Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art

Monthly Archives: January 2016


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January/February Goals and Stash Report

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I nailed the January Goals!  As an example of the way these help, my DH and I debated about when to take our little journey to the quilt shop to drop off donation items and decided to do it right away, because the next available date would be in February.  It helps to have these commitments.

January Goals

  1. Make sports baby quilt for shower.  Yes, the navy and white one!
  2. Cut scraps for Scrappy Stars Around the Corner (Charlotte’s Scrapitude mystery quilt for this year).  Yes!  Except the background, which I’m cutting as I go.
  3. Sew first clue for Scrappy Stars.  Yes!
  4. Make a quilt for my Etsy shop.  Yes, the Pink Elephants!
  5. Take Project Linus quilts and donation pillowcases to drop off shop.  Yep!

Bonus:  I made a dozen blocks to donate to Alycia for Quilts of Valor, and am almost finished with an extra quilt for my shop from the Baseball scraps.

 

February Goals

  1. Complete the second clue for Charlotte’s Scrappy Stars Around the Corner.
  2. Continue Gyleen’s Bricks, Cobblestones, and Pebbles mystery quilt.
  3. Unpack fabric lockers and get help moving them over a foot.  This will help with locker and floor access and make it easier to vacuum.
  4. Find a new home for the little project bins that live under the cutting table.
  5. Make donation blocks for Kat’s February Challenge.
  6. Make a quilt for my Etsy shop.

 

Stash Report

I only used 3.75 yards for the back and binding of the Hashtag quilt.

This week: + 0 yards,  – 3.75 yards
This year: +38.5 yards,  -15.75 yards
Net destashed added in 2016:  22.75 yards

Good luck on your goals and stash.  I’m linking up to Judy’s Report at Patchwork Times.


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Friendship Finish

2016-01-26 09.31.29He should look guilty, he was playing with an open pen on my new quilt!

2016-01-28 11.59.59The Twilters’ Hashtag Quilt is finally finished.  On the Twilters! Facebook group, we exchanged wonky hashtag blocks back in the fall, in a world-wide exchange somehow coordinated by the amazing Carole.  I sent twenty-four blocks and received twenty-four back, from nine states and four countries on three continents.

I added sashing in celery Fairy Frost, and a border from a metalic gold and green fabric.

2016-01-28 12.01.132016-01-28 12.01.45For the back I used a piece of fabric I had been hoarding saving for years.  It’s not water waves, as it appears, but rows of Queen Anne’s Lace in several greens, white and metalic gold.  I finished it with the border fabric and another green.  I was afraid of the signatures on the front fading, so I made a label for the back with all the names and locations.

2016-01-28 12.01.252016-01-28 12.01.34

I think the quilt designs show up best on the the back in these photos.  I drew these both myself, and one was more visually effective than the other.  That’s how we learn.  I used white Bottom Line on the top and light green on the back.

2016-01-28 12.03.52This quilt is 56″ x 82″, and should be great to wrap up in during cold evenings, or whenever I need a Twilty hug!  Thank you, everyone, for your beautiful blocks!

I”m linking up to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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WIP Wednesday: Chuggin’ Along

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This week I finished the Hashtag quilt.  I’ll post about it as soon as I can get some outdoor pictures.

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Yesterday I caught up on the first three steps of Gyleen’s Bricks, Cobblestones, and Pebbles mystery quilt (search that on Facebook and ask to join the group if you’re interested).  I chose to do it because is uses tons of 3.5″ and 2.5″ squares, and 2.5″ strips, so there was little cutting to do, just lots of scrap pulling.  I think my results so far are okay, but I prefer what people are doing with a more controlled pallette.  I’m trying to stay scrappy and trust the process.

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And, in the afternoon I traveled to Dubin, OH, to drop off four Project Linus baby quilts and ten Cases for Smiles pillowcases at Red Rooster Quilting (yes, it was a very gray day).  This is on my monthly goals list as part of cleaning my studio.  And I didn’t even buy any fabric!

Hope you’re making progress this week!  I’m linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.


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Sunday Stash Report: 1/24/16

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I’m pretty sure I won fabric acquisition this week.  Twenty-eight and a half yards of fabric arrived on my doorstep.  I know.  Some I ordered last week from Fabric Shack, and some I ordered from eQuilter in December (it was a huge sale and they got behind).  This is Krissi modeling the eQuilter box.  She prefers the smaller thread box.

Much of this fabric is for backs, and I very much need it.  Some is for future baby quilts.  All was a great bargain.

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I had hoped for a finish to offset the new fabric (ha, ha, that would be some finish!), but I’m not quite done with the Hashtag quilt.  It’s quilted now, I just need to bind it.  (I’ll only be able to count the backing and binding, anyway.)

This week: + 28.5 yards,  – 0 yards
This year: +38.5 yards,  -12 yards
Net destashed added in 2016:  26.5 yards

Now you all feel better about your numbers!  I’m linking up to Judy’s Report at Patchwork Times.


