Quilts and Crafting

V and Co. Giveaway!

2009-08-18T11:16:00.003-04:00

Everyone needs to check out this awesome giveaway over at V and Co. sponsored by csn mattresses for a chance to win this gorgeous decorative pillow!

Our new logo

2009-08-13T11:14:00.003-04:00

I'm thrilled that we have finally settled on a new logo! I so love the stone and flower title border on our blog that I will be keeping it for just a while longer (the whole yin/yang thing), but we will be debuting our logo on everything soon!

July Giveaway Winner Is...

2009-08-07T13:46:00.004-04:00

Congratulations Angela!

Now, Angela, you posted your entry anonymously on myquiltblog.com (well, with your name, but no contact info), so I don't know if you have an account here or there and just didn't use it for the comment or if you were just visiting us...please send me an email or comment here how I can get in touch with you to get the details of your custom choices! To avoid any posers, you will need to tell me who taught you how to make soap when you were younger (I've deleted that portion of your comment for ID purposes...hehe)

If I do not hear from you within 4 days of this announcement I will have to move on to the next randomly chosen name, so please contact me soon!

Good luck to all entries in my August giveaway!

Marie-Madeline Quilt Giveaway!

2009-08-07T09:19:00.004-04:00

If you're interested in this quilt giveaway (and let's be honest, who wouldn't be??) then click here for instructions on how to enter!

TIME & MONEY GIVEAWAY

2009-08-06T10:25:00.005-04:00

*ENTER BY AUGUST 16th*

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $50 VISA GIFT CARD AND CLOCK!

This is not a Jayce's giveaway,

you must click here for details and to enter this contest!

August Giveaway!

2009-08-05T13:05:00.007-04:00

Ok, folks...here we go for August....(the case is squared up and flat, the picture just looks a little wonky or misshapen because it's sitting on the lumpy quilt behind it)...

Sign up Now for a Chance to WIN A FREE Cellphone Case!!

Awesome orange batik...

Equally awesome "Gone Fishin'" button...

Luscious lime green satiny lining with a sturdy magnetic closure!

Leave a comment here to enter with the answer to one simple question...what color and design (if there is one) is on your cell phone now? I've found the a person's chosen color of cell phone can tell a lot about them!

For a 2nd entry, become a follower and let me know in your comment!

For a 3rd entry, post a link about this giveaway on your blog and let me know in your comment!

Contest will run for the month of August 2009 and winner will be drawn Sept 7th.

Good luck!

Embroidered Hearts

2009-08-03T21:15:00.007-04:00

I had fun playing with the embroidery on this one. There is a color-coordinated embroidered heart in the center of each block. Then, FMQ around the embroidery. Such a fun crib-sized quilt!

Plain Jane Series

2009-08-03T21:10:00.004-04:00

This is the latest in the Plain Jane Series. The Plain Jane Series was created because sometimes I just want to do something simple. Simple block, anway. Letting the FMQ speak for itself to add dimension and depth.

I love the blueberries and flowers in this fabric! It's just so "summer picnic"!

Cross Stitched Pillow

2009-08-03T21:03:00.005-04:00

I finally finished this embroidered pillow this weekend. I loved working with the blues and yellows in this! If I had the patience I might have done several of them and made a quilt of some sort, but taking a break and doing something other than a quilt was kinda nice, too.

$50 Gift Certificate Giveaway!

2009-07-31T10:36:00.005-04:00

Click here to enter this Giveaway!

Just one more day...Final Reminder

2009-07-30T09:39:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to sign up for this month's free giveaway! There's just one day remaining until contest closes...

www.TheQuiltedCastle.com: June / July Fabric Giveaway

2009-07-29T12:38:00.001-04:00

http://thequiltedcastle.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-july-fabric-giveaway.html#links

Cell Phone Case

2009-07-28T21:29:00.005-04:00

Continuing saga of the phone-chewing pups. This is the original offender, my dear Beagle. She got the antenna...

This is the 2nd offender that resulted in the need for a new phone, my lovely Australian Shephard. She cracked the screen and ate a button...

Luckily, I got some crafting out of it for my new phone. My old one was a flip, so I couldn't have worried less about scratches. The new one isn't a flip, so I had a great excuse to come up with something for it.

