Our featured charm pack this week is Garden Inspirations. It premiered in 2008 just after we finished the cabin and my mind was on landscaping. When you build in a pasture next to a wheat field, it's pretty much a blank slate. My studio is on the front of the cabin with full length windows the width of the room with a view of the pond and trees. I knew I wanted a flower garden on both sides of the flagstone walkway to the porch just outside my windows - kinda planned, but more just an assortment of deer resistant wildflowers that would thrive in the Kansas weather with little special care. I love my garden, but I'm not a constant gardener. Coneflowers, shasta daisies and liatris with some day lilies and decorative grasses fill in most of the space. Other purple and yellow flowers (that I cannot name) fill in between. If I'm ever stumped for a theme to a fabric line or quilt, gazing out my window seems to provide inspiration any time of year - but late summer when everything is in bloom is my favorite.
These are a couple of the projects inspired by Garden Inspirations - Springtime Mini Table Treat & Flowers by the Cabin. A couple ladies at the Quilt 'n Kaboodle workshop on Sat. made the Springtime topper with satisfying results. Flowers by the Cabin is a former KT Stash project but will be a single pattern before fall market.
Have I asked if you're a gardener and a quilter? How does your garden grow? With lots of care and fussing - or on it's own?
Yes, I am a gardener and quilter. I have a rose bed with 7 roses (used to be more, but when we installed the AC unit outside it took a chunk of my rose bed). I have a really long raised bed (approx. 45 ft.) along the south side of my house just for flowers. It is a hot, dry bed and I am always experimenting with what will grow there with little care. There are iris all along the back, and seasonally there are tulips and daffodils, but the rest is anybodies guess from year to year. I have a small perennial bed for cutting flowers and flowers for drying. Everything else is for edibles--strawberries, raspberries, corn, melons, squash, pumpkins, cukes, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and peas (if I get them in early enough).
ReplyDeleteThat is more than you needed to know, but there you have it. : )
I would love to be a gardener. I have tried my hand at veggies and annuals. I love to see a beautiful garden, but living in Florida the heat burns most everything up. So I garden with my fabric. Isn't pretty fabric like flowers that never go to seed??
ReplyDeleteI am a gardener and a quilter.
ReplyDeleteI love my roses but I have a large variety of plants in my garden. Many plants were from my mother's garden and I have plants given to me by my maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother. My garden means a lot to me.
I end many of my blog posts with photos of flowers from my garden.
I would LIKE to be BOTH!!! LOL I am a beginner quilter. I am not officially a gardener. We just bought a house on come acreage, so once we are out of the terrible drought (we are in South Texas), we will be starting a garden! :o) Right now we have an abundance of fruit trees, but the fruit isn't good because of the drought.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your giveaways each week!
I do love floral prints, I realize that when I look at my stash, lol.
ReplyDeleteI did most of the garden myself this year and everything is so green and lush and today I was able to get some green beans. I am not so lucky with flowers, so I will be content to quilt them.
Debbie
I love growing flowers, but I have to find ones the deer don't eat. They eat my lilies and conflowers .... what is your secret? In the spring my flower bed are full of beautiful daffodils. In the summer I have peonies, iris and lavender.
ReplyDeleteI love gardening and quilting. Colorado is challenging though with its short growing season. Love these fabrics!!
ReplyDeleteIf it doesn't grow on it's own at my house, it doesn't grow! Ha! I actually have three volunteer tomato plants that are doing way better than the 3 plants that I planted! Weeds do grow very well in my garden!!! I guess I will stick to quilting! HUGS... and stitches
ReplyDeleteGardening is not my idea of enjoyment! My husband takes care of a small tomatoe/pepper garden we have just off our deck, as well as the landscaping...I'll stick with my sewing machine :) !
