nature

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

There were 2 bins of batik scraps on my tables in the basement. I decided to go through and divide them by 'keep' and 'don't want'.

I think there might be a third box down there too and I'll look for that today.

This is a top view of the two boxes. I need to use my yardage and stop using scraps that I don't care for.

All of the pieces had been pressed at one time so this is pretty much stacked flat pieces, not crumpled up and wrinkled so there is a lot in these ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under batik , nature , scraps

Binding............. from Exuberant Color

I have 2 corners done but almost 3 sides done. I have one long side and a few inches of a short side to go. I didn't get to spend 3 hours stitching like I planned. We were under a tornado watch and then a warning last night. Most of the storm went slightly north of us but we had hail and rain at 7. Because of all of the severe weather heading toward Chicago, the weather people were on the air until 8:30 so I missed all of the first FBI show and half of each of ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under binding , nature

Working on project 2............... from Exuberant Color

Yesterday I mentioned that I wasn't sure if I was going to leave the 4 patches in the layout. When I looked at it yesterday morning I realized it was the 2 light squares that were bothering me, not the 4 patches. The comparison in this collage of the 2 photos shows I was right.

By 8:30 p.m. this was the layout of 10 rows out of 12. I was watching a movie on Peacock so I started sewing rows together.

I decided to sew the top half together and now I can move those bottom rows ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under flannel quilts , nature

6 of the 8 final sets.............. from Exuberant Color

I cut 8 sets but only brought 6 of them upstairs to sew last night. I was too stiff and sore after doing a little over an hour of outside work to go back down and get the others.

I got them sewn last night and will sew the other 2 sets before I do any pressing. Then I can mix them all in with the the ones in the layout on the design wall.

I tore out all of the tomato plants and pulled up the cages and nested them. Then I picked up branches that have fallen in ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under flannel quilts , nature , quilts made with triangles

View from the computer chair............... from Exuberant Color

I removed the batik orphan blocks from my design wall and took them to the basement. I will work on a double design wall down there with a vertical column layout.

I took the pile of 9" LeMoyne stars made a couple years ago and put them up on the wall. I think I will look for a large floral fabric for the blank spaces. The blocks might end up back in a pile....

My 2 youngest great-grandsons came to visit yesterday morning and they brought me a beautiful bouquet.

Today I need to prepare a couple backings and cut ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under kaffe fabric , nature

January 2024 monthly recap................ from Exuberant Color

Two quilts were finished in January from tops made a few years ago, both large ones. Mosaic made of Kaffe collective prints is 76.5" x 97.5" and is in my top 5 favorite large quilts. Batik Pineapple Log Cabin is 69.5" x 89". Lots of hand stitching in those bindings. (Longarm quilting by Robin Diaz).

Six quilt tops were completed.

Shoo Fly (top left) was 17 blocks in a project box with all of the solid colors cut for another 13 blocks. I created the rest of the blocks, sewed the top together, and this quilt top ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under monthly recap , nature

#2 finish for January 2024.............. from Exuberant Color

I started this quilt in September 2015 and made the last blocks at the end of October 2015. I sewed the top together in June 2017. Click here for the inspiration quilt and the first blocks. There are many variations in the blocks made with 49 squares each. I loved making this quilt and could easily make enough blocks for another quilt because it was so much fun. Sewing the top together wasn't as much fun. I really like making blocks. Size is 76.5" x 97.5". It's all Kaffe collective fabrics.

I'm repeating this photo ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under kaffe fabric , nature

Binding finished.............. from Exuberant Color

Like most batik bindings, this one seemed like it took forever but it was only 5 days. The top was 70" x 91" before quilting so it was a lot of little stitches in the binding.

I folded part of it back so both ends of the quilt show, both the light end and the dark end. I hopefully will get it up on the design wall for its portrait today.

I added more columns of crooked cobblestone blocks on my design wall yesterday morning. If you look at the 2 side edges you can see I need to trim ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months ago. under binding , cobblestone series , nature

Still hand stitching....................... from Exuberant Color

Not a lot of time was spent on the hand stitching yesterday but I do have one long side and half of a short side stitched. I may take a break from it this morning and trim the second quilt and choose a binding for it.

The red double Amaryllis has one open flower now. There are only going to be three blooms on this one.

There is hope for more blooms though because there are more bud stalks on this bulb. The third one is still pretty short but they grow pretty fast.

My internet provider sent me a ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months ago. under batiks , binding , log cabin , nature

Binding started................. from Exuberant Color

This is the binding fabric I chose for the batik pineapple log cabin quilt.

I got it sewn onto the quilt and started the hand stitching. I started at the middle of a short side and made it past the first corner.

I do my hand stitching in my studio because I have excellent bright light in there. I pile the quilt on my cabinet and on the 3 drawer chest that I can pull out from under the left side of the cabinet. Then I just scoot forward in my chair on wheels and start stitching. I can easily ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months ago. under binding , nature

How to get your Writing Published in Plants & Poetry Journal from Kim Hanson Quilts

Good day everyone. Thank you so very much for being here.

