batik

A quilt top for April................. from Exuberant Color

I really like this quilt top, but then I like all of the quilt tops I have made with these neutral color batiks.

This one is 55.5" x 72". The next one which will use the rest of the blocks will be larger.

Here are 3 of the others made with most of the same fabrics and a few different in each quilt. Unfortunately the lighting on the one on the right is bad and I sold it so I can't take another photo.

I mowed grass for a half hour and then went to the garden center ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 days, 6 hours ago. under 9 patch , batik , strip piecing

Decision made................. from Exuberant Color

I made these neutral color 16 patch blocks in 2018 and there are 174 of them. I had been trying to decide if I should make one almost king size quilt or 2 smaller quilts. I did some figuring (for about an hour) last night and decided on one quilt 72" x 96" and another one 56" x 72". There will be 3 blocks left over. Now I can start playing with layouts. I think I'll start with the smaller one because it will fit on my design wall on the mail level.

This is a quilt top I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 5 days, 6 hours ago. under batik , nature , strip piecing

Busy hands, happy life.............. from Exuberant Color

I like to keep busy with fabric whether I have a project or not. I have 2 project boxes full of Marcia Derse scraps and I keep looking at them and they don't look inspiring in the mess in the box. I decided to loosely sort the strips by several lengths and slip them into plastic bags. The odd shaped pieces will go in another bag.

Then if I decide to make blocks similar to this mock up, I will have an easier time selecting the strips. Sorting is an easy job while watching TV.

There were a lot ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 6 days, 6 hours ago. under batik , marcia derse fabric , nature

Layouts............... from Exuberant Color

There are more little 1.5" batik squares to make more 9 patches but I decided to play a little with layouts. Edge to edge isn't very spectacular. Since the blocks will finish at 3", this would only be 12" x 18", about the size of a placemat.

Spacing the blocks out with plain blocks between would stretch this to 18" x 24".

With the blocks on point they measure about 4.25" across so this would be about 21.5" square. After sewing 400 of the 4.5" 9 patches I'm not very anxious to sew a ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week ago. under 9 patch , batik , stash , strip piecing

More tiny 9 patches............ from Exuberant Color

I went through all of the piles of 1.5" squares and matched 5 dark/4 light for another batch of blocks. In some there are 5 of the same fabric or 2 similar fabrics and others are 5 different fabrics that look good together. The same is true of the groups of 4.

We had storm warnings last night which turned into nothing in my area so I sewed blocks. This is 23 blocks, 8 of which were made the day before yesterday. I haven't turned on the iron yet to press them.

The Redbud trees are pinking ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 1 day ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

A finished top and garden walk................. from Exuberant Color

It made sense to go with 16 blocks instead of 15 to use up as many of the die cut pieces as possible. It ended up at 39.5" square. Square quilts are nice floor mats for little ones or this could be a wall hanging for someone who likes graphic designs on the wall. Meanwhile the best part is that I emptied the box that held these pieces in an area that I am reorganizing.

Last October I bought a sad looking Flare Hydrangea on sale for $8.50. I planted it right away and hoped for the best ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 4 days ago. under batik , nature

Trimming and sewing.............. from Exuberant Color

Yesterday afternoon I trimmed the next quilt to finish.

Here is a peek at the back. I had quite a bit of the border fabric left to use for a backing but not quite enough. I had 2 other prints that looked good with it. My longarm quilter pieced this backing for me because I didn't have it ready for her when she dropped of my Charley quilt.

This close shot shows the center fabric better.

I haven't decided on binding yet. There is enough of the border fabric to use but I also have enough of the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 5 days ago. under batik , binding , knitting , nature

Easy way out.............. from Exuberant Color

There were enough pieces in that stack I showed yesterday to make 15 blocks. I could spend hours trying to make something more spectacular but I think I'll take the easy way out and use this layout. I think the blocks will be10" so this would be 30" x 50". It would be a nice play mat size for a small child. I have to move a few pieces to new locations so I'm not sure when I'll sew it together....quick decision and quick sewing or a couple days of moving pieces around. The wall hanging ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 6 days ago. under batik

First quilt top for April 2024........... from Exuberant Color

The quilt top was pressed and posed for its portrait. It is 40" x 49". The blocks are 4.5" finished and there are 99 of them so there are 198 different fabrics in this quilt top. There are high contrast blocks and low contrast blocks in the mix. I think it has softer contrast in person.

I sewed 100 combinations of 2 fabrics and two 2" strips of batik was enough for 4 blocks. This is the other 301 blocks.

This is the only block I didn't use. It is in the early layouts that I showed on ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks ago. under 9 patch , batik

Charley is home................... from Exuberant Color

Charley in the Forest came home yesterday, quilted and ready to be trimmed and bound. The trees are upside down in this photo.

I got this Charley Harper fabric, enough or a backing, on sale at a good price and I just love it. You will see the whole quilt in a week or so, depending on when I'm ready to do some hand stitching.

In last night's sewing session I got this top sewn together but it isn't pressed yet so I'll do that today and post its photo tomorrow.