I love ceramic buttons and the satin lining is a coordinating lime green. I always think that lime and orange are a great combination and I use batiks whenever I can. I'm thinking of making another version of this for next month's giveaway, but we'll see.

I hope everyone's having a great week!

Dern pups!

2009-07-22T09:27:00.003-04:00

Have you ever had your dog chew on your cell phone? One of mine had done this about a month after I had just decided not to replace the phone, but to just replace the battery. She destroyed the antenna, scratched the screen and sent the poor phone in a downward spiral of misc keys no longer wanting to work. This was over a year ago.

Unfortunately for my carrier, but fortunately for my pocketbook, I have an aversion to signing new contracts and upgrading my phone just cuz I can. Well, my poor puppy decided for me that I needed to get a new phone cuz she got a hold of it again. This is just after having gotten home from an in-laws wedding in Mobile AL.

Friday when I got off work we left and drove 6 hours from FL to AL, blah blah blah, went to the wedding, went to the reception, drove back home to FL and got in at about 2 am Sunday. Somehow in my blind stupor of just wanting to sleep I left my phone out on the table within "puppy reach". It was when I woke up and was picking up the pieces that I started to seriously ponder whether or not I might need a new phone. As I thoroughly enjoyed a rare calm-down-and-don't-be-mad-at-the-dog-cigarette out on the porch and looked at all of the pieces spread out on the bar, I finally came to the conclusion that there was no craft or Crazy glue in the world that was going to put this Humpty Dumpty phone back together again. And while the last thing I wanted to do was drive around to see what cell store had Sunday hours, that is exactly what DH and I did, bless his heart (he was a wee bit tired of being in the truck as well).

Once the purchase was made and a new contract was signed (you know, sign the contract and you'll save $7,970.01 on the price of this phone and get it for the more realistic price of $29.99 BS) I got my new cell phone home and decided to make a case for it. As my camera is still packed in my luggage (yeah, we haven't unpacked yet, what of it?!) I don't have pics yet, but I will post them and a bonus one of the offending pooch. I also managed to finally finish making another pillow sham using the log cabin blocks I found in Shipshe for the bargain basement price of 10 for $5...and the fabric supposedly is late 1800-very early 1900's, but I'll need some opinions on the accuracy of those dates when I post the pics.

Whew, what a weekend. I'm (almost) glad to be back at work. Have a happy day, everyone!

Congratulations!!

2009-07-16T13:58:00.003-04:00

Congrats to the winner of our June Giveaway! Debra is now the proud owner of 6 Reproduction Print Fat Quarters.

Many thanks to everyone that signed up and we wish you the best of luck in upcoming drawings.

Enjoy them, Debra, and we'd love to see what you do with them!

July Giveaway!!

2009-07-16T13:52:00.004-04:00

Fill out your contact information in the space provided at the link above to be entered to win Custom Made Soap. The winner will be contacted via email and we will make designer soap to their specifications from a choice of multiple shapes, colors, and fragrances!

Last day to register is July 31st and the drawing will be held on August 7th. Winner will be notified by email.

Another UFO completed...

2009-07-09T11:14:00.008-04:00

My poor father had to wait until after Father's Day to receive this as the blind stitching along the border took longer than anticipated.
Along the bottom row you will see a pic of his beloved 60-something 'vette that he never fails to remind us he had to get rid of because it did not have the ability to carry the requisite car seats once we were born. I remind my brother that since he was born first it's more his fault than mine. He loves us, but boy he misses that convertible...

This is my brother way back when and below that is him and my grandfather shortly before our grandfather passed.

My dad's fisherman at heart so I had to go with blues and fish prints along with a big, soft, denim-y border. I used verigated thread that ranged from dark navy to light sky blue.

I kind of posted out of order, but this is the 2nd FMQ I've done and I think I'm getting the hang of it. Not perfect, but I quilt by the Amish philospohy that only God is perfect and you will make at least one, even if intentional, mistake on anything you create.

My next planned quicky project is a pillow sham from some of Cheryl's butterflies. I've got it planned out and am using a Donna Dewberry rustic bark background and it should look like the butterflies are just "fluttering around the woods"...we'll see how that works out for me. I'll try to get some progress pics up later.

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Trina

Surfboard Quilt - Completed

2009-07-08T11:54:00.011-04:00

One down and many UFO's to go...

