I’ve been going through my UFO cabinet. One by one I am asking the hard questions. Will I REALLY ever complete this? Would it better if I let this go and give it to a charitable organization? Today I am tackling my red Spider Web quilt.
This project came to me via the thrift store. I was thrilled to get it. The bag cost $10 and had these unfinished blocks…
and one finished blocks. I was so excited as there were a lot of finished ones. I thought I had plenty…WRONG. There weren’t nearly as many as I needed.
I didn’t think it was a big deal at all. I’d grab some red fabric and make more blocks. Well…that didn’t work as planned. All the reds were wrong.
I blogged about it and readers were so encouraging and told me to cut more reds from the fabrics I had and to not worry about it. Well, that’s not me. The different colors or the reds would have very much bothered me.
Well fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I was working on some organizing. One of the things I was doing was sorting thrifted fabric. In there was a red. It seemed like it was the shade of red I needed. I dug out the spiderweb quilt and happily it matched. The problem, it was only a fat quarters worth of fabric. I got out my template and started cutting.
This is what I discovered.
The fabric had a sticker on it…this. Does anyone recognize where that sticker might be from? I’d love to have about a yard and a half of this exact fabric…or fat quarters of it. I can cut 22 “kites” out of a fat quarter so I’d need 6 fat quarters if I were to make this…. The cover quilt in Bonnie Hunter’s new book.
As much as I’d love finding the red, it’s okay if I don’t. I at least have enough of the red that now I can make 101 units which gives me 25 blocks which I can use in a 5 x 5 setting. I’m okay with that.
I did save the sticker from the fabric. I still have hope that maybe I’ll find the fabric somewhere. The fabric really does match. 
I’m thinking that I must have bought a grab bag of fabric at the thrift store the same day I bought the started blocks. The fabric was in a different bag.
So…this UFO is all ready to grab should I need a project. I love that feeling. Even though it’s a UFO, it’s organized and still loved. If I don’t love things anymore, I want to move them on out. There are people who could make the unloved into something awesome.
This one is going in the keep it pile. YAHOO!! I feel so much better about this now.
Hi Jo – have you tried looking it up by barcode? I am trying to read the barcode in your photo and can’t read the first part of the code. What I can see is 9__90565000_ If you tell me the numbers of the barcode I can look it up – it MIGHT give an answer to where it came from…Sherry
I believe it says on the sticker that it is from Jo Ann’s. You might be able to find it in a bolt of their solid color fabric. They don’t usually have solids in fat quarters now.
I just bought a few fat quarters from JOANN’s and the stickers are the same…if you post the lot number or upc maybe a few of us that shop in the next few days can check our JOANN”S for you…
It’s from Jo-Ann’s. Normally FQ’s are not available in yardage, however; the solida are the Country Classic cotton solids. There are dye lot differences in the same color. Take a piece with you to match it. Don’t frett if it doesn’t match the 1st time, just keep watching.
It’s from Jo-Ann’s. Normally FQ’s are not available in yardage, however; the solids are the Country Classic cotton solids. There are dye lot differences in the same color. Take a piece with you to match it. Don’t frett if it doesn’t match the 1st time, just keep watching.
As Susan says, the sticker says JoAnn Stores. It’s upside down in the picture near the tear in the sticker. It’s been my experience at JoAnns that when the fat quarters are gone, they’re gone. Do any of the fabric stores you can get to have Kona fabrics? They have a lot of different reds, I think, but of course you’d have to see them.
Another option is to make some of the middles an entirely different color, or a red print that goes well with the red solid. As long as you were able to make a reasonable pattern of the two different middles (like all the outside rows have the newer middle), it would work. Hopefully, though, the fabric luck will be with you and you’ll find just what you need!
It looks like the tag says it was manufactured 3-20-14 and I can see Ohio on the tag. I will ask at my Joann’s to see if they have any idea what brand with the numbers you have on the tag.
Whoa! Your luck of finding these string blocks is similar to winning a quilt lottery! And then all along hiding in a different bag the actual tag of identification? Whoa, girl….you need to go getcha a lottery ticket. And the trifecta will be one of your readers finding that red in their stash! If this quilt ever comes to fruition, you must name it bearing the word “luck” somewhere in the title. This post gives me a warm and fuzzy!
So glad there are so many who know where your red is from! Something tells me you might be getting some surprise packages soon! :-)
I have a bin of old reds. Send me a piece of it and I’ll see if I can match it. And a Joanns near by. I have a stack of gifted 2.5″ strips that are red.
I know that Joann Fabrics uses the term of Fabric Quarters. I do not buy them. But that may help.