ReplyDeleteI do like gardening, but only the dead heading and bits of tidying up, I hate having to "make" a garden from scratch, I think it is because I am too impatient I can't wait for the flowers to appear. I make my garden as easy as possible to look after, I need the extra time to quilt now!! Linda
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a gardener, due to a skin disorder, so my garden is with fabrics! My mother could grow anything, I used to say that she could plant a creosote pole & it would sprout. My daughter takes after Mother. I'll stick with quilting and air conditioning!
ReplyDeleteI am a gardener, too. Although not as much as in the past, my DS is 4. I learned here in suburbs and with a yard on a hill to plant shrubs and native perennials. There's still weeds to pull and plants to divide or move.
ReplyDeleteI'm a gardener in the summer...quilter in the winter...however this summer's drought has allowed me to be more of a summer quilter. Love your table treats! ---janet
ReplyDeleteMy husband is the gardener here and he does a great job! He has put a lot of pretty trees and flowers where I can see them from my sewing room (what a nice guy, huh?). I love these weekly trips down KT memory lane, seeing some of your older lines that I haven't thought about for awhile. They have all been wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI am a novice quilter and a let it grow on its own gardener. We have very sandy soil and many deer and such. I did put in some daffodils one year and now the shasta dasies and some brown eyed susans have shown up. Works gret for me.
ReplyDeleteI am not a gardener, but I love Flowers by the Cabin. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy gardening, but with record heat in Arkansas, 114 degrees yesterday, the most I can do is provide water. Luckily, my cannas and trailing vinca seem to tolerate the heat well. Busy hummingbirds congregate around a stand of hardy canna lilies growing tall just outside my kitchen window.
ReplyDeleteLove your projects, by the way. The plaid woven you used in the round topper reminds me of a garden lattice. I happened to find the sample sheet of your Garden Inspirations online at UN. Love Grandma Sadie's pouch!
Both are sweet little quilts. Unfortunately, here in Texas everything has dried up from this excessive heat. I brought in two pots of geraniums in the house to see if I could revive them, at least I have given them a cooler place to live for a while. Had to buy some hanging baskets with artificial flowers just so I could see some color.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning! I hope you had a great time with your Granddaughter! I just love the little quilt "Flowers by the Cabin"
ReplyDeleteThanks for all this fun!
Happy Quilting!
Onalee
NE Ohio
Garden Inspirations is very pretty. I'm both. If I had to choose - quilter but I do like my summer garden. It is a quiet place in a busy city. Both "crafts" have their successes and failures. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
ReplyDeleteMary
I was a gardener 1st as it was my job, and the best job in the world, fancy getting paid to do what you love ! Now I'm a quilter 1st it's just as rewarding (except I don't get paid for quilting)the planning, picking colours, the cutting & sewing, is just like weeding & fertilizing. As time passes the quilt grows as a garden does & in the end, they are both as rewarding
ReplyDeleteWe have a whole big yard to garden in, but I'm afraid I'm not much of a gardener. The weeds are taking over, this year, because I just can't make myself go out and garden. I blame the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes of the summers down here. And my laziness. But mostly the heat and humidity. ;o) My favorite plants are those than thrive on neglect.
ReplyDeleteHI LYNNE! WE LIVE IN THE ROCKY MTS.,SO I ENJOY THE WILD FLOWERS IN SPRING+STRIVE TO KEEP A ROCK GARDEN ALIVE-PRETTY ROCKY HERE!
ReplyDeletejldouglas@wispwest.net
Hi Lynne - I'm a quilter. We have hard red clay soil and temperatures hovering at 100 all summer, so being indoors and quilting in the AC works for me! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity. Lana
ReplyDeleteYour garden and it's flowers sound so delightful - hope you'll share pictures! I'm a carefree gardener for the most part. Except for the containers with flowers that I need to water every day - everything else kinda takes care of itself!
