Buying fabric always makes for a great time… until that day when the avid fabric enthusiast is forced to come to grips with the fact that her fun little weekend pastime is starting to put a dent into her wallet…
The problem here pretty much boils down to two issues: (1) Quilts that use an eclectic variety of beautifully colored fabrics are awesome… and (2) eclectic varieties of beautifully colored fabrics can get to be VERY expensive.
Thankfully though, necessity has proven, yet again, to breed innovation… because some wonderfully ingenious person came up with the idea of pre-cut kits!
Even though I have always liked each of our fabrics individually, I have to say… that when I saw them come together for the first time, as a group… and interact with one another… something magical happened!
HANCOCK’S OF PADUCAH® must have felt the same way, because they decided to make a kit out of our Garden Variety Quilt Pattern…
Their Quilt Kit will give you everything that you need to make this particular quilt… PLUS, you get to use each of the 40 fabrics without breaking the bank!
My mom designed our Garden Variety Quilt for Fall Market to showcase all 40 fabrics in Botany… we felt that this particular design really allowed the colors to mingle and play off one another… And after looking at the finished product… I really feel that this quilt embodies the essence of spring and nature… the explosion of colors coupled with the organic subject matter just about requires that this quilt be used when picnicing!
And finally… I’m in the mood for a tangent.
Everyone who’s ever visited to Paducah, Kentucky for the Annual Quilt Show, has also been to Hancock’s of Paducah! The two go hand in hand.
My mom (Jessi), and her three best friends have made this trec for several years now and have made Hancock’s their very first stop each time… almost as if the big quilt show, was nothing more than an afterthought!
I’ve listened to their colorful descriptions each year and they don’t seem to go there merely because its a fantastic store… They go there for the “Hancock’s Experience”… And it’s these stories that made me especially excited when I heard that Hancock’s wanted to make a kit out of one of our patterns!
Quilters (armed with little shopping carts) plant themselves between rows of tables piled high with the latest fabrics, (all different measurements). Each person peruses the piles, pulling out favorites… unfolding… refolding… for hours at a time. And after spending these huge chunks of time together… everyone with the same goal in mind… it’s only natural that the women begin to feel as though they’ve formed a camaraderie with one another… one person will yell across the tables for everyone to be on the lookout for a particular fabric… which will often make for yardages being thrown through the air towards some excited recipients…
Apparently, the quilters get so engrossed in their searches… that at closing time each night, an employee will have to announce over the intercom that the store will close in 10 minutes… AND rather than packing up… the women crack up and continue sifting through the mountains of fabric. Definitely a good time!
so cute. i heart a good quilt kit… makes the process so much easier! I haven’t been to Hancock’s of Paducah yet… one day i’ll make it there… with one very large empty suitcase!