The blocks for Stars Around the Garden are all pieced. The last time I posted about these blocks, I had said there were 3 more to piece, wrong! There were 5 more blocks. This quilt has a total of 14 pieced blocks, not 12.
Here are the last of the blocks.
Twelve of the blocks on my display wall.
They haven't been trimmed, I'll do that this week.
These blocks were made with a fat quarter bundle and some other fabrics I pulled from my stash.
This quilt is at a standstill until the applique on the center medallion is finished. That's ok because I have to decide how to alter the pattern to work with the fabrics I have. I have fabrics left from the quarters and a whole jelly roll. I think I know what I want to do, I just need to figure out how to do it.
Linking to Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Brag About Your Beauties, Finished Or Not Friday
Every stitch that is quilted on Floral Triangles is that much closer to the finish!
This week I quilted this section. Stitched in the ditch along the edges of the straight borders, then quilted diagonally in the pieced border.
The red flower was also quilted.
Now I've moved onto an appliqued triangle. First I stitch the background fabric then I stitch in the ditch around the applique. I had been doing it the other way but I've since decided this is easier.
All the blocks on the outside are half triangle blocks, the applique and pieced blocks alternate.
I'm reaching up 5" - 6". I can reach farther for diagonal lines but my stitches aren't the greatest on curves if I try to reach farther.
I have no deadline to complete the quilting, it will be finished when it is.
The leaves were prepped for the center medallion of Stars Around the Garden. I also selected the thread for each of the leaves. I did that when it was very sunny out. Colors just don't look the same at night as they do during the daytime.
I use Gutterman cotton thread for applique. There are 60 leaves on the medallion.
It's cooling off. I learned many years ago to bring plants back into the house before it gets cold. The shock of moving from cold into a warm house always sets them back.
I don't have a lot of plants that were outside, mainly my Christmas cactus. This one is loaded with buds. It will be in full bloom the end of October/first of November. The others cacti are more of a pink color, they'll bloom later in the winter.
This little guy was chewed up by a squirrel. I used to set my plants on the steps going up to the porch but several years ago, a groundhog chewed the Christmas cactus. He just chewed them up, didn't eat them. We have over 40 acres of delicious tender alfalfa on our farm, why didn't he eat that?
Since then I put the plants on a bench but I don't think a groundhog could have balanced on the railing to get this plant. It will take awhile but this cactus will come back.
I had impatience hanging baskets on the porch this summer. When the seed heads popped open, they dropped some seeds in the plants. It's nice to have some color now. When the impatience slack off, I'll pull them out but for now they can stay.
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward, WIPs On Wednesday
I've made progress on Floral Triangles this week. Floral Triangles is what I've renamed my quilt.
The original name is Sweet Surrender, designed by Sue Cody. This pattern is no longer available. But . . . you do have an opportunity to purchase a raffle ticket to win a Sweet Surrender quilt. Check out this post on the Sew'n Wild Oaks blog. I'm not affiliated with anyone from that guild but since it was a Sweet Surrender quilt, why not?
Now, back to my quilt. I've sewn the bottom of the triangles all the way across the quilt. Look at that lovely texture! I love it!
I had several comments about how nice this looked quilted 1/2" away from the diagonal line and not stitched in the ditch. I can't take credit for the idea.
Several years, my quilt made and donated a Sweet Surrender quilt to the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale. This was the way the charity quilt committee marked the quilt. While hand quilting on that quilt, I decided I would do the center of my quilt the same way.
After quilting 1" diamonds in the Pastor's Attic quilt, I thought I'm not going to mark a quilt with diamonds for a very long time. Never say never! I'm quilting diamonds again 1" apart!
The flower applique for Stars Around the Garden is completed, now the leaf applique will start. I'm planning to use the brown fabrics for the leaves.
You can't tell in the picture, but I did add some batting to the inside of the flower centers just to add a little poof. I didn't think about doing that until after I had already cut the back out of the center flower so that one won't be poofy.
I can't wait to read all about the Slow Stitching Day Retreat held today at St. Brigid's Villa in Guelph, Ontario. No matter where you are, have a great slow stitching day!
