improv top

Good morning - sunshine ...

Come on ...

Hurry up!

Some know how to enjoy an indoor garden. And some can't wait to get outside to the real thing...

I have started making improv blocks. My first attempt is these simple box in a box squares. I wanted to make an indoor garden, and looked trough my scraps and stash for big flower prints and fussy cut them into rectangles of different shapes. Arranging them on my design wall quilt, I wasn't happy until I made them square. I centered them and lined them up i 9 inch blocks. The solid is a Kona Snow. This top is now 27" by 72" and will be a wallhanging: "Peonies".

The quilt is inspired by this beauty.

Next on my list is to try some improv wonky log cabins. But for now, I'll just enjoy some of the beautiful sunny Sunday ; )

Enjoy your weekend...

6 of 5

This weekend I had a little sandwich party:

And then a quilting feast (or beast?) This quilt is now heavily quilted with leaf shapes on a thin polyester batting. The thin batting made it quite challeging to find the right thread tension!

I am now handstitching the binding, a Michal James fabric from my stash that was a perfect colormatch... This will be my birthday present, a bit late. Love it, a nice summer quilt. I don't have any name for it yet. Any suggestions?

And yes, it is 6 of 5, using the backing from here.

And I want to share a picture from my garden. The tulips are pretty even if it is their very final stage. These are nice and quite tall flowers. I only have a few, and they where even fewer after "Venus the menace" started jumping for them.

Happy stitching, everyone.

1 of 5

Here is the finished quilt from wordless wednesday. It is the first finish out of the 5 tops waiting to be quilted.

This has been one of my oldest ufo's. I purchased most of the batiks in 2005 and started stitching the 4 patches. The layout has changed a few times, and the top has spent more than a year at a time hiding in the closet waiting for good ideas on how to finish it.

I named the quilt "What's Up". It will be a gift for somebody with a boat and a goldfish pond in his garden. The quilt measures 90" 65" and is machine quilted. I use Hobb's Thermore polyester batting, so even if it's big, it is not heavy.

Somebody has not received the gift yet, and I hope he likes it....

hipp hipp hurra ...

Today is the national day of Norway, with childrens parades, schoolband and national flags - it's all red, blue and white today.... Last nights national victory of Eurovision Song Contest with the song Fairytale makes the smiles even wider!!!

I am quilting my stars and stripes by hand, and am happy with the way it goes .... So I am off to the celebrations.

Happy sewing!

wordless wednesday

5

A stack of 5 finished tops waiting to be layered, basted and quilted; 3 strings, 1 bargello and 1 batik...

Friday I was lucky to find backings for several of them at a great sales at Kaktus Quilts. So, where to start?



Venus is in stitches for the time being, so she has to wear this collar. No fun at all, poor thing. Monday she had to sew three stitches in her tail after an unfriendly meeting with another cat.

And I have started a new project, cutting some strips ....

Happy stitching....

new fabric and a shy friend

I have been prewashing some fabric. Lots of pink and orange... Lovely colors. Thinking about a new quilt. I want to make some wonky log cabins in a project improv fashion. These big scale patterns would also look good in a strippy top. Maybe both?

And then we had a visitor in our hedge today. A bit quiet and shy, not really saying so much... The cats left him all alone. I guess they knew better than to mess with him.

Happy sewing, everyone...