I Blame the Elf

Santa (or more specifically, one of Santa's elves that look a lot like Sis) left a magazine in my stocking with quilts made from pre-cuts.  Apparently it has been noted that I haven't actually used up the fat quarters that have come in my stocking in past years.  That was a really sweet idea, and I picked out a quilt I could make that would use a fat quarter pack I purchased and haven't really figured out how to use.

BUT.

I would just need some black fabric for the sashing.  No problem - I'd be near the LQS that has the biggest selection on Tuesday.

BUT.

They didn't have anything that I thought would be just right.  I got this black with little circles that would be ok.  And then collected 8 1-yard pieces of this swirl in rainbow colors, which will be JUST RIGHT for one of the other quilts in the magazine!  And really that black goes better with the rainbow fabrics, anyway.

BUT.

That left me without black for my project.  So I headed to the other LQS that is closer to home.  They are still expanding, and working up to having enough bolts to have a good selection.

I thought the Kona Black would be just right.  BUT.  They didn't have enough.  And the shop owner wasn't convinced it was right, so we looked at some other options and came up with this (which really reads much blacker than in this photo):

Here it is with the fabrics from the fat quarter pack:

So now I have a plan and all the fabrics I need to make a quilt!

BUT.

That means I somehow managed to add about 23 yards of fabric (big pieces of the blacks to also use for backings) in trying to use 18 fat quarters.

I blame the elf.  :)

On another note, here is the second black.  I was cutting it into two pieces before washing, and wasn't paying attention when I cut it for tearing - I cut it from the selvage not the fold.  Look how far misaligned it was:

That is a difference of over a half inch, which tells you how distorted the fabric was when it was wound on the bolt.  This is one of the reasons I always prewash!