Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art


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Friday Finish: QOV becomes QFH

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Finally finished this quilt, and I did finish it on Friday.  I didn’t get the binding on until almost dark, though, and by the time is was washed and crinkly photos were out of the question.

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The sun has come out here this morning in a pale, timid way, which makes for interesting photos, I think.  When I got it outside, I could see that it needs a good lint rolling, but since it’s going to stay at our house with three cats, I’m not rushing into it.

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Yes, it will stay here.  It has become a Quilt For Husband.  My husband is a firefighter and he wants this one.  I tried to shame him about taking a quilt from a wounded veteran but it didn’t work.  It has been about thirty years since I made him an actual quilt of his own, so I guess he’s due, and this was the last of my firefighter fabric.  His last quilt was sewn and quilted entirely by hand of some poly-cottons w/ poly batting, and it is now in shreds.  This new one will feel much better and last much longer, I am sure.

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The back is pieced with almost the last of my favorite star batik, so I’m kind of glad that it is staying home.  I use a large scale star print for the binding, and I like that, too.

IMG_1412So, yes, my satisfaction at having already knocked off Goals 1 and 2 for January by the 11th of the month was short-lived.  Back to square one on that.  But DH will be toasty for Downton Abbey.

How are you doing on your finishes?

I’m linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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My Quilt in Southern Weddings Magazine

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One of the exciting things that happened to me in 2012 was having a quilt selected to appear in Volume Five of Southern Weddings Magazine.  This is Hot Summer Cabins.  It was inspired by a charm pack of warm toned batiks that I used for the oversized center “chimneys”.  I kind of thought of it as a beach sunset.

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See if you can find the quilt here, right in the center.

 

The editor spotted it in my Etsy shop, and now that we can see the color scheme for the wedding shoot, it makes a lot of sense.  The colors sure are great together.  Unfortunately, that lovely tall bride stood right in front of it….  I hope it shows up better in another shot.

Hot back 1500

Lara Casey just let me know today that all three quilts in that photo are being given away on the web site today.  I can’t tell how long the giveaway will be open.  A few of the commenters are saying nice things about my quilt and requesting it as their prize.

Hot Summer chair 1500So, I’d like my next brush with fame to be a little more prominent, but this was still fun.  If you’re looking for wedding ideas, Southern Weddings is a very enjoyable and inspiring magazine.


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WIP Wednesday 1/9/13 QOV

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I am making good progress quilting my Quilt of Valor.  I almost have the quilting designs outlined on all of the blocks.  Then to tear off the paper and add the interior lines and decide if I want to stipple the background behind the motifs.

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I’m trying not to be lazy about it, but I don’t know if it needs it.  Any opinions?  Then I want to put stars in the borders.

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The paper hasn’t been too hard to rip off.  I used newspaper and also the Shumway garden catalog.  They tore about the same.  The difference was that as I sewed on the Shumway pages I began to read the descriptions and to think about this year’s garden!  I wouldn’t recommend all this newsprint on a light colored quilt, but it’s working fine here, I just have to wash my hands occasionally.

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I marked the pages by sewing through many layers with an empty needle, which worked well.  It would probably be easier to see these if a) they weren’t in the sun, and b) there wasn’t a cat standing on them.  There wasn’t when I reached for the camera.  Really.

I’m linking up to WIP Wednesday WIP Wedat Freshly Pieced.


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Sunday Stash Report 1/6/13

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I don’t have my calendar in front of me that I use to keep track of these numbers, but let’s see if I can do it from memory.

This week: +0 yds., -0 yds.
YTD: +0 yds., -0 yds.
Net used in 2013: 0 yds.

Next week’s report should be a little more interesting. I finished piecing the top, back, and batting for my QOV quilt, and am ready to sandwich it and begin quilting today.

How are you doing so far?

See more stash reports at Patchwork Times.


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Finish It Up Friday 1/4/13

Does it count if I just finished the top of the quilt?  I hope so.  One of my January goals can now be checked off.

