Pretty, Pretty & Progress

My intention tonight had been to get a backing together for Flying Geese II.

I am made of fail, though.  I managed to select fabrics to audition for the backing, got as far as getting them out to the living room, and that was that.  I fell asleep with the kiddo, and woke up about an hour ago, with the desire to eat a beef and bean burrito.  So, Flying Geese II continues to laze about on the living room floor.  Perhaps tomorrow...

In other news, as implied by this particular post's title, I have progress and pretties to show off!

First, the pretties.  One of the members of the Birthday Block Swap requested bright batiks.  I forget which member at the moment - but it is 2:07 AM.  I'll let this slide, LOL.

In a happy coincidence, Joann's happened to be running a sale on batiks for 25% off, as well as having a coupon for 10% the total purchase.  Score!

Aren't these just scrumptious?  The one on the far left is my absolute favorite out of the bunch.  I might go back on Friday, and purchase more if there is anything left.

And now for the progress...

I am sad to say that there is no ironing fairy, at least for me, so everything here was done by me.  Several hours, much cursing at my slowly dying, in-need-of-replacement iron, and cramping of the shoulder muscles and the hand holding said iron...  Ta-daa!!  PROGRESS. 

I buckled down and have worked my way through a good portion of the stash enhancements that have been languishing for attention.  Stack on the left, done.  Stack on the right, still in need of attention.  *whimper*

A trip through the blog, Sonnet of the Moon, has resulted in the OCD need to re-visit my stash and begin the process of re-ironing and, most importantly, trimming the selvage off my fabrics.  I read her post on fabric storage, and was inspired.

Why do I care?  Well, really, it's just a convenience thing.  If I cut the selvage off right away, there's nothing but usable fabric on my shelving.  This means that I can just grab my selections and begin cutting patches right away.  Nothing to hinder me from simply diving in.  No to mention, it just looks better on my shelving.  My eye is drawn to the fabric, not the white edging peeking out of a folded bundle.

Sonnet of the Moon may have also solved a quilting quandary for me!  I've been debating what to do with a certain set of coordinating fabrics.  I love them.  They're gorgeous, and screamed my name whilst still on the bolt.  (I'll post a pic later, when I've better lighting and the oomph to take a decent photo - now being 2:32 AM.)

The problem?  Now that I've got them home (been here for a couple of months now), they taunt me from the shelf...  They're too match-y, match-y.  As a quilter who has, in the past, delighted in throwing fabrics at each other and seeing if they bond, these are just too... pat? ...neat?  ...coordinated?  ...alike?

A satisfactory word eludes me. 

But, oh!  They're gorgeous, and demand to be used.  I'm just not the sort of quilter who can take a batch of coordinated prints and make something happen with just those prints.  I've since purchased fabrics that might work - some Kona Cotton solids in coordinating colors, and prints from other lines.  Still, the problem lies in just what to do with them.  They're large enough that they call for a larger, simpler block to showcase the fabrics.

To the rescue - this post, a lovely tutorial simplifying the Bento Box pattern!  Some lovely examples of Bento Box quilts here, here, here, and here, not to mention Sonnet of the Moon's delicious yellow and green example in her post.  I especially love the quilting and colors of the last link.  Just adorable!

On that note, I will leave you.  Despite the lateness of the hour, I'm still determined to get up each day at 7:30 AM.  I'm an unapologetic morning person, and can get quite a bit done if kiddo follows his usual pattern of independent playing upon wakefulness.