Author: quiltinggail

How to Make a Diagonal Quilt Back …

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

This blog post contains:

  • How to make a quilt back when you don’t have quite enough fabric for the backing.
  • Winner of the Fabric Draw from THIS Post

Making the Back

When I made one of my Log Cabin quilts for the Island Batik challenge, (see HERE) I wanted to use the lovely dark purple fabric (Gears – Purple Hyacinth) to back one of my log cabin quilts. But, alas, there was not enough. I have sometimes been asked how to make my diagonal backs, so I thought I’d do a short tutorial on it.

My quilt top is on the design wall. I took the dark purple and pinned it close to the top, folded it diagonally (not at 45o), just diagonally, from corner to corner. You can see how it looks ‘off’ from the quilt. That’s OK. You just want to have it diagonal.

Then I took my roller and pressed that diagonal line. The next step was to use my fabric shears and cut the diagonal line. I placed the 2 halves over the quilt, going beyond the quilt by about 3″ on each side. (that’s the extra I like to have when I’m free motion quilting). If you are worried about cutting on the bias, you can always put a small strip of iron-on interfacing on the cutting line before cutting. In this case, you may want to mark the line instead of ‘pressing’ it. When working with Island Batik fabrics, I don’t worry about the bias stretching and I am gentle with it!

Then, I measured the distance between the two halves … it was about 12.” I added 1/2” for seam allowance and I cut pieces of fabric 12 1/2” wide. Those were pieced together to make one long strip. Each half of the diagonally cut piece was sewn onto the long strip. 

Yes, I could have used one piece of fabric for the long strip, but I chose to use some of my favourite fabrics from the line in the strip.

When I go to sandwich my quilts, I make sure that the 2 opposite diagonal corners of the quilt end up on the centre piece. This will avoid any nasty build up of seams in the corners.

I’d love to hear if you’ve ever done this or if you plan to!

I’ll be linking to Kathleen McMusing’s Tips and Tutorials. If you’ve never been to her blog … the Tips and Tutorials has a plethora of fantastic quilting information. It’s well worth the visit. HERE.

Winner of the Fabric Draw

When I posted my Island Batik Log Cabin Challenge, I offered readers / followers to have an opportunity to win some Heavy Metal fabric. The Rafflecopter only worked for some people, so I took the list from the Rafflecopter and the list from the comments and combined them. I used a Random Number Generator and the it’s #14 … Stella M. I have emailed her and the fabric will be in her hands soon!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

It Moose Be Love Blog Hop (Feb)

/ quiltinggail / 41 Comments

It Moose Be Love is organized and hosted by Joan, from Moose Stash Quilting.

Challenge: It’s the month of “Love”. Show us what it is, you love. Moose are optional of course. LOL!!

Here’s a few ‘heart’ shaped quilts & wall hangings, plus a hugs and kisses quilt that I have made in the past.

For this blog hop, I opted to omit the moose! 🫎

Here is the start of my pink heart quilt. It’s the same pattern as the grey and Dr. Suess one above: I think. I no longer have the quilt, so am unsure as to it’s size. I’m using 5″ squares for this. I started with 5″ strips of Island Batik pinks from a Stash Builder roll, plus another pink in my stash and it’s paired with Island Batik’s solid white! 

Then, using the Easy Angle ruler, I paired the pink with the Island Batik solid white and cut triangles for 10 half square Triangles. (If you use an Easy Angle ruler, there’s no fabric waste, and once the HST are sewn, you only need to trim dog ears and viola! they are the perfect size!) Then I cut (20) 5″ squares. From the white (after cutting the HST), I cut: (6) 5″ squares, (2) 5″ x 9 1/2” rectangles, (2) 9 1/2” squares, and (2) 5″ strips WOF. The borders were from a similar Stash Builder bundle and were cut at 2 1/2” wide. The binding used the remaining strips in the bundle.