Ok, I threatened to do this one next and against the advise of others (you know who you are!) I decided to go with the flannel back even though I was warned that it was more difficult to FMQ. Turns out that I didn't have that much trouble with it.

For some reason I still much prefer the wide, swoopy meanderings to the tight, perfect, tiny stippling. The ones that have the tiny stippling feel so much stiffer and smooshed than the wider, fluffier alternative. But that's just me...

I had to go with the red thread, which was certainly taking a chance...every little stitch shows, but I do kind of like the below block if for no other reason than it started to look like a dog outline as I stared at it...you know, like when you stare at the clouds and shapes appear?

The red thread did also help fill in the many blanks areas, too.

The seams really aren't as noticable as it looks in the pics, but between the new "true daylight" halogen bulbs I just replaced and the camera flash it picked up EVERYTHING in detail. It's a little wild, a little off-kilter, and of course not traditional fabric choices, but it was fun!

Texture Magic

2009-07-08T11:50:00.008-04:00

This is a new product that I saw online called Texture Magic by Superior Threads. Has anyone seen this used?

It looks pretty cool and easy to use. Here are some pics of going through the process starting with after you have sewn the grid:

Pretty neat, huh? I can think of several projects I'd love to try this on, but I haven't found it at any of my LQS and I'm certainly on the lookout for it now. If anyone has used this, please comment as I'm interested to see if it works as easily as Moda says it does here (they made a Patriotic Pillow using this technique).

Surfboard Quilt

2009-07-08T11:44:00.005-04:00

Here is the next one to go under the FMQ needle...

I saved that pic kinda small, so here's closeups of the fabric:

I was thinking of going with a matching red flannel backing, but now I'm not so sure...I'll have to think on that for a bit...

My first...

2009-06-24T10:50:00.005-04:00

This is my very first ever attempt at a quilt. I saw the book. I bought the book. I made the quilt. It was a long time ago and to this day it is my favorite of all I've done. I oh, so carefully picked out the fabrics and cut the blocks. Every stitch is by hand. It took about 2 months to finish. When I was done, my mom actually said of my Amish raised grandma, "well, you know that even your grandmother used a sewing machine to piece the blocks...". I think she said that only because I was mentioning that I didn't think my fingers and shoulders were ever going to feel the same after that much handwork. It was a lot of work and it definitely has a beginner look to it, but it was well worth it and I treasure it. Every time I look at it, I keep telling myself that it's time to do another sampler, but I'm afraid the next one just won't measure up to this one!

So, thank this little gem above for giving me the quilting bug and, as they say, the rest is history! Luckily for us quilters, history is always in the making...

Oh, happy day!

Quilty Giveaway!

2009-06-23T11:24:00.003-04:00

Fill out your contact information by clicking here to be entered to win our Retro Fat Quarters. Last day to register is June 30th and the drawing will be held on July 7th. Winner will be notified by email.

Good luck!

Funky Chicken

2009-06-16T13:46:00.004-04:00

I love this dorky little guy! Instructions can be found here.

Enjoy and let me know how he works out for you!

I'll be here

2009-06-11T10:32:00.005-04:00

There was another wonderful community I had been involved in over at http://www.myquiltblog.com/. Though, if memory serves, there have been regular issues with their site or server, depending upon whom you choose to believe. In 2008 some time they had a server crash that lost everyone's information, blogs, etc. Everything. Everyone had to start from scratch. What a pain! So much for everything on the 'net being permanent. To have had over 100 posts on a blog and several hundred comments to and from friends on the blog just disappear with no warning was tough. But several of us persevered and came back.

It just happened again. All those posts and files and pictures. Gone. Poof! Luckily, I had been copying some of my posts over into blogspot for just a couple of months so I haven't lost everything, but still lost 30 or so posts and corresponding pictures and comments and links. And the contests! Oh, the contests...all gone. Who knows who will sign back up once this little crash is fixed. Do we really want to set up again and try to rebuild? From zero? Oh, my. Not a small undertaking by any stretch. I don't know who the site is built through (who controls the server), but it sure sounds like it's just in some guy's basement. Who sets up a community blog site hoping to attract lots of people, but doesn't have the capacity to support? Ridiculous, if I'm being honest.

Anyway, lots more to come with patterns, ideas, examples, and maybe even some free quilting stuff, too!

