

This week instead of Fabric Friday, I am going to share Thread Thursday with you today! Aurifil has released many new 50 weight thread kits and we are busy stocking them all!

Aurifil Best Selection kit – includes small spools of the 45 most popular colors!

I love that machine quilting with beautifully colored threads has become a large part of the modern quilting movement, and I will do my part to further the cause. 🙂

Many designers, such as Carolyn Friedlander have designed their own collections in beautiful hues to match their fabric lines. The Botanics set comes in a large thread kit as well as a smaller boxed set – choose which size best fits your budget!

Alison Glass’ booth was a favorite at quilt market, with her colorful fabrics and beautiful threads. Hew new thread set, Alison Glass Essentials also comes in both large and small spool versions.

I usually stock up on the large spools when I know I will use those colors for piecing or to machine quilt. I round out my color selection with the smaller spools which are perfect to have on hand for machine applique, embroidery details, or matching binding.

Edyta Sitar has just released a 4-spool set of Winter Essentials – darker neutrals that go along with original release of Quilters Essentials – lighter neutrals that are perfect for piecing and blending.

I love that so many modern and traditional designers are curating their collections with Aurifil. Additional designers’ offerings include sets by Tula Pink, Pat Bravo, Darlene Zimmerman, Minick and Simpson, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Zen Chic, Me & My Sister, Pat Sloan, Vanessa Christensen, Camille Roskelley and many others.

Click here to see them all.

Fresh, Modern & Timeless by Victoria Findlay Wolfe – Small Set Available Now.

Many more collections were previewed at this spring’s quilt market, which will be available in the fall, and you know I will carry those, too! Thanks for supporting my thread addiction. I hope I’m feeding yours as well! 🙂

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

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?

Fabric Friday – Riley Blake Color Variety Bundles

May 9, 2014May 6, 20146 Comments

I’m super excited about the new Riley Blake color variety bundles! These are precut bundles available as fat quarters, rolie polies, layer cakes, and yardage bundles. They come in a rainbow of juicy colors with modern geometric designs.

I think my favorite bundle, shown below, is Shaded Chevrons – 15 different prints!!

Jason, the sweet man that he is, took pictures of each of the bundles and then put together group images for each set like this:

So when you go to our precut store and click on the Riley Blake variety bundles, you’ll know exactly which prints are in each set. Cool, huh?

Of course my daughter loves the pink bundle:

And you just can’t go wrong with grey!!

Click here to see all of the colors and order your favorites. Remember, it’s free shipping on all orders of $35 or more (and free 2-day shipping if you are an Amazon prime member).

Fabric Friday – Get the “Skinny” on New Kona Roll Ups and Dots!

April 18, 2014April 17, 201412 Comments

For Fabric Friday, I’m happy to feature some colorful new precuts from Robert Kaufman. I adore working with solids and was pleased to see the addition of more solid colored Jelly Roll bundles (Kaufman calls them Roll-Ups) – 2.5″ strips of all one color!

Some of the new Kona Solid Roll-Ups. Aren’t they yummy?

I stock every new color they have: Parchment, Purple, Riviera, Bahama Blue, Blue Grass, Lipstick, and Coal. Along with basics (snow, white, black, etc.), this makes for a great base of colors from which to choose!

The new colors, along with many of the previous colorways are also available in precut skinny strips (1.5″ wide) and charm packs.

Get the “skinny” on these brand new Kona solid precuts!

Along with boxes and boxes of Kona solid precuts, I also got in the latest Kaufman geometrics – an awesome assortment of dots! They are “Spot On” scrumptious.

Spot On – Primary Perfection Colorway by Robert Kaufman

Spot On comes in 6 different colorways: Dress Up, Holiday Glitz, Prep School, Primary Perfection, Shadow Play, and Summer Lovin’. Click here to see them all! Personally, I love Shadow Play (below) because I never get tired of black, white and grey. 🙂

I love the fact that Robert Kaufman is working hard to bring more and more precuts to market. It’s my somewhat lofty goal to eventually carry every precut there is. So if you see a current bundle out there that I don’t have – please leave me a comment and I’ll try to pick it up!

Fabric Friday – Featuring Riley Blake Yardage Bundles

April 4, 2014May 15, 20148 Comments

I’m really excited about today’s Fabric Friday Feature. You know, I’m still clearing out all of my bolt fabrics and notions on my ChristaQuilts website. When we made the switch to selling precuts, I thought I wouldn’t sell any more yardage, but I’m pleased to say that’s not the case!

Mod Studio yardage bundle by Riley Blake

Thanks to unique bundles put together by Riley Blake, I can now offer 1-yard cuts by collection and colorway. Click here to see them all.

Vintage Happy by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet

So far, I’ve ordered all of the available Riley Blake yardage bundles and more are on their way! The bundles usually range between 6-8 yards each, from a specific collection.

Treasure Map by Lesley Grainger

Just look all of these delectable bundles! The cool thing is that each of these collections are also available as fat quarter bundles and rolie polies.

