Fabric

So I have a pattern.  Now, to decide what to make it out of!  Hmmmm.....Well, let's talk about the process of picking fabric.  I know there are probably plenty of quilters out there who grab a stack of fabric, pick a pattern in 5.2 seconds and go at it.  I am (usually) not that way.

Last year about this time, I made a baby quilt for one of my BFF's new baby girl.  I literally bought fabric three times to get it how I wanted it. 

Yet, on the other hand, I decided last minute to make a quilt for another friend's baby girl.  Because the pattern I chose was fairly simple, I was able to pick the fabric in one trip to the fabric store.

So, I suppose, really, the ease of choosing fabric for a project, for me, depends on the project. 

TBQ was not so easy.  When I initially decided to make a quilt for my bed, I decided on fabric first.  I was going to use Buttercup by Fig Tree Quilts, regardless of the pattern! I loved the line, but I did have some reservations.  First of all it was pretty traditional, which in general, I would say is totally my style.  But for some reason, I felt I wanted something more vivid in this quilt.  I was envisioning something more deep reds and dark blues.  Also, I figured my husband would probably appreciate something a little less "girly."  So I set the idea of "Buttercup" aside and kept looking. 

Once I actually bought the pattern and had to decide on fabric for reals, I thought a bit about Fig Tree's newer line, Butterscotch & Roses.  It had the red in it, but as much as I usually love brown, it had a lot of it, and again, I had VIVID in my mind.  So, I scratched the idea of Butterscotch & Roses, and figured I would just have to wait until some new fabrics came out that grabbed me.  Darn it.

Then, before totally giving up, I decided to do a random search for fat quarter bundles on Etsy, just to see what was out there.  And then I saw a bundle of Amy Butler's LOVE line.  And I was, well, in love.  A little more modern, and a totally different color palate than I originally pictured, but I knew as soon as I saw it, that I wanted it in TBQ.  Again, that gut reaction, along with my previous musings, and I had picked my fabric.

And now I wait impatiently for the mail every day until it arrives!