I quilted this on my domestic sewing machine and covered the whole quilt with hearts using the 5″ Cupid ruler from Silly Moon. Below is a close up of the quilting.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 40″ x 40″
  • Batting: Hobbs 80/20
  • Piecing: Aurifil 2600 (Dove Grey)

Blog Hoppers

If you want to see some FABULOUS eye candy, be sure to visit each of the following blogs!

Monday February 19

Tuesday February 20

Wednesday February 21

Thursday February 22

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR Round #5

/ quiltinggail / 32 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.” For more information on a SAHRR, see THIS POST.

Round #5 is hosted by Me! Right here on my blog. 

My choice for this round is “4.” You can do whatever you want – but it needs to have an element of “4” in it. You can choose 4 colours, 4 different blocks, 4 of one block … it’s YOUR choice.

I chose to make a friendship star … there are 4 points to a friendship star … so that fits the 4 in this round. As well, each point of the star is a different fabric … so I could say that was another “4” that fit into this round. If you want some more ideas, visit the other hosts (links below) to see what they did! Or come back and look at the people that have posted in the Link party (below). I used my Accuquilt Cube 8 to make the star. It finishes at 6″ x 6″.

The stars were placed on the top and bottom of the quilt. 

Next week is Round #6! Our final round!!! Come back next week to check it out! 😋

Link Party

Show us what your Round #5 is like! Remember, every time you enter a link party for the SAHRR, you have an opportunity to win one of the prizes from our sponsors!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

Heather F., Charlene B., Jacomina, Robin B., Kathy P., Judy B., Heather F., Regina S.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Sunday Summary: Feb. 18

/ quiltinggail / 12 Comments

If this is TRUE ??? I am immortal!!! but also broke!!! 😅

SAHRR Round #4 is almost done … ready for Round #5!

The hosts have shown their centre blocks and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s centre and Round #4! Visit Brenda @ Songbird Designs. to see lots of other Round #4s.

Stitching Stuff

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

  • Jan 1-28: 22 / 31 days
  • Feb 1-18: 18 / 18 days
  • Total: 40 / 49. 81%

Design Wall Mondays

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. Sorry, no pictures to share!

Piecing projects:

  • SAHRR ’24 (Round 6 … trying to work ahead!)
  • Fast and More Fun: blog hop project
  • Give it a Whirl: blog hop project

Quilting:

  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. I have the backing now … no excuses!
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  • IB March project

Sunday Stash

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

I showed the retreat bag that I finished this past week HERE (1.25 yards). Plus, I finished 2 log cabin quilts for the Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop; Spiral (7 yards), Pinwheel (8.75 yards)

  • Fabric Used this week:  17 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     25 1/2 yards  from non-IB: 9
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              17 1/2 yards

To Do

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” sandwiched, not quilted
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  4. Finish IB February project √   DONE. and posted
  5. Work on “It Moose be Love” blog hop project √   DONE
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 (rounds 6)
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  4. Finish IB March project
  5. Fast and More Fun: blog hop project
  6. Give it a Whirl: blog hop project
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Island Batik’s Log Cabin Blog Hop

Island Batik’s first challenge of 2024 is to make a Log Cabin. I must admit, Log Cabins are one of my favourite quilts to make!! You’ve seen my 2 Log Cabins, but there is some awesome ones made!

This week’s giveaway is live now! Follow the simple Rafflecopter prompts on the Island Batik blog for a chance to win one of the two fabulous Fat Quarter bundles! Squiggles, Dots and Lines OR Romance and Garden!

February 6:

February 7:

February 8:

February 9:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

February 12:

February 13:

February 14:

February 15:

February 16:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

February 19:

February 20:

February 21:

February 22:

February 23:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway

February 26:

February 27:

End of Blog Hop and Final Round-Up

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

TGIFF

/ quiltinggail / 13 Comments

TGIFF stands for Thank Goodness it’s Finished Friday! There are a multitude of bloggers that take turns each week hosting TGIFF and this week it’s my turn. 

