I feel like I’ve hit a bit of a dry spell in my creativity. I keep trying to find a project that is what I’m looking for. But no luck so far.
Thinking I might dive in and finish this wall hanging.
This was a Row-By-Row pattern from a local quilt store several years ago. I only gathered a few Row-By-Row patterns over several years, and this is only the second one I’ve ever made. And I have to say, it’s my favorite.
The local store that gave away this pattern has a stand of amazing sequoia trees on the property. They had originally done this pattern in wool applique. I translated it into batiks.
It was really fun to make and it was my first ever try at applique. It’s just raw edge applique using Heat and Bond.
I stopped by the big box fabric store last week to buy some interfacing and took a few minutes to look at the thread and saw these two greens that will be perfect for the quilting on this. I haven’t decided on the quilting pattern yet, but I have a few ideas.
My friend gave me the batik for the tree trunk. It’s so perfect! I only have a few small pieces of it and will save it for the perfect tree project in my future.
My friend and I each made one at the same time one summer while she was visiting. Remember when people used to come and visit? Yeah. I miss that.
She made hers with a clouded sky background. I went with this batik background because it feels like a cold and rainy Portland winter sky.
It shouldn’t take very long to get this quilted once I decide to just do it. I think I’ll hang it in my living room. The colors are just perfect for that.
There’s another quilt I’ve been wanting to make for years. It’s called Aboretum and you can find a b it of a tutorial for it here. You really should follow that link to see this quilt. It’s pretty spectacular.
I think I originally saw this quilt three or four years ago. And it was recently made available as a kit by a woman who I see often on the Kaffe Fassett Collective page on Facebook. If you like KFC fabrics and are on Facebook, you should follow that page. There’s a lot of inspiration there.
I’ve never purchased a quilt kit. I did make one that a friend of mine gave me as a birthday gift a number of years ago. But this kit includes 99 different fabrics cut to size. The pattern really relies on all that amazing variation in making it really sparkle and I hated the idea of pressing and cutting all those blocks from 99 different fabrics.
So I bought two kits… one for me and one as a holiday gift for a friend.
The kit includes the 99 different rectangles, along with these various Aboriginal Dots to be used for the trees. There is also fabric for the binding.
The kit includes a few of the new Kaffe Fassett Collective Fabrics.
I just love it when you purchase fabric and the seller presents it in such a pretty way!
I have no idea when I’ll start on this quilt. I keep telling myself that I should finish us some of the many quilts I have in progress.
My friend knows that I have purchased this kit for her. And she has purchased the backing fabric for me as her holiday gift to me.
I had another weekend of sheep. Saturday was our regular sheep herding lesson, and on Sunday a friend and I went up to Olympia, Washington, for a day of working our sheep on some more advanced skills.
We were all happy to be out there and it was a gorgeous fall day. There was about a 50% chance of rain but it stayed dry while we were out in the field.
As we were finishing up I looked down at a pile of dirt pushed up by a mole and saw this:
It was only about an inch long and I don’t know how I even saw it! It looked exactly like the dirt and if it hadn’t moved at just the right time I never would have seen it.
It sure seems like a long time until the weekend.
agilejack 
I like your work very much. I’m a huge Kaffe Fassett fan, been collecting and hoarding his books and fabric since the early 80’s. Thanks for letting us know about the FB group.
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What a nice wall hanging, the batik tree trunk couldn’t be more perfect! You get into the neatest projects, Thank you for sharing the link to Aboretum, What a beautiful quilt, and it looks to be a fun site to read for later today. I do remember times ( back in the day ) when people dropped in to visit. Whatever happened to that!! Enjoy your blogs, except for that creature sitting in the palm of your hand !!
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Be gentle with yourself Anne. Sometimes we are bursting with energy and creativity and sometimes it’s all we can do to put one foot in front of another. Allow yourself to rest if rest is what you need. And to just percolate. Did you ever give us a tutorial on making a zippered bag? I want to make one but I’m a bit stuck. Be well. Love your batik tree
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An image of that sweet frog would be a great addition to the RxR tree base. Or maybe just by itself on a small piece for your desk.
In upstate NY, that frog would be called a “peeper.”
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Your tree appliqué is stunning, love it!!! And I saw that Arboritum quilt as well and I fell in love with it….can’t wait to see yours!!!
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Good morning from Ohio Anne, In your blog you use the word inspiration and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity two tell you what an inspiration you are to me when I read your blog. Rico and Bender also add delight to my days. I hope you don’t mind but I have printed their pictures out—especially Bender with the stack of quilts and Frankenbag. I have used the pictures to make cards for my animal loving friends who need a note of encouragement. I know it will bring a smile to their faces. I am a quilter but have taken a break as my husband is not doing very well and I don’t have the time or energy to go to my fabulous quilt room where I find peace for the day. Thank you for sharing and providing that inspiration we all need as quilters and friends in this world. PS I have a black lab Abby and at one time sent a sexy picture of her to you.
agilejack posted: ” I feel like I’ve hit a bit of a dry spell in my > creativity. I keep trying to find a project that is what I’m looking for. > But no luck so far. Thinking I might dive in and finish this wall hanging. > This was a Row-By-Row pattern from a local qu” >
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I recently took a class on collage quilting and boy am I hooked! You might really like it because you have so many batiks. The woman’s name is Emily Taylor.
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I took several collage classes with a woman who makes some really amazing stuff. The result: I have three unfinished portraits! It was really a struggle for me. I loved the product, but the process was not natural to me.
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Thanks for the Arboretum inspiration. Just love all the color. The leaves are turning around the midwest now.
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It does feel like a really good quilt for fall, doesn’t it!
Anne
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So, when inspiration takes a vacation for a while, it’s always worth it to force yourself to tackle a UFO. It’s productive and gives inspiration time to regenerate. Linda
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Well, I certainly have more than a few options there!!!
Anne
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I love the Arboretum quilt too. I’m glad to see the Aboriginal dots in the kit because I wasn’t sure what to use for the branches. I think I’ll make a couple blocks with fabrics in my Kaffe chunks box. Then I’ll know if I really want to make or if I’ll have some new blocks for my next orphan block quilt.
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You could make an amazing one from your stash! I think you could use batiks for the trunks as well. If you look at the tutorial, she used a variety of fabrics. I have so many unfinished projects, but I know I’ll dig into this one before I finish them!
Anne
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