Evening in the Garden Quilts

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Tag Archives: Valerie Root


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Monday Stash Report: 7/9/18

It wasn’t that I didn’t realize that yesterday was Sunday. I just couldn’t get these pictures off my phone. Sure enough, there they are today.

No, this is not one of my low-volume projects. I had made a leader-and-enders kit with old scraps (maybe twelve years old), and the blocks were ready to be sewn together and quilted. I backed it with the last of a very bright stripe from a line of road construction fabric. I used the last smidges of the stripe for the binding, but didn’t have enough, so I used my last strip of bar code stripe. It all used about three yards of fabric. I quilted it diagonally in both directions with yellow Sulky thread. I’ll be donating this to Project Linus.

This week: + 0 yards, – 3 yards

This year: + 55.50 yards, – 75.25 yards

Net destashed added in 2018: 19.75 yards

Hope you are well, and finding time to sew your stash.


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Finished Tree Quilt

2018-04-27 10.02.33Finally, I’ve finished the Tree wall hanging.  It finished at 34″ x 42″.  I struggled getting good photos of it today, between the wind and lack of a good place to hang it, so I’ll probably take some more before I list it on Etsy.

2018-04-27 10.04.26I debated whether to bind it in green or purple, so I put it to the #Twilters.  Green won, but I went with Darla’s idea of a purple binding with a green (faux) flange.  Thank you!

2018-03-29 111870428406..jpgThis is the quilt that started with the scrap left from backing the green donation quilt.  It was tall and skinny, so I was inspired to cut the top off and let the tree go into the border, like this beauty by Cathy Geier.  I started carelessly adding border fabric, but I wish I had measured and been less improv about it.  That’s fine for blocks, but I struggled to get this top square again.  It’s pretty close, even if it doesn’t look it.

2018-04-27 10.02.45The leaves on the panel were chunky and squarish, so I cut little squares of green, gold, and purple fabric, mostly scraps from the donation quilt.  I wanted to sprinkle them around, but they refused to sprinkle, dropping instead as thick, layered clumps, so I ended up hand placing each bit into the areas I had prepared with spray baste.

2018-04-15 13.38.23Then I covered them with water-soluble stabilizer so I could quilt them into place.  I used Solvy and Dissolve, and found them to be just the same to sew on and both dissolved fine in the washer.  The washer also frayed the edges of the bits nicely.

2018-04-15 14.50.43I used metalic thread to brighten the sunbeam on the right.  It really shows more in indoor light (good!) and when you walk by, than in a still photo.

2018-04-27 10.05.06The hanging sleeve is caught in the top binding, and hand sewn underneath, so that’s my hand sewing for the week year.

2018-04-27 10.04.00I like the way it turned out, and if no one else wants it, it’ll look great in my house!

I’m linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Confessions Of A Fabric Addict


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Friday Finish: Scrappy Stars

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I used the last of our rapidly melting snow to photograph this new quilt. This started out as a way to use up some scraps, and it grew from there.

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I used Missouri Star’s Four Patch Star tutorial to make the nine stars in the center. I made my ten inch “layer cake” squares from strings, then cut them apart for the star rays. (The quilting is done with Superior’s Fantastico and Living Colors on top, and Bottom Line on the bottom.)

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That was when this quilt got demanding. It didn’t like the background fabric I had for it, so I had to buy the golden snowflake fabric (on sale!). So much for using my stash. Then it told me it needed a curvy bias design in the border. And then, of course, it needed wavy edges. More bias binding. Sheesh. But I love the result. This is roughly 60″ square.

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Where have your quilts been taking you?

I’m linking up to Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Nautical Baby Quilt Finish

IMG_2949This week I put together this baby quilt that I designed a few months ago.  It has it’s roots in quilts I made in 2012 and 2013, but with much larger blocks.  The blocks are all real signal flags, but I chose them for their graphic appeal, rather than their meaning.

IMG_2951I had a signal flag print ready for the backing, but as I was looking for some fabric to piece into it, I found a big piece of this great fish batik, and this nautical stripe that I used for the binding.  Love those fish!