Sometime before Christmas, I taught a class on making a Retreat Bag. The pattern is free from Emmaline Bags . I used an older Island Batik fabric. When I taught the class, I had forgotten to quilt the fabric first. I had used a scrap of Hobbs 80/20 batting and no interfacing. The result is a bit of a limp bag, but it’s still beautiful and will hold a lot of stuff. This is the large size with the wires inserted. I also used the same outside fabric for my pockets because I want to be able to see them!  If you look closely at the first picture, you can see that 2 daffodils are budding. Spring is on it’s way!

Link Party

Join the Party and show us what you have FINISHED this week!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:   

SAHRR #4

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.” For more information on a SAHRR, see THIS POST.

Round #4 is hosted by Brenda @ Songbird Designs.

Brenda gives you a choice. Do something “on point” or a square in a square. I chose to do the square in a square. I used my Accuquilt Cube 8 dies to make them. If you don’t have the dies, the centre square is just shy of 3 3/8ths of an inch. The added triangles are the same size as for the 2 1/2” half square triangles. My blocks finished at 4″ square. I was amazed that the blocks were a perfect fit for the tops and sides. I was totally prepared to add some extra background to make them fit, but I didn’t have to! Can I say that I did a happy dance?

Today’s 4th Round:  Brenda @ Songbird Designs. Visit Songbird Designs to link up

  • February 19:  5th Round: ME!!! @ Quilting Gail
  • February 26:  6th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
  • March 18: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

I am truly amazed by the creativity of everyone!

Regina S (Round #2), Robin B., Gail H., Charlene B., Judy B., Regina S. #1, Regina S. #2, Jacomina, Rosie, Donna R #1., Donna R #2, Kathy R., Donna #3.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Island Batik’s Log Cabin Blog Hop: My Day!

/ quiltinggail / 92 Comments

I received “Heavy Metal” by Kathy Engle (for Swan Amity Studios) in my January Island Batik box!! This fabric will be shipping to shops in February. This is the fantastic fabric I used for the Log Cabin Blog Hop!

I searched for a pattern that I had on paper and couldn’t find it. I went to EQ8 and downloaded the Heavy Metal SKUs into the fabric portion and started designing various log cabins. I designed this quilt. It’s a based on the courthouse block, with the fabrics placed so that it spirals. Sort of fun, eh?

Spiral Logs

This quilt used every fabric in the collection. So, I started cutting and sewing. I attempted to keep the fabrics in some order so that each block would be totally unique. I surprised myself by doing it! There are 20 fabrics in the collection and of the coloured fabrics, each one is in the centre of each block.

This one is called “Spiral Logs.” The quilting was simple: wavy lines along each of the logs. 

I will give a tutorial on how to make the diagonal backing in a future post.

Quilt Stats:

WAIT!!! There is more!!!

Once I had the blocks up on the design wall for the spiral log cabin and I was ready to web the quilt, I found the sketch of the pattern I had been working on YEARS ago. I stopped in my tracks and designed the block in EQ8. I was a happy camper. Yes, I knew that this would give me 2 quilts, but I can live with that!

I’ve called the second one “Pinwheel” Logs. All of the strips are cut at 2 1/2” wide and finish at 2″ in the quilt. 

Here’s a picture from EQ8 of the designed block with Heavy Metal fabrics inserted. The block is 16″ x 16″.

I started by making 48 half square triangles. Then coloured fabrics were cut in groups of 3 at

  • 21/2“x 81/2“
  • 21/2” x 61/2“
  • 21/2” x 41/2”
  • 21/2” x 21/2“. 

Then the background fabrics were cut

  • (48) 21/2” x 21/2”
  • (96) 21/2” x 41/2“.

