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.

=^..^=

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!

=^..^=