nature

Nature's last blooms........... from Exuberant Color

I spent a day yesterday just doing clean up in the basement and outside. I noticed the last few blooms that have survived the cold nights. This is the invasive bell flower that grows about 18" tall. This little guy is about 6" tall with 3 blooms and buds.

I was trying to decide if this plant was a Coreopsis and then It had one lonely bloom to tell me that yes, it is Coreopsis.

The Dianthus is a hardy little plant with blooms among the fallen leaves.

The flowers are tiny on the Veronica but it is still blooming ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 days, 13 hours ago. under nature

Clean up time........... from Exuberant Color

I had so many piles around my Accuquilt Studio cutter that it had to be clean up day yesterday. The Marcia Derse scraps were cut into 2" x 3.5" rectangles and 2" squares with a small pile left over that were too narrow to cut. About 5 cranks through with my GO adapter and dies and I have 54 rectangles and 21 squares for the ends of rows.

The geraniums had the last few blooms after all of the rain we have had. Frost and freeze warnings for our county were on the weather report.

I'm sure I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 5 days, 13 hours ago. under accuquilt die cutter , nature

Inspiration again.............. from Exuberant Color

I have always liked this quilt on the back of a quilt book. It uses Marcia Derse fabrics and at first glance I thought the rows were just made from one fabric each but after looking closer there is more than one fabric in each. I have a great love for zig zag quilts anyway and this might be a fun one for me to make. I wouldn't use the same fabrics but would use the shapes and sizes from the book.

This is the front cover. I have had the book propped open so many times that the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week ago. under miscellaneous , nature

Block number 5........... from Exuberant Color

Here is the Marcia Derse fabric star block number 5. I realized after taking the photo that I switched position of the purple and pale green triangle blocks from my original design. The light fabric should have ended up on the edge. I'm not sure if I will change it.

Here are all 5 blocks so far. It is hard to believe they are all the same pattern with the values shifting around.

My son and daughter in law came over late afternoon yesterday and all 3 of us worked for 45 minutes to cut lots of overgrown bushes ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 6 days ago. under nature , star quilts

Block number 2........... from Exuberant Color

Block number 2 is sewn for the Marcia Derse star quilt. I have cut some more fabrics for variety for the next blocks.

Here are blocks 1 and 2 together. There will be some blocks with dark fabrics at the edges too.

The purple Million Bells in this pot are having one more big burst of color. They are even deeper purple than they look here. I love the purple next to the lime green Coleus.

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 2 days ago. under nature , star quilts

The sewing machine got turned on............. from Exuberant Color

After mowing the grass in the nice cool air yesterday I finally got to the sewing machine.

I needed four of each of these two units.

The block is sewn! The darkest purple really is purple and not a black background like it looks here. I'm really happy with this block. I'm making 15" blocks like I did in the quilt I showed yesterday. I thought about 12" but decided the fabric prints would have more impact with larger pieces.

A few Rose of Sharon bushes are still blooming. I'm going to cut down a lot of ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 3 days ago. under nature , star quilts

An older inspiration quilt.............. from Exuberant Color

This is the quilt that I made in 1990 using the same block that I am using for the Marcia Derse fabric quilt. If you go to this post you can read the story about it. This is an old photo taken with an early digital camera so I really need to get this quilt out and take a better quality photo with the camera I use now.

There was a cute little baby bunny in the back yard eating weeds. If you leave enough weeds in the grass the bunnies don't bother the good plants....my theory anyway.

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 4 days ago. under nature , star quilts

Errands and other time stealers.............. from Exuberant Color

I had lots of things to do yesterday and never made it to the sewing machine or die cutter. I did put away this pile of Marcia Derse fabrics that I am not using in the star quilt that I have started.

More asters are opening so I need to get another photo today. I always forget about their delicate centers until they bloom again the next year.

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 5 days ago. under nature , stash

Three more trial blocks.............. from Exuberant Color

I took out the light center square from one of the blocks I showed yesterday and replaced it with the dark purple. I really like this block.

I'm not so crazy about this one because three of the prints are similar in value.

I removed the purple with red circles and put in the light color. It makes the outside of the star float like a wreath and I'm not sure I like that either.

I think I need to sew a few of my favorites and then cut some more of the Marcia Derse fabric into the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 6 days ago. under nature , star quilts

Trying layouts............ from Exuberant Color

I showed this block pattern HERE on Saturday with many different placements of the darkest fabric. I have been cutting the shapes from many of the Marcia Derse fabrics and decided to lay them out on the ironing table to see how the colors will look.

I changed from orange to pink to see if the softer color combination looks better. I will keep trying more layouts until I get a lot more of the fabrics cut. I'm not sure when I'll start sewing the blocks.

The purple Asters are just starting to bloom. Once again the camera ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 4 weeks, 1 day ago. under nature , star quilts

Back Yard Beauty from Splendiferous

Back Yard Beauty

36 x 36"
Hand dyed (by artist) cotton sateen, hand painted commercial black fabric, cotton thread
fused applique, extensive thread work, machine quilted

To be exhibited at International Quilt Festival, Houston 2018, as part of the Power of Women exhibit.

