Evening in the Garden Quilts

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WIP Wednesday: Nicey Jane

WIP Wed

 

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Monday I sandwiched both halves of my queen bed quilt made from the Nicey Jane jelly roll.

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I used the wool batting.  It’s lovely, soft, puffy, and feels “tender”.  I’m sure it would be easy to hand quilt.  It’s making me a little nervous, because it doesn’t have the firmness and stability I’m used to with the cotton batting.  Still, it hasn’t given me any trouble, just feels odd.  I have done the stitch in the ditch stabilizing between all the blocks with the walking foot.  All seems well.  I think it’s lighter weight than the cotton to rest on my shoulder, etc.

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Now I’m trying out some stencils on the 12″ blocks.  I have a large feather wreath that I like, and a tulip stencil that goes well with the florals on so many of the fabrics.  I’m looking at some leaf/vine designs for the sashing and borders.

 

What are you working on?  Something fun, I hope.

 

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


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WIP Wednesday: Spring Hangings, take II

WIP Wed

Monday I cut, sewed (not really pieced), and sandwiched two 12″ x 24″ spring wall hangings for my Etsy shop.  Yesterday I quilted them, trying to make the designs I’d drawn on the spring prints pop by surrounding them with dense quilting.  This so did not work.  I practiced some new filler stitches, so it wasn’t a complete waste of thread and time, but one is a wadder for sure.  (Do quilters use the term “wadder”, as in wad it up and throw it away?  I think I picked that up from Carolyn at Diary of a Sewing Fanatic.  She sew garments, but you haven’t seen stash till you’ve seen her stash!)  I know, we so seldom throw anything away, reusing blocks and pieces, but this is a heavily quilted little thing.  I might save a little of the border fabric, but then it’s going out.

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The other one I worked on with a green permanent marker (Bic Markit in key lime-  anyone have any experience with these?).  I may finish it.   We’ll see.

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So, yesterday I fused and appliqued shapes to new backgrounds and am starting the process over again, in a different direction.  Wish me luck.  The Wonder Under already fought with me yesterday.  I am not in a very springy mood!

 

I’m linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Maybe I’ll feel better after I see what everyone else is working on!


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WIP Wednesday: Pink and Gray Donation Quilt

WIP Wed

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This quilt was started in January, I think, inspired by Jaye’s donation blocks at Artquiltmaker.  It is on my March Getting It Done list, so I dug the blocks out this week and set them together.  The solid blocks are Kona Ash and a gray batik.

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Quilting all the diagonal lines through the 2 1/2″ squares was a bit tedious, but the free motion flowers and leaves went quickly and were lots of fun.  The thread is Sulky variegated pink rayon, 943.

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Now for labeling and binding!

What are you working on?

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


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WIP Wednesday: Quilting Sultry

WIP Wed

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Feels like I’ve been quilting this “Sultry” fabric quilt all week.  I like the look of straight line quilting, but it takes forever.  This seems even longer, because I thought I was finished with the lines, and then I added more.  Like, double.  I had a grid quilted that was twice as large, but kept comparing it with the way I want to quilt the borders, fairly densely, and there was a big discrepancy.  I think fairly even quilting is a good thing, where possible.  This will not be equally dense, but at least there will be twice as much as there was.  If I ever finish.

What are you working on?

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


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WIP Wednesday: Lightening it up with heavy quilting

Urbana-20130306-00698This is the view from my studio today.  The dogwood is really stacked with snow.

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I’m almost finished quilting this donation quilt.  I have 2 1/2 sides of borders to finish.  I’m quilting it fairly heavily using Superior’s Brytes 30 wt. thread in “Atlantic” (1133).  It’s always a little intimidating to use a heavy, shiny, contrasting thread, since every little bauble shows.  I just have to get over myself.  Galloping horse, you know, watching The Waltons.  I am sure it will all scrunch together beautifully.  I do think the thread is brightening up these dark fabrics and picking up the aquas.

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The stitching 1/4″ from the seams is done with the walking foot.  All the lines in the squares and on the border are free motion.  Some freer than others.  Hmmm.  But pretty good.

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Thinking about binding, which I hope to get to today.  On the other hand, my DH has the driveway clear and is making noises about going out for lunch.  We’ll see.

Thanks to Heather at Based On A True Story for showing a picture of my QOV in her post today and linking to me.  That was a fun to surprise to see.

What are you working on?

WIP Wed

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.


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WIP Wednesday 2/27/13

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Low volume, schmo volume!  I’m excited to be diving into rich colors again!  I’m putting together another quick donation quilt for the east coast.  Luanna posted this update yesterday on quilt distribution to Sandy victims, and I realized how many people are still without heat or their own homes.  I already sent one, but sitting here warm and dry with all this stash makes me feel that sending one more wouldn’t hurt.

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Knowing your stash really helps.  I could visualize most of the fabrics I wanted to use for this.  I have so much floral, not really sure why, so lots of things turn out very feminine.  I wanted to make this deeper, suitable for anyone, though I didn’t completely avoid florals.  I really did dive in to choose, cut, and stitch these blocks without over thinking them, and I’ve really enjoyed working with these great prints and colors.  I know the blocks merge a bit and are rather dark.  I think the quilting I want to do in turquoise thread and the light brown border will lighten it up a bit.  Yes, it’s exactly like my Quilt of Valor and Quilt for Husband, but with these colors it will really look different, and that large orange and aqua floral couldn’t be cut up any smaller, could it?  Nope.

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Are you playing with your fabric?

 

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

WIP Wed


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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.


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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.