Wednesday, November 20, 2019

A Piece of ... Island Batik Blog Hop



Today is the last day of the "A Piece of ..." blog hop, hosted by Island Batik fabrics, and I am excited to show off my creation.


 The hop has been showcasing the new Island Batik fabric lines that will be hitting quilt shops now and in the next couple months.



I was sent the Tweet collection earlier this year and of course that made me want to sew something  bird related.


I also wanted a pattern that would show off as many of the the 32 different fabrics I was sent.



I went with the Arctic Feathers pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.  She also has a brand new pattern called Pretty Birds that I am want to use my left over Tweet fabric with.  I want to make the full version of Pretty Birds which requires 40 different fabrics, so I will have to supplement some Island Batik Basics to go with my Tweets.  Look for that project near the beginning of 2020.



For the pieces of these feathers, I used all the fabric I was sent except for four of the blacks.
One of the blacks I used for binding and the last three will have to go in another project in the future.


  For the background I used the solid gray which was also sent in the Ambassador boxes that came this year.  I had been waiting for the right project to use this solid gray batik and these feathers were perfect. The gray is just right for the dark prints and perfect for the light prints too.  It blends well with all the different colors.



I quilted it using Aurifil 50wt grey thread. 
I used this thread on my last ambassador project as well.
It runs super smooth in my machine.



I also love how the thread has a tiny shine to it.  Not super shiny like embroidery thread, but just enough to make the quilting look fabulous.



For the batting I used the Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 Bleached Cotton Blend Batting that came in my Ambassador box.  It is good for white or very light colored fabrics to keep them nice and bright. A lot of the Tweet fabrics are already bright or darker, but I wanted to make sure the light grey background and the lighter yellows would stay nice and bright.

Make sure to check out  Jennifer Thomas today as well. She will also be showing off her Tweet project.  And if you missed any of the others check them out below.  They have all shown off some fantastic quits the past two weeks!




Monday, November 4:


Tuesday, November 5:


Wednesday, November 6:


Thursday, November 7:


Monday, November 11:


Tuesday, November 12:


Wednesday, November 13:


Thursday, November 14:

Monday, November 18:


Tuesday, November 19:


Wednesday, November 20:



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Posted by at 12:05 AM 16 comments
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Friday, November 15, 2019

Stitch It Gift It Blog Hop

I am happy to be rounding out the Stitch It, Gift It Blog Hop hosted by Carla of Creatin' in the Sticks.
I have two quilty gifts I have been working on. Both of them are Holiday quilts.  The first one you may have already seen as it was part of the Halloween Blog Hop of 2018, but it was only a top then.


It is the Halloween One Block Wonder I had been working on.  I had fully intended to keep this quilt for myself, but as I was posting photos about this on Instagram, my brother kept making comments about how much he liked it.

 Usually he will comment one time, but this time he mentioned several times that he really liked it.  So I decided it needed to live with him when it got quilted.

This was the first one block wonder quilt I had made with a panel and I didn't want to loose any of the picture, so I bordered it in black then surrounded it with the hexagons.
I love this panel so much and knew I would really miss it when I finally sent it off, but I also felt it belonged in Washington state with my brother.  

A couple weeks after I made the decision to let it go I saw the same panels on sale at 50% off.  I figured that was sign and bought 7 more panels to make another one for myself.  

I was hoping to have my brother's version quilted and ready to go by Halloween this year, but as most UFO's do it hovered around a little longer than I anticipated.  But it is done now and ready to go.  He is expecting it and is excited to have it ready for next Halloween.


My version above omitted the black border and I ended up trimming the panel a little on the sides. Mine needs a small top and bottom border and some quilting and then it will be done. Both of these Hallowen One Block Wonders are on my 4th Quarter Finish-A-long list so the goal is to finish mine by the end of the year.



One thing I like about these two quilts is that when mine is finished, there will be two similar versions of this quilt, one on each side of the country. When I look at mine, I will think of my brother and when he looks at his, he will think of me.  Two quilts connected across America through Halloween stitches and sibling love.  What could be better than that.




The next quilty gift I am working on is a Christmas Quilt.  Yep, I am one of those people who go from Halloween right to Christmas.  I love getting all the red, green and gold out.


I have four siblings and have made a Christmas quilt for all of them but one. My oldest sister has yet to have receive a festive quilt from me for the Holidays.  So this year it is her turn.


Since my sister lives across the country, also in Washington state, I don't always get to see her Christmas decorations. For her quilt I was debating on going with aqua, red and green, or traditional red and green, but wasn't sure which one would fit her current style, so I decided to go right to the source and ask. Traditional red and green won out.


