Island Batik Ambassadors have received their second box of goodies for the year. Check out the video to see what came in my box. Island Batik and their partner links are below.
Happy Quilting!
=^..^=
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Island Batik Ambassador Unboxing - July 2023
Island Batik Ambassadors have received their second box of goodies for the year. Check out the video to see what came in my box. Island Batik and their partner links are below.
Friday, June 30, 2023
Fly Away - Island Batik June Ambassador Challenge
This month Island Batik Ambassadors were asked to create a project using Flying Geese blocks and an Island Batik Precuts we received in our Ambassador box.
I used the 2.5 inch strip pack "Celebrate" by Kathy Engle and paired it with Island Batik solid Black.
If you need to get your hands on these prints you can find them in these shops:
Hancocks of Paducah, KY
Stitch Therapy, AL
Nine Patch Fabrics, VA
Sew What Fabrics/Batiks Etc., VA
People, Places, & Quilts, SC
Creekside Quilts, OR
A Royal Quilt Shoppe, LLC, SC
EQuilter.com, CO
Kapaia Stitchery, HI
Sew Together Quilt Shop, MA
Bob's Variety, AZ
Mulqueen Sewing & Fabric Centers, AZ
You can cut 15 Geese from one 2.5 inch strip of fabric. That's a lot of Geese from one strip pack! 600 to be exact!
I needed 294 so I used half the strip pack. The other half was used for my binding.
I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with these geese at first.
I knew I wanted them to be somewhat curvy, but still wanted to stick with traditional geese blocks.
Once I figured out the motion I wanted, I played around in EQ8 to get exact sizes for the black background rectangles.
It is so nice for quilts with lots of black.
The piecing and quilting were done with a 90/14 Microtex Schmetz needle.
I use these needles all the time and have never had any trouble sewing with Batik fabrics.
The colorful binding is the icing on the cake! I cut a bunch of 8 inch strips from the other half of the strip pack and sewed them together to create all the pops of color around the edge. And a 2.5 inch strip makes a nice wide binding when turned to the front of the quilt.
The thread looks grey or white on my monitor, but it is actually an aqua color. It really pops on the black!
The quilting pattern in the black background is what ever came to mind as I was moving the needle along. Some spots make me think of water.
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I thought of naming this quilt Geese in the Night.
Or Geese Passing in the Night, since some geese are going the opposite direction.
With some of the quilting giving off a water vibe, I thought about naming the quilt Geese Passing in the Night Over the Lake...
But that is pretty long.
I guess I'll stick with Geese in the Night.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
When Pigs Fly - June Sew It, Show it Challenge
This month's Sew It - Show It challenge is all about PIGS, UFOs and WIPs.
Hosted by Joan of Moose Stash Quilting
Well, I don't have any PIGs (Projects In Grocery Sacks) Those get moved to bins right away, so I guess I have PIBs. Haha! I have a few of those, but not too many. I classify those as patterns and fabric purchased, but not yet cut into.
Now when it comes to UFOs, UnFinished Objects, I have a plethora. And if WIPs technically count as UFOs, I have even more. Let's just say I have enough UFOs to keep me busy for a year or more. How did I get so many you ask? Well, there are several reasons why my projects become UFOs:
- Projects get set aside for deadlines of other projects.
- I messed something up and don't want to pick it out just yet.
- The project turned out uglier than I thought, but I still think I can save it, maybe.
- A pattern was on sale.
- Fabric was on sale.
- I saw something cool on Instagram I just had to try.
- I get bored with a particular part of the project - not enough to never finish it, just enough that I want to do something else real quick and then I'll come back to it... eventually. Quilters ADD I suppose.
Each of my UFOs is listed in a Google Sheet showing what stage it is in and what else needs to be done to complete it. Today I am happy to put an X in each box for my Twisted Log Cabin quilt and move it to the finished list!
This project officially became a UFO in February of 2020. The fabric was given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program and I had the assignment to make some type of log cabin quilt out of it. The fabric is Island Batik Ancient Etchings by Jackie Kunkel and came out in 2020.
I was short on time that month, so I showed off just the top. Then it got set aside while I finished a different project with an upcoming deadline... and then it sat. All it needed was to be quilted and bound. I even had the backing made and hanging with it in the closet.
The deadline for this challenge is what finally moved this beauty to the top of the to do list.
I guess I just have to give things deadlines and then they get done.
As far as WIPs, Works In Progress, I have a couple that I am currently working on, but they are secret sewing and I can't show them off till later in the year.
Question, when does a WIP become a UFO? How long to you have to not work on it till it slips into the UFO category? I have a WIP on the sewing table that has been sitting there for about a month, untouched. It's not in a bin yet, and I think about it some, but I haven't sewn on it lately. Does that make it an official a UFO now? Is it time to add it to my Google Sheet?
Be sure to check out the other projects this week that finally have their time to shine by visiting the links below.
Monday June 19
Tuesday June 20
Quilted Delights (ME)
Wednesday June 21
Thursday June 22
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Rose Colored Glasses Blog Hop
Welcome to the last day of the Rose Colored Blog Hop posted by Carol of Just Let Me Quilt
The challenge was to have one or more of the following:
Rose/pink fabric - Check!
