Night Jewels Fabric

I figured out the shapes and yardage I'd need to make the Night Jewels quilt.  It's been a while since I've made a quilt this size.  I was floored by the amount of black fabric I'd need and triple checked the yardage I'd need. One hundred and forty blocks in this thing.  Oof-da.

All my fabric, with updated reds

Part of what I love about the Night Jewels quilt is the colors.  I usually pick out quilt material by what inspiration tells me.  I tried to keep an open mind when looking at fabric, but I kept returning to the example's color scheme.  But I got discouraged when I started looking for fabric.  Finding three somewhat-matching shades for each color seemed impossible.  I wanted something more textured than all solid colors but even looking through the bolts of quilter's solids I couldn't find the shades I wanted.

I found myself at the Franklin Mill Store on Thursday night and spent well over an hour hauling bolts of cloth all over the shop to compare colors.  The staff helped me out with some of my color decisions (they are the nicest people!).  No matter how hard I looked, I was missing one shade of blue.  I bought all of the green and the red material I needed, and two of the blues.

Although I love picking colors for a quilt, I never quite trust myself that they all go together.  That, combined with the fact I prefer to buy just the yardage that I require for a project, makes me anxious when it's time to cut the material.  (Yes, I am an oddity in the quilting world - my entire stash fits in a single hand basket.)  There I was, with an incomplete set of eight bolts of material, committing to cutting the fabric without knowing where my last bit of blue would come from.  Ack!  But as soon as I saw the short stack of bright colors, I knew I would be happy with my choice.  Yup.  Did a happy dance right there in the store.

Saturday I managed to find a blue that worked and bought the black material as well.  I thought I was home free until I took my first photo of the fabric.  The camera told me my light red was darker than the medium.  Opinion at the Tea concurred.  So it was back to the store on Monday to find the lighter red.  I found a fat quarter that should do the trick.  I sincerely hope that's my last trip to the fabric store until I'm ready to buy the backing.

I foresee many hours of cutting lots of little pieces next week...