 

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This sunny picture shows the quilting.  I wanted improv wavy lines across it, but was afraid I would have trouble making smooth lines on such a large space.

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I used both sides of two rulers to mark a few lines.  That left these voids between the wavy lines, so when I echoed the waves, I doubled back to make wave/flame shapes to fill in.

Incidently, I spray basted this using that same can of June Tailor I started back on February 5.  It’s getting low, but I think I can do one more quilt in January!

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I had fun making this, and I think it came out well.  Find it in my Etsy shop soon.

I’m linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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Poinsettia Finish

IMG_2920Last week I finished the Poinsettia Quilt, and I’m really happy with the result.  It’s 60″ square, with a bazillion 4″ curved patches.  The design is by Anne at Springleaf Studios, and she did it as a Christmas Quilt-Along in 2015.  I love her fabrics,  but I used what I had.

IMG_2921This is similar to my Spring Violets quilt from 2014.  It’s a Drunkard’s Path variation.  A regular Drunkard’s Path is easier to piece because the “legs” aren’t so exacting.  “Beach Drunk” is a good example of a regular one.

2017-11-16 16.31.37I used Superior Threads’ Fantastico in red and green to quilt the flowers and leaves, and Bottom Line in light green for the background and bottom thread.

IMG_2930The back is a wonderful green and white leaf print that I though was perfect.  So did Yuri.

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This is for sale in my Etsy Shop.

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And a nice scrappy binding!

Hope you are finishing something.


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Wednesday Finish!

IMG_2917This week I quilted and bound Pacific Stars.  This is the mystery quilt by Charlotte Scott (The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady), featured over at Carol’s Quilts.  I started the first clue in June, and I have to say that it remained a mystery until the end!  I think it turned out great.  I don’t think the pictures really do it justice.

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I don’t usually make medallion quilts, but isn’t this fun and starry?

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And I’m not a big fan of square quilts, but this is the second one in a row.  The top is quilted with teal Living Colors and gray Rainbows from Superior Threads, and the bottom is Bottom Line.

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This used a lot of scraps, and turned them into a beautiful and unusual quilt.

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I hope you’re finding time to finish projects!


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WIP Wednesday: Poinsettias

2017-11-08 12.11.34This week I’ve been working on these red poinsettia blocks.  This design is from Anne at Springleaf Studios.  In 2015 she hosted this Christmas Quilt-along, and I’ve had it on my list ever since.  Back in late 2014 I designed something similar, my Spring Violets quilt.  The units in my new project are 4.5″ instead of 3.5″, and the blocks finish at 16″.  I’m making a total of nine for this throw quilt.

Image result for eq8Also this week, I downloaded the update from EQ7 to EQ8.  (If you get it by Nov. 13, there is a discount.)  So far, so good.  I created a mock-up of this quilt on which I’m working (although I see I oriented the flowers differently!)  I can also, with a little fuss, access my old projects.

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Do you use EQ?  When did you start?  I came in on EQ2.  Later I had 4, and then 7 for many years.  I don’t use all the features, but I like to play with blocks and secondary patterns, and I love how it does the math for me!

IMG_2910And I’ve listed the Star Trek pillow cases in my Etsy Shop, if you need a gift.


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Finished Commission Quilt

IMG_2905(1)This quilt seemed to take forever, but it was really only about a week of sewing.  The customer started talking to me about it in early August.  We arrived at a design, then she chose all her fabrics, then sent the links to me,  I ordered the fabric, and then awaited it’s arrival.  I started sewing the first week in October, but stopped to do other projects while waiting for that last piece of fabric to arrive.  By that time, I had the back and binding made, so construction went smoothly.  These are big geese, ten-inch blocks!

IMG_2908Quilting took a little longer, because a lot of it was straight lines with the walking foot.  At 70″ x 90″, this was fairly large and took a lot of free-motion quilting after the lines, but after the Layer Cake Explosion, it was a breeze!  It’s all quilted, top and bottom, with Superior Threads Bottom Line in silver.

IMG_2909I should get this in the mail on Monday.  Whew!

