Monday, February 27, 2023

Vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden and More

It was finally a clear day
here in Colorado.
My antique Grandmother's Flower Garden
was ready to be displayed.


Vintage 1940's Grandmother's Flower Garden
Completed 2023


I was lucky to acquire 
these 94 fabulous blocks about a 
year ago.
I spent a lot of time 
carefully hand sewing the blocks together. 

With each added row,
the top got more colorful and beautiful


The original quiltmaker was very skilled
and each hexagon was perfectly sewn to create
these fantastic flowers.
Many of them had the
designs fussy cut from the fabrics.

And we think we're so clever today.


After it was pieced together, I began the hand quilting.


That was the easy part.
Then it was decision making time.  
What to do with the edge and binding.

Many ideas were considered.
I finally cut strips 7/8" wide and used
a Clover bias tape maker to create the narrow binding.


There was no way I could attach it by machine
or even hand stitch it through all the layers.

I appliqued one folded edge to the top of the quilt
going around and around each hexagon side.

Then did it all again. 
Appliqueing the other folded edge of the binding
to the backing.


The binding ended up 
being about 3/16" wide on each side.


It went perfectly around all those 
jagged edges.
If I had had more of the original fabrics,
I could have filled in some of that space on the outer edges,
but I worked with what I had or didn't have,
and love the finished look.

I took it to the Benson Sculpture Garden
in Loveland, Colorado to see what others might think
about this finished quilt.



"Perfect, my dear."
"It's just the way I would have done it."



"Say hey, Good Lookin'
What ya got cookin'?
How's about cookin' somethin' up 
with me?"


"Come away with me to
my fairy garden."

****
I brought along a second quilt I had
just finished as a charity donation
to Children's Hospital in Denver.


The children let it join in and play.



Everyone was having a good time.
Until....


Hey, bring that back!



It was a fun place to hang around.

Until Next Time-

Kyle


16 comments:

  1. The hexie quilt is amazing, Kyle. Your hand stitching is perfect and what a clever idea to applique' the binding. You've created a lovely treasure. Love the park photos, so cute.

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  2. What a delightful post! Gorgeous hexie quillt! You put a lot of time and effort into that quilt and what a treasure you now have!

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  3. Another labor of love - well done my friend! You have the most interesting places to showcase your quilts.

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  4. The hexi quilt is perfect!! So beautiful!! I love the pictures of both your quilts -- the setting is wonderful for them both!!

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  5. What a fun post. It was great to see your quilts in so many different situations. I love the binding on your grandmother's flower garden quilt. It's a perfect color and it adds a ruffle/feminine accent to the whole quilt. The maker did a wonderful job fussy cutting her designs. Just a treasure!

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  6. A lot of work, but a beautiful result! That venue is a great way to show it off 🙂.

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  7. Kyle ¡¡ Espectacular !! solo digo maravilloso trabajo, una joya para admirar. Preciosas fotografías. Saludos

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  8. Oh, my goodness, Kyle, you have blown me away--again! Not only is this an amazing finish, but your photo shoot is SO clever! So good of you to honor the work of the original block maker. The binding is incredible! And what fun you and your quilts had at the "playground".

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  9. What a labor of love! And that binding is so perfectly executed. Great photo shoot as well.

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  10. You outdid yourself with this beautiful vintage GFG quilt! Your patience paid off with the binding--wow! So clever and time-consuming but the perfect solution for all those hexie edges. As for the photo shoot--Love it! Love it! Love it! Thanks, Kyle, for a wonderful post!

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  11. Kyle! Wow! It is amazing and the original block maker would be so pleased! Love the outing to showcase the quilts too!

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  12. Wow! What a labor of love. It is just gorgeous. Hand quilted too, and the binding is just the icing on the cake. I just love your photo shoot! That must have been so fun to do.

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  13. The Grandmas Flower GArden quilt turned out fantastic! Wowsers, that binding was the perfect touch, but lots of work I'm sure! Love the way you showed the quilt off too, in the pics. So much fun I'm sure!

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  14. What a cool place to take photos of your quilts! Your Grandmothers flower garden turned out beautifully! That's narrow binding - and it looks great!

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  15. Beautiful work with your hexies !! And I adoooore the pictures in the garden with these characters ! So clever !

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  16. Incredible Quilt Finish. Just a lovely lovely traditional quilt. You sure did it justice. Hats off to you!!
    I enjoyed the sculpture garden display almost as much as the sculptures. They are just so fun and the quilts fit perfectly with them. Wee - You have the best quilt photos.
    Your blog post was a breath of fresh air today and brought me many smiles.!

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