Eyeglasses
Roses - Check!
Positive Words
I saw this rose pin cushion on Instagram by Berry Birdy and wanted to make one.
It uses small scraps and was quick to make.
I used different Island Batik prints from one of my Stash Builder rolls.
My petals didn't turn out as close to the center as the sample on the Berry Birdy's Instagram page, they ended up more relaxed and open.
The relaxed petals actually give it a whole different look. It kind of reminds me of a pink decorative cabbage. I might glue the petals closer to the center in the future, but for now I like it this way.
And Boonky approves.
Be sure to hop on over to the other participants today. And be sure to check out any others you may have missed earlier in the week.
MAY 15TH
MAY 16TH
MAY 17TH
MAY 18TH
Monday, May 15, 2023
Island Batik Tool Craze Blog Hop
It's the start of week three for the Island Batik Blog hop "Tool Craze"!
And Island Batik is having a giveaway, check out their blog post for details or use the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post to enter.
I am also having a small giveaway. Check out the end of the post for more details.
Today I am showing off the quilt I made using Summer Twilight, an original Island Batik collection by Tammy Silvers (Tamarinis), and the Tucker Trimmer ruler by Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Designs.
This fabric line is heading to shops soon!
Below are just a few shops near my neck of the woods that will carry it:
Angel Oak Stitchery, LLC Harleyville, SC
People, Places, & Quilts Summerville, SC
Foust Textiles-NC King's Mountain, NC
Quilt 'N Kaboodle Cleveland, GA
The guidelines for this challenge were the following:
Make any size project we would like. - Check! Work with two or more different size units - Check! Make at least 30 units total with the ruler we received. - Check! Encouraged, but not necessary, was to use another tool from Studio 180 Design if you had one. - Check, Check, ChecK!
I started with the Tucker Trimmer ruler, this is the ruler that came in my ambassador box in January.
First I made 3 inch Quarter Square Triangles. I made 16 of these.
Next was some three patch quarter square triangles. I made 36 of those.
I made even more for the border. 72 to be exact.
To meet the challenge of using two different sizes, I made these rectangles with purple half square triangles on the end. These are just like Half Square Triangles, except the other half is way longer and yep, the Tucker Trimmer worked great to trim down that purple triangle. The angle lined up perfect for a 1.5 inch HST. These units give me the second size unit with the ruler for this challenge.
The purple fabric is part of the Island Batik Foundations. It is called Plurble.
The gray solid is also Island Batik!
The last part of the challenge was, if you had some, to incorporate more Deb Tucker rulers into our project. I love these rulers. My whole quilting life, sewing triangles have always turned out wonky, no matter how perfect I think I am cutting or sewing, so years ago I started making them a wee bit bigger and trimming them down to have nice crisp points. I have used several different types of rulers for this, but these Deb Tucker Rulers are my favorite. The extra lines on the ruler for trimming individual units are wonderful and make everything so easy!
The first extra ruler I used was the V Block ruler. I received this in a previous ambassador box. I love this block and try to squeeze into my quilts when ever I can. Again three are three inches.
I made 104 of these.
The next part of the design used corner triangle blocks. So I bought the Corner Beam Ruler to help with those. Again, the extra marks on these rulers are wonderful for trimming down and getting nice crisp blocks.
I made 68 of these units.
Finally I used the Diamond Recs ruler. I had purchased this one myself a couple years ago and have used it several times for different projects.
I made 24 of these.
All the different units came together nicely. Each ruler has several different sizes that all coordinate with each other. I used variables of three for this quilt but the rulers could easily change to a 4 inch variable to make the quilt bigger.
All of the tools and Technique Sheets for the Studio 180 Design rulers have online instructional videos you can access through Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design YouTube channel. Check them out. They not only give you visual instructions on how to use the rulers, but they give you some Quilting inspiration as well!
Once the top was done, it was time to quilt it. I used a nice teal thread color from Aurifl. I love how it pops on the gray and pink fabrics.
The quilt was pieced and quilted using Schmetz universal 90/14 needles.
I've been using these needles for years. They fit perfect in my machine and always work well with my thread.
I wanted this quilt to be light weight and fluffy for the summer so I used Hobbs Poly Down Premium Batting. The Island batik fabrics combined with the Hobbs Polyester batting makes the quilt soft and cuddly.
The quilt measures 63 x 63.
Boonky always likes to help out with the photo sessions.
Be sure to hop on over to Victoria and Maryellen's blogs today. They are also working with the Summer Twilight fabric line and some Studio 180 Design rulers.
Victoria Johnson, Forever Quilting for You
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
Give Away Time!
There were a couple prints in the fabric line I did not use and I offering them to one of you! These two green prints are two half yard cuts that didn't make it into this quilt. If you want a chance to win both, leave a comment and let me know if you use quilts in the summer. I'll pick a winner this weekend.
We don't use quilts outside here in the south to cuddle under, it's just too hot, even in the evenings. But sometimes the AC is blowing so strong that some of us in the house need a quilt all year long to snuggle under while we watch TV.
You can also enter the Island Batik Giveaway for a chance to win one of these two Island Batik Bundles. You can enter using the Rafflecopter below and you can read more about their giveaway on their blog:
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