June Challenge - Island Batik Ambassador

June was a free theme for Island Batik Ambassadors.  That meant we could make anything we wanted!  I knew I better decide on a project fast, otherwise I would dilly dally with a hundred different ideas and end up rushing at the last minute to finish one.  

This quilt came about from a comment made by one of my young friends, Christopher. It was a comment he made on my fabric giveaway post last month on Instagram. To enter the giveaway you had to leave a comment about what you would make if you won the fabric. Christopher commented, "I'll keep it and ask my friend's mom to make me something memorable for my apartment during/after college."

Of course his friend's mom is me. Well, the random generator didn't pick Christopher's comment, but I could not pass up this opportunity to make him a quilt, particularly since I already knew what fabric colors he liked!

The fabric line is River Valley designed by Kathy Engle for Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design.

Island Batik had given me plenty of fabric for my May Challenge so I had enough left over to make something for Christopher. I just needed to find a pattern that fit the amount of fabric I had left.

I asked my son if Christopher would like triangles. He said, "Sure. I think he would like anything you made." So I decided to recreate the Diamond Bar quilt I made in February using River Valley.

This quilt is made using two different triangle blocks.  One with a large colored triangle center surrounded by neutral bars, and one with a small neutral colored triangle surrounded by colored bars. These are similar to making log cabins, but with triangles instead of squares.

Below are the measurements I used for cutting my triangles.  If you want to make your own you can use your favorite 60 degree ruler to cut your peices.

Triangle A: Colored Center

Using a 60 degree  ruler, cut 36 triangles from a colorful 4 inch strip.

Using neutral fabrics cut 1 1/2 inch strips. Line up the 5 inch mark on the triangle ruler with the bottom of the 1 1/2 fabric strip and cut out 36 bottom bars. Do the same, lining up the ruler on the on the 6 inch and 7 inch line and cut 36 pieces of each.

Triangle B: Neutral Center

Using a 60 degree ruler, cut 36 triangles from a neutral 2 1/2 inch strip.

Cut the outer bars from 2 inch colored strips.  Use the 4, 5 1/2, and 7 inch markings on the triangle ruler to cut 36 each colorful bars . Cut 36 of each size.  Or you can sew and trim each section one triangle at a time.

I used the off white fabric I had left from River Valley and then supplemented the rest with Whip Cream from Island Batik's Foundation fabrics.  Whip Cream is perfect for River Valley since it has very subtle hues of green and blue.

I cut all the pieces out and sewed a little on it several days throughout June. Some days it was just 15 minutes a day, but progress was made each time. This past weekend, I finished it up.

For the quilting I wanted a color that would show well on all the different fabrics.  I didn't want white, because that would be too bright on the dark fabrics, and a dark blue thread would be too harsh on the whites and creams, so I went with this beautiful aqua color from Aurifil.  It blended perfect on all the fabrics.

I quilted it using Hobbs Natural Cotton Batting. I had a bag of leftover batting and pulled out a piece that was wide enough, but not long enough, so I pulled out another piece to see if it was wide enough to piece together and low and behold it was the perfect size! No piecing batting together this time. Yay!

And of course I used Schmetz Needles. They never disappoint.

The orignal quilt I made had white edges, but I decided to change that up a bit for this one and went with a printed border.  

Hope you enjoyed this quick quilt.  Be sure to check out all the other Island Batik Ambasadors to see what they have been playing with this month.

Now I need to give Christopher a call,  and let him know he has a new quilt to pick up.

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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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Let's Get Scrappy - January Island Batik Challenge

I am super excited to be an ambassador for Island Batik again in 2020!
On Monday I showed off all the goodies Island Batik and their partners sent me to work with and today I want to show you my first finished Island Batik Quilt of 2020.

The January challenge of 2020 is "Let's Get Scrappy".
Good thing there is 31 days this month.
I worked on this a little bit at a time all month and put the last stitch in the binding last night.

I love scrappy quilts and definitely have lots of Island Batik scraps to play with.  When I first saw the theme, I was envisioning a rainbow of scrappiness for this project with some possible stars or paper pieced diamonds and then....

I came across these cute little turtles Turtle Tots by Southwind Designs at the Loving Stitches quilt shop in Fayetteville, NC! The shop had the table runner version hanging on their wall and I immediately wanted to have the pattern.  I asked one of the ladies who worked there and she showed me a whole display of  Southwind Design patterns, but they didn't have the Turtle Tots in stock.  Ack!  I did end buying two others though.