Most corners matched pretty well ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 1 day ago. under 9 patch , batik , kaffe fabric

Ready to final scrutiny................ from Exuberant Color

A final decision: I would just make 2 more blocks and then sew it together. I made the 2 blocks last night and now I will decide if any blocks need to be moved and then sew it together. I will still have the option to make one or two more blocks if I'm not entirely happy with it. The photos aren't totally accurate so what I'm seeing on the design wall looks a little different than the photo.

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 2 days ago. under 9 patch , batik

Decisions, decisions................ from Exuberant Color

My plan from the beginning was to make this quilt 9 blocks wide by 12 blocks tall because I think that would be a well proportioned rectangle. As I get closer to the end I may have changed my mind.

This is currently missing 11 blocks.

(Better lighting on this photo; I remembered to turn on my auxilliary light.)

I rearranged the bottom area shortening the layout to 11 rows tall. This makes the rectangle only 9" longer than it is wide. I just don't think more blue and purple at the bottom would do anything to enhance the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 3 days ago. under 9 patch , batik

Four Windmills, 55 Years from Gefilte Quilt

Ever since moving to Southern California 30 years ago, I have marveled at the region's windmills, especially the miles of them between my Los Angeles home, and the "Road to California" quilt show in Ontario, CA, that I visit annually. They look like this:

Sometimes they spin in unison, sometimes out of sync, but they always make me happy, a majestic miracle of alternative energy.

In February, when I was playing with a raw-edge fabric-covered-with-tulle technique to make Valentines, I thought of those windmills and decided to make some. I pulled all the pieces from my batik scrap bag ...

added by Cathy Perlmutter 2 weeks, 3 days ago. under batik , buttons , cat , collage , confetti , raw edge applique , road to california , tulle

Patience is NOT one of my virtues! from Larkspur Lane Designs

When I design something new that I'm paticularly excited about, I want to show it to everyone right away! But when you are fortunate enough to get to work with a fabric company, you are on THEIR timeline, so you have to wait and keep it under your hat until they say it's okay to show it off. I have a hard time with this but I made it and I finally have permission to show this new design. This is a design that is featured in the Island Batik Fall/Winter 2024 catalog. The line I used ...

added by Larkspur Lane Designs 2 weeks, 3 days ago. under batik , foundationpaperpiecing , islandbatik , larkspurlanedesigns , quilt , quiltpattern

10 more............11 to go............ from Exuberant Color

I chose 10 more pairs of 2" batik strips for the 9 patch blocks.

A friend is coming today to acquire some of my quilts so I spent part of the day yesterday reacquainting myself with the quilts piled on 2 shelf units. I have my stacks of "won't share" and then there are the rest.

Last night I got all of the pairs of strips sewn into strip sets to cut for the 9 patches.

Yesterday morning the raiders were in my backyard. There is one squirrel on each of 2 of the bird feeders and one squirrel ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 4 days ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

17 blocks added............... from Exuberant Color

The 17 new blocks made in the last couple days have been added to the design wall. There will be some rearranging as I get the last 21 blocks made. Some of these blocks might not make the final cut.

I was outside looking around late yesterday afternoon and noticed this Hosta in the front garden. I was surprised how big it was since I hadn't seen any other Hostas up yet.

I checked the back garden where I have lots of Hostas and found one more coming up.

On the other side of the porch I found at ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 5 days ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

Still organizing.....or was I playing with stash............... from Exuberant Color

I'm still moving things around in the basement and I came across a selection of darks and lights and decided to expand on it and add reds. I have used 20 of these fabrics in 2 other quilts and added 17 more for variety.

These are the 2 quilts with 20 of those fabrics plus more that are gone now. I gifted the quilt on the left but still have the one on the right so I could match up fabrics in my stash. I have an idea percolating for the next quilt.

Last night I sewed strip sets ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 6 days ago. under 9 patch , batik , stash , strip piecing

Playing with batiks........... from Exuberant Color

Even though I have hundreds of 2" batik strips that were cut starting about 20 years ago, I didn't have as many light and medium strips as there are dark strips. I was moving batiks from location to location yesterday and pulled a few to cut so I could pair more fabrics for the 9 patch project. I can see I'm getting into a trend of organization the first week of every month. I always spend the last week in each month to finish projects for my monthly totals. I have more organizing to do so I will ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks ago. under batik

Only a little progress................... from Exuberant Color

I pressed the 40 blocks from Sunday and put one of each set of 4 on the design wall and put the remaining blocks in a project box for later.

I sewed the rest of the next 7 groups and got the 28 blocks made but not pressed yet.

I spent the morning sorting through my flannel stash and grouping similar types together in storage bins. I have a little more to do before it is how I want it sorted.

I think this might be the last cactus bloom but there is still one more bud that might make ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 1 day ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

Lots of 9 patches.................. from Exuberant Color

I pressed 10 strips sets that I sewed Sunday night and cut them for 9 patches and chose 7 more sets to sew.

That pile of 9 patches pieces is enough for 40 blocks and sewing them kept my hands off the Easter chocolate that I bought at half price yesterday.

I got all 40 of them sewn while watching the NCIS programs on TV. Today they will be pressed and 10 of them will go up on the design wall, the other 30 are for another quilt.

I only got 4 of the 7 new sets sewn.

My mind ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 2 days ago. under 9 patch , batik

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