State Flowerscape and EPP

Remember my State Flowerscape quilt ?


The more I sewed with Kristin’s lovely fabrics, the more I thought about trying to fussy cut the 50 Nifty print to showcase a particular flower.  Since I am a Colorado native, naturally my first thought was to use the Rocky Mountain Columbine.


I was not disappointed!  It happened that I’d recently decided (rather impulsively, I might add) to join the Ice Cream Soda EPP (English Paper Piecing) quilt along that Jodi had started.  My first set of shapes arrived and were the perfect size for the columbine.


The only previous experience I’ve had with EPP was the Sweet as Honey beehive I designed for Bonnie Forkner’s blog hop.  It is still a favorite project and hangs in my sewing room.  I look forward to getting more practice with these ice cream soda blossoms and hope to have a really awesome quilt to show for it when I’m done.


In this, my first block, I’m happy with the contrast in color and with my novice attempt at fussy cutting the flowers.  Most of all, I am excited that the state flowers work so well with this kind of project.  One more reason to buy that awesome print, and more proof that different fabric styles can mingle quite nicely.


Want to win some fabric?

Over on Instagram
I’m sponsoring a giveaway for one of the State Flowerscape map panels and a bundle of coordinating fat quarters, including the awesome print these columbines come from.  You can find me there @hopefulhomemaker and comment on that post to enter. (please note that the giveaway is being hosted entirely on my Instagram account, NOT here on my blog)  The giveaway will end on Friday May 5th.


Have a great day!
Jennifer

Catenary quilt top



With all fourteen rows appliqued and sewn together, my Catenary quilt top is finished.


I have enjoyed and grown to love the art of hand applique over the last six months.  This is the third applique quilt top I’ve finished this year (all patterns by Carolyn Friedlander) and I think I’ll always have a hand sewing project going from now on.  This particular project was especially fun to plan as I auditioned and selected fabrics.


I really wanted to try one of Carolyn’s patterns with fabrics that are larger in scale and bold in color/pattern.  It’s been such a fun project and I can’t tell you how much I love the blues in this quilt.  It’s like the colors of my soul have spilled onto fabric.  I also enjoyed mixing some Bonnie Christine, Jennifer Paganelli and Violet Craft fabrics in, as well as a bit of lawn.  For the borders along each side of the panels I chose a low volume floral print from Erin Michael’s Purebred collection for Moda.  Somehow it’s just perfect.




Naturally I’ve already begun a new applique project.  My hands were itching to stitch in the car for a few days so I quickly started prepping again.  I’ll share more soon!  I also need to figure out how I want to quilt this beauty.


Thanks for visiting!

Related Posts:

Catenary – A New Project
Catenary Progress Botanics Quilt top Aerial Grove quilt top

Cheerio! {a finished quilt}



Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study was the first AMH collection I ever purchased.  I’d never seen her fabric in person and I ordered it online.  When it arrived, I was amazed by the beauty and color.  I loved it.  I chose a pattern and cut all my fabric before making a test block…. only to hate the pattern.  My beautiful stack of fabric went in a bag because it was all cut up and I didn’t know what to do with it.


A few years later I saw the Cheerio pattern in Love Patchwork & Quilting and was happy to discover that the fabric requirement was exactly the size my old Field Study prints were cut to.  I pulled them out and had my girls help me go through my solid scraps and pair them all up.  The exercise in choosing fabrics was fun for all of us and the quilt top came together quickly.


Unfortunately, I often finish a quilt top and let it hang in the closet for a while, either because I don’t have time/interest in quilting it myself or because I’m not ready to pay for longarm quilting.  Such was the case with this top, and it hung for more than a year until I finally gave it to Nicole Christoffersen and had her quilt it for me.  I’m so happy that it’s done, for it’s full of color and I’m glad to have a quilt with these favorite prints instead of a stack of unwisely cut squares.


I was lucky enough to score some yardage for a backing, and a black and white stripe binding frames it all beautifully!


All of a  sudden what’s old and forgotten is new and beautiful again.  We’ve got a beautiful “new” quilt to use and a neglected project is completed.  I love these prints!


Size:  approx 68″ x 77″ Pattern:  Cheerio by Thimbleblossoms Fabrics:  Field Study by Anna Maria Horner, with a few other prints thrown in, solids from my stash

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