A little Wiggle Whimsy

Here's the first row of my Wiggle Whimsy quilt top for Terry's quilt along.

Wiggle Whimsy is a Moda Bakeshop pattern by Rebecca Silbaugh and my blog friend Terry has organized a super fun, no rules Quilt Along for it.

Terry suggested that the cutting be completed in January, and the first row finished in February, but mine didn't really happen that way.  The fabric choices slowed me down.

I was looking for something out of the norm for me.  Something beyond my normal white background.

  I certainly don't have anything against a white background, that's for sure!  I love it!  I just wanted to go outside the box a little on this one. 

I put the choice off for a bit, then I looked through my stash to get some inspiration and hopefully some fabric! 

 I ran across a bright blue batik and a black and white jelly roll, both fabrics that I've had forever.

Then a quilt I had just admired in the Another Year of Schnibbles Parade of Favorites popped into my head.  I loved the color scheme!

  JoAnne's quilt was so bright and fun it inspired my fabric selections.  It helped that I had the fabrics in my stash!

And since last night was the Friday-Night-Sew-In,  it was the perfect time to order pizza, do some sewing, and get my first row finished!

I wanted to mention that the cutting I did for Wiggle Whimsy earlier in the week was so quick and easy since I was able to use my Shape Cut ruler.  Do you have one?

I've been using this ruler for years and although I don't use it for everything, it's exactly what I reach for when I'm cutting strips or blocks at whole or half inch increments.  It makes my least favorite quilting task of cutting so much easier! 

I think another blogger did a post about the Shape Cut rulers recently.  Sorry, but can't remember who it was!  I wish I did!  I like my Shape Cut ruler so much, I bought a quarter inch version this week.  I'll let you know if I like it!

I  usually just mark the Shape Cut ruler where I need to make cuts if I'm using it multiple times to make the cutting even faster. Painter's tape is great for this.  Not much thinking involved!  Got to love it! 

Painter's tape is such a handy quilting tool!  I've always got a roll nearby to tear off a piece to mark my ruler and even mark my sewing machine when I need to.

I like to put some on my machine to help me sew straight from point to point, like on half square triangles. I've used it to mark quilting lines too!

Well, I've got to get started on dinner!  I'm planning on it taking a little extra time since I'm trying out a new recipe I found out in blogland.  I'll let you know if it's a success!