Roundup by Sandra Walker

The fat quarters and rolie polies usually include one of each piece ranging from about 18-21 in the group. The yardage bundles are divided up by colorway; so a 21 piece collection would feature three different 7-yard bundles.

Rocket Age by October Afternoon

Now I’m hoping other fabric manufacturers will follow suit!

Fabric Friday – Featuring Fat Eighths

March 21, 2014May 15, 201434 Comments

I’m excited to bring you another version of Fabric Friday to get you inspired (and to try and encourage those of you on a fabric diet to break your fast – just kidding!!)

Sphere Fat Eighth Bundle by Zen Chic

Today I wanted to showcase bundles of “Fat Eighths.” These are like smaller versions of fat quarter bundles. Each piece measures approximately 9″ x 22″ which is half of a fat quarter.

April Showers Fat Eighth Bundle by Bonnie and Camille

Fat Eighths are very user friendly and are a little easier on the pocketbook, especially when you are looking to buy an entire line. They also make a gorgeous sewing room decoration, tied up in a pretty ribbon like that!

Sewing Box Fat Eighth Bundle by Gina Martin

Aren’t they just scrumptious? My String of Pearls quilt features fat eighths for the center squares. Just a small pop of color in the right place goes a long way!

String of Pearls by Christa Watson

Have you ever made a quilt from a fat eighth bundle? If so – tell me about it!

Fabric Friday – Moda Preview

March 7, 2014May 15, 201428 Comments

For Fabric Friday I usually like to share what’s new in my store. However, this time around I thought I’d do something a little different. I just met with my awesome Moda sales rep. this week and she showed me all the super yummy deliciousness that will be coming out over the next few months. So I thought I’d share a few sneak peaks of what we ordered.

See that mess below? This is what working from home looks like! 🙂

Sonja, my Moda sales rep., scanning orders for me as fast as I can place them!

The latest line from Pat Sloan is called One for You – One for Me and is due out in August. She’s combined prints with batiks in this fun bright combo and I’m getting all the precuts from both groups.

Here’s a better closeup. Aren’t these great?

We have a very “scientific” way of determining how many precuts to order from each line. Each group falls into 1 of 3 categories: “Good”, “Awesome” and “Super Awesome.” Jason and I think Pat’s new collection is super awesome, so we have ordered tons! Let’s hope everyone else thinks it’s super awesome, too!

Next, we decided to scoop up precuts from Momo’s latest line called Avant Garden. I love her contemporary-modern aesthetic and her medium to large scale whimsical motifs. Moda is starting to add cotton/linen blends to the mix, so we grabbed a few of those to try. The cottons and linens are both due out in July.

See those coordinating solids? Those are linens!

We ordered some of the Linen Mochi Dot fat quarters last time Sonja came to visit, and those are available for purchase now. I haven’t tried any linen in my own quilts yet, but I keep hearing great things about it!

Linen Mochi Dot fat quarters are available now. Click here to purchase.

Jason and I are now focusing exclusively on precuts and thread (while clearing out all of our older yardage, kits and notions). We are pretty much trying to carry all the precuts we can. It’s a tall order, but the process sure has been fun!

BasicGrey is out with a new selection of 20 almost-solids. We picked up a healthy amount of fat quarters, layer cakes, jelly rolls and charm packs of these beauties which should arrive next month. If these do well for Moda, they will consider making them a “basic” which means they are indefinitely restockable. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

I ordered about half a dozen more new groups, but only managed to get a picture of a few of them seen below. We were so busy chatting, I forgot to take more pics!

Native Sun by Abi Hall, shipping in July of this year.

Lulu by Chez Moi, due out in July.

Milk Cow by Mary Jane, also coming in July.

More of the Moda precuts we ordered earlier in the year are finally listed in the store. It’s so fun to order new fabrics, but so hard to wait for them to arrive!

Two of the new groups include April Showers by Bonnie and Camille plus Vanessa Christensen’s Color Me Happy. Doesn’t fabric just make you happy?

Friday Feature: Aurifil Thread

February 21, 2014February 20, 201434 Comments

If I had planned this out better, I should have written this post yesterday. Then I could have called it Thread Thursday. 🙂 Even though I’m enjoying writing my Fabric Friday series every other week, I can’t really neglect talking about the thread that goes along with making a beautiful, functional quilt.

Aurifil Simplify Collection by Camille Roskelley

I can unequivocally state that Aurifil cotton is my favorite thread and I’ll tell you why:

It comes in every color imaginable.
It’s very low lint for a cotton thread.
It’s strong and thin which is perfect for piecing, and it doesn’t break while quilting!

Over the last two years, I’ve tried out a variety of different threads and brands, knowing I would eventually want to carry them in my store. Since I only sell products that I would recommend and use myself, this took a bit of research and trial and error to find out which thread I wanted to invest in.