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WIP Wednesday: Quilting Tops

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It’s snowing a little here, so I’m using it as an excuse to stay home and sew.

This week I pieced the backing for my Twilters Hashtag quilt, and I’ve just started quilting it.  I ditch quilted between all the blocks, and started on the sashing.  I marked the blocks while it was still a top, which is awfully organized for me.  We’ll see how those go.

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I also finished this top, made from the scraps from the Baseball Quilt.  The backing fabric has arrived, so that should be next in line for quilting.

Everyone, stay warm (or cool, down under!), and enjoy your sewing.  I’m linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.


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Sunday Stash Report: 1/17/16

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As we say, nothing in and nothing out this week.  I have been sewing every day, though.  The weather here has been very cold or very wet, leaving nothing to do but stay inside and sew. 

I finished cutting for Scrappy Stars Around the Corner, and completed Clue 1.  I know this doesn’t look very scrappy, but there will be more variety in the rest of it.  I just have a lots of scraps of the same fabrics!  Repetition, unity, all that.

Next, I grabbed a bag of scraps that I was tired of seeing on my studio floor (apparently this is the genesis of many quilts!  😼), and I expect to finish that top today.  Still, no finishes to count out.

This week: + 0 yards,  – 0 yards
This year: +10 yards,  -12 yards
Net destashed in 2016:  2 yards

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This is the elusive Anni Skywalker.  She doesn’t help with the quilts or the photography, but she enjoys a good quilt, especially on a snowy Sunday morning, so she assisted with this post.  It takes a menagerie.

We’re linking up to Judy’s Stash Report at Patchwork Times.


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Two Baby Quilt Finishes: Elephants and Sports

IMG_2519Last week I made two baby quilts that are very different from each other.  While waiting for the sports fabric to arrive, I found this elephant fabric in my stash.

IMG_2521I rooted around and found the lavender and rick rack and lace fabrics, as well as the pink.

IMG_2523The backing fabric I pieced in is lavender with a large crocheted pattern.

IMG_2525And, in case it wasn’t sweet enough, I bound it with pink rainbow stripe.

2016-01-09 08.55.46The second quilt was for a shower for a friend’s first baby.  My information about the nursery was “navy blue and sports”, so I worked from there.  2016-01-09 08.56.06Mom is a champion softball player and Dad has played and coached lots of sports and is currently into golf, so all those made an appearance, along with the nice graphic prints.  I decided on a Disappearing Four Patch design.  First, I cut all the 5.5″ patched and sewed them into four-patches.  I really liked the quilt just like that, but the squares were awfully large and didn’t really look very crafted or intentional.  Still, the prints were very busy, so I decided to only “disappear” half of them.  I really like the result.

2016-01-09 08.56.29And I love the sporty sock monkeys on the backing.

2016-01-09 08.55.55I quilted it with a variegated navy and white thread.  I’m not sure if I really like it, but it’s okay.  I think the thread would look better in a stipple.

2016-01-09 08.58.05I was also pleased by how the quilt matched many of the other items they received at the shower.  I know it will be used.

IMG_25292016-01-09 08.57.28

So, those are my two latest finishes.  The sports quilt has gone home with the parents, and the pink elephants will be in my Etsy shop.

Hope you all are finishing things!


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Sunday Stash Report: 1/10/16

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So, fabric did come this week, ten yards, but I also finished enough to offset it and remain on the destashing side of things.  Next week may be another story.

I was geared up to make a baby quilt (for a shower today!), but had to wait on the fabric to arrive.  To fill the time, I made up three donation pillowcases from stash (3 yards).  That led me to find a piece of elephant fabric that wanted to be a quilt, so I made it into one (3.5 yards).  The navy sports fabric finally arrived Thursday afternoon, so then I made that quilt (3.5 yards).  I seized an opportunity for photos yesterday, so I’ll post about the quilts later.

This week: +10 yards,  -10 yards
This year: +10 yards,  -12 yards
Net destashed in 2016:  2 yards

I hope you’re getting time to sew up your stash.
I’m linking up to the Stash Report at Patchwork Times.


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Sunday Stash Report: 1/3/16

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Wow, first Stash Report of the year!  Look at this nice, positive, destashing number long and hard because you won’t see it again for a while!  Massive amounts of fabric have been ordered and arrive this week, wrecking havoc with the stats.

So far in 2016, I’ve used two yards to make these dozen 12.5″ donation blocks that Alycia is collecting for Quilts of Valor.  It’s a fun and easy way to use your 2.5″ strips.

This week: +0 yards, -2 yards
This year: +0 yards, -2 yards
Net destashed in 2016: 2 yards

I’m going for fifty yards out of the Stash again this year, but I’ll have to be patient as I crawl back out of the hole I’ve dug bought myself. I believe!

I’m linking up to the Stash Report at Patchwork Times.