I used some red 2.5 inch strips from a pre-cut I had and some greens from a fat quarter bundle I had been holding on to.


For the pattern I wanted to do something with with Trees.  My Sister lives in the Pacific Northwest right on the edge of the forest with lovely tall trees surrounding her.

These trees aren't necessarily the Douglas Firs or Western Hemlocks of the area, but with a little imagination they might could pass for them.  The original pattern comes from a book called Make Room for Christmas by Nancy J. Martin.


This one is still a flimsy.  My original plan was to do a small lap version, but my husband convinced me to go big this time.  He mentioned she couldn't cuddle with her hubby at Christmas time under a small quilt.  So I made more red and white blocks and more trees.



 Since this will be her first Christmas quilt from me I want to do a little custom quilting and make it fancy.  Since I spent a little extra time on the piecing I didn't have the time I wanted to quilt it like I want in time for the hop. 


But the backing is sewn together and batting is picked out and the plan is to have this quilted and mailed after Thanksgiving.



This has been a fun hop that inspired me to get my gifts finished and it has been fun to see other gift inspiration, from from large to small, from all the other bloggers. There is something to inspire everyone.  

Make sure to check out all the other posts.   If you missed any here is the full list of all the hoppers.  Make sure to visit their site and see what inspiration they may have for you.


Stitch It and Gift It Blog Hop Schedule





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Posted by at 12:01 AM 33 comments
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Top It Off - Island Batik October Challenge - Bats on the Run


I've been sewing up a festive Halloween storm this month.  Almost every project I've worked on in October  has involved Halloween themed colors or prints, this next one is no exception!


For the October Island Batik Ambassador challenge we were asked to make a festive table topper or runner.   As an Island Batik Ambassadors, I was provided with fabric to create these challenges. Since we are in October, I opted for a Halloween project.



Part of this challenge was to incorporate applique.  I wasn't quite sure what spooky addition I was going add to my runner until I went to pick up my older Bernina from the quilt doctor and they had Accuquilt dies on sale.  I could not resist bringing home the Cat and Bat die.
I put some wonder under on the back of my Island Batik Fabric and ran it through the machine.  The bats came out perfect and ready to iron on.

This runner has 36 Quarter Square Triangles.  I used the two at a time method and started out with 3.5 inch squares and trimmed down to get a 2.5 inch quarter square triangle.

The purple fabric comes from the Island Batik Foundations Basics collection. 
It is called, Purple.  Perfect name.



For my corner stones I used 12 economy blocks, aka square in a square.
I paper pieced these because my triangles always get wonky on these and one corner always ends up too small.  With paper piecing I get perfect points and can trim down to a perfect 2.5 unfinished block. These Island Batik fabrics came from the Stash Builder Rolls I got in my first box in January.
These stash builders 5 inch strips x WOF and are perfect for scrappy quilts and small projects like this.  I recommend picking one up if you ever see them in your local quilt shop.  They are my "go to" when I am looking for a specific color for a project.


 Table runners are a great way to use the extra wide batting strips you have left over from previous quilt projects. I had the perfect size of leftover Heirloom Hobbs 80/20 with scrim for this project.   

I love this batting! It lays flat yet still has a nice fluff to it.

This bat filled runner got quilted with Orange and gray 50wt Aurfil thread.
I even used the gray on the black fabric.

I like how the grey thread gives more detail to the bats and quarter square triangle blocks.
Almost like a spider web shine.



If really you like this runner and really want to make one for your self, I created a pattern to help you out. The pattern is free so go ahead and test it out for me. I have stared at it a lot trying to catch any errors, but if some slipped by let me know and I can fix it right up.  

You can get the pattern by clicking Here:



If you are not into bats, you can change the colors and applique design for any holiday. You can even use Novelty fabric for the center squares if you are not a fan of applique.


This is the set up in town on Main Street.  It is pretty cool and a great spot to take pictures of Halloween Quilts, even if one of the witches is having trouble with her hat.


This is also my first finish for the 4th Quarter Finish-A-Long!
Wahoo!!



Thanks for stopping by!


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Posted by at 8:17 PM 6 comments
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Monday, October 28, 2019

Nifty Novelties Blog Hop - Halloween Version



Welcome to the last day of the Nifty Novelties Blog Hop hosted by Seams To Be Sew!  This hop is all about using novelty prints.  They are super cute to buy (I should know, I have a shelf full) but sometimes you might not know what to make with them and this hop can help.  Today I am happy to show off my Spooktacular project and hopefully pass on some inspiration.



