Quilted Delights: September 2022

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Queen of Gadgets Blog Hop

Welcome to day four of the Queen of Gadgets Blog Hop hosted by Carol of Just Let Me Quilt.

The challenge for this hop was to use our favorite sewing tool to create a project and tell why we love it. I went big for my project so it isn't quite finished yet, but it's close enough to give you an idea of why I love the tool below!

Right now my favorite sewing tool is the Blade Saver Thread Cutter by Purple Hobbies.

I am a chain piecer and assembly line sewer. I cut everything at once, then sew it, then press it, then sew another batch and press, etc. A lot of times that leaves me with a chain of 100 or more pieces to cut apart before going to the iron.

This little tool helps me separate the sections lickety split. I have tried other brands, but I like this one the best. Sometimes my rotary blades are still super sharp except for one spot, like when I tried to cut a pin or something, so it is nice to be able to use the best part of the blade for something else. Plus the blade fits inside the stand if you ever need to take it with you. Small and compact and easy to carry.

What better way to show off how to use this tool then by creating a quilt that has lots and lots of pieces. The Greenhouse pattern by Elizabeth Hartman has been on my "want to make" list and I figured this was the time to make it. I really wanted to go big on this one so I needed 56 different ten inch squares.

I pulled squares from three different Island Batik 10 inch stackers.

Drizzle - an older pack I had been saving for a while

Farm Fresh and

Garden Gems.

The background is my favorite Island Batik neutral called Sprinkles.

Cactus plants...

Flower plants...

The Blade Saver Thread Cutter in action!

Prickly plants...

Jade plants...

and Aloe plants.

So many pieces to separate! I am glad I have this little tool!

Oh, does tape count as a tool? If so I am loving the Diagonal Seam Tape by Cluck Cluck Sew as well. You can see it on the sewing machine in the picture above. No more drawing diagonal lines on fabric for sewing guidelines, just use the tape. A definite need for this pattern too!

Be sure to hop on over to the other Queens of Gadgets!

September 19

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Island Batik Tool Talk Blog Hop

It's time to talk tools with Deb Tucker Studio 180 Design tools and Island Batik!

During the month of September Island Batik Ambassadors are showing off their projects using the new Island Batik fabric lines coming out now along with some fun rulers by Deb Tucker.

The fabric line I am showcasing is called Silverado Canyon by Kathy Engle, hitting stores now, and the ruler I got to play with is the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star.

I love everything about this fabric line! From the different shades of blues, tans, and cremes, to the plants and animals in the prints. It makes me think of gray canyon walls on a nice summer afternoon.

Using the Rapid Fire Lemoyne ruler sure helped make perfect stars. Cutting the pieces out big and trimming down makes perfect diamonds and triangles. I usually end up with wonky shapes or triangles that are a wee bit too small when I try to cut these exact by myself. I would usually paper pieced these types of units, but I can skip the paper now with this ruler.

The ruler also lets me make multiple sizes which is nice. I used several different sizes for this quilt. My smallest star finished at three inches. The stars in the center of the big blocks are four inches and the star parts in the sashing would have made six inch stars if you put them together in a square

The backing is made up of some a few different Island Batik Foundations prints.

I also love my new wool pressing mat given to us from Prairie Spirit Alpacas. I was zooming along and didn't get a photo of it in action this time, but you can check them out here.

Hobbs Batting is inside this one again. It really is some good stuff. This time I used the Hobbs Poly-Down Batting. It sure makes it nice and fluffy. Super nice to cuddle under.

And of course, sewn and quilted with Schmetz needles.

Make sure you check out Claudia's blog to see what she created with this same collection.

And don't miss the Island Batik Blog to see all the new fabric lines and your chance to win one of these bundles of fabric!

Happy Sewing!

=^..^=

@QuiltedDelights

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Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Get on Board Blog Hop

September is National Sewing Month, which you can read all about here:

https://www.nationalsewingmonth.org/

and Melva from Melva Loves Scraps and Brenda from Songbird Designs have been hosting the Get on Board Blog Hop to celebrate! They are also sponsoring a giveaway which you can read about at the end of the post.

I have been sewing since I was in middle school. My mom taught me how to use the machine and I made a few clothing items at home and in my home economics class in high school, but I didn't really get into till after I got married and started making clothes and costumes for my kids. I don't make very much clothing anymore, instead I spend most of my time making quilts! I am addicted to them, but every now and then I throw in a fun small project, such as this fun sea turtle!

The theme for this hop was anything tropical that inspired sewing so I went with this fun sea turtle pincushion and thread catcher. I love seas turtles and get super excited whenever I see one. I was lucky enough to see one just this Saturday!

It was a big one swimming a few yards away from the end of the pier and it came up several times for us to get a good look at it!

The pattern is by Jennifer Jangles and this hop was the perfect time to put this project at the top of my to do list.

The pattern has nice color photos and gives instructions to either attach the thread catcher permanently or make it removable. I hand stitched mine down. I have been needing a thread catcher to sit on my longarm and this cute little sea turtle will be the perfect thread catcher guardian.

The pattern calls for 1/4 yard of two different prints, but if you do some creative cutting you can get every piece from two Island Batik Stash Builder strips. Stash Builder strips are are 5 inches tall by 42 ish inches long.

I used a blue and green five inch strip I had on hand and they worked out perfectly.

The outer shell pattern piece says to place on the fold, but to make it fit on the 5 inch strip I cut two separate pieces and added a 1/4 seam allowance on the end. Then sewed it together to make one piece.

I pressed the seams open so it wouldn't be bulky and you can barely see the seam in the finished turtle.