Friday, August 16, 2019

My Improv Garden

It has been too hot for me to be working in my outside gardens, so I have been keeping myself entertained by working on my "inside garden".

I finally finished my improv garden quilt and I can't wait to share it!



This quilt started out with the color green...I love it in my gardens but I struggle to use it in my quilting.  So one day as I was pondering why all those different shades work in my garden but not in fabric, I decided I needed to just make an indoor garden and play with the color green.


I decided to make some lovely improv flowers.  First I was inspired by the poppy - red with teal green foliage.

Sunflowers, peonies and nasturtiums soon followed.



So here it is...an aerial (or drone) view of my garden!



This quilt was a great exercise for me to play with my green scraps.  Thinking of each fabric as a leaf fighting for space with its neighbor helped me put all these colors shades together in a single quilt.




When I went to quilt it, I decided just to quilt each bloom with a dense spiral in the thread color of the flower.  I used a pine green thread and quilted leaves into all the green background spaces.

There is texture galore in this quilt!


On the back I used a green and black leaf patterned fabric I have had for years.  You can see the big yellow quilted flower.



So the back view of the quilt is a garden too!




 I used to teach this improv flower technique years ago and I think I will use this quilt to promote the class again.  I really like how this quilt turned out and I would love to help others make their own indoor scrappy garden!





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37 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

you have it hot too huh - I don't know why the heat is bothering me more this year it really hasn't even been as hot as some summers are but the past month it is 80 by time I'm ready to go sit out on the porch to enjoy some morning stitching or reading outside and quickly goes to 85 and I can't stand - I've been outside not so much this past month

Carol R. said...

Improv. quilts usually aren't my 'cup of tea', but I really like this one.

Rose Marie said...

Oh my .... I love it!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Great workshop idea!!

cityquilter grace said...

very nice...you truly have a green (fabric) thumb!

Debra Campbell said...

What a lovely"garden". You have brought it all together beautifully!

Margo Yang said...

Love your indoor garden. What an in-door green thumb you have!!

Miaismine said...

Absolutely gorgeous....what a great idea to work on your indoor garden! :) Inspires me to continue work on my Grandmother's Flower Garden! Nice job!

Cathy said...

A whole new way to go green! And I love it! Good idea for a workshop. Again, wish I lived close by!!

The Joyful Quilter said...

That turned out SEW pretty, Cynthia! I've got a HUGE stack of green fabrics on my cutting table. Maybe...

chrisknits said...

So pretty!!! it will be awesome when done.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

It really is pretty amazing how those greens flow from one shade to the other! Your improv garden is beautiful!

Libby in TN said...

I know what you mean about mixing greens. But, in the end, green -- all green -- is the only color in nature that goes with everything!

Louise said...

All those greens look GREAT together! This piece really came together into a wonderful finish. I love it!! :)

grammajudyb said...

This quilt is a stunner!!

Lynn said...

Amazing quilt, beautiful texture

JanineMarie said...

Love, love, love this quilt!! You definitely made peace with green in all its many variations. It works in nature and in quilts. The teals (at least on my screen) make me think of sky peeking through the blooms. The quilting and backing are just perfect. I want this quilt—or I want to make it!

Jeannine said...

This is great! I love it! I hope to make a small version of this one day - to hang in my cubicle at work.

Marly said...

Wow! It's amazing! I hope you don't limit your classes to your own location; spare a thought for those of us on the other side of the oceans! I'd love to learn from an expert.

Emily said...

Beautiful! I love it! These flowers are gorgeous, and the circle quilting is a great enhancement.

LynneP said...

Fabulous! This is just beautiful.

sandypoa05 said...

So lovely, a great garden indeed

Jerilea Hendrick said...

I really love this. I especially like how you took the time to change the bobbin thread for each different color of flowers. The colors are wonderful.

Kathleen Kingsbury said...

I just LOVE this! Front AND back!
kakingsbury at verizon dot net

Jayne said...

This is one way to have a garden and not have to be out in the heat! It turned out to be a gorgeous bouquet of color and improv!

KaHolly said...

It is as beautiful as I was anticipating!

Rebecca Grace said...

Your improv flowers are so lovely, Cynthia! What a beautiful finish!

Vicki in MN said...

You certainly have a green thumb. You got all the greens to play just as nicely in this quilt as they do in gardens. I love it.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Wow! Your indoor garden is just lovely. Love all that great quilty texture too. I hope it helped you get past your angst about using green. I think of green almost as a neutral since I have so much of it around the house. It works well with all seasonal decor changes.

Marianne said...

Well done! A beauty of a quilt, but do tell, what is the secret to working with greens. I struggle as well!

Mystic Quilter said...

Beautiful finish Cynthia! Whilst it may be too hot to be gardening the plants are looking good oat the moment.

Jannette said...

WOW - that's stunning! I love green so this quilt really speaks to me - and I've enjoyed watching your progress on it. Your quilting adds such a wonderful dimension to it too!

QuiltGranma said...

OK, now I want to make one of these!

Kate said...

Love the color graduation of teal to dark green across the quilt, that really works to harmonize all those greens. A beautiful finish!

Sandy Panagos said...

That is so pretty! I've never enjoyed making that kind of block, but I sure do like how they look. Well done.

momto1 said...

That is such a great quilt, and it doesn't seem like it's too precious to use - just a sweet quilt to wrap up in.

kupton52 said...

I don't know HOW I missed this post...but I LOVE this quilt....you know...a tutorial on this technique would make a wonderful blog post...hint hint hint hint. :)

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