Evening in the Garden Quilts

Adventures in Fabric Art

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WIP Wednesday: Scrapitude and Landscape

 BT6RdC7IcAAVc1fLast week I heard about the Scrapitude Mystery Quilt at Quilting for the Rest of us, so I pulled out my scraps.  It’s heavy on 2 1/2″ squares, and I have plenty.

I think I’ll use this in my guest room, so I tried to lean toward a palette of wine, green, and brown.  That yellow came out of there, but I left in a lot of diverse fabrics, so it really will be scrappy.

IMG_00000038I chose a dusty pink for my background, and actually labeled the stacks I cut, since this will be worked on monthly.

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Then I got down to chain piecing and soon ended up with Step 1 finished.  See what everyone’s doing on Sandy’s site or the Flickr group.

 

Once I had those all tidily back in their pink basket, I got back to work on my landscape piece.  Here’s what I have so far.

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I hope you’re playing with fabric.

I’m linking up with WIP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced, and with Scrapitude Progress on Quilting for the Rest of Us.

 


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WIP Wednesday: Sewing Again!

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Yes, six new blocks, like this, for the Coffee Quilt.  I will was all thumbs using the rotary cutter after so long away.  I wasted some fabric, but eventually cut enough triangles to make these.  Even managed to include some yellow Mirror Ball, one of my favorite fabrics. These blocks finish at nine inches.  The weather looks to be cooling off, so I may get this top pieced before the month is out; quilted, I’m not so sure.  Twelve more Cardtrick blocks
and then mitered borders.

My sewing machine is purring away after being cleaned.  However, six blocks were all my back and shoulders could handle.  Now to catch up some on reading blogs (don’t even ask how far behind I am on podcasts!)

How are you progressing?

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


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WIP Wednesday: The Coffee Quilt

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The log cabins went away so that I could work on one of my few July sewing goals, a Christmas gift.  Judging by how long it took me to make the first half dozen blocks, and how few days I will be home in July, it doesn’t appear that I will achieve this goal, but a start is a start.  At least I’m not waiting till December.

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These are nine-inch blocks.  I didn’t want to go larger, but I wanted the larger novelty prints to show, so I altered the block a bit.  I took the Card Trick block on EQ7 and removed the seam where there are now large triangles.  This made the cutting and piecing a little more complex, but I figured out how to do it with just one Y-seam.  After the first one I figured out how to chain piece and press these puppies so they are coming out sharp.  Hope I still remember next month!

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Meanwhile, we’re preparing to take a three week trip to Montana and Canada, so I’m trying to tie up loose ends around here:  harvest the garlic and onions, tie up the peppers, plant more edamame, pay the bills, stock fridge for DS, etc.  Oh, and take the sewing machine in for cleaning while we’re gone. I owe it that much.

Question:  Lately I’ve been using photos from my BlackBerry and writing posts on my tablet.  Is the quality or format annoying?  Is it a lot better when I use the real camera and the computer?  Please let me know. You’ll probably be getting the phone photos a lot as I’m traveling, but I could make more of an effort when I return if you think it looks better.

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


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New Blue Pitcher

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I collect light blue ceramic pitchers, as well as fabric.  Of course, I don’t have nearly the tonnage of pitchers that I do fabric, and I display the pitchers mainly in my kitchen, but it is a collection. 

Last week I found a large pitcher at a downtown antique mall.  The one at the top of this post. I knew it wasn’t quite right, but I went ahead and bought it anyway. 

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I know that many people do not have a good color memory.  They can’t match a fabric without a swatch.  They wouldn’t dream of buying a random piece of fabric or can of paint and expecting it to fit into a given project.  I am not one of those people.  When I trust my instincts, I can pick the right bolt or paint sample out of a wall of them, take the cut or can home, and go right to work. (It’s good that I can do this, because I so often forget to take my scraps to the store with me and I’m usually too embarrassed to admit it.)

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So, I knew this pitcher didn’t quite go with my others. It’s a little darker blue. It’s much taller, but that’s good. It also has more curves. Most of mine are sleeker, but, again, that’s good. Variety. Also, it cost more than the ten dollars I usually pay for one. Still, I bought it. As you can see, it is a very nice pitcher. The clerk made me promise to put an armful of hydrangeas in it, and I think she’s right.

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It does stand out a little from the rest of my collection. However, as a quilter I know exactly how to handle that. What I need are more pitchers! If I get more of various sizes, shapes, and shades, this one will blend right in and feel perfectly at home. I’ve got this!

I hope you’re working on something useful like this.

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


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WIP Wednesday: Still Tulips

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I thought I was at the point of auditioning thread for some accent quilting on this garden of tulips, but not so.  The quilt insists that I stitch in every ditch, so I’m going back to do that.  Straight line quilting may be fairly easy, but does it ever take time!  When I do get the ditch quilting finished, I think I will use this light green King Tut (40 wt.).  It’s tempting to try something special on the plain green Grunge areas, but everything else is the busy prints and it would be wasted.  So, more straight lines.  Someone said that they tape their seam guide in place on their walking foot to keep it from moving around (and to keep from having to mark all those lines!), so I think I’ll try that.

 

This quilt is 60″ x 84″ , which is at the outside of my zone for really enjoying machine quilting.  It’s a bit heavy on the shoulders, and more than a bit warm in this lovely summer weather in my upstairs studio.

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Verdict on the fabrics:  I still love both tulip prints and the Grunge.  I really can’t stand the pink at this point, but it still plays well with the others, so…

 

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


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WIP Wednesday: Tulips!

