Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Quilting: Background Choices


Yeah, that's the Kona Sunrise bundle...and I bought it a few months back because I just love it!

Now I've found the perfect pattern to use it in...I think it will show off the fabric quite perfectly and become a quilt I'll want to use forever.

It's a star quilt...where I'll need a background fabric to offset the star fabric.
   The star will be one of the fabrics from the bundle..
   The star will be embedded in a solid block of color, a different fabric from the bundle.
   It will be embedded in a block consisting of another one of those fabrics.

And there will be a third fabric...a background fabric to the star.

Which background fabric should I use?

Normally I'd just use the Kona White...it's my go-to background fabric, and it'd offset the blocks perfectly.

But I'm second-guessing myself....when I went to the fabric store, I brought home a bit of the Kona Aqua...and it works perfect with these fabrics.  Besides stars come from the sky..and should reside in a blue fabric, right?

Decisions, decisions...the safe choice is with the White, but I really love the Aqua.

Help a girl out...what would you choose?

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Hooks and Needles: Send Yarn!

Sorry it's not square...I was rushing to get the morning light before running errands.

Are you doing the 2014 Crochet Mood Blanket?

I am...and I pulled out my Mandala blocks to finish for this project...
  There were just two...
  So beautiful they deserved to be in an afghan.

My progress to date:
  82 blocks completed to the white yarn
  31 blocks completed with the variegated yarn, ready to join
  18 blocks joined together

But I have an unexpected problem...being a newbie to this art, I don't know how to estimate yard needed.
  I've run out of yarn...
  Both the white and the variegated...
  And the yarn shop doesn't have any more in stock, but it should be in soon.

So I'm at a complete standstill...unless you can tell me where I can get Encore yarn.  There are no more yarn shops locally in my area, and the big chain stores don't carry it.  I've searched the internet with no success...so where do I get it? Do you have any you could spare?