nature

Another busy day.............. from Exuberant Color

I spent most of the day digging and planting so I didn't get any new pieces cut. Instead I made some more 9 patches with mismatched pieces. Sometimes I had 4 alike and sometimes 5 but most of the time it was a mixed group.

Here is another batch of blocks. I made 16 new blocks altogether while watching 3 hours of TV.

I added all of the new blocks to the 20 that were on the design wall. They are 6" blocks.

I baked a rhubarb cake Saturday night. It made a great breakfast yesterday.

In the gardening ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 17 hours, 15 minutes ago. under 9 patch , food , nature

9 patches and blooms........... from Exuberant Color

I was trying to get my Super Woman badge yesterday. I got up 2 hours earlier than normal, mowed the front yard grass in the morning, planted my porch pots after lunch, mowed the back yard late in the afternoon and dug out weeds where I will be planting tomatoes. Last night for TV time I pieced these 9 patches.

Here is the design wall with the 2 night's piecing. If I make more 9 patches with the current supply of 2.5" squares they won't be matched 4 and 5 pieces like all of this first batch ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 days, 17 hours ago. under 9 patch , nature

Discoveries as I clean........ from Exuberant Color

I continued to clean off the cutting table in my main floor studio and uncovered the cutting mat, which inspired me to cut something.

On the table top I found some strips of batiks 2.5" x 8.5" so I paired them and sewed them and then trimmed them into 2.5" segments. This made 21 four patches which I sewed while I had TV time in the evening. No plans for them, just some sewing therapy.

I also found a box of 2.5" squares so I paired up 4 of one fabric with 5 of another fabric ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 days, 17 hours ago. under batiks , nature

Almost done............... from Exuberant Color

Both halves of the die cut half hexagon quilt are done but I didn't want to go down to the ironing table at 10:30 last night. I hope to get the 2 halves pressed, last seam sewn and pressed and points trimmed off the top and bottom today. I will look for a backing fabric right away but it won't get quilted right away.

I finished cutting one batch of Kaffe scraps in 3" and 4" sizes. I will keep all of the shapes in the same box to make it easier to find them all when ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 6 days, 17 hours ago. under accuquilt die cutter , kaffe fabric , nature

Making progress.............. from Exuberant Color

I got some more columns sewn on the die cut half hexagon quilt and I think I will attach the last 6 columns together and then I will have 2 halves to take to the ironing board and one last seam to sew and press. I had pinned and taken down one column before I took this photo.

The Jack-in-the-Pulpits are getting taller and there are lots more of them this past week.

The Weigela bush is getting ready to bloom. The other 2 colors bloom a little later.

I went to the local nursery and got all of my ...

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

2 columns........... from Exuberant Color

The only sewing I got done yesterday was to sew 2 long columns together.

I spent more time outside planting things I had dug on Thursday and Friday.

One of the plants was being moved from the front garden which is going to be dug up and redone. It is the Husker Red Penstemon (Beardtongue). It came out of the ground in pieces instead of one clump. This is 2 pieces planted together.

Here are 2 larger pieces of the plant together in one spot. I haven't had a lot of luck with the plant coming back the second ...

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

Now about that new car................... from Crazy Quilter on a Bike!

A day without frustrations is a good day indeed! So I didn't necessarily get as much work done as I needed to do - well as I wanted to do, but progress - it's all about progress!! OH -- I did have one SMALL issue when I couldn't find my presentation for yesterday's class. But it all worked out! It's good to be able to think fast on one's feet.

I'm happy to report that my Long Time Gone quilt is looking awesome. Sections 5 and 6 (the right-hand side) are now together. It's getting ...

added by Elaine 1 week, 2 days ago. under car , customer quilt , nature , neighbourhood , podcasts

Cutting scraps............. from Exuberant Color

I spent a couple hours pressing scraps, mostly Kaffe collective. There was a group that was a weird triangle shape left from cutting large hexagons for a previous quilt. The grain line was on the long edge so they were perfect to re-cut into quarter square triangles.

After sewing them into squares this is what I have. If I sewed them together it would be a 12" square. Lots of hours, lots of pressing and cutting, not enough for a quilt when done. Prep work takes a long time. I love scrap quilts but I'm wondering if this is ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 6 days ago. under kaffe fabric , nature , triangles

Making test blocks............. from Exuberant Color

I mentioned a couple weeks ago I had some new dies that I hadn't used yet and needed to make test blocks. The first one is three fabrics and took some concentration to make.

The second block is one background and four colors.

Then I tried 2 backgrounds and 4 fabrics for the star. I think it would look better with 4 backgrounds than it looks with 2 background fabrics.

Today I think I will dig out this yellow edged Hosta and move it to a different spot where I can see it better.

I mowed my backyard yesterday ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks ago. under accuquilt die cutter , nature

Sorting scraps.............. from Exuberant Color

I decided to sort the Kaffe collective scraps that were in 2 medium size boxes. I did teeny tiny, small, large enough to cut a shape with a die, and strips. My large scraps are in a third box. This photo is part of the strips. Some are skinny strips, some wider.