IMG_1402This is the Quilt of Valor top I was supposed to piece on New Years Day, and it only took me four days to do.  I have excuses, but you probably don’t want to hear them.  It’s based on Judy’s design, but much simpler.  I had all the six inch squares of Alexander Henry (and other) firefighting prints, scraps from my pillowcases.  I was impatient about the small borders, and had two yards of this large scale flag print, so the border is also six inches (finished).  Simple, but bright, and I think the quilting will add interest.

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I was surprised by how poorly the flag print photographed (indoors).  I guess the gold in it reflects a lot of light.  If my studio had an extra foot of space, I could have perhaps photographed it from an angle or something, but that is just not happening.  The quilt top is 62″ x 82″.

How are you coming on your goals?

I’m linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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Getting It Done in 2013

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2013 sounds like such a funny, futuristic date to me.  I’m sure we will be used to it soon enough.  I first heard of this year back in 1983 when DH and I took out a thirty year mortgage to buy our first house.  The pay-off date sounded like such a ridiculous, sci-fi kind of thing, in the next century, for heaven’s sake.  Of course, we long ago paid off that mortgage, and bought this place, and paid it off, too, so 2013 no longer holds any real estate significance to us.  We shall have to see what the year brings.

For quilting motivation in 2013, I am going to try Judy’s “Getting It Done”.  This involves listing quilty goals for the coming month, and they can include new projects or portions of them, as well as UFOs.  (Tanesha at Crafty Garden Mom is doing a UFO Along that sounds fun.  I have  very few quilt UFOs , but I might join in later if I ever pick up my knitting needles again.)  On the one hand, I don’t want to be overly focused on productivity, but I also know that I tend to get nothing done if I don’t set goals, so I think I will try this.

GOALS FOR JANUARY

1.  Construct Quilt of Valor top during New Year’s Day Sit and Sew (also #NDSI on Twitter).
2.  Quilt/finish said QOV quilt.
3.  Create and post tutorial about binding a quilt with blanket binding
4.  Create a fun, new quilt of my choice using stash fabric, inspired by playing with said fabric.

DESTASHING GOALS

I feel like my 100 yd destashing goal of last year worked out really well, so I’m going with 100 more yards for this year.  It’s a significant amount, but not so high that it won’t permit me to buy some new fabric when I want to.  Thank you to the readers who assured me that I am allowed to buy fabric, since I’ve been so good, and that quilting is about having fun.  I know, and I really do have fun with it.  I also think that I would find it fun to be able to open the basket drawers where I keep my fabric, instead of them being all stuffed to the gills.  My DS heard that I was down over a hundred yards, and he ran up to my studio to see if he could tell the difference, but he couldn’t. Yeah.  So there must be a lot more hundreds up there.  I don’t want to know, but I do want to keep destashing.  100 yds. in 2013.

So those are my modest goals for the new year.  I look forward to reading about yours and watching your progress.  Good luck to us all!

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Linking up with Gettinhttp://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/12/31/january-2013-getting-it-done/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PatchworkTimes+%28Patchwork+Times+by+Judy+Laquidara%29g It Done on Patchwork Times.


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Sunday Stash Report 12/30/12 (The Last One!)

Final Stash Report of 2012!  I love my numbers!  I love that I’ve largely stopped buying and am really using from my stash.  My numbers are so positive, I considered checking out the sales and stocking up (a little!), but I decided against it.  I do love a sale, but I have plenty.  I know I’ll buy more in the new year, but hopefully that will be mainly to complete projects.  They will have sales next year, too.

This week:  +0 yards,  -10 yards (for donation pillowcases)

YTD:  +116 yards,  -240.5 yards

Net stash used in 2012:  -124.5  yards!

How are you doing?  Do you have goals for the new year?  I think I know mine, but I’ll share next week.

See more Stash Reports at Patchwork Times.