Step-by-step progress photos at this previous post.

Also on exhibit in the show as part of the Hands All Around special exhibit:

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

52 x 54", cotton fabrics, machine pieced and quilted

Bloggers Quilt Festival!

added by wlstarn 1 month ago. under art quilt , bloggers' quilt festival , colorful , dyeing , ecology , floral , flowers , garden , hands all around , international quilt festival , iqa houston , machine quilting , nature , power of women , zinnia

Swamp Maple from Splendiferous

Swamp Maple, artistic interpretation of Swamp Red Maple, acer rubrum var. drummondi
42.5" square (30" square on point)
Cotton fabrics, silk and bamboo roving, textile medium.
Machine quilted, hand embellished and embroidered.
Leaves are individually cast from actual leaves
For step-by-step progress photos, see this previous post.

Recently shown at Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza 2018, along with
Passion For Color
48 x 66"
Hand dyed cotton sateen & black Kona cotton
Machine pieced and quilted

Bloggers Quilt Festival!

added by wlstarn 1 month ago. under acer rubrum , acer rubrum var. drummondii , art quilt , autumn , cast fiber , dyeing , ecology , leaf , louisiana , machine quilting , maple leaf , nature , pnqe , quiltfest , silk , swamp , swamp maple

Added fabrics........... from Exuberant Color

I dug a little deeper and found some more light fabrics to use with the other Marcia Derse fabrics that I showed yesterday. I also added a few more medium value blues.

Then I looked a little deeper into a cabinet and found more medium purples, corals and pinks.

I added those in and this will probably be the final group. I have started cutting some of the shapes needed for my block.

The 2 pots by the garage got a little reprieve for a few weeks this summer and were over at the side of the driveway in the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month ago. under nature , stash

Fabric selection......... from Exuberant Color

I am thinking about using this assortment of Marcia Derse fabrics in my next quilt. There aren't very many light colored prints in her collections. The 3 beige ones shown here the best choices that I have. The purples are kind of hidden in this photo but they will be very prominent in the quilt.

I have been spending hours sorting squares of fabric into kits. Here are 2 cuts from the same fabric. One person gets a lavender flower and the other person gets a pink flower.

The end of season plants in the pots have lots of ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month ago. under nature , stash

Yard work, lots of it.......... from Exuberant Color

Yesterday morning I decided to start chopping down the peonies that are turning brown. I have over 30 bushes so that took awhile with many trips to the weed pile to deposit them. Later in the afternoon I mowed the front yard.

I'm still getting tomatoes. The earliest ones were the 4th of July and Early Girl types. The 4th of July is about golf ball sized most of the time with only a few larger tomatoes. The Early Girl and Rutgers are producing a nice medium to large size tomato, just right for slicing for BLTs.

I drew ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month ago. under nature , star quilts

Need to organize........... from Exuberant Color

I really should organize this pile of African fabrics. I was thinking that the large prints in them might work well in a half hexagon quilt. The die is 9" long. I like to always have a cutting project going while I'm working on something else.

When I was in the backyard yesterday I was reminded I need to dig up this Pulmonaria/Lungwort that has hopped out of the garden and into the grass. There is another smaller one about 3 feet from this one.

Another shape that can be cut from the 6" squares offered in the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month ago. under accuquilt die cutter , nature , stash

Back to 16 patches.......... from Exuberant Color

I decided to scrap the project I showed yesterday and use the blocks for mug rugs. I can't waste any more time on it. So...I got back to sewing the neutral 16 patches and got 30 sewn last night. I had 20 done previously so I'm at 50 total right now. I think my plan was to make about 130 blocks but I don't know where my notes are right now.

I spent hours outside yesterday. My son mowed the lawn and did all of the trimming around things. I don't have a trimmer so ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under batiks , nature , strip piecing

Nature............... from Exuberant Color

I only did cutting yesterday so no project progress to show. My granddaughter mowed my grass for me. It was still hot and steamy yesterday. Now we are in for a string of some cooler days.

I planted my Canna bulb late this year so it is a little shorter than previous years. The Elephant Ears are in pots in the background. I need to get them planted much earlier next year.

I had a little area to fill in with dirt in the back garden and I noticed the Sedum blooming with a tall Coral Bell flower in front ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under nature

Starting another............ from Exuberant Color

I have my pure Kaffe Fassett kit sorted and am ready to start another wallhanging. This one will be square. In case you missed the previous one which was rectangular, you can see it on this post.

I will spread the pieces out onto more trays before I start: blues on one tray, greens on another tray.

Some of the fabrics have many motifs on them as the print goes across the fabric so the cut I got in this kit may be different than the one in the original kit that I used.

I pulled out so much Goldenrod ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under kaffe fabric , nature

Backgrounds........ from Exuberant Color

I found two fabrics that might work as the background for these blocks. I like busy quilts so the one on the right might be the one I will use. I tossed around the idea of using both of them together and couldn't make a decision so nothing got cut for it.

We got 1.25" of rain yesterday at noon. Most of the storms have been missing us so I was glad we got this one. My Dianthus bloomed early in the summer and I didn't deadhead it so it didn't bloom again. Finally about 3 ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under kaffe fabric , nature

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