Recently, my story called a Great Grandmother’s Legacy was published in Plants & Poetry Journal. I’d never heard of that publication. Whilst on the lookout for somewhere appropriate to submit my story, I came across the Journal on a cruise through Submittable.com. There was an open call for submissions entitled, Plant People, An Anthology of Environmental Artists.

These words on the Journal’s site resonated with me:

We founded Plants & Poetry during a time of serious recovery and deep healing.

We discovered comfort and safety among our ...

added by kimhanson 3 months, 1 week ago. under #environment , #grandchildren , #naturewriting , #plantsandpoetryjournal , nature , stories & essays , writing (Comments)

Figuring it out as I work............... from Exuberant Color

I cut more gold/yellow/orange triangles and placed some on the design wall. Then I decided to sew the corner row together.

Three more rows were sewn together as I tried to decide what color the edge triangles will be. And, what size the triangles should be. I could put 2 half square triangles which would be easy to figure out but I would rather add one quarter square triangle.

We finally got up to 0 yesterday afternoon and it stayed at 0 all the way to 11 p.m. I didn't check again after that. It was ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 1 week ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

Tying to decide on size................. from Exuberant Color

I'm designing this one sideways so it will fit on the design wall. I have been figuring out estimated finished sizes. As it is seen here, it would be approximately 44.5" x 72". If I add one more row for the width, it would be approximately 55" x 72". Another option would be to take off one row on the end and it would be approximately 44.5" x 63.5".

So while I think about that I searched for more gold toned Marcia Derse fabrics for the triangles. I got 3 of them cut to try out ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 1 week ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

6 more seams to sew.............. from Exuberant Color

Only 6 more seams and this baby quilt top will be finished. It had 13 seams in one direction and then I sewed 9 of 15 seams in the other direction. I'll finish sewing the seams this morning and then press it.

We got 4-5" of snow in the very early hours yesterday and then it stopped for a little while and then light rain for most of the day. I measured the snow on the sidewalk and it was 5" of heavy wet snow. I think we have about 8" total of snow on the grassy areas now ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under nature , quilts made with triangles , zig zag

19 blocks................ from Exuberant Color

I need 6 more blocks for my 25 block baby quilt. I hope when it is sewn together that the diagonals that are formed by the 9 patches are more prominent. I thought about grouping some of the donut holes together and some 9 patches in groups so the layout is more random. But then I thought I'll have this done a lot quicker if I just leave it alone and sew it together the way it is. The baby isn't going to care.

I got 2 pieces cut for the backing of my batik pineapple log cabin ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under nature , quilts made with triangles

24 blocks........... from Exuberant Color

The pieces fell together into more blocks and now there are 24 ten inch blocks. What held me up from finishing this earlier was whether I wanted some blocks scrappy. If you look at the top left block it is made of 2 fabrics, the typical way to make a double 4 patch block. The block below it is made with 3 fabrics; the big squares aren't the same fabric as the light fabric in the 4 patches. There are 9 blocks made with 2 fabrics, the rest of the blocks have 3 fabrics. I tried to match the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under kaffe fabric , nature

More shoo fly blocks............... from Exuberant Color

Since I had this project out I decided to make some more blocks yesterday. Bottom left, bottom row was made Tuesday night. I had one more block cut out but need to change to a lighter thread on the machine. These could all use the dark brown thread still there from the last binding I sewed.

This is the variety in the first 17 blocks. So now I have 23 blocks and I want this to be a small quilt so a maximum of 36 blocks. I think I need a few blue and turquoise blocks next.

I was gifted ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under nature , solid color fabric

December 2023 monthly recap................ from Exuberant Color

December was my best month for finishes. Three were just waiting for binding so that was pretty fast. Four of them were gifts that needed to be finished. On the left are the two I Spy quilts for my two families of great-grandchildren. (64" x 80.5" and 67.5" x 79"). Next to them are Soft Colorwash and Small Colorwash (20" x 33 and 18" square). Next is layered churn dash, 77" x 101" and below it flannel baby quilts, 38" square and 39.5" square. At the right is Batik Stars, 73" x 99".

Only one quilt top ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under colorwash , monthly recap , nature

First and only quilt top for December 2023 from Exuberant Color

This month is quite a contrast with most months with only one top and many finishes. Usually it is fewer finishes and as many as 5 tops made in a month (Jan and Apr this year).

This top is called Rosy in the Kaffe Fassett books, first shown in 1997 and made with other commercial prints because he had only designed the yarn dyed woven stripe fabrics at the time they were writing the book.

In the book the blocks are 9". Mine are 6". This top is about 52" x 70".

I thought about taking this block out but ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under 9 patch , colorwash , kaffe fabric , nature

#5 finish for December.................. from Exuberant Color

The binding is finished on I Spy 1 and now I just need to inspect it for any stray threads and then get it ready to be mailed. This one ended up at 64" x 80.5". The novelty print squares are 4" finished.

The backing is flannel that I bought at a year end sale 2 years ago.

The batting is Warm and Natural because I wanted a flatter quilt. I didn't want rolling puffs through the novelty prints.

I found 4 more green Kaffe fabrics to use in the Rosy quilt. The 2 on the left will ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 4 months, 1 week ago. under binding , i spy , kaffe fabric , machine quilting , nature

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