And a few progress pictures:

Quilt Stats:

Heavy Metal Give-away

Here’s the Rafflecopter to enter … You must live in Canada or the USA to win. If the Rafflecopter doesn’t work … make sure you do the following:

  • Follow my Instagram: Quilting Gail
  • Follow my Facebook page: Quilting Gail
  • Leave a comment below telling me which of the 2 Log Cabin quilts you like the most (Spiral or Pinwheel)
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Thank You!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread, needles and the iron were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik,  Aurifil Thread,  Hobbs Batting,  Schmetz Needles, Oliso  

Blog Hop Schedule

February 6:

February 7:

February 8:

February 9:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

February 12:

February 13:

February 14:

February 15:

February 16:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

February 19:

February 20:

February 21:

February 22:

February 23:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway

February 26:

February 27:

End of Blog Hop and Final Round-Up

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Island Batik’s Log Cabin Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 22 Comments

Have you seen the awesome quilts that were posted this week???? Visit Island Batik’s blog to see a recap and take the opportunity to win some absolutely beautiful fabric!!

On Monday, I will be posting my Log Cabin quilt made with “Heavy Metal. “ The collection was designed by Kathy Engle for Swan Amity Studios. Look at those vibrant purples, blues and close-to neutrals!

Here’s a sneak preview …

And I will have a give-away as well, so come back on Monday! You’ll have to follow the directions on Monday for an opportunity to win! Here’s a picture of the fabric I’ll be giving away. Each one is at least 11″ x 22″ and I may tuck in some other fabric from the collection.

Island Batik’s give-away!

Island Batik is also giving away more fat quarter bundles … Follow the Rafflecopter below for YOUR opportunity to win a bundle of “Love and Peace” or “Monarch.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

This Week’s Blog Hoppers

February 12:

February 13:

February 14:

February 15:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

SAHRR #3

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal” and “Egg Shell.”

Round #3 is hosted by Emily @ The Darling Dogwood.

Emily chose “Triangles.” It’s totally up to you how you make your triangles, what size they are and how you want to arrange them.

My triangles were cut with my Accuquilt 8″ Cube die. They were 2 1/2” and finish at 2″ in the quilt. The triangles fit perfectly across the top and bottom, but were a little shy on the sides. I didn’t want to fudge like I did with the piano keys because then I would loose my points. So, I just added a little sliver of background on each end of the triangle row … and now they sort-of fit.

Here is the 3rd Round.

Today’s Round: February 5: 3rd Round:  Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

  • February 12: 4th Round:  Brenda @ Songbird Designs
  • February 19:  5th Round: ME!!! @ Quilting Gail
  • February 26:  6th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
  • March 18: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

I’m loving the variety of each of these SAHRRs in progress. They are each so different! Awesome!

Judy B., Robin B., Stella, Kathy R., Donna R #2, Donna R #3, Heather F., Jacomina, Rosie, Donna R #1, Kathy P.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Saturday’s Summary

/ quiltinggail / 16 Comments

This is TRUE!!!

Monthly Colour Challenge

January’s colour is Orange!!! Here is my February block. Visit Jen at Patterns by Jen to get your free pattern for February. It’s free for the mo

I’m using Island Batik fabrics for my blocks. Here’s January’s

And the January & February blocks:

SAHRR Round #2 is almost done … ready for Round #3!

The hosts have shown their centre blocks and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s my centre block with the first round! Visit Anja @ Anja Quilts to see lots of other Round #2. Return to Quilting Gail on Monday to see Round #3!

Stitching Stuff

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Of course, with being away and not taking my sewing machine with me, my numbers decreased a LOT! That’s OK … the percentage is bound to increase – as long as I don’t go on holidays again! 😁

  • Jan 1-31: 23 / 31 days
  • Feb 1-3: 3 /3 days
  • Year total: 26 / 34 days
  • 76%

Design Wall Mondays

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. Sorry, no pictures to share!

Piecing projects:

  • SAHRR ’24 (Round 4 & 5 … trying to work ahead!)
  • It Moose be Love: blog hop project

Quilting:

  • Island Batik February Log Cabin Quilt
  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Sunday Stash

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

I bought backing for my 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. At least this didn’t put me in the red!!! I shouldn’t have to by backing for quite a while now! 

  • Fabric Used in 2023:    8 1/2 yards  from non-IB: 5
  • Fabric Used this week: 4 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              1/2 yard

To Do

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” not done
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  4. Work on IB February project in progress
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 (rounds 4 & 5)
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  4. Finish IB February project
  5. Work on “It Moose be Love” blog hop project
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Island Batik’s Log Cabin Blog Hop

Island Batik’s first challenge of 2024 is to make a Log Cabin. I must admit, Log Cabins are one of my favourite quilts to make!! 

Although the Island Batik Log Cabin starts next Tuesday, the first week’s giveaway is live now! Follow the simple Rafflecopter prompts on the Island Batik blog for a chance to win one of the two fabulous Fat Quarter bundles – Breezy by Kate Colleran Designs or Fairy Floss by Tamarinis!

The Log Cabin Blog Hop starts on Monday. 

Here’s what Island Batik has to say about the Log Cabin Blog Hop: We are thrilled to kick off the eleventh season of the Island Batik Ambassador Program with the Log Cabin Blog Hop! It’s a delightful challenge inspired by an enduring favorite in the quilting world. The versatility of the Log Cabin block offers endless creative possibilities. Will our Ambassadors opt for the graceful curves, geometric precision of triangles, whimsical wonky designs, celestial star motifs, innovative twists, or stick with the timeless classic? With boundless imagination and skill, our Ambassadors are poised to showcase a diverse array of interpretations. The sky truly is the limit as we start on this captivating adventure!

Here is the schedule:

February 6:

February 7:

February 8:

February 9:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

February 12:

February 13:

February 14:

February 15:

February 16:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

February 19:

February 20:

February 21:

February 22:

February 23:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway

February 26:

February 27:

End of Blog Hop and Final Round-Up

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Island Batik: Unboxing Video January 2024

/ quiltinggail / 30 Comments

I’m excited to be chosen as an Island Batik ambassador for the 6th year!  As an Island Batik Ambassador, I receive 2 shipments from Island Batik; one in January and the other in June/July. This is my unboxing video for the first box. I had to open the box prior to bringing it across the border, but I didn’t see all the contents until I did the video. Enjoy!

Here are individual pictures of everything!

This 2 1/2” strip set of Lavandin came paired with a 2 yard cut of Milk Shake (the off white from the Neutrals collection) and Turtle (the dark green, from the Glorious Greens gradation collection).

These 1/2 yard cuts are from the basics which are available at all times. 

Thistle (Playful Purples)Red Solid (Solids)Marble-Aqua (Blenders)
Dark Grey (Solids)Cobalt (Solids)Bubbles-Cherry (Blenders)
Fuchsia (Solids)Marble-Purple (Blenders)Buff (Ravishing Reds)
Marble-Storm (Blenders)Wave (Brilliant Blues)Blueberry (Brilliant Blues)

This is an awesome neutral fabric! It is called “Almond” and the tiny bluish and purple dots will blend in with everything I received! I’m positive that this 6 yard piece will be used in the near future!

A Strip pack of Playful Purples … (2 1/2” strips, width of fabric, 2 of each of the 20 different fabrics)

This 10″ stack of “Naturally Neutrals” will come in handy!! It’s fun to have a little of each of the neutrals!

This bundle of solid Black, White and Grey will be used in many different projects!

Stash builder rolls are so much fun. There are 5 rolls in each package. Each roll consists of 4 width of fabric 5″ strips. They are so versatile and are fun to give as gifts! And, I use them too!

This is a group of 1/2 yard cuts from the “Heavy Metal” collection. It was Designed by Kathy Engle for Swan Amity Studios (Swan Sheridan). There are also a 2 yard cut of Gears-Purple Hyacinth and 2 yards of Circle Gears-White (both from the collection). I will be using this in my February Blog Hop.

This surprise package will be used in the May Blog Hop. You’ll have to wait to see what it contains.

One of Island Batik’s Industry partners is Deb Tucker from Studio 180 Designs. She provided each of us with a special tool. I received the “Tucker Trimmer I” and a “Magic Wand.” I will be using these tools, along with the 10” stack of Squiggles, Dots and Lines. This stack came paired with a 2 yard cut of Midnight Blue (the dark blue on the left) and Bluebelle (the light blue). Both of these are basics from the Brilliant Blues collection (always available).

Hobbs Batting. A Queen size batt of 80/20!! A perfect batting for almost every project!

Oliso: I’m already loving this iron!!!

Schmetz Needles – lots of quality needles with charts and a booklet to assist in knowing which needle to use!

Here’s a picture of everything together!

One thing that I didn’t mention in my video was that Funky Friends will be an industry partner this year as well. I will be making Taylor the Tiger!

Thank you!

I would like to thank Island Batik and the industry partners who supplied all of the products in this post free of charge! I feel extremely blessed to be an Island Batik Ambassador for 2024!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR: Round #2

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.”

Round #2 is hosted by Anja @ Anja Quilts. Anja chose “2 colours.” That’s correct, 2 colours. You can choose any 2 colours you want, make whatever blocks you want. The choice is totally yours!

I chose to make piano keys using teal and purple. The teal and the white/teal are from Limerick, the purple is a blender called “Cherio-Iris.” (I don’t consider white a colour! LOL!!!)

The piano keys were cut 2″ x 5″ and finish at 1 1/2” x 4 1/2” in the quilt. The piano keys on the sides were about 1/2” too long, so I made 3 of the seams about 1/8” thicker and then it fit like a dream.

Here is the 2nd Round. It finishes at 36″ x 40″.

Today’s Round (#2) is hosted by Anja @ Anja Quilts

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

Kathy P (first block), Heather F, Jacomina, Kathy R, Robin, Judy B., Regina #1 original, Regina #2 alternative, Rosie in Oregon, Donna R #1, Donna R #2, Donna R #3.

And Kathy P sent me her finished quilt from last year’s SAHRR.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Sunday Summary: January 28

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

Sounds reasonable to me, too!

Monthly Colour Challenge

January’s colour is GREEN!!! Here is my January block. Visit Jen at Patterns by Jen to get your free pattern for January. Hurry, because you’ll have to pay for January’s block if you wait until the month is over!

I’m using Island Batik fabrics for my blocks. Here’s January’s

SAHRR Round #1 is almost done … ready for Round #2!

The hosts have shown their centre blocks and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s my centre block with the first round! Visit Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life to see lots of other Round #1.

Stitching Stuff

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Of course, with being away and not taking my sewing machine with me, my numbers decreased a LOT! That’s OK … the percentage is bound to increase – as long as I don’t go on holidays again! 😁

  • Jan 1-28: 19 / 28 days
  • 67%

Design Wall Mondays

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing projects:

  • SAHRR ’24 (Round 3 & 4 … trying to work ahead!)
  • IB February (a couple of pictures – works in progress!)

Quilting:

  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” (waiting for the backing)
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Sunday Stash

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

No shopping, so nothing new bought!

I did finish my White Rabbit (bunny hugs) quilt. 6 1/2 yards

  • Fabric Used in 2023:    8 1/2 yards  from non-IB: 5
  • Fabric Used this week: 6 1/2 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    4 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             4 1/2 yards 

To Do

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” not done (still waiting on backing)
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress
  3. Finish White Rabbit project. √   DONE. and posted
  4. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  5. Work on IB February project in progress
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 (rounds 3 & 4)
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  4. Work on IB February project
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Favourite Finish of the Month

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl is now hosting the Favorite Finish of the Month. 

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Finishing Friday

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

This week, I managed to finish this quilt in time for the White Rabbit Blog Hop. The weather has been raining and pouring and raining, not to mention the snow that we had, so I have not been able to take a picture of it outdoors. A picture on my design wall will have to do. 

I used Island Batik’s “Baby Bloomers” collection along with some Porcelain Fireside to add texture to the bunnies. Hobbs 80/20 is in the middle. The quilting was a simple walking foot straight line along with stippling in the dark purple areas. I must admit, I really enjoyed making this quilt! To find links to all of the White Rabbit bloggers, go to THIS POST.

I was featured

Wednesday Wait Loss

Jennifer from Wednesday Wait Loss @  Inquiring Quilter featured this little quilt:

Up coming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

White Rabbit Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 56 Comments

Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt has organized this fun blog hop. Here’s what Carol had to say about the challenge:

Challenge: On the first day of each month, there is a tradition for people to say “white rabbit” first thing in the morning. The phrase is supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the month. Even President Roosevelt did this
Make something with white fabrics, rabbits, or white rabbits. What is a tradition you follow?

Well, I had never heard of this tradition before! And, we don’t have a tradition that we follow on the first of the month. Unless you include changing the monthly calendar! LOL!!! But I have seen white rabbits in the winter, on the snow! Does that count?

When I first saw the name of this blog hop, I immediately thought about the quilt pattern “Bunny Hugs” by The Sugar Pine Company. (If you want the pattern, you can get it HERE.)

I decided to use Island Batik fabric from the “Baby Bloomers” collection along with some Porcelain Fireside to add texture to the bunnies. Hobbs 80/20 is in the middle. The quilting was a simple walking foot straight line along with stippling in the dark purple areas.

Blog Hop Participants

For lots of White Rabbit eye candy, be sure to click on the following links:

JANUARY 22

JANUARY 23

JANUARY 24

JANUARY 25

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR Round #1

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal” and “Egg Shell.”

Round #1 is hosted by Wendy at @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life. She chose the signature block. Typically, the signature block has a white centre, but because we can do what we want, I chose to have the colour in the centre and the neutral where the colour typically goes. I cut the blocks with Accuquilt dies. They will finish at 4″. 

If you don’t have an Accuquilt die to make this block, you can cut a 4.5″ square and add 2.5″ squares to 2 of the corners, with the sew and flip method. HERE is a tutorial with a different sized block than mine. It’s totally up to you which size of block you make, where you put the colours etc.

I debated as to whether I should have them going in different directions, or all in one direction. I ultimately decided to have them all go in the same direction. Once I had it pieced together, I made another decision … and out came my seam ripper!

Since I want this to be a decent sized lap quilt, I decided that I needed to add a neutral border around each block / round. I cut my borders at 2 1/2” and added them on. This meant that I also needed to make a few more signature blocks. I hadn’t tidied up after making the first signature blocks, so the dies were right there, ready to make more blocks! 😁

Here is the 1st Round. It finishes at 24″x 28″. 


January 15: I hosted the first linky party and you can see them all HERE. 

This 1st Round is being hosted by Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life. Visit her blog to link up for your chance to win one of our sponsor’s prizes! Visit the other co-hosts to see their 1st Rounds!

Other Participants

Several people do not have a blog or Instagram, so they are sending me pictures or their centre blocks. They are all so different – it’ll be fun to watch them become quilts!

Kathy R, Jacomina d, Charlene B, Heather F, Judy B, Robin B, Rosie in Oregon, Regina S, Stella M

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Sunday Summary: January 21

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

A very Sweet sister-in-law sent me this picture: I think she knows me well!!!

SAHRR has started!

The hosts have shown their centre blocks and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s my centre block!

Stitching Stuff

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Of course, with being away and not taking my sewing machine with me, my numbers decreased a LOT! That’s OK … the percentage is bound to increase – as long as I don’t go on holidays again! 😁

  • Jan 1-21: 12 / 21 days
  • 57%

Design Wall Mondays

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. Sorry, no pictures to share!

Piecing projects:

  • SAHRR ’24 (Round 2 & 3 … trying to work ahead!)
  • IB February Project

Quilting:

  • White Rabbit – due on Tuesday!!!
  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” (waiting for the backing)
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Sunday Stash

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

I did finish my Helen Godden Christmas Countdown.

But my trip to Hawaii, visiting quilt stores that sold Island Batik fabric, well, that was my downfall! 4 yards of fabric!! But, isn’t it beautiful???

  • Fabric Used in 2023:    2 yards  from non-IB: 1
  • Fabric Added this week: 4 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    4 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             – 2 yards 

To Do

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” not done … still waiting on backing
  2. Bind “SS 24 Catalogue Quilt”   √   DONE. and ready to be mailed!
  3. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 √  a little progress
  4. Work on White Rabbit project almost done – needs binding
  5. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  6. Finish Helen Godden’s ’23 Christmas Countdown √   DONE.
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24
  3. Finish White Rabbit project
  4. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  5. Work on IB February project
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hop

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

We Ran Away …

/ quiltinggail / 28 Comments

That’s right, my husband and I ran away. It was a spur of the moment trip. It started with an idea, it fell into place and away we went.

We went to Hawaii’s Big Island. Compared to all of the other Hawaiian islands – it got it’s name for a reason!

The weather was OK … not good for snorkeling, but a lot warmer than here at home! We explored a lot of places, walked a lot of beaches, saw some sun, some rain and some wind. And, I visited 2 quilt stores. I’d say that was a fun thing to do when it’s raining out!

The first store we visited was Quilt Passions in Kona. It was FULL of fabulous eye candy and lots of Island Batik fabrics!

While in the the store, I met Steve. He showed me a few nifty notions. See the blue scissor holder on the end of his featherweight? That is “Annie’s Tool.” She’s 11 years old and makes them, using a 3D printer. 

Then we went to Kilauea Kreations in Hilo. A smaller store, but friendly and bursting at the seams will all sorts of goodness.

While in these 2 stores, I bought a few yards of fabric and some patterns. So much for my “I’m NOT buying any fabric” mantra!

  • Sea Cookies – Teal Cool
  • Floral – Multi Green
  • Blender: Lg Wheat Leaves (and the rest of the tag was cut off)

A Finish

Just before we left, I did manage to add the binding and finish this Christmas Countdown!  It is a free pattern from Helen Godden Quilts and there are Youtube videos to help you do the quilting. My sister and I Zoom quilted and did this together, after the holidays. I used Island Batik solid white for the base, outlined the bobbles and ribbon with Sharpie Stained markers. Hobbs 80/20 batting is in the middle. It’s quilted with Aurifil Black (Bobbles), Red (Ribbon), White (stippling), and a Green (binding). The bobbles and ribbon were coloured with Inktense pencils and I used Aloe Vera gel to set the colours. This is now destined to one of the Christmas boxes and will appear next December.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

My Vacuum Attacked Me!

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

In my attempt at being diligent at keeping my sewing room tidy – I was vacuuming and was STABBED by a wire sticking out of the hose.

My husband is always great at solving problems and I told him that there was a wire sticking out of the vacuum hose. He’s an electrician and I was positive that he could fix the problem! He took the hose to the garage.

When he returned, I got a lecture (sort of) that went like this:

  • Hubby: So you think it was a wire?
  • Me: Definitely
  • Hubby: Hold out your hand. (I did so. He put a short ‘wire’ into my hand. ) This isn’t a wire, it’s a pin!!! Can you see the head? (I put on my glasses and then I nodded yes). You’re lucky … if that pin had hit the wire in the hose, you could get a huge shock. I keep telling you to make sure you pick up your pins ….

And I won’t bore you with the rest of the conversation … I’m sure a lot of you can relate! 😌

The moral of the story … I guess I either have to be less diligent at cleaning or make sure that I pick up all my pins … but honestly, I know I already pick up the ones that I’m aware of falling to the floor. 😇 And, the pins I use have either a glass head or a button like thing on the end. They are easy to see!!! Someone else dropped the vacuum pin in my room, not me!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail