Cottage Garden Wall Hanging

I was just looking back through my Instagram feed and realized I started this project in February 2016!?!  Wow.  Three and a half years from the time I started this project to the time I finished and blogged about it.  It was just one of those projects that was great to stuff in my purse and take on the go.  So I would take it on vacation or to soccer games so I could stitch during warm-ups.  I actually finished this several months ago though...just took a while for me to actually get some photos and sit down to blog about it!

Even though it took forEVER I actually really loved this project.  Wool applique is one of the easiest forms of applique out there and I have a tutorial for it saved in my Instagram Highlights for those of you interested in learning more about it.

I have quite the collection of wool scraps now.  Aren't they pretty?

This pattern is called Cottage Garden by Norma Whaley.  In her pattern, Norma suggested making scrappy 20-Patch blocks but I wanted a little bit more of a traditional look so I decided to switch things up a bit and go neutral.  I felt it kept the focus on the applique blocks.  But either way would be cute don't you think?

The pattern mixes cotton and wool so it's a great stash buster.  

Here are some close-ups of a few of the blocks.  

They're sweet, creative designs with a folk art flair.

I love how the pattern incorporates a traditional signature block in the bottom corner!

I asked Denae Hansen of Plain Jane Quilting in American Fork, Utah to quilt it for me and she did a fantastic job!  I love everything she did, from the cross hatch quilting in the 20-Patch blocks to outlining the applique to the leaves in the border.  It turned out so pretty! 

The only fabric I bought for this was the wool and the inner border fabric, which was purple, totally out of my comfort zone!  Are you a "purple person"?  I feel like you either love it or you hate it.  I normally am not a fan but felt like it complimented the blocks without overpowering them...so I went for it!

Now I just need to find a spot for it in my home.  I love it so much and originally planned to hang it somewhere in my house but if you've been around here for a while you know I don't really love to decorate with quilts anymore, for some reason.  So we'll see what I end up doing with it!

So, have you tried wool applique before?

If so, did you love it as much as I did?

If you haven't tried it yet, I hope I've inspired you to try it!  The possibilities with it are endless!

Have a great day friends!

Amber

Rainbow 4-Patch Baby Quilt

 Hi friends!  It's been a minute and I've been meaning to share a few quilts that I finished a while ago.

Today I want to share a fun, little baby quilt I made that is a little out of the norm for me.  

Back in October, I participated in a block swap for these low-volume/bright 4-Patches.

The individual squares were cut at 3" to make 5" (finished) 4-Patches.

A swap for 4-Patches was really fun to participate in because 

they're so quick and easy to make but there are so many possibilities 

of what you can do with them!

I ended up putting four like-colored 4-Patches together to make one big block.  

Then I sewed them together in a rainbow fashion with 1-1/2" (cut) low-volume 

sashing strips between.  I then added a 2" (cut) low-volume border that's different on each side.

Here's a little sneak peek of the back; a navy blue buffalo check fabric that I had in my stash.

I love it!  And I love my little helper!

Denae Hansen of Plain Jain Quilting in American Fork, Utah quilted it for me 

with a geometric triangle pattern to go along with the modern feel of this quilt!  

It was a new-to-me pattern and I really like the way it turned out!

One of my favorite parts of this quilt is the scrappy rainbow binding!

It wasn't too hard to get the colors of the binding to coordinate with the colors of the 

blocks and I think it adds a fun finishing touch!

I love that these blocks came from a swap; instant variety in color and print!

Also, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

This would be a great stash buster quilt! 

Well, I hope you found some inspiration here today.

Did I make you want to whip up some 4-Patches?  Or maybe make a rainbow quilt?

Or try a scrappy, rainbow binding?

It feels so good to do something different once in a while.

Tell me, what is the most recent thing you've done recently that was out of your "box"?

Leave a comment below!