I was going to blog more about my recent Oregon Coast trip but there are so many photos to sort through so I thought I’d just post about a new wall hanging I am working on and my “Agriculture Report”. (What is an “Agriculture Report”? Well One of my blogging buddies @quiteayarnblog has an ongoing series of posts called “Agriculture Report” whose title always cracks me up because it is an update of what is going on in her garden. So I had to adopt that term for my garden report)
WHAT’S ON THE DESIGN WALL
I have so many projects in queue – unfinished projects and new project with imaginary and actual deadlines – but I was having a “squirrel” moment and cleaning out old quilting magazines and came across this pattern, String Attached, in an old issue of AmericanQuilter Magazine – and had to make it!

I am not sure why I fell in love with it but I did. I’ve done very little “string piecing” in the past but I thought it would be a great way to work down my collection of solid color fabric scraps:

I dumped them out and selected fabric scraps for the little quilt. I decided to stay away from dark or medium purple but to have red-violet and pink instead. I also tried to select fabrics similar to the sample one in the pattern.

The pattern calls string piecing on foundation paper but I decided to use muslin instead.
And here is the beginning of the center star on my design wall:

I am hopeful so far but I have some Y-seam type piecing to do when I get all 8 points to the center star done – yikes!
AGRICULTURE REPORT
My little upstairs patio garden is doing well this year, probably due to the ridiculous amount of rain we’ve been getting in the Denver Metro area. John and I joke we are now living in “Den-attle” or “Sea-enver” (Denver + Seattle).
I have tomatoes, peppers, and various herbs growing along with some Marigolds for pest control.

I was excited the other day to harvest my first tomatoes of the season!

Yes there were three cherry (small) tomatoes, but it was still exciting (smile).


