Look at This!?!

A BIG project is finished!!

Homage to Grandmother's Flower Garden, an original design by Katja Marek was my big focus in 2022.  I pieced my version as part of her annual sew-along.  The pattern and English paper piecing supplies are available from Paper Pieces in Paducah, KY HERE.

My version is machine-pieced using 3/4" hexagons (cut with a Marti Michell template) and my Set-In Piecing Simplified technique to chain piece -- PDF HERE.  Most participants used 1" hexagons and English paper piecing including Katja's mom who worked with 1/2" hexagons!?!

The finished quilt measures 58" square and it is destined to hang on the wall of the guest room at the head of the bed.

This is my inspiration fabric which I found in my stash -- all the "double" flower motifs contain fussy cut hexagons from it. 

 I plotted out the placement of the three colors used -- pink, blue, yellow -- so that they (almost) never touch.  You can see in the photo that it's really chopped up

but I did have enough to make the binding which I think is perfect.

I used a combination of machine and hand quilting -- I like doing that!  The machine quilting is "in the ditch" and crosses the center of each hexagon making a rhythmic pattern of equilateral triangles.  Once the center of the quilt was finished, I hand quilted (big stitch style) all the flower motifs with pearl cotton -- I like doing that, too!  Then I returned to the machine to quilt the area outside the wreath.

It was fun to sort out the fussy cutting and you'll notice there are bees in almost every flower center

For a few of the double flowers, I used the kite shape and eliminated the center hexagon just for fun.

I'm feeling pretty "chuffed" that I finished this quilt in 16 months and relieved that it's done before spring birding and gardening kicks into high gear!!  I have seen at least two other finished ones on Instagram -- HERE -- but I expect many quilters are still working on their version.

As is often the case when I finished a BIG project, my wheels have been spinning while I figure out where to focus the energy and time but with a stack of waiting quilt tops, it wasn't hard to find something to do.  I layered this little top and have it almost ready to bind!

With May on the doorstep, it will be time next week to tackled Block #5 of the Flourishes BOM after I have a little palette cleanser knitting project.

Enjoy the last weekend of April!!

Mary