Tranquil Garden - Part 2

I finally have finished the background for the Tranquil Garden wall hanging. Here is what it looks like at the moment.

I was hoping to just use what I had in my stash for this project but I didn't have anything suitable for the outer border of which there was enough yardage. Most of what I had were FQs or slightly larger pieces and I needed more like a yard so that I had enough for the borders plus the binding. So last week I made a trip out to one of the few quilt shops that is left in Toronto Sew Sisters. I found a nice dark blue and teal Kaufman batik and it sets off the diamonds very nicely. So many quilt shops have closed in our city that now I have a major trip across the city if I want to get something. I do have to give Sew Sisters two thumbs up for having a pretty decent selection of batiks and the price was right at $10.98 a meter. You can check them out at:  http://www.sew-sisters.com/

Here is a close up of my piecing of the of diamonds. I'm very pleased with how the intersections came together and all I can say is that you have to have patience and you have to pin your rows together when you are joining everything.

Now I'm back working on the designs for the Lotus flowers, buds, seed pod and leaves. I've got some done but still more to develop and audition before I make my final decisions on which ones will make the final cut for the wall hanging. Enjoy your week.

Tranquil Garden - Part 1

Yes I'm back and have started a new project. October and November were busy with packing, moving and unpacking. Boy is that a lot of work and I swear stuff grows and multiples at night so when you wake up the next day you find that there is even more stuff to do and you wonder when will it ever end.

I finally got my sewing room back in order about 2 weeks ago and was then able to pull out fabrics for my next project called Tranquil Garden. This is going to be another wall hanging quilt similar to the Gerbera Daisy one that I did over the summer but this time it is going to have Lotus Flowers as the main theme. The background is similar in that I'm doing the 2 1/2" diamonds cut on a 45 degree angle. The colours for the background are in the blue green to teal to blue shades. I have just finished the layout and just did the last switches of a few of the diamonds and I'm ready to start sewing. I find that after I'm done laying out this kind of background I always leave it for a few days and then come back and will often find a few blocks that need changing because the are either too dark or light based on their neighbours. Here is what it looks like.

The Lotus flowers will be raw edge appliqued and again will be my own design. I actually was very fortunate that back in 2006 when I went to Hawaii for the first time I visited Allerton Gardens in Kauai and they had a Lotus flower pond on their grounds. Here are a few pictures from that trip.

I'm planning to include at least one seed pod since they are very unique looking as well as a bud or two amongst the actual flowers. Originally I was hoping to have this quilt finished by the end of the year but unfortunately the move took longer that I had anticipated so I think this will be a January finish.