What a struggle to make this small quilt.
It began when I saw a fabric on Pinterest that I just loved and really wanted. It is called Treasure Hunt. Finding it was the problem. It only showed up available in Etsy. My problem with Etsy is that I’ve never used it much and was not well versed in using and buying from it.
Treasure Hunt is a grunge fabric. I do have a love for grunge. Not real life grunge so much but definitely in art. Marcia Derse has wonderful grunge fabric designs.
Treasure Hunt is being quilted and will take me awhile to finish it. So this post is about a little Art History and Curiosity quilt. (Those are the fabric names)
After making this little whimsical quilt , I wanted to make another. The size is so perfect for a single person to just grab and go sit on it in the park or the yard or at any event where seating is the ground.
Marcia Derse fabrics are obviously extremely popular and are out of stock everywhere. I could only find them available on Etsy. Even there most are sold out. I bought half yards of each of these pieces to put them together.
The ruler shown with the Curiosity piece on Etsy showed the color squares measuring less than 1” in size. In reality when the fabric arrived, the color squares measure about 2” each! That was a shock. I didn’t know there was a link to click on to get the sellers description of the fabrics...where the seller states the blocks are 2”. Etsy has been an expensive experience for me.
Now I needed to make them work. I was NOT going to buy another piece of fabric from Etsy with the shipping costs. Plus, the seller does not cut the fabric between panels or following a graph design. Add to that, the end of a bolt is where fabric is usually wound wonky anyway. So I lost more of the Curiosity fabric than I was happy about just to straighten it.
I won’t even go into the struggles I had with a simple grid quilting that was not simple in any measure of the term. I used a piece of grunge fabric from my stash for the binding (because I did not want to add fuel to the fire with buying another piece on Etsy). This quilt measures 40” x 41”
But I won the fight and it’s done! It is not fabric stashed in a drawer.
12 comments:
I have never heard of Marcia Derse, but I can see why you fell in love with her fabrics! So glad you made them work and they look fabulous together in your quilt!
The quilt looks great! I am sorry for your Etsy woes. I know it can be confusing and each shop on Etsy is different. When I list my bags and runner to sell on Etsy, there are so many things to fill out, add and write descriptions. Then as a shopper, you have to click on read more, which isn't always apparent if you are not used to Etsy.
I love grunge fabrics too!
I don't know that I would have appreciated the fabric or been able to see the possibilities, but I love it! Love the quilt and glad you struggled through all of the difficulties, Annie!
I love how you used this fabric. I am very lucky indeed to have many of Marcia Derse's fabrics in my stash...including this one. I see it now with new eyes. I have been using it in bits, cutting out this or that, but oh my...I love the look of it as a whole. She is an amazing fabric designer. I was lucky to visit her studio on a nearby island a few years ago. :).
Annie, Sorry you had to fight over this one but clearly this quilt was worth the fight! It is wonderfully colorful and I ❤️ It! I do find that Etsy is a bit expensive for most things! It does have things you can’t find other places so sometimes you just pay the price.
Beautiful choice of fabrics!
A laundry marker and fabric dye...a pattern you make what you want with no shipping.
Your finished quilt turned out great and worth the struggle. The fabric looks like a fun fabric (no sign that it would be a struggle).
I have been surprised by the scale several times when I have ordered fabric. Twice it was backing fabric and it would have been expensive not to use it. We live and learn but sometimes make I the same mistakes again.
Wow, this turned out awesome! Enjoy, you won!!!
Awesome!!! You certainly did win! Just lovely. What a frustration tho
I'm not a good etsy shopper, either. But you took a difficult situation and made a lovely quilt! Bravo!
And I really love it.
What a story, I was breathless by the end.
I love Marcia Derse fabrics and raced off to look at her website.
Having to sort out the pattern and straighten it was a faff but definitely worth all the bother. I'm a bit ambivalent about Etsy myself as they seem to want to load you with a lot of cookies before you even start.
Anyway it was all worth it in the end. This quilt is superb and your edging is the perfect finishing touch. I do like your smaller quilts which you can use as a picnic rug in the warm countryside, sitting in the sun watching the sheep - or in the car to keep you warm. Remember when we used to do that? A car rug? No car heaters in those days.
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