the start os the center star is exciting to see! and what a cool project
Also, I like the term “agriculture report” and had to smile to read that it is for garden updates
and side note – I had some local deer chomp on (and almost ruin) my hibiscus and some other plants – ugh!
It is a new little area for gardening and I did not realize the deer came to that spot – lesson learned
and so I have vinca and “grasses there: (junco?) – I might add marigolds too (like the ones you use with your veggies) because I guess those are deer resistant
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Sorry you had the deer incident. We have open space behind our house and lots of critters wandering about. I have to be careful about planting anything they can reach over our not very high fence to snack on. Sometimes they are just looking over our fence staring at us, ha!
Thanks and I am excited to see how it comes out and how close to the sample in the pattern in looks. 🙂
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🙂 how fun to have them gazing
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did you have to draw straws to decide who got to taste the tomatoes? lol
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No I didn’t even offer – ha! Just popped one in my mouth, set the other one aside, and then ate it later – oops!
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Your new quilt is coming along nicely it looks like sunshine colorburst. Thank goodness for the Den-attle climate because your garden looks good. My marigolds aren’t growing much but yours looks awesome!!
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Thanks so much! Yes the rain has been good in some aspects but I am not liking the resulting humidity – ha!
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Love the stripey star! And I bet those tomatoes are the best ones you’ve ever tested, home grown always tastes so much better doesn’t it?
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Thanks so much and I can’t wait to see how it comes out 🙂
Oh yes they do taste better than store bought 🙂
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Looks great – both design wall and garden reports! When you get to the Y-seam stitching, maybe post a few tips on that?
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Tips? I will be white knuckling it all the way through 😉
But if I come across any useful tips will share 🙂
Thanks 🙂
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Wow your new strip project is going to be beautiful! Good luck with the Y seams… 😜 And those little tomatoes look great!!
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Thanks so much Sharon 🙂
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Wow! Those tomatoes look scrumptious. Home grown always tastes better than grocery store fruit and vegetables. Well done!
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Thanks so much and I daydream of a larger garden someday but have not mastered Colorado’s short growing season yet.
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You’ll get there.
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Tierney, your tomatoes are truly picture perfect. Looks like one of your star points includes the color “cherry tomato red.”
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Thanks and I think that red fabric is a tomato red – good catch 🙂
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I can see why you just had to make that quilt. I also love it. Good luck with the Y seams.
Enjoyed your agricultural report too. We have also had lots of rain here and hence lots of weeds.
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Thank you and I shouldn’t be working on it but it is fun to do some string piecing. Oh yes weeds, one of the side effects of glorious rain 🙂
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If you are having fun you SHOULD be working on it!
I spent the weekend weeding my garden 😂
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Nothing like homegrown tomatoes. You are having all the rain it seems while we are having one of the driest winters ever
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Thank you and they are such a treat in the summer. Sorry you are dry in your part of the world I will try and wish rain for you!
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I love the agricultural report. That has me smiling and also wishing I had thought of it. My tomato production matches yours, so I fully understand consuming them on the spot. They are so sweet, so fresh, and oh so delicious. I’m intrigued by the concept of string quilting. I’m always learning something new here.
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Thank you and I know you have quite the impressive agriculture going on in your garden! I love tomatoes fresh off the vine! Unless I start producing large amounts I might be just eating them one at a time as they ripen on the vine. 🙂
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I’m envious of friends who’s tomato plants are prolific. I’m in the same boat as you are. We’re managing three to five a day now to add to our salads. Definitely not something to write home about.
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Ha! But when they finally get to a salad it is pretty exciting 🙂
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Yes!
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Interesting to see some of the process of making the quilt. I never stopped to think about these patterns are made. As for the agriculture report, well, you’ve got tomatoes so it is!
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Beautiful and delicious!
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Thanks so much!
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Three BEAUTIFUL tomatoes! A friend brought me some extras she had that were so pretty. I can only eat them seeded and cut up small, and about one a week, but it adds some different taste to things and is so enjoyable!
Love seeing your string blocks. I have solids, or near-solids, but not in bright colors like that. I will have to search shops selling scrap bags to find some, I think. I like what I have, but this pattern looks so great in the true colors.
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Thanks so much and there is nothing like fresh off the vine tomatoes as far as tomatoes go! It took me a while to collect bright solids. I had the similar stash of solids you mention.
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Both the star points and the plants seem to be coming along well 😀
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Thanks so much 🙂
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I’m intrigued Tierney, I have only paper pieced. I’m curious why you used muslin instead of paper and what the results will be like. I’m thinking it would be sturdier as a wall hanging? You have a wonderful potted garden, so much easier to weed than ours! Lol
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Great question – although it did not specifically state in the pattern, I assume that you have to at some point remove the paper from the back of your piecing. As it is just a small wallhanging size piece I figured it would be okay to have the extra thickness of the muslin (which is pretty thin) and just leave the muslin on the back. 🙂
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I have absolute confidence in your ability to calmly handle those Y seams… This is going to be a very fun quilt!
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Thanks so much I appreciate that – okay Y seams I am ready for you 🙂
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Love your Agriculture Report!! Your plants look amazing – so lush and lovely 🙂 And also, love your Strings Attached start! Can’t wait to see how it turns out 🙂
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Thanks so much I always have a giggle when I used that title. 🙂
I’ve been making progress on Strings Attached and will post in the future 🙂
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love the Agriculture Report – I used to grow veges in my old pad and loved seeing the results – except when I finally saw from the upstairs kitchen window why tomatoes were being pecked – even though I had a net enclosure – a pesky blackbird found a way in…
here I’ve not really got into it it – as – well no as, just isn’t. I do have a 3 grapevines, which H has pruned properly so looking forward to better crops this year…
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Thanks so much and the birds so not seem to care about my tomatoes – they are busy destroying the sunflowers I am trying to grow – ha! Grapevines – wow – that would be fun to harvest grapes!
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Congrats on your first harvest! The quilt looks so happy and fun.
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Thank you and we’ve been having ongoing cherry tomatoes, no big tomatoes ready to pick so far 🙂
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