My first quilt

You can't work for Jackie and not love fabric. She wouldn't hire you, I don't think, well maybe, but there would have to be a really good reason. As a decorator, the most exciting thing I got to do was select fabrics to be used in new spaces. Endless choices these days, every taste has multile options. People get overwhelmed, confused, their eyes glaze over. It was my job to weed out the good, the bad, THE UGLY. I have no trouble doing that as a decorator. I do find it difficult as a crafter. For some reason my judgement and clarity escape me the moment I enter the fabric store. I am sure it's because I have left "decorator" mode and moved into my normal behavior mode once the project is personal. Isn't it easier to shop for someone else?
One day Jackie was parting with scraps from her new fabric line, Sweetest Gifts. She offered any of us on the team to take from the pile. I left with a Glad trash bag full. I had just purchased a new sewing machine and was dying to make something. Because Jackie had been sewing like mad to recreate many of her patterns in her new line of fabric, so many of the pieces were already cut into wonderful, usable sizes. My dear neighbor had just told me she was expecting her first grandchild. I now had my project and the perfect fabric with which to do it. This is my first quilt, and really it's a blankie. I patchworked it, but did not "quilt" it. I did the easy, old fashioned ties every so many inches to keep the front and back from sliding.
One really fun aspect of the quilt was using the computer to make fabric labels that say "sweet" and "dreams". Computer geek that I am, I couldn't make a quilt without making a fabric transfer on the inkjet printer. The crocheted rosettes are purchased from a craft store, I wish I had known when I made it how to make flowers. I have since learned, though, the lovely Tamara took extra time showing me this technique .
It was a fun weekend project, but only because I didn't spend hours aimlessly wandering through the aisles trying to choose the perfect fabrics. As luck would have it, Jackie Clark solved that problem for me. These fabrics are soft, fresh, sweet and were easy to sew with.