I made quarter log cabin blocks for 3 quilts between 2010 and 2013 with skinny strips, some regular quilting cotton prints and some Kaffe fabrics. The one on the left is still waiting to be quilted. Do I want to make another of these? NO! I need to ...

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

Monthly recap for April 2021 from Exuberant Color

Three pink quilt tops, all the same fabrics and they look so different in photos taken different times of the day.

Hugs and Kisses is 40" square, zig zag is 40" x 48" and pink diamonds is 48" x 64". I hope to quilt all of them in May.

I made 3 more quilt tops in April, Floral Colorwash is 30" square, scrappy Friendship Star is 48" x 60" and Chisel Star is 54" x 72". I was surprised how the orange and red backgrounds in the Friendship Star stood out as squares. This was an experiment in using different ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 2 days ago. under monthly recap , nature

Chisel star progress............ from Exuberant Color

8 blocks are sewn and 4 blocks are just quarter blocks on the design wall. After I finish sewing the last 4 blocks some of them will go to the top of the quilt because all of the new fabrics are in the bottom half of the quilt right now.

My backyard is turning pink finally. We are getting a little rain but very light so it shouldn't knock many blooms off.

I forgot to take a photo of my little bouquet earlier so you get to see the reflection of my refrigerator in the window. The little Narcissus ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 4 days ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

Some chisel blocks............. from Exuberant Color

I sewed 16 quarter blocks last night and put them up on the design wall with the 2 sewn blocks. I can see a couple I need to move because a fabric is too close to itself in another block. I will probably sew all of the rest of the quarter blocks before I come up with the final layout. The blocks are 18" so 12 should be enough for a throw quilt. I need to sew 23 more center strips which are 2 darks sewn together and 6 more dark/light pieces.

It was a beautiful day yesterday so ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 weeks, 6 days ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

More pieces and parts............ from Exuberant Color

Yesterday was mostly a day of rest but I did turn on the iron and got some of these fabrics pressed, cut with my die cutter and sewn. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the first 2 sewn blocks and finally found them under a couple fabrics on the end of my sewing table.

My Bleeding Heart is looking good.

The big medium pink Columbine is getting big with a new shoot growing up the middle that I think is where buds will soon form.

The earliest Hardy Geranium with the pale lavender flowers has its ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

Zig zag time............... from Exuberant Color

I got my zig zag after all on the third pink quilt. It is a little brighter than this photo, deeper pinks. I had a lot of the pink and red heart print and wanted to use as much as possible. I ended up with 7 blocks leftover which can go in the orphan block box. It should be about 40" x 48" when finished. I have a big piece of flannel by Valerie Wells with huge peachy-pink roses on it that may go on the back of this one. I have another more mottled pattern pink flannel for the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 weeks, 4 days ago. under nature , one color quilt

Pink again............. from Exuberant Color

When I cleaned off my sewing table I saw the pile of pink squares leftover from the second pink quilt. I counted and there were 65 sewn plus 40 light triangles. I decided to cut more pink prints to match up with the 40 triangles and got them sewn last night.

Here is another fabric from the purple shelf. I have a half yard of it and think I need to use it this year.

My Hostas are still at several different stages of growth. This one is just barely up.

This one is right next to the one in ...

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

Colorwash sewn........... from Exuberant Color

I finished sewing the floral colorwash last night. It is 30" square. I had the iron on beside me and pressed after I sewed each row and that worked so much better than pressing after it is all sewn.

I wanted to show you some of the fabrics that were on the purple shelf. The leaves on the one on the right are more of a periwinkle lean toward purple than they show here. It is from the 1990s.

The one on the left only has a little purple in it but it ended up on that shelf. The one ...

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

Partially sewn.................. from Exuberant Color

I have the floral colorwash 2/3 sewn in one direction. Maybe I will get it finished today.

I went through the Kaffe flying geese box and pulled out all of the ones in the colors of the orphan blocks. I don't know if they will remain on the right edge or if they will stay in the order they are now. Just in the gathering stage right now.

The Redbuds are just ready to open and we have a small amount of snow predicted for tomorrow. It is going to go down below freezing two nights so I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 4 weeks ago. under colorwash , kaffe fabric , nature

Final layout............ from Exuberant Color

After going through over 150 purple fabrics I found 4 to cut and try in this floral colorwash. I did some rearranging in the brown/rust/red area and think I have done the best I can for a smooth transition. Now I will sew it.

I removed a quilt top from this double design wall so I put the friendship star blocks there. The last 5 blocks are mostly duplicates to these so I might not have to do much rearranging.

I picked a small bouquet and it shared the windowsill with some newly potted cactus starts. They are ...

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

Another project............ from Exuberant Color

This was my design wall when I walked into my studio yesterday morning.

This was the design wall by the end of the afternoon. I need to find some more fabrics to finish the bottom corner.

The purple violets have started blooming and there are lots of them all over the back garden.

There are a few white violets too and a lot more will show up in the grass. I know many people think they are weeds but I love them. As a small child I used to pick bouquets of purple violets and yellow buttercups along a little ...

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

What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?