November Inspired by Nature Blog Hop
My Quilted Garden by Connie Kauffman
The November Island Batik Ambassador Blog Hop has the theme Inspired by Nature. I love this theme and had so many ideas of what to do. First I waited to see what fabrics were in my surprise bundle that I was to use for my project. My fabrics were from the Tiki Punch Collection designed by Kathy Engle for Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs.
I was excited by this bundle as they were so lovely and bright. So inspiring!
I used all but two of the fabrics in the quilt.
I decided to go with a garden theme as these reminded me of sunshine and flowers.
I don't know about you- but I have block patterns that I collect when I see something I might like to make someday. I also have favorite block designs of my own that I like, but have only used once. This seemed like a great time to pull out some favorite blocks and see what I could do with them.
I started this project VERY early and it's a good thing I did. This quilt took a long time- but it was a labor of love.
I picked blocks that were things in my garden or symbolized things found in my gardens. Once I decided on what blocks I wanted to use I had to decide the overall size and design of the quilt. I had been thinking about a medallion design with borders around a central block, so I decided to put a birdhouse in the center and have my garden blocks surround it. I don't have a bird house- but I do have several bird feeders.
One thing that took a long time was resizing most of the blocks to fit the quilt. I only had a couple blocks that would work without resizing. Then came the fun part- choosing the colors to go with the different blocks! I did add a couple fabrics from the Island Batik Basics collection (cat and squirrel and bird beaks and part of bird house)
I had a wide variety of blocks using both paper piecing and fusible applique. I used Schmetz Super Nonstick Needles which work really great with the fusible applique.
I still had some of my favorite batting to use - Hobbs 80/20 Fusible Cotton Batting. I can't say enough about this batting. It is so easy to use and saves so much time not having to baste! It's a winner!
Aurifil threads in many colors added to the quilt. It's great to have a selection on hand.
It was fun after the quilt was finished to add many different buttons and beads for embellishment.
My garden does have daffodils, forget me nots, daisies, iris, leafy ferns and beautiful butterflies. We have many birds- cardinals and orioles are some of the favorites. We also have several cats that visit our yard- none of which are ours! One of them is black.
Squirrels scamper all around- they especially like all the birdseed the birds drop from our feeders. This squirrel likes nuts.
Here in Northern Indiana we have some squirrels that are black. Some people have never seen black squirrels. I sat by the patio door one day to get a photo to show you.
I had the top finished in time to get a photo outside with some Black Eyed Susan's while they were still blooming.
Many thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz and Aurifil for supplying products for this Inspired By Nature project.
I have a drawing for two full half yard cuts of two lovely fabrics from this Tiki Punch Collection
Please leave a comment about what is in your garden to enter. USA entries only due to postage. Winner will be drawn by Random.org at the end of the blog hop.
Be sure to enter Island Batik's Bog Hop drawing to win one of two fat quarter bundles-Venetian Marble or Tiki Punch- they are great!
Check out the other Ambassador blogs- there are only a few days left in the blog hop. Suzy Webster has a post today also using the Tiki Punch Collection- be sure and visit her site to see what she made.
- Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Here is one more photo of the quilt top with my petunias to leave you with.
"My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece" Claude Monet
"Earth laughs in flowers" Ralph Waldo Emerson
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need" Cicero
(I might add fabric to this list!)
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteMy garden has different types of irises, tulips, & daffodils. There is also a bird house in the middle. The quilt pictures behind the different flowers are so pretty. petuniakr@aol.com
I have flower beds, but I don’t have a flower garden. The only flowers I do well with are the ones I put on quilts. Your quilt is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletececilialyoung at gmail dot com
Brenda Hulsey
ReplyDeleteWhat a bright cheerful quilt! What's in my garden??? mostly weeds!
ReplyDeleteConnie, this is beautiful! What a lovely garden to have inside the house this winter during the dreary gray northern Indiana days. You've done an excellent job. I hope you get it quilted soon and share it with us, happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a gardening gene, but I love flowers on fabrics. your quilt is awesome!! it has so many colors and much detail. great job. Mary E
ReplyDeleteI loved the story of your quilt! It's wonderful that it was inspired by your very own garden. You will be able to look at it all year (and all your life!) and remember that garden. I'm not much of a gardener, but I do have a bunch of lavender plants that grow along my house. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful work! And your fabric!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous quilt. I love the garden quilt and the little things you added. I have snakes, no squirrels (we’re on an island), bees, butterflies, cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, a fence, flowers, bushes, and rocks (many rocks on the islands).
