stitches and tulips

denyse schmidt for joann fabrics

I got some!

The bottom three are my favs so I got a full yard of each.

Afterwards I found some online advice for using Joann's coupon books in order to get a number of them (or any fabrics) at 40% and 50% off.  I plan to go back for a little more yardage this week.  The one I don't have that I really want is the red with the white and blue flowery arrows.  Love that one.  It's elusive at my two local Joann stores so I guess I'll venture to St. Paul.

And, weirdly, one of my local Joann's had Alexander Henry's Farmdale Blossom in turquoise at 30% off, which meant $5.19 a yard.  What?  I got two yards.  Obviously. 

I've heard about these crazy sightings of designer fabrics and Joann's. Where there must have been some shipping mishap and for one reason or another, they're just sitting there in the "Novelty section" among a sea of other (less awesome) fabrics, standing out like a sore thumb.  But I thought it was an urban myth.

i joined a quilting bee!

This is my first quilting bee and I think it'll be really fun.  Everyone who is signed up gets assigned to a Beehive which consists of 7 people total (I'm in Beehive 26 so there are at least 182 people participating in this thing!)  Normally a quilting bee would last 12 months but this one is a mini bee - you're making blocks for a smaller group and it's done on a quarterly basis so you can commit to smaller bits at a time.  

In this particular bee, you make a 12.5 inch quilt block for 6 other people and 6 other people make a 12.5 inch quilt block for you to use however you'd like.  Everyone chooses their color scheme and you choose the type of block you'll make.  Then, you make 6 blocks - all the same layout but each in a different color scheme and you mail them to each of the 6 other people in your hive.  And you get 6 blocks mailed to you, each made from a different participant in your color scheme.  Just like an old school quilting bee but all through Flickr and the mail!

My new favorite color combo (pink, navy and white) is my color scheme.  You're supposed to make a mosaic for your fellow quilters to give them an idea of the colors you're going for.  I made this mosaic through BigHugeLabs.  Pretty, right?  

(Photo credits below)

I'm excited about the color schemes the others in my Beehive picked.  Lots of modern combos like gray, lime green, and white (that one will be fun!)  And my personal fav is gray, orange and raspberry.  I was like "raspberry?"  But then she (helpfully) described it as a cross between pink and purple and I was like, "Oh, right." and then "Ooooh, nice."

1. Pink and Navy, 2. pinned, 3. Bella Earrings in Pink Flowers, 4. pin_dot, 5. boots, 6. muted floral pink face, 7. I *Heart* Pink Quilts, 8. Pink Martini Flower Pin , 9. Pink Petals Fabric, 10. Coin purse with polka dots on navy , 11. there's a pink door in france, 12. clutch purse navy pink flower, 13. Denim Baby Jumper with Vintage Linen Apron, 14. Pink Peonies-Pink & Navy Place Setting-Project Wedding Blog-Camille Styles, 15. Quilted Camera Case, 16. Pink rick rack funky denim skirt, 17. Liberty Ladybug 3, 18. Navy Flower Trim, 19. Untitled, 20. brick_quilt