Thursday, July 13, 2017

Christmas in July


This is the time of year when quilters start thinking about holiday projects. Lots of folks are posting tutorials and photos of Christmas themed quilts. But that's not what I'm talking about today. No, today I'm sharing the fantastic gift I received in the mail yesterday. Look at that giant, 15 pound box! Even though it has "6 cans rice brown/white" written on it...


It was full of FABRIC! And not just any fabric, FREE fabric! Lovely, high quality, brand name fabric, like Moda, Jinny Beyer, Andover, Timeless Treasures, Rowan/Westminster, RJR, and more. A sweet eBay seller named Lydia sent me a big chunk of her stash after she learned that I sew for Project Linus and other charities. Opening this treasure trove was like Christmas morning!


I pulled out each piece and refolded them, sorting into piles. This stack is all yardage of light colored blenders. At least half of these are two yard pieces. Look at all those soft colors! These will be great for background neutrals.


Here's a stack of stripes, always great for bindings. I love that wild color combo in the middle!


I think this wonky grid in pale green is fun and modern. That mottled green underneath is the softest cotton, ever. Such quality stuff. And I use greens all the time and always need more.


From the big batch of more patterned pieces, here are a few of my favorites. Love the bright saturated hot colors in this big, bold poppy print.


Yellow paisley, purple tendrils, and leafy garden goodness? Yes, please! 


Fat quarters of candy canes, butterflies, monkeys and musical instruments will work so well with my other novelty fabrics. Can you say, "I-Spy?"


And just look at this huge stack of rainbow blenders! Each one is at least a fat quarter, some are half yards. Yum!


Last but not least, this full yard of black with iridescent metallic stars has some serious "Wow!" factor. It shimmers and sparkles. I originally found Lydia's fabric listings because she was selling some of her other metallic fabrics. I bought a bunch from her, and that started our conversation about destashing and charity sewing. I never dreamed that she would end up sending me over 40 yards of free fabric!

I'm so touched and thrilled by Lydia's generosity, and want to pay it forward. If you've read this far, you can win a prize by leaving a comment below. Tell me either your favorite color, or a color that is missing from your stash, and I'll send you a couple fat quarters of that color plus a brand new Hera marker. I'll choose the winner by random drawing a week from today, Thursday, July 20th. And yes, I will ship internationally. Someone sent me ~$400 worth of fabric for free, the least I can do is pop a few FQs in the mail, even to Australia. Good luck!

18 comments:

  1. Whoo! What a blessing! I know you'll spread the love around, too. I don't like red, orange, or yellow much so I am always missing those!

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  2. Wow - what an amazing gesture! My favorite color is purples (all shades).

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  3. Fantastic... it's so good to read a lovely story like this about generous and kind people. Please don't include me in as I do love the chartity work you do.... xx
    Hugz

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  4. What a great selection of fabrics, and I can only imagine all the quilts you will make with them. What is missing from my stash, pinks and purples because I'm not a pink and people girl, and yellow because I'm never sure how to use. I don't need to be in the giveaway, I just love hearing lovely stories of generosity.

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  5. What fun mail indeed! I am missing orange in my stash; I have a pattern in mind for orange FQs, thought I had some only to find I was very low when I looked in my stash! I can't wait to see what you make from your box of goodies!

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  6. That is definitely Christmas in July.

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  7. What a nice gift. Love your blog. I'm missing yellows and greys. Can't wait to see you use these up.

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  8. So Exciting to receive a gift like that! And then to pass it forward :)
    My stash is sorely lacking solids. Have a lovely day today!

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  9. You are a very lucky ducky! So generous of her and wonderful that you can keep on the giving with your charity donations-a win win for you both!

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  10. You are blessed because you bless others, Louise. What a surprise! So many more will be blessed now. I seem to be low on red and blue, wanting to make a QOV. Can't wait to see what you make now.

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  11. Such sweet gestures from both of you. My favorite color is green, but blue seems to be the color missing from my stash. How can that be? Just curious, but how does your mail catch up to you on the boat?

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  12. What a generous gift from one quilter to another. Can't wait to see what you create with these beautiful fabrics. Thank you for sharing this story. If I'm missing any color it would be pink and purple.

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  13. What a lovely thing for Lydia to do! And she couldn't have picked a better recipient for her fabric collection. I know all these pieces will become wonderful quilts to bring smiles to the faces of people you don't even know. It must have been such a thrill to lift each of those pieces out of the box. I'm really glad it wasn't 6 cans of rice. I find that I have very little purple in my stash, but if you really want to part with something, you could just surprise me with anything if you pull my name. How sweet of you to celebrate this way!

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  14. What a wonderful gesture!! Don't forget to show us the quilts when you get into this fabric.

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  15. What a wonderful gift of love to pay forward! I'm giddy thinking of all the charity quilts you will be able to make using your newly plumped up stash...that was happy mail, indeed! No need to send anything if you pull my name - I just couldn't resist telling you how much your joy made me smile. :)

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  16. Such a lovely box of goodies! And a great gesture too! I really love that wild combo stripe and the poppy print, heaps of potential there!

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  17. How thoughtful for her to pass that along to you! It is Christmas!

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  18. I know your draw is over but i just wanted to say, aren't quilters just the kindest people?

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Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.