ReplyDeleteWOW your quilt is gorgeous. I just love all the movement and fun going on. We have many brown squirrels, a few black and a few white. We just finished cleaning our garden for next year. It had tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, butternut squash, zucchini, strawberries, peppers and onions. We didn't do much with flowers this year. Only took care of what did come up. I have a butterfly garden that brought back the monarchs and other butterflies and hummingbirds. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is beautiful! I don't have a garden right now.
ReplyDeleteI love all the critters going around your quilt! I have 10 rose bushes that line my driveway and various trees (one who lost a limb in the wind last week), bushes, birds of paradise, nasturtium. I grow tomatoes in the summer as well.
ReplyDeletePretty quilt. My garden a lot of wild flowers and critters, who eat everything I try to plant. 24Tangent@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI love your irises. the quilt is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLovely bright quilt. It is perfect in the Tiki line of fabric
ReplyDeleteLove your quilt depicting garden delights, even the squirrel. lol as all gardeners know though can be destructive there are cute to watch scamper about. My garden(s) have many bits and purposes. The one I love the most, my "island garden" though much work is one I enjoy the most. Even creating a honeysuckle grotto this summer to sit in and take a well deserved break with a cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance and Happy Thanksgiving.
I am not much of a gardener, but I have rhodies in my yard. I love your quilt. It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy garden is pretty bare right now due to the season, albeit we put a fig tree in late and I have gotten exactly 2 ripe figs from it! There are a few more on the tree but they are small and green. Probably will have to wait til next year! Your quilt is lovely. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt. Right now my garden is bare but in the spring I have Iris, daffodils,tulips,crocus, then day lilies,hostas,all kinds of wild flower's I have transplanted from the roadways here in MO.Rose of Sharon bushes, lilac bushes, a climbing rose plus we put out a full vegetable garden that feeds our family in the winter month's.
ReplyDeleteRoses, four O'clocks, lillies, hostas, hybrid hibiscus, marigolds, petunias, hollyhocks, tomatoes, kohlrabi, onions, garlic. Animals in the garden are deer, squires, birds,etc.
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful fabrics& quilt. So neat! I have pineapple sage, peppermint and lemon balm in my little garden. I have bunnies and squirrels and racoons too. Enjoy your day! angielovesgary2 atgmail dotcom š»
ReplyDeleteThis is a total work of art. You out did yourself. I love the bird house and even the pesky squirrel.
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt with
ReplyDeletethe critters on it and
beautiful flowers! I have
some potted flowers and
a pot of strawberries were
in my yard this year.
Carla from Utah
Your quilt is beautiful! I have a huge vegetable garden that we either can or freeze all we can, and share with family and friends. We have lots of deer that like to sample also.
ReplyDeleteMy garden in the woods has mostly critters and birds. We have deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, and an occasional oppossum wandering by. We have lots of goldfinch, chickadees, tufted titmouse, nuthatches, cardinals, bluejays, bluebirds, orioles in the spring, and a perigrin falcon that tries to eat the others unfortunately. My flowers are mostly hostas. Your picture of your quilt in front of the black eyed susans is so pretty it could be framed!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this quilt! It's my very favorite from the hop. Both of your photos with the flowers are perfect, too. I love anything that blooms. Here in North Carolina we have a mild winter, so I like to challenge myself to try to have something blooming year round. It's not easy, but I did manage it one year! Have a fabulous day!
ReplyDeleteWe had a row of flowers in our vegetable garden--a variety plus some tall sunflowers that the birds and butterflies all enjoyed!
ReplyDeletebarbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)
Gorgeous quilt! I love all the details and colors.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely stunning!! I love the variety of animals in your quilt. Amazing!!!! Love it, and it works so well with the fabrics and theme.
ReplyDeleteWe get a lot of birds, including a hawk who has been in the neighborhood lately. Also rabbits and squirrels, though we don't have black squirrels. I am terrible with gardening, so not much in the way of flowers but I do have lots of trees including a few dogwoods. And we keep our bird feeders filled up to encourage the birds.
Well, nothing is in my garden now, but I had a mix of annuals in planters, and peppers and herbs and perennials in the ground. I love your quilt!
ReplyDeleteWe usually have some kind of flowers, but it was a hot summer and almost everything is gone. Right now, all we have are in pots on the patio which include: Orchids with a couple blooms, cactus that are about to bloom, plumaria with no blooms.
ReplyDeleteI live in Arizona so most plants are cactus or desert friendly. Lantana and Oleander are in bloom now.
ReplyDeleteI live in the Pacific NW, in the country. We have a lot of greenery, a lot of wild flowers, some peonies, lilacs, and color. What I don't have are many roses, because our horses eat them! That breaks my heart, but there are a couple of bushes they leave alone, so we have reached detente on those.
ReplyDelete