Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art


by 2 Comments

The Last Christmas Quilt

2018-11-03 15.45.44

Well, no, not the last ever, just for this fall.  Aren’t the colors here beautiful, both quilt and woods?  No filter, just the light by the end of my photo shoot.

2018-11-03 15.43.05

Here are the real colors from just a few minutes earlier.  I managed to erase my photo of the back, but it’s black with fewer snowflakes than the inner border fabric.  And I finally remembered to use black batting!  It’s Quilter’s Dream Poly.  It was thin and flat like cotton, so it was very easy to use.  Now that it’s washed, it’s lighter than cotton, with just a little more loft, and probably warmer.  I would use it again.

2018-11-03 15.43.23

The metalic thread is Superior’s Glitter, and it sewed like a charm.

2018-11-03 15.43.30

2018-11-03 15.47.35

This is the last of my panels (I have one more for placemats that I’ll probably make next year.) and the one to which I did the least.  I left it intact and just added two borders.

2018-11-03 15.44.22

This quilt finished at 49″ x 63″.  I originally had the outer border a little wider, but someone cut the backing a little short, so…

2018-11-03 15.46.51

Have a great week!


by 1 Comment

October / November Goals

2018-10-23 12.15.52

October was not a productive month for me in the quilting department.  The weather was really hot until it was very chilly and wet.  I spent the nicer days working outside and the rainy ones traveling around.  Sewing only happened once or twice a week.

October Goals:

  1. Make a mat for a cart in my kitchen.  Nope.
  2. Piece the cardinal panel Christmas quilt.  Yes!
  3. Quilt and bind cardinal Christmas quilt.  No.  I’m almost finished with the quilting.
  4. Make blocks for a donation quilt (probably log cabins).  No, not at all.

Bonus:  Made a little pillowcase for a travel pillow.

So, a lot more nos than yeses.  And I have no illusions that November will be better, so the new list is modest.

November Goals:

  1. Finish cardinal Christmas quilt.
  2. Secret Christmas project.
  3. Tiny Christmas project.
  4. Make blocks for a donation quilt (probably log cabins).

 

Are you sewing a lot for Christmas?  I don’t usually, but I thought I’d try a couple of things.  First the studio needs a clean-up.

Good luck on your goals.


by 4 Comments

Sunday Stash Report: 10/21/18

My only finish this week was this little pillowcase for a travel size pillow. I continue to quilt the Cardinal quilt.

But I didn’t buy any new fabric!

This week: + 0 yards, – .5 yards

This year: + 80.75 yards, – 115.75 yards

Net destashed added in 2018: 35 yards

With the sudden cold weather, you’d think I’d have plenty of time for quilting, but it hasn’t worked that way. There’s still lots to do outside and inside. My garden hasn’t had a frost yet (most around me have), so I’m still picking as well as cleaning up. I made a small batch of tomato sauce today, and stuffed peppers are on the menu for this week. I’ll miss my marigolds when they freeze.

Keep using your stash!


by 1 Comment

Butterfly Finish

2018-10-14 13.45.22 (1)

The quilt is finished and the baby isn’t even a week old!

2018-10-14 13.45.54 (1)I used this tutorial from Missouri Star, but I made the blocks 9″, instead of 12″.  Or, more accurately, I made them 9.75 x 9″, instead of 13 x 12″ in the original quilt.  I hate rectangle blocks!  But these were very easy, and I only needed ten of them.  Jenny used 2.5″ strips.  I used 2″ strips, and it was perfect for using up some leftovers from another project.  My solid blocks used 5″ squares, so they would be perfect for a charm pack.

2018-10-14 13.45.48 (1)I quilted between all the blocks, and then used pink Fantastico to quilt wavy diagonal lines, some of them with butterflies.

2018-10-14 13.45.30 (1)

2018-10-14 13.46.26 (1)

2018-10-14 13.46.46 (1)

And this one counts toward my low-volume goal!


by 1 Comment

Sunday Stash Report: 10/14/18

I made a baby quilt this week and I managed not to buy any fabric.

This week: + 0 yards, – 3.75 yards

This year: + 80.75 yards, – 115.25 yards

Net destashed added in 2018: 34.5 yards

Chipping away at it! As I looked back at a previous baby girl quilt, I notice I said that I had lots of light pinks. Not anymore! (My taste seems to run more to the magentas and fuchsias…) So pinks might be in my next stash enhancement purchase.

Keep using your stash!


by 2 Comments

Blue Christmas Finish

Here is the latest of my quilts from the pile of panels I purchased this summer. I was aware that I had almost no blue Christmas scraps to use with it, so I purchased some tree yardage for the side borders, and a charm pack of blue and silver batiks, which became the stars. It finished about 50″ by 65″.

Unlike a pieced quilt, this had a large center with no seams to hide any “foundation” quilting to keep things square. Instead, I machine basted a roughly 12″ grid of Dissolve Extra thread on top.

The stars are quilted with gray Bottom Line, the buildings and sleigh with black BL, and the sky and border with navy and white Fantastico.

I really like the way the quilting in the sky looks. I made sort of flame shapes from the center out. Close to the center, the thread hardly shows, but the white parts begin to show up in the dark edges of the sky.

I backed this with a blue batik with silver metallic snowflakes.

And, yes, it’s been tested for snuggliness.

Good luck on your finishes!


by 1 Comment

Sunday Stash Report: 10/7/18

Another finish! And no new fabric!

Yuri and I took photos of this one today, so look for a post soon.

This week: + 0 yards, – 6.5 yards

This year: + 80.75 yards, – 111.5 yards

Net destashed added in 2018: 30.75 yards

This quilt is totally made from fabric I bought this summer, but, hey, it was logged into the stash and now it’s back out. I have a scrap quilt planned to dive a little deeper into the old stuff.

So use your stash, whether it’s old or new!