Last fall I joined the monthly Midnight Garden class
at The Sewing House.
We met on Saturdays each month to learn different ways to make Foundation Paper Pieced blocks.
There were several teachers, each with their own favorite method.
The joining fee included a bundle of fabric
that we could use in addition to our own fabrics.
Some patterns were included in the monthly fee.
Patterns for the large flowers and the fox below were provided for us.
I found the moon pattern online.
It was free.
The mushrooms came from Liza Taylor's book.
The pattern for these Lilies of the Valley came from
Burlap & Blossom.
Trying different fabrics.
The daffodil also came from Burlap & Blossom.
Each time I finished some blocks, I tried possible layouts.
Bunny block in progress.
More layout try-outs.
I made some brown string blocks.
The fence was my own design.
The bunny block finished.
I tried to make the background scrappy.
The four point star was a free download.
The luna moth is from Liza's book.
I looked through all kinds of quilt books, magazines, and websites to find ideas for my garden.
This morning glory pattern came from a magazine.
One Saturday in class I tried my blocks on the design wall.
How much more do I need to make?
Trying blocks on a design bed.
The fence has grown.
There is a carrot for the bunny.
(Another free pattern.)
More possible layouts.
Where to put the daffodil?
It is huge.
The first blue bell.
Starting to sew the blocks together.
Two sizes of flowers from Liza's book.
Getting closer to the final layout.
I designed the birdhouse from a cuckoo clock pattern.
The FedEx jet pattern is from Amy Friend's book
with my embellishments.
How many more things are needed in the sky?
Checking for sizes needed to fill between blocks.
The patterns for these insects are from Liza's book.
Trying out filler for the sky. How much more?
The lower half is nearly complete.
Lots of sky filler needed.
The dragonfly in the upper left corner is my favorite.
I tilted the block by making it a square in a square.
Getting closer to the finish.
Here it is ready to be quilted.
Last time on the design wall.
After quilting I sewed facings and corner triangles
instead of binding.
Mini clips help in the hand sewing.
Working on hand sewing the facings and hanging sleeve.
The quilting was done at the Sewing House.
The pattern is Midnight Stars, I think.
Navy thread was used for the quilting.
All finished.
Ready to be hung in the Midnight Garden quilt show
at the Sewing House.
Close ups of the quilting.
The morning glories have buttons sewn on their centers.
More close ups.
and more...
The sky is another favorite section.
I decided to use all the dark blue and black fabric
to fill in the sky.
I didn't have enough of the starry fabric for the whole sky.
The sky section of Jen Kingwell's My Small World
was my inspiration.
The birdhouse has a reverse applique showing a nesting bird.
We have lots of cardinals in our small garden.
The bird pattern was another free download.
Another view.
The label.
Tada! Here it is on display at the Collierville Sewing House.
My idea was to have a story quality to the quilt.
The bottom is brown for the dirt of the garden.
Then green for the growing things.
Next blue for the sky fading into black for deep space of stars.
I'm glad I tried something improvised and unstructured.
Next up-
Finishing a long timeWIP.
Happy sewing!