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward, WIPs On Wednesday
I've started quilting the inside of Floral Triangles. I'm using the gray/silver #12 Sulky thread and quilting 1/2" from each side of the diagonal lines. The quilting goes fairly fast.
Stitching in the ditch around all the applique is going to slow me down. I'll use white YLI hand quilting thread for that. I want to outline the applique, not necessary for colored thread to show.
This week was busy with non quilty things. All the hand quilting I accomplished was this little 12" section.
Now you can see I'm stitching on each side of the diagonal seam line but NOT in the ditch of the seam line. I like it!
My hand quilting is going slowly. One of the reason for the slow quilting is the center medallion for the Stars Around the Garden quilt. I started the applique several weeks ago while piecing the blocks but piecing goes faster than applique, at least for me it does.
There are 50 or 60 leaves that will be appliqued once the flowers are finished. This end has the finished flowers.
I'm enjoying the applique process since I haven't appliqued in quite awhile.
The background fabric looks white but it isn't. The fabric is a cream with a subtle beige flower design.
Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.
Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen and Kathi
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward, WIPs On Wednesday
I've started a new quilt which will be a donation flimsy. The pattern I'm using is called Stars Around the Garden. I'm using older fabric from an Edyta Sitar line called "Snowbird". I pulled additional fabrics from my stash, several medium browns and a couple medium and dark blues, just to give more contrast.
I've completed 9 blocks so far.
#1 This block is made with only fabrics from the fabric line.
#2 This block has some of the added fabrics.
The brown/blue flying geese are the fabrics I added. I think they blend well.
The blue in the corner HST's is from the fabric line.
#3 Again I added the same brown and brighter blue that I used in block 2.
#4 The corner squares of this block were supposed to be different. The triangle piece was to have been blue but I mistakenly cut background fabric. I just used those triangles and made the block unique.
If I hadn't told you, you would have never noticed the difference!
#5 These fabrics are from the original line.
#6 Added a different brown which looks good with the light blue of the original line.
#7 Again, a different brown.
#8 The light blue is from my stash.
I never noticed the Whoops! until I took this picture. I'll be taking that bottom row off this evening then resewing. This is an easy fix.
Sometimes I just get in a hurry when I have a block close to competition.
#9 The only fabric from the original line is the background fabric. The blues look fine to my eye but that brown is yuck!
This block will definitely be reworked. It will be easier to make a whole new block.
If you looked at the pattern on the link above, you saw there is a medallion center. I'm working on the applique but you'll have to wait until Sunday to see my progress.
Linking to Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Brag About Your Beauties, Finished Or Not Friday
Last week I quilted the 2" finished patchwork border. I'm using Sulky #12 variegated gray/silver thread.
I took a close up picture of the quilting in the flower border, you can see the green thread but I don't think you can see the difference of the greens used on the vine and the outside of the leaves.
This week I want to get the top edge of the narrow white border quilted. Quilting the edge shouldn't take long, maybe I'll start on the center section too, at least the red triangles.
You can see white chalk quilting marks on the red fabric.
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward, WIPs On Wednesday
My Patchwork of the Crosses designed by Lucy Boston is finished! I had to force myself to finish this project. I did NOT hand quilt, I actually machine quilted the little quilt with my sewing machine. She's not perfect but she is finished!!
I'm not a table runner sort of person, for now this is hanging on the wall. It is pretty and I do like it now that it's finished, but I never want to make another one.
My original plan was to quilt around the flowers which is the way the white connecting fabric was quilted.
But I didn't like the way that fabric puckered so all the rest of the blocks are stitch inside each elongated hexie. The addition stitching made the hexies lie flat which is what I wanted.
Colored thread was used for the quilting. You don't really see it on the front but the back of the quilt looks very interesting.
For the outside border, I quilted a Baptist Fan design. This little quilt measures 29" by 40-1/2".
Linking to Free Motion Mavericks, Peacock Party, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Brag About Your Beauties, Finished Or Not Friday, Oh Scrap
