Monday, February 3, 2020

Weekly update: January summary and February plans

 On Friday I wrote that I'd made 13 out of 16 tote bags. I am pleased to say that #14-#16 are finished! Now I can work on other projects.

But first, the January stash report:

Fabric OUT: 95-3/4 yards (which includes 61 yards to the quilt guild Raffle Mania)
Fabric IN: 126-3/4 yards (99 won at Raffle Mania, 11-3/4 from an estate sale, 15-1/2 from my Philadelphia trip), $105.  That's still a bargain at .83 per yard.
Net GAIN: 31 yards
Raffle Mania winnings

Philadelphia purchases 
My new favorite fabric genre is African wax resist prints. I found out more about them. According to WikpediaThey are industrially produced, colorful cotton cloths with batik-inspired printing. One feature of these materials is the lack of difference in the color intensity of the front and back sides. The wax fabric can be sorted into categories of quality due to the processes of manufacturing.
Normally, the fabrics are sold in 12 yards as "full piece" or 6 yards as "half piece".  [One of the PHL stores sold 6-yard pieces.] The colors comply with the local preferences of the customers. Mainly clothing for celebrations is made out of these. In Sub-Saharan Africa these textiles have an annual sales volume of 2.1 billion yards, with an average production cost of $2.6 billion and retail value of $4 billion.
During the Dutch colonization of Indonesia, Dutch merchants and administrators became familiar with the batik technique. Thanks to this contact, the owners of textile factories in the Netherlands... received examples of batik textiles by the 1850s if not before, and started developing machine printing processes which could imitate batik. They hoped that these much cheaper machine-made imitations could outcompete the original batiks in the Indonesian market, effecting the look of batik without all the labor-intensive work required to make the real thing.
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I assembled the blocks for Star-Crossed before I went to Philadelphia.  
Now that I look at it there doesn't seem to be enough contrast in the b/w blocks on the center of the top row but I am not going to fuss with it. 



The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for February is orange.  While we watched TV Sunday evening (no Super Bowl for us) I made 31 pairs of orange/neutral HSTs (29 for February and two extras because I miscounted :)).  These 4.5" HSTs are my RSC units for 2020. 



 My other RSC project is 3.5" rail fence blocks in the monthly color. I'll need 46 each month for the project I have in mind.









It's time to declare my One Monthly Goal for February"  I plan to assemble the blocks for Frolic, the 2019 Quiltville Mystery. (If I get the quilt top set and bordered that will be a bonus.)

Linking up with
 One Monthly Goal
 Monday Making
 Design Wall Monday
 Oh Scrap!

9 comments:

  1. I don't know what you're seeing in your completed quilt top. I think it looks fantastic!

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  2. I wouldn't mess with Star Crossed either. It looks wonderful from where I'm sitting.

    Thanks for the little lesson on your new fav fabric genre.

    Your fabric in and out count is always interesting. You are definitely the queen of fabric bargains.

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  3. I like how you designed star crossed. The background is so interesting but somehow doesn't take away from the star blocks. I haven't picked out a block for RSC this year. Well, I did but I don't like it too much so will have to try again -- after my challenge piece is done.

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  4. oh yes those african prints are gorgeous....

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  5. The way you've made Star Crossed fade in and out is very effective. I'm glad you're not fussing with it.

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  6. The African wax prints would look perfect in International Sister Quilt blocks :-) Good luck with Frolic blocks piecing. That is a huge undertaking but if anyone can tame it, you can.

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  7. That's quite a stash refresh! I've never heard of the African wax resist, you found some fun and bright prints of that Good luck with your OMG.

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  8. Happy Frolic! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project!

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  9. Just catching up on my blog reading after being on vacation, hence I’m late to this party, LOL. I fell in love with the wax resist prints in 2018 when I visited Africa (Kenya). Although I had an “in” with a fabric shop owner, purchasing these fabrics in 6-meter/yard increments is pricey! I try to get my hands on them whenever/wherever I can (afford, LOL). And, as Preeti mentioned, I have been making International Sisters blocks from these fabrics for Harambe Humanitarian, a non-profit for girls and women in Kenya. I love your Star Crossed quilt top too!!

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