Welcome to Week One of the Island Batik Ambassador Irish Chain Blog Hop! This month Island Batik Ambassadors are showing off their version of the Irish Chain block made using the Accuquilt Irish Chain Block on Board die.
I get to finish off the first week of projects with Pretti Harris of Sew Pretti Quilts as we both show off Fusion, an Island Batik fabric line by Jerry Khiev for Swan Amity Studios.
It was easy to cut out all the pieces I need for my Irish Chain blocks using the block on board the die.
After several passes, I had all the pieces I needed for twenty blocks.
One of the things I like best about accuquilt dies is that they always cut each piece accurately.
So when it comes time to sew everything together, the block comes out the perfect size. In this case ten inches.
My first thought for this project was to go with the pattern on the back of the die instructions, so I cut out enough fabric for twenty blocks.
But I kept thinking about the white space created when you put two blocks together and thought it would be fun to put something in there, so I decided to make more blocks and a bigger quilt and I cut out more fabric for some Ohio Star blocks.
Now these two blocks don't pair well together when it comes to size since this Irish chain block is ten inches and an Ohio star ranges in sizes divisible by three.
Since ten does not divide well by three, I made the biggest size Ohio star I could without going over ten inches and added a small border around it to get it to match the size of Irish chain block.
My Oliso irons helped out through out the project. I used my Oliso Pro plus to iron for pressing the big stuff.
and I used my mini Oliso at the sewing machine for pressing each section of the blocks as I made them. Together they make a great pair.
I pieced everything together with a Schmetz universal needle.
This turned out to be a big quilt but I had the perfect size batting for it, Hobbs Supreme 100% unbleached cotton. This is some good stuff. It's so soft and fluffy!
For the quilting I did some quick swirls and wavy lines with a pastel purple Aurifil thread.
I love using pastel colors when there is a lot of white mixed with dark colors. It blends nicely with both and doesn't overpower either.
By adding the Ohio Stars to my layout, I only needed 18 Irish Chain blocks. Since I had already cut out enough to make twenty, that left me with two extra. I decided I'd put them on the back, but I didn't want just two blocks, so I made three more Ohio Stars to pair them with. I added some of the left overs from this project and a couple prints from my personal Island Batik Stash to create the back.
It was a nice overcast day at the park for pictures, which was nice as I didn't get harsh shadows in my pictures.
They even had some roses that matched the fabric.
As well as some little trees with orange blossoms. Not sure the name of them, I think they are a type of mimosa tree.
They also looked great next to the quilt.
And I couldn't pass up my favorite spot for photos. I love the black water of the creek with all the Spanish moss hanging down.
Be sure to check out
Pretti's blog post today to see what she created with this same fabric line and the accuquilt Irish Chain die!
And if your itching to win some fabric, use the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win one of these Island Batik fat quarter bundles – Bright Tidings by Jerry Khiev or Earthy Enchantment by Tiffany Hayes at Needle in a Hayes Stack! The Giveaway ends May 10th. You can read more about the giveaway on the
Lumin Fabrics blog post.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Sewing!
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