Rolling Stone Block and Anna Bella

What am I working on?   I just received an order of a fabric collection called Anna Bella in two color ways brown/peach and blue-grey/ pink.  Of course I want to use them all together!  Since I am a big fan of scrappy quilts, I picked a block--in this case Rolling Stone--and started sewing.  To unify them, I used the same large scale floral in the middle of each block. 

These are just a few of the fabric combinations I used.  Oh, and by the way, I used about five different tone-on-tone light fabrics for the background. So, thirty blocks later, here they are.  Now I am pondering layout.  Plain sashing? Contrasting sashing? No sashing? Pieced sashing? This is the stage in designing and putting together a quilt where I can really make myself crazy.  And this is the dangerous stage because if I tell myself to set the blocks aside and come back to it next week, next week can turn into next year or never.  Trust me I have too many "next week" blocks packed in my closet!

Hmmm..... sometimes simple is best . . .  You can see I am trying a subtle print sashing.  Didn't look that yellow until I got it up on the wall.  Not sure.  I don't think the border stripe likes it.

Let's see what I can come up with in EQ7.  Thoughts??

Road to California 2013

Ringing in the new year means Road To California is right around the corner.  This incredible quilt show and competition is at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California and runs from January 24-27.  There are still some classes open (I think), so if you've been thinking about one, check out the link at the bottom of the page.

I am doing a lecture on my book Away From Home: Quilts Inspired By the Lowell Factory Girls on Friday January 25, from 2-3 P.M. I will show several quilts from the book--including the feature quilt that is on the cover, share a bit of the history of the Lowell Mills, and talk about the fabric design process for The Mill Girls fabric collection.  I will be giving away some goodies like fabric packets and a copy of the book, AND everyone in attendance will receive a coupon for a free pattern so you can shop in my booth!  Admission is $10.

Downloadable Program:   http://road2ca.com/2013Brochure.pdf

Road to California Website: http://road2ca.com/