Shipshewana Quilt Pics

2009-05-04T20:32:00.002-04:00

I took these pics throughout Shipshewana area buildings. I took several, but will just show some of my favorites here. The work is nearly impeccable and certainly something to aspire to. The pics do not do the hand stitching justice, but the colors and blocks are really nice.

And a closeup...

They kind of hid this one behind the stair railing, but since I like blues and browns, it still jumped out at me...

This one I thought they did a really good job in color selection as it is so 3D...

Given the angle that they hung this one it was more difficult to crop, but it is still nice!

Beautiful quilts all around - ENJOY! Trina

Circles and more circles!

2009-05-04T20:21:00.005-04:00

I love the fabrics and have spent the time hand piecing. I only had enough of the block fabric for 42 x 42 and wanted this to be larger, at least a solid 70 x 80, which means adding at least 14” to each side and 19” to the top and bottom. I’m leaning towards a lush dark brown border to really make the pinks and blues pop and to tie in the brown that’s in the blocks to assist the cohesive factor. But I’m tossed up between that and a great white minky polka dot embossed fabric I found in bulk.

This will be ditch quilted with some probably more geometric stitching along whichever border I end up going with....Trina

New obsession - Purses!

2009-04-13T22:41:00.010-04:00

I think I just woke up one day and figured out what I was doing wrong with my previous purse making efforts. I'm still not sure if I figured it out in a dream or if it just 'wasn't the right time' to figure it out, but either way, I've been consumed with purses. From clutches to sacks to regular ol' squares and rectangles. From buttons to snaps. From ribbons to leather.

I'm not going to bore you with too many pics at once, just these first couple of efforts created prior to my discovery of my invisible thread stash. Frankly, it was taking twice as long to complete an item because it was taking so long to find matching thread in my bins. I do want to say that I am having so much fun with them! At

night I sit in bed with my little side lamp on so as not to keep hubby awake and look at my swatches, match things up, draft some designs and when I get home from work the next day and after dinner with the fam I hit my studio with all pistons firing. It's so fulfilling and I've already had some oohs and aahs from coworkers and in-laws. And I have already had a denim request for purchase (yay!!!). After mucho research I've settled on my price points as well, so I'm on my way with this new line of items!

Celtic Series

2009-04-13T22:36:00.005-04:00

I've been working on a series of 3 Celtic inspired faux chenille quilts since the summer and am almost finished with the final one. They are all lap sized at 36x48.

This one I call Celtic Ocean and it has a coordinating blue eyelet fabric backing.

This one I call Celtic Walnut and it has a tan microsuede back (super soft and snuggly!).

The one I'm almost finished with is green, so I'm thinking of keeping with the earthy-type names and going Celtic Moss or something similar. They all have the same Celtic design in the center, so I figured I'd capitalize on that aspect for the naming. I started off thinking it would be Celtic (color) Cross, but then when I realized my most obvious choice for the green one would be Moss, I didn't want the Celtic Moss Cross. So, I just dropped the Cross.

I love doing these faux chenille quilts, but if I spend too much time doing them it makes me miss hand stitching. And if I wait too long in between, the callouses on my fingertips begin to go away and then I have to start all over poking myself and building up the callouses again. But there's truth behind the old "blood, sweat, and tears" saying when it comes to quilting! They've each only been washed once so far just to get the fraying and bunching started, but I'll wash them at least twice more before selling them.

Happy quilting! Trina

Shipshewana, here I come...

2009-04-13T22:33:00.002-04:00

Finally! I haven’t been home since Thanksgiving and the ‘powers that be’ have finally approved that darn vacation request. I’ve already started my list of Shipshewana and Nappanee stores I’ll be hitting. DH will either have to come grumbling along or it’ll just be my mom and me in search of fabrics and goodies galore. If you’ve never been or never heard of the Shipshewana Flea Market , all I can say is oh my goodness. Busloads of folks from all over the country trek to Shipshewana for their Flea Market, Auction house, antique stores, Amish Acres and their Round Barn Theater (where I saw their version of It's a Wonderful Life when I was there last!), etc. Their season starts around Memorial Day (if I remember correctly…it’s been an awful long time since I worked at the Flea Market during summers home from college). Just thinking about sitting in the auction barn watching folks bid on horses and such brings such fond memories. And don’t get me started on Yoder’s Department Store…that’s where I hit my last goldmine of Moda and Thimbleberries fabrics {sigh}. I know most every community in northern Indiana can use my retail therapy money since the RV industry isn’t doing so well up there and I’ll be more than happy to oblige. Working in the RV industry myself, I've got to help where I can! Well, time to get back to my list of items to search for...quilt stuff...purse stuff...bag stuff...table runner stuff...redwork embroidery stuff...forget the sugar plums, I'll have visions of quilting notions dancing in my head! Every trip to back home is for me like remodeling...plan on twice as much time and 3 times the money in the budget.

