18 Jul I couldn’t resist any longer…
I’ve been admiring the Marcia Derse line ever since it came out. The colors are so rich! A friend of mine made a wedding quilt for her son with it and it was totally gorgeous! Marcia’s fabrics are very different from most fabric lines with a more hand dyed/hand printed look.
I’m not sure how I’ll use these, but I had to have some before they disappear!
Deciding to buy this fabric, even though I don’t know what I’ll do with it, has given me a bit of insight as to how my design-mind works. I know many people are inspired by the fabric and then come up with a design to work with it. I tend to work the other way and think of a design first and then decide what fabric to use. When I go into a quilt shop, I am often looking for something quite specific.
This also helps me understand a little more why I’m not a “grab the full line of fabric as soon as it comes out” type of person. However, some lines of fabric are definitely worth it so I think I’ll try to see if I can develop my fabric-first design muscles.
How about you? Are you a fabric first or design/pattern first kind of quilter – or both?
(The Kona cottons are jade green, regatta, Delft, cadet).
monet
Posted at 14:53h, 21 JulyI love Marcia Derse…and I am a fabric-first kind of person! The only time I've ever started with the design and then bought the fabric was when I was buying fabric for my bee month.
amandajean
Posted at 02:01h, 21 JulyI am definitely a fabric first gal. I buy what I like when I see it and then make piles from my stash, then rearrange the piles and edit and sift. Then I cut. I almost exclusively work out of my stash. Very rarely do I buy filler. Hmmm. Sounds like I have a robust stash, doesn't it? It's not all that big…but like another commenter said, a lot of my fabric works well together. I love that it does!
Quilt Inspiration
Posted at 01:45h, 20 JulyThose are beautiful and they have a very mod feeling. I think it is a nice compromise to do a little of both: design first and fabric later, or, fabric first and then design. There's a book about this…. it's classic 1995 tome by Roberta Horton called "The Fabric Makes the Quilt" !
sew katie did
Posted at 19:07h, 19 JulyWas thinking about this today as I was chopping away to see what would work for a new improv design. I just buy what I love when I see it at an affortable price.
Liz in Ypsilanti
Posted at 16:36h, 19 JulyI buy fabrics that make me happy to look at them. That's one part of my brain. Another part thinks about designs and colors. At some point when I actually go into the sewing room and draw pictures, then I start thinking about which fabrics go where. Sometimes I'll realize that I really need more yellow (or whatever) and I'll either dye up a bunch of yellows or go to a store looking for the shade I have in mind. Or else I'll realize that I have a wonderful green that would work perfectly fine instead…!
I guess I'm vaguely aware of fabric lines, but other than an occasional fat quarter pack of a line, I've never really paid much attention.
Lynne
Posted at 01:31h, 19 JulyI think, having made only three quilts it's hard to be sure, that I would be design first, fabric second; which would also explain why I'm reluctant to have a stash!
Thanks for making that clear to me – I hadn't thought about it before!
Emily Elizabeth
Posted at 00:30h, 19 JulyI am totally a fabric first type of quilter/sewist. I always feel that it will just let me know what I'm supposed to make out of it. But I'm also not a "buy the entire line" type of girl. Mixing and matching different fabrics is my favorite part!
howtobejenna
Posted at 21:18h, 18 JulyYes! I love using her fabrics. I've mixed them with solids, batiks, and other patterned pieces and they have always elevated my quilts. Great looking pile you've got there! I usually indulge myself a little at the fabric store and then make piles at home, blending old and new and get inspired by the combinations.
MariQuilts
Posted at 16:09h, 18 JulyI love Marcia Derse's fabric too and used some in my last quilt. I'm usually a fabric first type of quilter but don't think I've ever made a quilt with just one line of fabric. I try to buy what I love and am usually surprised how much of my stash works together. That said…..when I get an idea I then go looking in my own cupboard or should I say cupboards. I agree with Patty….why limit ourselves?
patty a.
Posted at 15:28h, 18 JulyThe fabric is so wonderful! Sometimes I design around the fabric and sometimes I pick fabric that will fit with the design. Who would want to limit themselves!?
Lucinda
Posted at 15:07h, 18 JulyI think you picked out some great fabrics. Marcia Derse's fabrics are so beautiful – I have 3 sitting in my to-do pile and haven't figured out the best project for them yet. But I like the idea of adding some good solids so I might just do that.