Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art

Author Archives: Valerie


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Winter Animals Quilt Finish

Here it is! All quilted and cosy with a flannel backing. This ended up 50″ x 72″.

The panel is part of “Merriment” by Moda. When I bought it, I really had no idea of the scale of the animal segments. (There is also a panel with smaller animals.) The Etsy seller gave the measurements and had good photos, but I just didn’t realize that each animal was a fat quarter! So I cut them down a lot (two panels), then framed them back up to 16″ square. My first 8 block quilt!

Interestingly, I used three fabrics from the 12 lb. grab bag. Meant to be?

Going to be hard to part with this one, but look for it soon in my Etsy shop.

Good luck with your finishes!

Linking up with Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.


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Making Binding

The quilting is finished and the quilt is trimmed, so I made the binding. The problem was that after I found this perfect fabric, there was very little of it, and it ran the wrong direction. I cut and pieced and pieced and pieced, and I made enough, with a little to spare!

I had to sew straight seams, which I never do, but I didn’t have enough for diagonal joining. I pressed the seams open, and I hope it’s not too bulky.

Working on this, I remembered where I first saw this large-scale birch fabric. It was in a sale bin in a fabric store that was closed many years ago. I didn’t know what I would do with it, but I bought the rest of the bolt. I may paid $2 a yard.

In 2007 I used this fabric to make this wall hanging (it was updated with the cardinals more recently!).

In 2013 I made this winter nine-patch quilt. You can see I was a bit short on the birch fabric, so I used corner stones to fill out the border. Ooh, blurry!

So now, I’ve used the last. Except that the binding tail will go into my strings. And I probably have some 2.5″ patches in that bin…


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Sunday Stash Report: 9/15/19

20190913_114644 (1).jpgSo, the fabric that came in.  Did you know that Fat Quarter Shop has its 12 lb. “Grab Bag” boxes again?  I stumbled on them unexpectedly (on sale), and I’ve wanted one for so long I just had to get one.  I know.  I know.  Well, some enhancement was part of the goal.  This is just a…big chunk of enhancement.  (Note:  Today I can’t find these Grab Bags.  I guess you’ll have to check back till they have them again.)

I was initially a little disappointed in this box.  I was looking for bright colors and bold prints, and it took awhile to find any.  Are reproduction calico prints really making a comeback lately?  I sure got a lot of them.  Also, I started sneezing non-stop as I went through the box.  Please tell me I’m not allergic to cotton!  I assume it was the finishes, so they all went right into the washer and dryer.

As I was folding them, I began to look upon the fabrics more favorably.  I got a ton of white-to-cream neutrals, a stack of black prints, various navys, greens, and grays that I really like, a little bit of Grunge, and a single piece of Kaffe!  Maybe a third of the fabrics were prints that I would never have chosen.  But that was the point of a grab bag, to give depth to my stash.  So.

One difference I noticed from several years ago is that there weren’t too many one-yard cuts.  There were lots of half yards, and lots of smaller pieces, even a broken layer cake.  I’m sure it will all be useful.

With all the smaller pieces of fabric, I can’t begin to measure it.  I’m just going to go with Fat Quarter Shop’s estimate and say twenty yards.  That’s bad enough!

PicMonkey Collage TransThe sewing!  It pales in comparison, but I did use four yards this week to make these wall hangings from printed panels.  Now you see where those little stars went!  Look for them soon in my Etsy shop.

 

This week: + 20 yards, – 4 yards

This year: + 74.5 yards, – 72.75 yards

Net destashed added in 2019: 1.75 yards

Ah, well, back behind the starting line.  I still have three and a half months left to destash this year!

Better luck to you!


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WIP Wednesday

Sewing is happening, slowly. I made two of these little 4.5″ stars that to go into Christmas wall hangings. I remember now that I don’t like to work small. Those are basted and ready to be quilted. Not today, though. It’s over 90°F here today, so maybe first thing in the morning…

I do want to share some links with you.

Here is Diagonal Seam Tape from Cluck, Cluck, Sew, to help with HSTs and flying geese.

These Fabric Bowl Covers from Quilt Social are new to me.

This Improv Garden quilt by Cynthia of Quilting is More Fun Than Housework is my current favorite quilt online.

And, finally, if you’re looking for a place to donate small quilts and pillowcases, here’s a link.

That’s all for now. Hope you’re enjoying your sewing!