Quilts and purses and notions, oh my! Follow the Yellow Brick Road pattern, Dorothy!

Appreciating What's Left Behind...

2009-04-13T22:31:00.001-04:00

For the past few weeks I’ve been finding some wonderful fabrics. I’ve always been drawn to anything that’s been “left behind”. Whether it’s grabbing the end of the bolt, rummaging through the “discontinued” table, gladly taking the small scrap that a friend didn’t have a use for, or saving the shirt that has a hole, snag or stain too big to fix, I love taking those that could easily be left behind or, God forbid, thrown out.
I put “discontinued” in quotes because I’ve never quite understood why any fabric is discontinued – at the very least there are always new people learning to craft that would be seeing that decade-old fabric for the first time and love it like we did. And when I find something at the back of my storage area that I remember buying way-back-when and wishing I had more of it yet can never find it again, it’s kind of sad. To say that it makes me nostalgic may be a better way to phrase it. I’m not sure, but it’s not a great feeling no matter what label is put on it. Maybe that’s because I don’t think I’ve ever met a fabric that I didn’t appreciate and want to bring home with me…

Quilting in the South

2009-04-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

One of the wonderful things of being a quilter in the South is that it is so warm so much of the year. When others may have hung up their hobby for a few months while temps exceed 100 degrees is one of the best times of the year for me to stock up on fabric and go on my annual search for “LBs” (Left Behinds). Sales sales and more sales! June through September (some years even through Thanksgiving!) no one seems to want to hand quilt. Go figure…who wants 15+ pounds of fabric and batting across your lap when you’re already sweating buckets with the AC cranked up in a usually futile attempt to counterbalance the 95% humidity trying to sneak in every crack your house has! Once you've lived here for an extended period of time your blood thins and what I used to think was a comfortable 60 degrees now feels like a rather cold 60 degress. We always have those Winter months to really buckle down and get everything done while it’s cold…we actually had about a dozen nights this year when we had freezing temps and several days/weeks with temps under 60 degrees, so don’t think it’s always hot and balmy in good ole Florida. Almost everyone keeps a ready stack of burlap in their garage to cover all the Hibiscus and fruit trees ( though a good freeze really concentrates the sugars of my oranges!) If nothing else, we have Hurricane Season when several times a year for hours at a time it isn't advisable to leave your house - you've seen the news, I'm sure!

While growing up in northern Indiana I found that I was able to quilt year-round. Since transplanting to Florida several years ago I have simply become more cyclical around the temps. Spending summers on purses, cutting many, many quilt kits, maybe assembling some lighter quilt tops or hand-tying then transitioning into assembly for hand quilting when the weather cools. To have spent all summer cutting every intricate square, rectangle, triangle, whatever shape, plus all of the measuring, matching, seeing what fabric ‘goes’ with what, there is something so relaxing and relieving when the weather cools about just being able to then flip through all those kits and just start sewing.
I am so looking forward to Spring and Summer to start cutting again! My fingers may be sore from the stitching through the Winter, but before long I'll be complaining about my wrists from the pressures of cutting all Summer and 'round and 'round we go...

Fall Leaves Quilt

2009-04-13T22:22:00.005-04:00

Finally finished a 12-month project!

I was looking for something in my studio and came across a quilt that I had started too-near a year ago. I finally put the final stitch in the binding tonight. Whew! I loved this quilt from the moment I started it, but lost my way along the path to completion. I frequently struggle with looking at the same project for days on end so always have several things going. I was thrilled when I came back across this quilt and fell in love with it all over again. I wanted to do something special with the stitching in this project. I didn't want to do a meandering stitch. I didn't want to do a continuous repeating pattern.