Quilters Essentials by Edyta Sitar

I call it an “investment” because unlike fabric where you can pick and choose what you want to carry, if a shop owner carries thread, he/she needs to have a wide variety! And I’ve done it for my own selfish reasons, too. It’s nice to have a shop full of thread to pick from when searching for the right colors for my quilts!

Aurifil Thread Colors Used on My Latest Finish

After a lot of trial and error, I’ve decided that cotton is easiest for me to use for both piecing and quilting. While I have nothing against all of the other beautiful synthetic threads that are available for machine quilting, they just aren’t made for piecing. Because I embrace simplicity, I just love the idea of using cotton thread for both piecing and quilting.

The large spools contain a lot of thread – 1422 yards (1300 meters) each.

Thread Pull for Another Project

I can usually quilt an entire throw-sized quilt with just two large spools of thread: one for the top and one for the bobbin. If I’m switching thread colors a lot to match the fabrics, one large spool of each color is usually enough. If there are specific colors I need in less prominent areas, the smaller spools seem to work well. Because it’s cotton, the leftover thread can then go into my next piecing project. How’s that for efficiency?

Small Thread Kit

So far I’ve only used the standard 50 weight cotton Aurifil. However, I do plan on trying out a few spools of the 40 weight for quilting. It’s slightly thicker so it would give a heavier look to the quilting, which is perfect when you really want your thread to show.

If I have success quilting with the 40 weight, then I’ll start offering that in my store, too. Have any of you tried it yet? If so, what do you think?

Fabric Friday – Tonga Treats

February 7, 2014February 9, 201432 Comments

I’m excited to continue my Fabric Friday series, sharing my love of fabric with you every other week! Today I’d like to put a little spotlight on Tonga Treats – precut batiks from Timeless Treasures. I love the convenience of precuts, since most of the cutting is already done for you!

Tonga Treats come in a nice variety of precut sizes including 5×5 charm packs, which they call “Mini’s,” the standard 2.5 inch wide jelly rolls known as “Strips,” 10 inch layer cakes called “Squares,” and popular 12 piece fat quarter bundles which are simply known as “Quarters.”

The one precut I haven’t carried yet is their “6-pack” – 6″ x 44″ strips of 20 different batik fabrics. Has anyone tried these out? If so, what do you think of them? I’m considering adding them to my store if they will sell.

While some people wouldn’t consider batiks when making modern quilts, I personally think they have a lot of potential to create knockout quilts. The newer Tonga Treat Packs come with a free pattern, which I think is smart of the company to include.

Free “Shutters” Pattern Included with most Tonga Treat Fat Quarter Bundles.

Sometimes it’s hard to think of what to do with these yummy treats so it’s nice to get those creative juices flowing and whip up a quick and easy quilt without too much planning.

Timeless Treasures does a great job naming their collections with descriptive titles like Lace, Sugar, Sea Glass, Rockport, Mocha Kiss, and more. Which color scheme is your favorite?

Fabric Friday – Carolyn Friedlander’s Botanics

January 24, 2014February 9, 201411 Comments

I’m excited to start a new series with you this year – Fabric Friday! I will try to keep up a regular schedule of posting about a few of my new fabric finds every other week.

Here’s a little background before I get into the meat of this post. Although I’ve been selling fabrics online in some form or another for 10 Years (yes – 10!) I’ve always shied away from being too marketing-driven on my blog.

Botanics by Carolyn Friedlander

For years I’ve tried to keep a separation between quilting for business and quilting for pleasure. But after getting hit over the head with the “modern” stick, I’ve realized that often times, they are one and the same for me.

Since quilting is my business and business is my pleasure, I’ve decided it’s okay to talk fabric with you all. After all, without fabric, how would we ever make quilts?!

Botanics Fabric Swatches

So I’ll start off this series by gushing about Carolyn Friedlander’s Botanics. This collection first caught my eye when everyone was blogging about their trips to last fall’s quilt market.

I love how Carolyn furnished her booth with a simple splattering of color and design. I think these fabrics are universally appealing because of their rich tone-on-tone color with a nod to elements of nature. Botanics is only her second line for Robert Kaufman, and I hope she sticks around with them for a long time!

Carolyn’s Wall of Color at Quilt Market, Fall 2013

Botanics precuts are available as 31 piece fat quater bundles, 42 square layer cakes, and 40 strip roll ups (Kaufman’s version of jelly rolls). Aren’t they lovely? And just itching for the right project, too! I love it when a collection includes both rich colorful focus prints and soft background (low-volume) colors.

Kaufman was also clever enough to put together a roll up of Kona solids that coordinate with the line.

I have a healthy number of these precuts available in my store right now, but I recently checked the manufacturer’s website and not-surprisingly, they are no longer available for stores to re-stock once we sell out.

It’s always a guessing game for stores, trying to figure out how many of a certain item to purchase, and balancing that with your business budget while predicting what will be a smart purchase. But that’s also part of the fun of running a shop – keeping my eyes and ears tuned to what’s trending in blog-land. It’s all good! 🙂