Needlework Tuesday - Plaid is where it's at

Yesterday was a holiday here in Ontario. It was the perfect opportunity to head off to a friend's cottage.  Our families spent the last five days enjoying each others company, good food and plenty of sunshine.  We talked, laughed and reminisced about the past thirty years.  I love the time we spend together and am sad when it's time to return to our respective every day lives.

My every day life includes fabric and quilts, lots of both.  I have been visiting a few shops for the Row by Row Experience being hosted by hundreds of quilt shops across Canada and the United States.  I decided to purchase plaid fabrics at each shop I visit this year.  Not as easy as it seems. Not all shops carry plaid even though it's great for narrow borders and bindings.

Why plaid?  Recently, Bonnie Hunter of  Quiltsville introduced her Leader and Ender project for the year, it's Tumblers.  The information is all on her blog,  just click her name in the previous sentence and you'll magically travel to her studio (wishful thinking).  One of the example quilts she showed was made from plaids.  That is my inspiration.

Every quilt I make is a learning experience.  So far I have learned that not all shops carry plaid fabrics.  The green and the teal in the bottom of the first photo aren't quite plaid, but they'll do.  The second photo shows some plaids that I easily found in my stash and I'm sure there are several more at least.

I knew I wanted to make a few of these quilts and decided that a template was the way to go.  In the past I have had success with Marti Michell's products and since I had previously bought my mom Marti's Tumbler template, I bought the same for myself.

I'll be cutting the plaid tumblers at 5 inches as I want to show the fabrics off at their best with repeats of the design.  I am also cutting 3 1/2 inches as my mom already has a bunch cut that size and I often cut extra of many projects and share with her.  And to make best use of my smaller scraps, I'm cutting 2 1/2 inches tumblers.   I haven't started sewing them together yet.

At present, I am pinning images various tumbler quilts.   You can view my Pinterest board at this link. 

Have you made a tumbler quilt or are you following Bonnie's lead and making one as your leader and ender this year?  Mister Linky is waiting below for a link to your tumbler project or your current needlework project.  I'd appreciate additional pins to add to my board for further inspiration.

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.