This pattern is called Chain Link by Amy Smart.  It is perfect for 5 inch novelty squares.



I've had some of these prints for years and used them in various projects. 
It was fun to use up some of the left overs and put them all together in this project.


This pattern was super fast to put together.  I got the whole top done in one day.


I did shorten it from the orginal, but I can still see the full size pattern being sewn up in one day if you have a good chunk of time to sew.


Another good use for Novelty fabrics is for quilt backing.  I have had this Halloween novelty for a while as well.  I bought it on sale one time after Halloween was over.  I love the characters on it, but the cream background never seemed to go with any of the Halloween projects I was working on.  Today it now has a home on the back of this quilt.  My top came out at 43 inches and it was going to be a stretch to make this 44 inch wide fabric fit, so I went ahead and split it in two and added a  large strip of one of my pumpkin fabrics to get it big enough to work with. 



*GiveAway* 

Timeless Treasures fabric company graciously sent Marian from Seams to Be Sew some fabulous novelty fabric bundles to give away for this hop.


I get to show of is this owl bundle and it is up for a giveaway.  Use the Rofflecopter below to enter the giveaway+.  Just keep in mind Marian is asking winners to pay shipping, $4 for USA and more for international shipping. She will contact the winners.
a Rafflecopter giveaway



If you missed any, make sure you go back and check out the other projects and vist the other two hoppers today to get inspiration for your novelty prints!  

Thursday, October 24
Friday, October 24
Monday, October 28




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Posted by at 12:01 AM 42 comments
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Monday, October 7, 2019

Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop

Welcome to the opening day of the Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop hosted by Carol of Just Let Me Quilt.
I am happy to help start the week!

For this hop I focused on making small fabric decorative items.  One was done in less than an hour and the last one I split up in three days.



First up I have some small treat totes to show off.  I have made these before and even for a previous Halloween hop years ago, but I love them and had new ones to show off, so here they are again.  They are super quick to sew up. Once you make one, you can knock out the other three in less than an hour. 


All four together only takes two fat quarters and some ribbon. They are fun to fill with treats and hand out to the special little monsters in your life.  The pattern is a free pattern from All People Quilt.





Another quick Halloween stitch project is this striped pumpkin.   It uses batting scraps and is made somewhat similar to the Jelly Roll Rugs.  The pattern is Festive Pumpkins by Aunties Two.  They also have bags patterns using this similar technique that I am itching to try.  I have a nice roll of leftover batting I cut into 2.5 strips waiting to be used.  This one took me about 2 hours to put together.  Now that I did the first one, when I make more they should come together a little quicker.




Last but definitely not least is Patch the Kitty from Funky Friends Factory by Pauline.  He is a patchwork of Halloween spookiness!  He did take several hours, but is doable in one day if you have good chunk of sewing time.  I split him up into three days. I worked on him about an hour before going to work two days in a row, then finished him up Saturday morning when I had a good few hours in the sewing room.


I love him and the Funky Friends patterns!  Not only are Pauline's instructions wonderful, there is also a link in the pattern that takes you to a page with picture instructions that follow along with her written instructions.  That link was so helpful for me. 

Check out her Website to see all the Friends in the line up.  You can buy and download the patterns on her website or throw one in your cart next time you are shopping at Missouri Star.


And make sure to check out all the other Stitchy Witchy Blog Hoppers today and the rest of the week.



October 7
Creatin' in the Sticks
Songbird Designs
For The Love Of Geese
Quilted Delights  (Me)
Kathleen McMusing
Quilts By Joanne
Whims And Fancies
Janie G. – Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt
 

October 8
Selina Quilts
Vroomans Quilts
Days Filled With Joy
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Life in the Scrapatch
Just Because Quilts
Brenda's Quilt Blog
 

October 9
Home Sewn By Us
Kathleen - Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt
Quilts Fabric and Thread Tales
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting
WebsterquiltSeams To Be Sew
Sew Many Yarns

 October 10
Beaquilter
Homespun Hannah's Blog
MooseStashQuilting
Cynthia's Creating Ark
It’s A T-Sweet Day!
Count it *all* JOY!
Bethni L. – Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt
 
October 11
Just Let Me Quilt
Quilt Fabrication
Melva Loves Scraps
Patchouli Moon Studio
Ms P Designs USA
Karrin’s Crazy World
Patchwork Breeze
Words & Stitches


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Posted by at 12:02 AM 36 comments
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