Friday fats!

If you are not a sewer, you may not know what a fat quarter is. Typically, a fat quarter is a piece of fabric cut to 18" x 22."  You can see from this illustration how a normal quarter of a yard of fabric is cut, and then how the fat quarter is cut. I like fat quarters better than regular quarter yards, because you get "more" of the fabric, in more of a square shape, so you often can get more of the design. 

image source 

When I lived in my little apartment, I didn't have tons of space for fabric storage, so I bought a lot of small cuts of fabric, including fats. They're great for small projects like bags, doll quilts, placemats and napkins, and more! Even though I now have a sewing room of my very own, I still love buying fats. They're great to use when new fabrics come out, to see the print and just buy a bit of it, to see if you like it. Most places sell them for $2-$3 or so, whereas a full yard (36" x 44") can be anywhere from $8-$25, depending on the designer, etc! I don't want to spend so much and then decide that I don't like the fabric! 

Two weeks ago, my friend Anna and I drove up to PA to do a little shop hop! We went to four quilt shops in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, and I picked up, among many other things, these fat quarters at the first shop we went to, called Cloth and Bobbin. We both loved the shop and all of the amazing fabrics there. I'll have to do another post on our trip - we had SO much fun!  

Look at these! Loving the couple under the umbrella so much, and the London prints are just darling! I really should be a fabric designer! (wishful thinking!)

I am working on several baby quilts at the moment, and plan to do some serious sewing this weekend, but I might take a break from those and make a little something with these instead. What should I make? A little tote bag? For library books? A table runner? Something else? What would you make with them?