I’m enjoying seeing your finishes this week!

I’m linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


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Layer Cake Explosion: Finished!

I’m happy to show you this finished quilt!  Layer Cake Explosion was the Twilter! quilt-along.  The design is by Angela Gross, and you can find it on Craftsy.

Because I used wider sashing, my quilt measured a whopping 93″ square, which was tough to cram under the machine.  In a moment of particular lunacy, I thought how nice it would look with a double batting…but I quickly regained my sense, and went with just one layer (Pellon’s Nature’s Touch 80/20).  This is a new batting to me, and it was fine, but didn’t seem a lot different from the Warm cotton I usually use.  I did like the careful way it was folded in the package, which made it very easy to trim and position the large batting.  Yes, it would have looked wonderful with double or extra puffy batting, but it’s just fine this way.  Yuri checked.

For once I feel like I did a good job designing the quilting.  I was influenced by Wild Quilting by Christina Cameli, which I watched on the free Craftsy day.  No, I didn’t do improv quilting like she did, but I got her message of echoing things to give them depth.  So where I would usually have made one Orange Peel motif in a block, I echoed each twice.  I also added a line to each of the border circles.  All the quilting on the top is Superior Rainbows 9808, Opal) and the bottom is pink Bottom Line.

By including the sashing with each block, I was trying to quilt 11″ circles, just impossible to control on this bulky quilt.  I knew that, but I wanted to try and I’m glad I did.  Some of it is imperfect, especially near the center, but I still like the interlocking circles.  

The quilting improved greatly when I finally put on my quilting gloves.  I hate them, they’re hot and itchy, but they really worked in this situation.

Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew posted just last week about quilting large quilts.  I agree with almost everything she says (especially about quilting-by-checkbook!), except for spray basting.  It really doesn’t take much to hold the quilt.  You know that I usually use just a little, just barely wafting the spray over the layers.  This time I was concerned about holding this large thing together, so I gave it an extra waft. (Still using that can I started in January.)  I used my Ping Pong table, basting the center first, then moving it to baste each side.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it held.  I had no shifting and not a pleat or wrinkle on the back!  I used twelve bobbins of thread to quilt this.

Speaking of the back, somehow this star landed  perfectly in the center.  Notice the quilting from the block on the other side.  Could never do that again!


 It’s important to have a quilt photography assistant who can climb trees.

Thank you, Daisy for leading this project, and Angela for sharing your pattern.

I’ll be linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, and Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.


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Sunday Stash and October/November Goals

2017-10-01 11.49.39A finish!  A post about Layer Cake Explosion in a few days.

 

2017-09-25 13.52.40And… a large amount of fabric came in.  It’s for a commissioned quilt, and I wish I could say that it will all go out again soon, but there will be lots left over that I will need to put to use.  So.

This week:  +  16.5 yard,  – 12.5  yards

This year:  + 81.75 yards,  – 104.75 yards

Net destashed added in 2017:  13.00 yards

So, net destashing needs work, but I have used more than a hundred yards of fabric this year.

 

September Goals:

  1. Make back for Layer Cake Explosion.  Yes!  And I quilted it!  A post soon.
  2. Make donation blocks for Kat’s September/October block drive.  Yes, I made eighteen.
  3. Continue with Pacific Stars Mystery Quilt.   No, I skipped this.
  4. Customer quilt commission? (in the works)  Not made, but I spent the time discussing, ordering, and washing the fabrics.  Almost ready to sew.

I got on a roll after making the back for Layer Cake Explosion, and got it basted, quilted, and bound.  This was a huge project (93″ square), so I don’t mind that I put off Pacific Stars.  I’ll just be doing lots of work on that this month.

 

October Goals:

  1. Make last month’s Pacific Stars blocks.
  2. Make this month’s Pacific Stars blocks.
  3. Make commissioned flying geese quilt.
  4. Donate some quilts that are hanging around.

 

2017-09-01 18.17.07Good luck on all of your goals!  Right now I’m feeling fortunate to have food, water, and power, and I hope you do, too.