Mad for Solids: 2017 Edition

I don't normally follow college basketball. Until March, that is.

Every year when it's time to fill out brackets for March Madness, I get that excited feeling. Can the underdog beat the number 1 seed? There are always surprising upsets--it happens every year.

I was invited again this year to participate in March Madness--the Mad for Solids 2017 edition, a fun event for Paintbrush Studios by Fabri-Quilt. Solids have become my go-to fabric choice for nearly all of my quilts.

A few weeks ago, while sitting in church and nearly at the end of the service, I suddenly focused on the shirt the man in front of me was wearing. It had beautiful colors and such a lovely sheen. I took out my iPhone and covertly snapped a picture.

When I received the invitation to choose  Painter's Palette Solids again this year for the Mad for Solids event, I knew exactly where my color choices would take me.

There are 16 of us altogether in the competition (you can follow everyone's progress on Instagram by using the hashtags #madforsolids and #solidsbracket2017).

Aside from choosing our eight colors, we choose the name for our palette, and I chose Magenta Madness.

My colors are:
(Top row): 121-046 Royalty, 121-030 Bordeaux, 121-150 Wine, 121-028 Red Violet
(Bottom row): 121-107 Wisteria, 121-085 Thistle, 121-021 Mauve, 121-018 Petal

I hope you will check out the competition--as always, there are formidable contenders. And please vote. More details are on the Inspired by Fabric blog and voting will begin on Monday, March 27, both on the blog and on Instagram (@pbstudiofabrics).  I will be in Round 1, Game 2. If I win, I move on to the next round, very much like the NCAA March Madness.

The winning bundle’s creator will receive an additional 6 yards of solids—in our choice of colors—in 1 yard cuts. Even more, two randomly drawn voters from the championship game will receive 1/4 yard cuts of the winning bundle. bundle. So vote for your favorite and you just might win some fabric for yourself. Go team!

The Name Game (a special edition) and a giveaway: Tokodots

One of the things I love most about social media is the unexpected connections you make.

This one started years ago when I started following Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. I have been a huge fan of hers and over this time, we have had several great email conversations. When she started posting her work on Instagram, of course I followed her there as well, along with countless other fans.

Some time last year, she posted pictures of a quilt she had made, and cited her inspiration as Jan Burgwinkle. Rita inspires so many of us, so naturally when she gave the name of someone who had inspired one of her quilts, I wanted to check out this person!

Jan has a fabulous Instagram account (as well as a blog), and I have had such fun going back through her feed. Being a grandmother myself, with uber adorable grandchildren, I noticed this cute little boy who popped up frequently in her feed. Somehow, Jan's pictures finally led me to her daughter, Molly Lam.

Molly sells her designs in her Etsy shop, Tokodots. If you are a quilter, you will fall in love with her designs. If you are not a quilter, you will fall in love with her bright images and clean lines. Don't be surprised if you want to buy one of everything!!

In addition to introducing Molly and her work, I thought it would be fun to have a special edition of the Name Game.

1. How did you choose the name, Tokodots?

Tokodots came out of a play on words in Japanese.  I came across a really rare word in my days as a Japanese interpreter (tokowaka) and my Japanese co-workers told me that I must have misheard it because it wasn't a word that any of them knew.  It was a proud moment when I found someone who could explain its real meaning, and I was reminded that I should trust my instinct.  The toko- part basically means "always" so paired with dots it made a lot of sense for me, and reminded me of a proud moment in my previous professional life. 

2. Were there other names you considered, and can you share them with us?

I wish I remembered more of the names I had thrown around, but one that sticks out is Dot Days.  I'm definitely glad that I didn't pick that! 

 

3. Now that you are known by Tokodots, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

I couldn't be more happy with the name.  I'm sure it's confusing to some people, but I love that Tokodots is unique and often starts an interesting conversation about Japan and the world when I meet customers in person. 

After placing my first order, an idea started percolating. I contacted Molly, asking whether she would consider allowing me to use her designs to make a series of mini quilts. I was thrilled when she said yes. I have the fabric already chosen, so look for my part of the collaboration to start unfolding over the coming months.

However, the thrill of interpreting Molly's designs into fabric didn't come close to matching my excitement when she asked if she could turn one of my quilts into a design for note cards.

She chose Delta Breeze, one of my most favorite designs. Ever.

Here is Molly's interpretation. Aren't they fabulous??

Individually:

I might have ordered over a dozen sets myself. :)

And now you have a chance to win a set for yourself! Molly and I are hosting a giveaway on Instagram beginning tomorrow, March 22, and you have two chances to win--leave a comment on Molly's account, @tokodots, and also on mine, @liveacolorfullife. The giveaway will be open until Friday, March 24, at 11:59 p.m. CST.

I hope you will have a look at all of Molly's fabulous designs in her Etsy shop (you can read about the Delta Breeze notecards here). Not only does she have sets of note cards available, she also has individual cards and art prints suitable for framing. Her series of origami prints has really captured my heart--wouldn't those make great mini quilts? Hmmmm....

I hope Molly and I have many more collaborations in the future.

Bella Skill Builder: Orange Peel

It is month 2 of the Bella Skill Builder series, sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop. This is a free monthly series designed by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life.

This month's block is the classic orange peel with the petals in two sizes.

While the block is fairly simple in construction, I had forgotten how many steps are involved. There are YouTube tutorials for each block. I happened to have the book, Playful Petals by Corey Yoder (another brilliant Moda fabric designer) handy, and I followed her technique for fusible applique.

I used Lite Steam-A-Seam 2. After tracing the petals and cutting them per Corey's instructions, which involve cutting about 1/8" around outside of the traced petal and then cutting out the center of each traced petal, leaving about 1/4" (this reduces bulkiness), and then removing the paper from one side, I finger pressed the Steam-A-Seam onto the fabric. At that point, you are supposed to remove the other side of the paper and be ready to fuse the petal to the background. However, I always had difficulty removing the paper and found that with a very light once-over with my iron, the fusible was adhered to the fabric enough that I could then cut the shape, remove the second side of the paper and it was ready to fuse to the background squares.

I chose to machine blanket-stitch the petals to the background squares.

Once I got going, this process didn't take as long as I had anticipated. And I'm really happy with the results.

Here are my completed blocks. This month I also decided that the overall quilt would benefit from some pops of a pretty turquoise here and there. I already had this color in my stash and I think it will really liven things up.

I hope you join in. You can find information here, along with other participating bloggers.