Tuesday, March 31, 2020

One Die Wonder - March Island Batik Challenge


What a wonderful month to play with Color Pop by Island Batik and Accuquilt dies! This month Island Batik Ambassadors are showcasing a Block On Board die from Accuquilt and of course fabulous Island Batik Fabric.




I was sent the Storm at Sea BOB and I was already in love before I took off the plastic.
This block had been on my list of quilts to make for awhile.



In my January box from Island Batik I was sent a lovely layer cake of Color Pop designed by Kathy Engle.  With all this craziness going on in the world right now, I knew I would need some extra pops of color in my life for sure!




I cut up each 10 inch square to fit over the different shapes so I could have a wonderful scrappy quilt.
I used my favorite Sprinkles foundation for the background.  FYI - In this photo I was laying out colors and count shapes.  They were on top of the cutting mat for a visual.  I promise I put the mat on top of the fabric before I ran it through the cutter. :)

The Storm at Sea has so many different ways you can lay out your colors, but if you get intimated by so many choices the die is already laid out so you can cut the colored fabric on one side and the background on the other.  Easy Peasy.



Another thing I loved about this die is that it already cut the corners for you. Even on the squares!
Everything lined up perfectly when sewing.  No cutting dog ears on those triangles.  And no wondering if your half square triangles are really hanging over 1/4 inch on your square before you sew.  Everything fit together perfect!



I had an explosion of color on my sewing desk.




 For my batting I used what I had left from my Hobbs 80/20 bleached cotton batting and had just enough for this quilt.  Hobbs batting always shows of the quilting wonderfully and has such a nice feel to it when finished.  I think this bleached white helps make the white background pop even more.






I pieced and quilted the whole thing using Schmetz needles. 

These are by far my favorite needles for my machine and I always have them on hand.




And check out those points!  There was very little pinning involved.  Most of them turned out nearly perfect on their own thanks to the cutting with the Accuquilt cutting and how wonderful everything lined up together.
For the quilting thread I used a light yellow 50wt #2130 by Aurifil that I had in my stash.
The yellow looks fantastic even on the white. It is muted enough it doesn't shout out at you when it goes over the white and the dark greens and blues.  It blends perfect on all the colors.  I love it.



For the binding I used a beautiful Island Batik red called Wavy Dots Cherry, one of the coordinating fabric that came in my Island Batik box in January 

The quilt measures approximately 42 x 52.

It was fun to put together and super easy to cut out all the pieces with the Accuquilt.  

And if you need more inspiration during your quarantine time, check out the other Ambassadors to see what they made with their Block on Board Dies.



Till next time, Happy sewing!





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