nature

Cutting and planning............. from Exuberant Color

I cut a lot of 6" finished half square triangles yesterday. I have had the pile of pink and blue fabrics sitting on a cutting table for more than 6 months. The greens were leftovers from another quilt and were already pressed.

I cut 10 layers at a time with my Accuquilt Studio die cutter so the piles of 10 were layered with many different fabrics. It took 1 1/2 hours to sort them while I watched TV last night. All are Kaffe collective except for one Tula Pink.

Here is the variety of greens. I have some more ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 14 hours, 44 minutes ago. under kaffe fabric , nature , triangles

3 sections............. from Exuberant Color

It was an odd size quarter square triangle that I needed to finish the rows on this Marcia Derse fabric top. Once I got the measurement right I cut strips and cut the triangles from them with a ruler for quarter square triangles. I needed all of the stripes going the same way. I sewed while I watched TV last night and got this far. 2 more seams and then I can press it and photograph it. I'm glad I put this top into a time out so I could come up with the perfect solution for the outer ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 days, 14 hours ago. under nature , quilts made with triangles

Back from time out..................... from Exuberant Color

I was working on this Marcia Derse quilt back in January and couldn't decide on what fabric to cut into triangles to finish the edge. The rows have been pinned on top of each other over at the side of my design wall for over 3 months. I have a beige piece tucked into the edge here and it is a contender.

This dull gold fabric looks better. I had decided I want a stripe so my choices are limited. I need to figure out the size to cut the quarter square triangles and cut a few so I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 days, 14 hours ago. under marcia derse fabric , nature

April 2024 monthly recap.......... from Exuberant Color

Three quilts were finished in April. The Bear Paw quilt is 68" x 82", Charley in the Forest is 65.5" x 87", and Friendship Star is 62" x 71". The 2 largest ones were quilted by Robin Diaz and I quilted the third one.

I finished 3 quilt tops that were either cut or started several years ago The 4th top was started from scratch in March. The blocks were all made for the neutral 16 patch so it just took a design wall session and stitching it together to finish this 55.5" x 72" top in one ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 4 days, 14 hours ago. under monthly recap , nature

One last quilt top for April............. from Exuberant Color

I am so happy I finally finished this quilt top, started in 1996 while teaching a class.

It is 36" x 42", another one I won't have to piece a back for. I have enough of the parasol fabric for the back and binding. I'm glad I kept the fabrics together all of those years.

I rarely make quilts with just 5 fabrics but this one turned out great, those wonderful 1990s fabrics in it.

I have to document those last blooms on the cactus because I'm not sure I have ever had one bloom this late ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 5 days, 14 hours ago. under 9 patch , nature , nostalgia

Inside and outside.............. from Exuberant Color

I spent a lot of time outside yesterday but first, inside.

I hand sewed about 45" on the Charley in the Forest binding.

I trimmed the prints and solids star quilt. The backing is 3 fabrics. The one in the middle is a limey green with pink circles. Since they are opposites on the color wheel I don't know how to describe the color with the mix.

I pulled some fabrics as possible binding. I'm not opposed to having a light binding because this quilt will probably be for a young person and the darker fabrics may be ...

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

Another round of squares............. from Exuberant Color

I cut one more group of squares to add to my 1996 project. It is the same fabric that is used in the center 9 patches. I think I have enough of the lightest fabric to cut setting triangles and then I can sew this together.

Another 110" is hand stitched on the Charley quilt. There is only 108" left to stitch. I may spread that over 2 days.

The last 2 cacti buds are finally blooming. I think I can safely say these really are the last blooms.

The Redbuds are in full bloom and now the rain will ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week, 2 days ago. under 9 patch , binding , nature

One more fabric............ from Exuberant Color

I found another Kaffe print in the same red/orange as the button fabric for a possible choice for binding. I have to check all around the edge and make sure that fabric wasn't used in an edge block.

I spent all morning yesterday sorting my brown/rust/gold fabrics. They had been displaced when I started moving things around in the basement. I love the rich earthy tones but they don't seem to be very popular with most people. These fabrics were formerly on a shelf unit where my black and whites reside now. I can move ...

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

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 2 weeks, 2 days 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 2 weeks, 3 days ago. under batik , marcia derse fabric , nature

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 2 weeks, 5 days 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 3 weeks, 1 day 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 3 weeks, 2 days ago. under batik , binding , knitting , nature

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 4 weeks, 1 day 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 1 month ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

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 1 month ago. under 9 patch , batik , nature

40" left to hand stitch............. from Exuberant Color

Almost done, just 40" left to hand stitch on this Marcia Derse Stars quilt. I may do a second post today with the stats for this quilt on it.

I think this will be the very last bloom on the pale pink cactus for this winter/spring season.

There is one more white bud to bloom. There is another small bud but I can't tell if it is going to grow or dry up.

Happy Easter!!

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month ago. under binding , marcia derse fabric , nature

Another finish............... from Exuberant Color

This is my version of "Sunlight in the Forest", a quilt in Kaffe Fassett's "Quilts in Sweden" book. I used my own choice of fabrics but used the same inner border fabric as the original quilt.

I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it was quilted by longarmer Robin Diaz.

It is 67.5" x 87".

Here is a photo from a 2018 post showing the quilt in the book. (click on the photo for a closer view.) I finished making the quilt top in June 2018.

I used 2 fabrics on the back because I didn't have ...

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

A lot accomplished............. from Exuberant Color

One of the two quilts back from my longarm quilter has been trimmed. I used 2 fabrics on the back. This is my Sunlight in the Forest quilt, one of Kaffe's designs but my choices of fabrics. I did use the same first border that he did. Colors are more accurate in the next photo. As I trimmed it I was thinking I would have to use a black background binding and the back is dark....so that wasn't sounding like much fun.

Then I came to my senses and realized tat a red would be nice. I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under 9 patch , binding , kaffe fabric , nature

Progress on 2 plus something new............. from Exuberant Color

The last flannel16 patch blocks that I made yesterday are now added to the previous ones for a total of 38. I haven't come up with a final plan for them.

I sewed the blocks from the Friday strip sets and sewed 3 more new strip sets for the batik 9 patch project.

I added 5 new blocks to the design wall and rearranged a bit. I made it one block wider and need to have 12 rows top to bottom. This first quilt will have all different blocks, one of each of the 4 alike of each combination ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 1 week ago. under 9 patch , flannel quilts , nature

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