ReplyDeleteI am ALWAYS inspired by a garden - mine grows with just a little help from me. I try to stick to plants that aren't too fussy because I'm better at planting (digging in the dirt make me almost as happy as quilting!) than I am at weeding and pruning. ;-)
ReplyDeletesunshdws@yahoo.com
Definitely both. Wish I were better at both. I love growing flowers the most. Your comment about yellow flowers reminded me that as we were travelling this summer we passed a huge field of small yellow flower. My daughter said, " I wonder if that farmer got up one day and said - I think I'll plant yellow today!" That really cracked me up.
ReplyDeleteBoth and I am constantly deadheading...lol It's a sickness something like buying fabric...Only I never get rid of "deadhead" fabric ... it always looks beautiful. I love the projects inspired by the Garden Inspirations fabric, btw. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe are having such a hot summer with water restrictions that the flowers are not doing too well.I love the Garden Inspirations projects.
ReplyDeleteWe have flowers and a tomato in a pot~ I'm a container gardener and I must say they look the best this year than they have ever looked. I love seeing color around my house and yard. Thanks for the fun!
ReplyDeleteMy flower gardens are crowded, do whatever they like and are wonderful. My vegetable garden is enough to tend and water in our short growing season. I'm quite happy to leave the flower gardens on their own with just spring and fall cleanups required.
ReplyDeleteI am mostly a quilter but with the economy on shaky ground, I have become a vegetable gardener. Some tending is required but so far the only success I've had is with my tomatoes so I have been making a lot of salsa and spaghetti sauce.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is the gardener in our family but he gets my help sometimes with planting and harvesting. I take care of most of the produce which tastes wonderful in the middle of winter. We are able to grow and freeze or can most of our vegetables. We also have some perrenials around the house which do not require much care. Thanks for another give-away.
ReplyDeleteI am more of a quilter than a gardener. I do love my flowerbeds but mostly you will find me quilting.
ReplyDeleteI love to garden, both vegetable and flowers. However, I retired last year and started learning to quilt. I'm totally addicted and spend my time quilting, going to the quilt shop or searching online for quilting items. So.......my garden didn't get planted this year and my flowers are looking sad.
ReplyDeleteI was able to touch your new flannel line last week via fat quarters. I can't wait for the bolts to come in. Its hard to imagine needing a warm quilt right now, with 100+ degree weather, but I can't wait to get started!
Since Bend, Oregon is a giant pile of lava rock and we have wild critters 24/7 365 days a year...gardening is a challange...but I love it! figuring out what will grow, what won't...what the critters like to eat and what they don't...ahhhh it is a fun dance every year!
ReplyDeleteI used to be a very meticulous gardner...then I started working too many hours and now I quilt. So my garden only gets a few mintues here and there now. :(
ReplyDeleteI have had a more extensive garden in the past. Now, I mostly quilt. My flowers have taken a back seat this year. It has been so hot and dry the last 6 weeks that it has been a struggle to keep them alive.
ReplyDeleteI am a quilter and a happy gardener. We have some fruit trees, and veggies and I am doing container gardening this year. herbs! thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove Flower hubby cringes when I suggest a new flower bed. Veggie garden is wonderful.. although I not like the weeds. I am the dull girl love all the muted colors for a quilt. Thanks, Karin E:)
ReplyDeleteI am a quilter and a weeder. My mother grows the beautiful flowers, trees, fruits, and veggies. I pull the weeds. Still, I love flowers and am a "permissive" gardener. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletemy garden does great until about mid july - when the heat and humidity get the best of my perimenopausal self and then the weeds take over until about the middle of September when I can finally stand to be outside again for more than 10 minutes - thanks for a chance to win - laurie
ReplyDeletellsbaskets@comcast.net
I attempt to be a gardener, have many flowers and shrubs, but it seems that I can't keep up with the weeds and still have time to quilt! Beautiful fabric.
ReplyDeleteI love the Garden Inspiration line. I've used it in a small project. Will there be new things out on the KT Attic?
ReplyDeleteI enjoy quilting and gardening and am so glad your garden inspires you to create your beautiful fabric to share with us!
ReplyDelete