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Wrapping Up The Year 2012

It’s that time to look back over the year in quilting and think about what was made and what was learned.

In 2012, I made about 31 quilts or other projects.  Here are most of them:

2012 Quilts

In 2012, I began selling on Etsy.  I’ve made 27 sales so far.  (I also sell on Artfire, but I’ll be ending that.  I did sell in a shop here locally, which was an interesting, if not lucrative, experience.  I stopped that this summer, but kept up the friendships I made there.)  I’m paying for all my fabric and supplies, and showing a profit, so I can’t complain.  I’ve learned about postal rates and customs forms.  Most importantly, I’ve “met” so many nice people, and found homes for my work all over the country and around the world.  I know they’ve gone to new babies, sick friends, nursing home patients, and favorite relatives, and to brighten people’s homes and offices.  I like that.

In 2012, I’ve given quilts and pillowcases to several charitable causes.  I’ve given two to convalescing friends.  I had one appear in Southern Weddings Magazine. (I’ll post more about that when I actually see the magazine and can show you pictures.  So far I’ve only glimpsed a peek online.  The quilt is there, just hidden behind a bridal party.  The nerve!)

In 2012, I got involved with quilters/bloggers/podcasters on Twitter, and I’ve really enjoyed it.  We’ve shared Sew-Ins and holiday preparations and pets and weather and new additions and illness and our quilt successes and questions, etc., etc., etc.   Mostly it’s just a lot of nonsense and love, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face, if not an outright laugh.  So fun to have friends around the country, and a few across the world. If you’re looking for me there, I’m @scooquilt.

And in 2012, I started this blog.  This is really pretty “out there” for me, but I dove in and did it anyway, and I’m glad I did.  This is my 40th post!  I’ve learned a lot from it, and had a lot of encouragement from nice people.  I haven’t begun to meet my goals with it, but it’s a start.  It’s helped me destash 100+ yards of fabric, and pushed me a bit to finish projects and keep working.  I refuse to be a slave to it, but a little structure is a good thing.  I like being part of the wonderful quilting community.

IMG_0004So that’s what I can recall of my quilt life this year.  How was your year?

2013, here we come!


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WIP Wednesday: Boxing Day Sew-In

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BDSII’ve spent a lot of today participating in the Boxing Day Sew-In on Twitter with the quilty folks.  If you’re looking for me on Twitter, I’m @scooquilt.  Follow the conversation at #BDSI .  We’ve watched the weather advance across the country, done a minimum of cooking, and cheered each other on as we’ve made progress on our goals.  All in all, a very pleasant day, and it’s not over yet.

I cut out fabric for ten donation pillowcases.  I already sent two off for the Sandy Hook kids.  I have an email in to the Quilter’s Corner in New Milford, CT to see if they still need more.

Urbana-20121226-00534If these aren’t needed there, I’ll donate them to ConKerr Cancer as I did last year.

Urbana-20121226-00536So far I have these three cases finished.  I’d love to finish the rest before I quit today, but we shall see.

Urbana-20121226-00535While I was at it, I took all the bright, novelty fabric that was too small for even pillowcase cuffs and cut it into blocks so that I can piece some kind of donation quilts soon.  I have them neatly in zippered plastic bags awaiting time and/or inspiration.

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe, and that you are able to sew peacefully.

I’m linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.


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Sunday Stash Report 12/23/12

Urbana-20121223-00532Just a little sewing this week, but you know how that is.  College son is home, gatherings are happening, and gifts are asking to be wrapped.  I used two yards of juvenile fabric on the pillowcases for Sandy Hook kids, so that helps the cause.  Other than that, I’ve just been fooling around with the beginnings of some pink and gray donation blocks.

This week:  +0 yds.,  -2 yds.

YTD:  =116 yds.,  -230.5 yds.

Net stash used in 2012:  114.5 yds.

 

Enjoy your holiday, sewing or not.

See more Stash Reports at Judy’s Patchwork Times.