In May of this year I was fortunate to win one yard of free fabric per month for an entire year. Since June I have been making my monthly trips to collect my free fabric.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that nothing in life is really free. There’s always a hidden cost somewhere. This monthly yard of free fabric is no exception. The expenses involved in traveling one hour to and from the fabric store must be included in the cost. Of course there’s also the expense of the meal that inevitably follows as well as the added yardage that simply can’t be avoided.

Now don’t get me wrong! I’m absolutely thrilled that my name was chosen.  I’m just thinking along the lines of practicality. My free yard of fabric is costing me quite a bit of money. Of that I’m sure the merchant is overjoyed. I have no doubt that my auxiliary spending is exactly what they want. By getting me to visit once a month, something I wouldn’t typically do since it is so far away, they are subjecting me to one of my weaknesses….buying fabric.

I’ve been willingly participating in the free yard of fabric reward for five months now. Here are a few reminders of some of the items I have accumulated.

Below you will find photos of the items I purchased on this month’s trip. I explained earlier that I’ve been making these visits for several months. On each of those trips I’ve been admiring a collection of fabrics. Among that grouping was one fabric that really caught my eye.

The fabrics had been pre-cut and assembled into kits so this particular fabric was not available for individual purchase. The thought of purchasing the entire kit, just to acquire this one fabric, seemed outrageous.

My resistance to purchase the kit melted away during my recent visit. As always, I entered the fabric store and made my rounds to seek out and explore the new inventory. In the front corner of the store was a finished sample of the kit containing my desired fabric. I couldn’t resist stopping to admire how awesome the quilt looked.

Seeing my favorite fabric, as well as the other items all stitched together made the temptation even stronger. I circled the store several more times rationalizing with myself the pros and cons of the purchase. The longer I stayed the harder it was to resist. With my self-examination complete I made the decision to go ahead and make the purchase.

The kit came all neatly packaged in a plastic box wrapped with a pink ribbon with orange polka dots. Inside the box was the pattern for making the quilt along with the fabrics. Here’s the kit.

Here’s the fabric I couldn’t resist

The aviary textile on the left is what drew my attention. I think having made the art quilt I call Bird House is what sparked my interest.

I just love the little bird in the center of this piece.

Who knows when or where these little feathered friends will find their way into my art? They might be used individually or I just might go ahead and make the quilt they were intended for. Either way I’m looking forward to it.

Also included in my shopping bag was this very pretty fabric called Shaggy and the interesting button. I’m a sucker for brightly colored floral fabrics as well as unusual buttons.

Well that’s all I have to share for today. Time to get back to my art work. Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful day creating art in your own special way.

Cindy Anderson