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I don’t know if I’ve ever had more trouble photographing fabric than these four fabrics.  Every light in my studio is on (cue country song), and it’s daytime, but I still can’t get a true picture.  Take my word that these fabrics really do play nice together.  The pink is a little on the strawberry side, but nowhere near as dark as it looks.  My favorite blocks are the ones with the two tulip prints.  This placement works, but I may move some things around, too.  You’ll just have to stay tuned.

I’m using the Disappearing Four Patch technique (D4P), which I think is a lot prettier than the 9 patch.  I’m sure there are lots of tutorials, but I learned it from Mama Vesuvius when she was collecting blocks for Hurricane Sandy quilts.  Scroll down a little on that page, the tutorial is there.  These are the 12 1/2″ blocks she is showing.

 

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


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WIP Wednesday: Strings

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I made these forty string blocks into this top, and finished putting borders on it yesterday.

 

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This was intended as a  new donation quilt, but it turned out a little small for that, at 48″ x  72″, especially since I only had a yard of the border fabric and was determined to make it work, so I think I’ll keep it for my shop.  I have an idea for quilting it all over with leaves to go with the borders.

Now I’m going to put together the backing and at least get this sandwiched today.  Also, someone should clean up this studio.  It’s all mine, but it’s tiny and things are beginning to pile up.  And spill over.  And the orange fabric needs to go away before I’m tempted to start another quilt with orange in it!

 

What are you working on?

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

 

 


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WIP Wednesday: Lots of HSTs

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I spent yesterday making HSTs from aqua and gray fabrics for this baby quilt.  The solid is Kona Azure, until I ran out, so there are also patches of a tire track print in with it.  The grays include Fairy Frost and Mirror Dot.  They do lend a little glitz and sheen.  Oddly, what appears to be the very shiny parts of the zigzags is a gray and white “bubble” or dot print, a plain cotton that’s not shiny at all.

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Observant viewers will spot two turned patches, and numerous places where I need to redistribute the blocks so that the colors don’t clump.  I went though and fixed a lot, and left it to percolate overnight before I sew it together.  The design wall is so helpful for this, and so is a camera.  I just use my phone, and sometimes don’t even snap the picture.  Just looking at it on the little screen helps me see things.  Then I see more when I upload a photo to Twitter for the Twilters to check out.  If early quilters had had camera phones there wouldn’t be nearly so many “intentional” mistakes.

(Okay, Spellcheck, I didn’t expect you to know “Twilters”, we just made that up last month.  But “quilters”?  You thought I meant “quitters”???  C’mon!  Get with the program!)

 

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

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WIP Wednesday

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Happy May!  I’ve begun a scrap quilt to have ready for donation (my pink and gray one went to West, TX, #19 here).  I started with this beautiful piece of Japanese (I think) dobby weave fabric in blue, navy, and taupe, with a silver thread.  While this was not a scrap (half yard), it is a piece I have had a long time without being able to use.  I wouldn’t exactly call it loosely woven, but the dobby texture makes it stretch like crazy.  I tried starch, but it didn’t seem to help.  It really stretched too much to fussy cut the pieces one by one, so lined everything up the best I could and cut it into 6 1/2″ strips, and then 6 1/2″ squares after some more adjustment.  Cutting four layers actually seemed to help the fabric stick to itself and cut better.  Also, it helped when I used my revolving cutting board.  I can’t think what that’s called- the one like a lazy susan.

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I pulled blue, cream, and orange scraps in 2 1/2″ and 3 1/2″ squares to sew into 6″ blocks to alternate with the textured fabric.  I like the way the shading in this fabric makes it look like tubes.

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Here are a couple layouts with the blocks I’ve made so far.  Do you like one better than the other?

 

 

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The Project Hope quilt is progressing.  I’ve cut and fused fabrics to the background, and I’m waiting for the mood to strike me to shade them with pens and thread.  Today I just wanted to sew stuff together.

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


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WIP Wednesday: Joining together

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Well, my Work in Progress isn’t nearly as important as this lady’s.  She’s taken up residence in the dogwood outside my studio window.  Guess there aren’t eggs yet, because she comes and goes a lot.  Opening the window for a photo didn’t bother her.  Pulling down the window shades did!

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I’m finished with all the quilting I can do on both halves of the queen Nicey Jane quilt.  Now it’s time for the big join.  I’ve done this different ways, depending on the fabric or pattern of the front and back.  This time I opened up the edges and sewed the two halves of the top together first.

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After pressing that seam open, I cut through both layers of batting to make a good tight join.  I used this fusible product designed for joining batting.  The package is gone, so I have no idea of the brand, but it works well.  It’s a little pricey, so I only use it for this application, where it’s really convenient.

Next, I’ll whip stitch the backing together with water-soluble thread (guess I could use regular thread if I wanted to slow down and be carefull…), and it will be ready to go back on the machine to finish quilting the center, over the join.  I’ve had lots of comments on the pretty colors, and they have made this a joy to work on.  Can’t wait to see it on my bed!

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Meanwhile, on my design wall, I’m playing around with some batiks (tag says only: “Aruba/Barbados”) to use in my contribution to the Project Hope Online Quilt Show.  This is being sponsored by Sandi (Quilt Cabana) and Sandy (Quilting for the Rest of Us), as we work through our feelings about Boston, et al.  Go to their blogs for details, and I hope there’s lots of participation.

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