When I got home I went to the SouthWind Design website and luckily they had the Turtle Tots pattern in stock, so I got the pattern!

These little guys are perfect for small scraps.

I cut the shell pieces from a left over 2.5 strip but you can also cut them from charm square scraps.

The head and legs also came from a left over 2.5 inch strip.

 

The pattern calls for 5 Turtle Tots, but I made six and altered the layout a bit to get the 6th one to fit.

What I really like about this pattern is that it has curves without having to sew curves. The process is similar to making a Cathedral Windows quilt by folding the fabric back on the bias to create the curve and stitching that down.

I used left over scraps form some Island Batik strip sets to make the water sections as well and I quilted it using White and Teal 50wt Aurifil Thread from their color builder collections.

The quilt measures approximately 50 x 40.

The only thing that wasn't scrappy was the white background.  For that I used Island Batik Neutral called Sprinkles.  It looks white far a way, but when you get a little closer you can see light gray dotted swirls.  It is one of my favorite neutrals!


I hope you enjoyed seeing my scrappy Turtle Tots and if you want to make some for your own or just want to see what other curvy patterns they have check out Southwind Designs they has some cute curved patterns.

And check out Island Batik and Aurfil websites. They are so colorful and full of inspiration.



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3D Island Batik December Challenge - 3D Cubes

The Island Batik Ambassador challenge for December is to explore the world of 3D. We could use any method to make our quilts pop into life!

I went with with color play and regular piecing to create 3D cubes.

I have made two of these in the past for mini quilt swaps and they are easier than they look to put together. The other two I made were small versions and done in rainbow colors. This is my first big version done in similar colors and I am loving it!

This quilt does not have any Y seams that is one of the reasons it goes together so quick and easy. If you want to make one, the hardest part is probably choosing the different shades of fabrics to use. Once that is done, it's straight line sewing to create triangles and half hexagons.

To make one, each cube needs three shades of fabric: a light, medium, and a dark. I used 12 fat quarters from the Island Batik collection Steam Engine by Kathy Engle for Studio 180 Designs. These came in my second Ambassador box. I love these purples and blues. If you love them too you can pick some up in shops right now!

When picking out colors, make sure each shade has enough contrast compared to its counterpart. If the light and dark or dark and medium are too close they will blend together and from a distance the quilt will look more like flat diamonds instead of 3D cubes. The light and medium set in the top left of the photo was cutting it close, but when I laid them out and tested them, I could still see the 3D cubes so I went with it.

To make the quilt I started with 2 1/2 inch strips to cut my triangle and half hexafon pieces.

To make one cube you need 2 half hexagons and 2 triangles from each of the three colorways. I used the Hex N More Ruler from Jaybird Quilts to cut mine out, but you can use any tool that will help you cut half hexagons and 60 degree triangles from a strip.

To create the two toned triangles, take a half hexagon and pair it with a triangle from one of the other tones and sew them together. For example, If I start with the two light half hexagons, I will sew a medium triangle on one and a dark triangle on the other. This step goes pretty quick if you string piece them all together.

Sew all the light half hexagons and then go on to the medium half hexagons adding triangles to those and then finish up with the dark half hexagons.

Take the six triangles and lay them out into a hexagon making sure the lights and mediums and darks touch. I pick which way I want the shadow to face and then lay out the triangles that way.

Only sew half of that hexagon together. This way prevents having to sew Y seams. This method is just like creating a One Block Wonder quilt, if you have ever done those.

I sew two triangles together then add the third one.

Again, only sew half the Hexagons, do not sew the two halves together.

Once all the halves are sewn, lay out all the cubes to whatever design you like. I added some side half hexagons to fill out the sides in my version.

Sew the half hexagons together by rows based on the layout. Once all the rows are done, sew those together to make the top. This part is easy sewing but gets a little time consuming to pin and match all the points to make sure everything lines up right.

I used Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool batting. It quilted up fantastic!

I enjoyed slowing down with this quilt and enjoyed the process, watching each block and row come together to create the 3D illusion.

This quilt measures 40 x 54. It's a nice lap size.


This is also my fourth finish for the final quarter of the 2019 Finish-A-Long.
You can see my whole ambitious list here.

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