Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art

Tag Archives: low volume


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Turning Down the Volume

IMG_2264Here’s a quilt that’s a bit different for me, since I do like bright color.

2015-02-24 11.51.39I purchased this fat quarter bundle on a whim this fall.  The colors spoke to me.  The gray is pretty, but it overpowers the lights.  I added Kona Azure, but that was also very strong.  I knew I wanted to cut these up as little as possible, so I made 6″ HSTs with them.  I wanted to arrange them in  a random design across the quilt, but it looked terrible.

IMG_2271I finally added some more Azure and made this star.

IMG_2266And (surprise!) I quilted it with feathers.  I used aqua Bottom Line for all the quilting, top and bottom.  It is very restful and soothing, and I was sad when I had no more areas to quilt.

IMG_2267I backed this with an aqua cloud print.  A very successful little quilt.  38″ square.

IMG_2274The snow makes a beautiful backdrop for quilt photos, but enough is enough.  Four to six more inches tonight…  Stay warm and sew, everyone!


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Finished the Pink “Quiet Quilt”

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This week I finished up the second (last) baby quilt in my “almost low volume”  experiment.  I have wanted to use the black and white print of little girls with umbrellas for a long time, and I still have some left for a future project.

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I used some pink Kona solid, some random stash stuff, and some pieces from a broken layer cake of Basic Grey “Sultry” that’s been lying around for way to0 long.  I cut up the rest of that, and have some four and nine patch blocks made for another quilt.

 

 

IMG_1507This is a disappearing four patch, made with 5 1/2 ” patches.  The backing is a great pink and gray houndstooth stretch cordoroy that is SO soft.  I bound it with a sweet gray with pink rosebuds fabric.

 

 

IMG_1505I quilted a 1/4″ from all the seams, so it took awhile, but I think it looks great.

 

 

It washed up nice and soft, in spite of all the quilting.  This quilt did turn out very pastel and feminine, and I’m happy with it.

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What have you been finishing?

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday on Crazy Mom Quilts.


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Quiet Quilt Finish

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The consensus was that this quilt didn’t make it into “low volume”,  but I’ll accept the adjectives I received:  “quiet”, “soothing”, “restful”.  I quilted it entirely “in the ditch”, between all those 2 1/2″ squares.

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It’s lovely crinkly/puffy (Warm and White batting), and the backing with silvery moons and stars as well as clouds and planets, is very happy.   I like it a lot, and think it will make a great baby quilt.

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The effort to go low volume was an interesting exercise, proving just how garish bright and saturated my regular palette is.  I pulled the very lightest squares from my scraps, but I was afraid there would be not contrast or interest if I didn’t add some from the mid range.  It does have interest, just isn’t quiet enough.

A check of Pintrest shows that folks usually use prints with white or cream backgrounds for these quilts.  Turns out I have very few of those.  The saturated thing again.  I did pull out some black and white, and am trying again.  Hmmm.

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Do you know about lilies and cats?  This was news to me, so I want to share it with you:  http://tinyurl.com/apmwws6

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


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WIP Wednesday, and a Special Quilt for a Special Little Girl

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I’m turning down the volume again with these Disappearing Four Patch blocks.

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I really like this little girl w umbrella print, and like the way this is coming out.

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A while ago I sewed together a baby quilt for no real reason, except that I had some favorite fabrics I wanted to try out together.

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I thought this aqua and lavender print with the sleeping moons was precious.  Also, I had some strings in coordinating colors, and I had never tried string piecing.  I put these two ideas together, added a fun border, quilted it up with moons and stars, and finished it off with blanket binding.  I personally was in love, but no one else seemed to feel it.  It sat around my Etsy and Artfire shops for some months.

Then J, an expectant mom, spotted it, totally loved it, and added it to her favorites in hopes of getting it for her shower.  She showed me her nursery border paper and it matched perfectly.

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She also requested a matching pillow case, and I was pleasantly surprised I had enough of the moon fabric for the cuff.  Soon after, her mom quietly bought both items.  I went on vacation for the month, and while I was away, the shower was postponed because J went on bed rest.  Little One was born two months prematurely,  weighing only a little over three pounds.   J messaged me pictures on Facebook, never mentioning the quilt.  After a while I realized that she didn’t have the quilt at the hospital, and probably didn’t even know it had been purchased for her.  The hope was that Little One would be home for Christmas, but she didn’t get there until December 28.  Then J let me know that her mom had surprised her with the quilt, and that she loved it even more in real life than from the photos.  Just last week she posted the “going home” photo on my Facebook page showing L.O. and her quilt.  Wasn’t that thoughtful of her?

Now I know why I made the Moon and Stars quilt, and I will always picture it with this little miracle baby.   Thank you, J, for sharing Little One with me.  Aren’t quilts wonderful?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.