Tag: Flower Garden Gatherings

My next new pattern that I want to introduce to you is

Jellyroll Gemstones.

The rainbow of color across this quilt can be made entirely

with 1 jelly roll of 40, 2 1/2″ strips.

 

This is Flower Garden Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings for Moda.

 

When I started this quilt I cut all the petals

& sewed them into a long string.

I encharged Betsy to keep them tangle-free.

She did a great job.

You can’t even see her beneath them all!

Next, I sewed & sewed, & sewed some more…

Eventually I had a nice array of plates.

I auditioned many background fabrics to complete my design,

but couldn’t find just the right one so they rested a while.

If you remember, I mentioned

that I picked up this cool Shedd’s Peanut Butter tin in Michigan

while traveling to teach at the Berrien Towne & Country Quilters.

It was the perfect place for the completed plates to hang out

while I did more traveling last fall to teach

& to vend & then attend fall quilt market.

In February at our retreat at Rosemary’s I got them out again

& auditioned more background fabrics & decided on just the right one.

So, I went to work & cut all the pieces for the blocks.

Then I assembled them into little kits for each block

so the color combinations wouldn’t be duplicated.

My new-to-me wooden tray was the perfect holder for the little kits.

& my new-to-me m&m’s (or Dr. Pepper) holder

from my friend & fellow retreater, Chris, now holds my bottle near my machine!

Soon I had a nice stack of blocks ready to have a Tiny Dresden appliqued to the center.

Soon after that I ran out of thread!

I use a lot of Sulky’s Medium Taupe thread!

Fortunately I had more thread, so I was able to finish all of the blocks.

Of course Nemo, my supervisor, was always good at

keeping an eye on me to be sure I kept working!

Laying out the blocks was next

& I soon decided that I had just the right colors in just the right places,

then I added the Tiny Dresden plates at the intersections of the blocks.

 

I decided a small sashing was necessary

to space the Tiny Dresden plates a bit farther from the blocks.

So another fabric audition was necessary.

I decided on a low contrast between the two fabrics.

Next, I went to work sewing sashing strips between the blocks.

 

Thanks again to my friend, Chris,

I numbered the rows with the pins that she made for each of our guild members last year.

 

What a great trick to keep track of the rows.

Nothing is worse than laying everything out & getting it just right,

then getting the rows mixed up & sewing a green block next to another green block!

My numbered pins now hang out in this clip-on pincushion on Betsy’s shoulder.

I don’t have to wonder where I put them!!!

Next, I appliqued the Tiny Dresden plates to the sashing as I assembled the rows.

Notice how the Medium Taupe thread blends well with lots of colors?

This saves a lot of time not having to change thread color for each plate.

Finally the quilt top was complete & beautifully quilted by Tamara,

then photographed by Scott, all being overseen by our late friend, Nemo.

I still have a string of petals hanging out on Betsy

just as they’ve been doing since September 4th as you can see by the calendar!

Eventually I’ll find a use for them too.

For now I just love them hanging out with me in my sewing atelier :)

Jellyroll Gemstones is now available on my website.

One more new pattern to go.

Until then,

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan