Geisha Garden Quilt

The main reason I started this blog was to share my quilting and craft projects.  I will start with a quilt I completed December 2012 for my mother-in-law, Sherrye.  The name of the quilt is Geisha Garden.  The quilt panel and fabrics are from the Benartex Fabric Tea House Collection.  



(Here is a photo of my completed quilt.)

 



Quilt Title: Geisha Garden 

Designed by: Diane Nagle

Finished Size: 52" x 72"

Download: Pattern and Instructions

 

The panel is delicately etched with gold, accompanied with florals, geometrics and textures that complement the group. There are two color lines: Red/Plum or Antique/Teal.  My mother-in-law picked the Antique/Teal Fabric Panel. 

 

When you download the free pattern, read through it before cutting.  This is always a good rule to follow as a first step to any pattern construction. There are a lot of 1-1/8 inch strips to piece together.  After cutting all required pieces, I started the piecing process of the geometric blocks.  Here is how I tracked and keep everything in order. Take note to use a scant 1/4 inch with this pattern construction.

 

 

Note: The dark teal fabric is NOT from Benartex. 

I can't recall the fabric line it came from. 

 

42 geometric blocks measuring 4-1/2 inches square will be the finished product from all the tiny pieces of fabric strips.

I did a final press of each block before construction around the panel.

 

 

Take note of the placement and rotation of these 42 blocks around the panel.

This photo was taken when my dear hubby was holding it up, so it is slightly distorted.

Notice the corner of the panel and how much gold used in the etched panel.

 

 

Pictured next are the border fabrics.
From left to right: 
Outer border (Tea House Odori Teal)
 Middle border (Tea Garden Antique)
 Panel border (Tea Garden Scroll Seamist)

 

 

Finally, here is a photo taken by mother-in-law of Geisha Garden Quilt hanging as wall art in her bedroom.  She loves anything geisha and so excited about this quilt.

 

I will get better at this posting business.   

 

 

 

Meet the family!

I want to start my first blog with an introduction to our six (4 legged) children.  My husband and I have no children except for our animals and they are spoiled.  You may see them throughout postings.  I hope you enjoy this part our life.  We have 4 dogs (one female & three males) and 2 cats (one male & one female).  They are all adopted into our family and rule the household, daily.  We live on 6 arces of land, so there is plenty of room for our animals.

First up is Zeus. He is (we think) a British Shorthair Feline.  He was found wondering, starved in a parking lot as a kitten (unsure of his age), neutered and front paws declawed.  Zeus is a home body cat.  He thinks he is part dog and can be very demanding in the morning for breakfast.

Picture: He is waiting for one of his parents to feed him. We try to manage his weight issue.

We feed the cats on the island because Daisy (you will meet her in a minute) likes to eat the cat food.

 

Next, is our female feline named Bird.  She is more of an outdoor cat, until the weather changes.  When she comes indoors, it usually rains or a cold front is coming. We call her the weather cat.  Also, she is the hunter of the two cats...sometimes, you will find a gift on the floor from her nightly hunts.

She was found taking a nap on a quilt loaded on my longarm.

Yes, it was cold outside and she knows a good quilt is warm.

 

Everyone, we would like for you to meet Daisy.  She was dropped off three winters ago, just skin and bones.  We nursed her back to health and had her spayed. Pretty sure she is mixed breed with mostly Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Cur.  Daisy has one glass eye, very intelligent, protective and territorial.  She is a daddy's girl and my guard dog.

This is not her bed (it is Bo's), of course, she wants what everyone else has in the house.

 

Here is my friend named Bo.  He is a Sheltie. Bo is getting old and starting to grey.  I have noticed his hearing is getting bad but my husband said it is selective hearing. Bo has been with me since 2006 and was about 2 or 3 years at the time I took him in.  He is a ladies dog, loves the women and enjoys standing in the doorway to watch you dress or undress.

Excuse the bad eye picture; he likes to run from the camera.

 

Here is big boy Jake.  He is my husband's dog.  He is really unsure of his age or breed.  His grey is coming in around his face, so he is getting up there in age, too.  Jake is so young at heart and loves to play in the rain. When he gets muddy, we tell him he needs mud flaps.  Jake enjoys riding in a vehicle and is very smart when it comes to conversation.   He has an outstanding travel volcabulary.  We have to spell words like "ride", "go" or "leave" when he is in the room. 

Jake is known a smiley dog.

 

He is waiting for his daddy to come home, sleeping.

Check out the use of the end table.

 

And last but not least, since Christmas 2012, the newest addition to our home; My niece named him Buster Brown (color is brown and white).  We believe he is beagle/walker hound mixed.  Daisy has taken to him as a playmate.  Buster loves children and truely loves hunting.  Picture below is Daisy and Buster on the couch sleeping after a long day of running and playing.

I

I have to get a better picture of Buster, but they are sound asleep.

 

Here is the picture hound; excuse the focus. I was trying to get a picture of Jake.

Daisy wants you to check back later...