So instead, I went against my norm and stitched leaves all over the lighter blocks. Had I realized how many leaves that was going to be, I might have taken the easy road and made a template. But, nooooo, I had to make it more difficult by freehanding every leaf. What was I thinking? It turned out great, having variances in each leaf, but, boy, it was time consuming!

I'm going to miss it when it finds a new home, but it was certainly fun in the meantime!

And here's our newest addition helping me out as much as she can from the other room as she's not allowed in my studio, but she'll wait for me in the chair right outside my door so I have to take frequent breaks to appreciate her...

Faux Chenille Instructions

2009-04-13T22:13:00.004-04:00

I was asked for instructions on this faux chenille technique.

I began with a regular square block and cut somewhat amoeba-shaped appliques. The shape of the applique is important because after you stitch your lines you will be cutting between each and every one of those stitched lines therefore you should be able to slide your scissors in one end and out the other.

The applique is stitched to the center of the block with stitches approx 3/4" apart. I suggest practicing on a scrap to ensure your scissors will slide comfortably and be able to cut between the stitches. Widen if necessary, but should not exceed 1". There are a lot (!) of lines you will be cutting so comfort is key. We all know or at least can guess that after cutting a few hundred lines if the stitches are too tight your wrist and hands are jelly regardless of Comfort Grip. I made my first line on the applique down the middle to make sure it holds its place and shape - I machine stitched using a very light combination of starch and basting spray to hold it in place and even with that combination the applique liked to slide if I tried starting at one end instead of the middle.

I was systematic and cut all appliques, stitched appliques to the blocks, assembled the rest of the quilt, and only then cut between the lines on the appliques. But if you prefer to see progress more quickly it doesn't hurt to cut between the lines of the appliques as you go.

Once assembled, the first washing starts the fraying seen above. Each time the quilt is washed it frays and separates those rows more and more. I used darker appliques with white background and metallic thread for a bolder contrast because it was the first I had done and wanted to see clearly what the effects were and how quickly they came about. You will have a different look of you stitch your lines with the bias versus against the bias. It's fun to play with the different effects!
Another version is to use several layers of fabric instead of batting and it is the same concept as above, but you will be cutting through all EXCEPT the bottom layer, so it's important to have a strong backing fabric as it will be the proverbial glue that holds the quilt together. If using a thinner backing fabric because it has the "perfect print", then you may consider leaving the backing fabric and the next layer up uncut for strength. That version is shown below. On this one, I used the top primary fabric layer, then 2 tan layers, then 1 natural muslin layer, and finally a twig print backing and cut all but the backing layer. Given that this uses several layers of fabric instead of backing it turned out shockingly heavy!

I hope you enjoy! Trina

Faux Chenille

2009-04-13T22:07:00.003-04:00

I love this "faux chenille" technique! It's time consuming, certainly, but the right fabrics separate and fluff so nicely and it's fun to see how much better it looks after every washing. It's almost like the cheaper the fabric the better it plays. Sewing all of the lines and then cutting in between each line certainly takes a chunk of time, but it's more tedious than it is difficult. But I'm proud of my first attempt at a new technique! And while the edges fray, it gives the cat something to play with...she likes to help when she can.

This particular quilt does use batting, but one of my next projects will be using the same technique except using 4-6 layers of fabric in place of the batting. I've seen it done and it looks great. It can be very heavy with that much fabric layered in, which isn't needed often in Florida, but someone will love it up north! Trina

Leftovers & Mismatches

2009-04-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been frustrated with your leftovers and mismatches? I'm talking about those fabrics that were individual impulse buys and not planned to be used for anything in particular. Those fabrics that had to be purchased because they were on sale. Those fabrics I had to have or the walls would cave in. Those fabrics that were purchase solely because there is a 4-inch gap in storage that has to filled - right now. I needed that orange cotton fabric with the huge, flourescent purple Zinnias all over it. Really? Did I really need it? Did I really need it just because it was a high quality brand name? At noon on a bright and sunny day it somehow still manages to glow. So then I have a debate inside my head. Well, I could make a scrap quilt. How about a woven basket. Maybe I could save it in the hopes that someone will request a custom quilt and just be begging me to find some orange fabric with big, purple Zinnias. I could throw it into a quilt kit and hope the other fabrics downplay it somehow. I would never call a fabric "ugly", as all fabric in it's own way has a purpose and can be beautfiul...but, oh my. What's a person to do with that fabric that can't seem to find its place in the world?