Preppy the Whale: Connecting Threads

  

Have you ever shopped online with Connecting Threads? It is a quilter's paradise! Not only do they have an extensive amount of printed fabric, but they have a plethora of basics and solids, which are often hard to find. I have had my eye on the Preppy the Whale quilt pattern for quite some time now and decided to give it a whirl. I cannot tell you how daunting it was initially because this quilt requires 17 different solid colors to comprise the whale blocks (low volume prints are fine but anything too colorful or busy and you lose the detailing in the whale). Connecting Threads made choosing 17 colors a piece of cake! They have so many lovely colors!

I generally put my own spin on a quilt that I make and rarely recreate the image sample, but in this case, I wanted a duplicate...it was simply perfect as is! I also choose to go with solid whales in a host of colors and a muted background (I chose a cool grey). 

Another wonderful feature of ordering from Connecting Threads is that you can order a fat quarter of anything they offer, which is perfect as that is exactly what you need from these prints. Look at all of these colors!

And where else can you think of that you can order a FQ for $1.49?!

My fabric arrived just a couple of days after ordering and I got to work on cutting out these whales! It looks like a paper pieced block but it isn't. To really set the mood of sewing, I watched reruns of The Love Boat on my computer while I prepped Preppy. 

To make cutting easier and more precise, I made templates of thick plastic binder dividers of each size cut you need to make. This fabric really holds its shape well with cutting and is a nice weight. I am so impressed with the quality of it!

The cutting was a major part of this quilt but I couldn't resist making one whale before taking a break. Look at this block! I cannot hide my excitement over the cuteness! 

I'll show you all of them once they're done.

One down, sixty-nine more whales to go!