Joan, from MooseStashQuilting is the host/organizer for this hop and here’s what she has to say about it:
Challenge: Late snow showers, rain showers, baby showers, wedding showers. What do you like to shower everyone with?
I thought of lots of things … a cute baby quilt with umbrellas, spring flowers, showering people with love … so many ideas. It was hard to decide. Then I took a peek into my ‘child’ or ‘baby’ quilt bin and I saw these Dr. Seuss fabrics. Perfect for a baby shower gift!
I pieced them together and thought “what in the world have I done?” So, instead of taking it apart and adding some sashing between all the main blocks, I decided to use black thread and make a bit of a ‘thread’ sashing to break it up. It was fun to use different stitches and it worked!
Here is the finished quilt:
Quilt Stats:
Size: 34″ x 39″
Fabric: from a Dr. Seuss panel and scraps of Dr. Seuss fabric
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Quilting:
Black: Aurifil #2692
White: Aurifil #2024
I don’t have a baby shower to go to in the near future, so this quilt will. be donated to the quilt guild. Make sure to visit all of the other blog participants and see what they made!
Carol from Just Let Me Quilt is the organizer and host for this Whirly Blog Hop.
Here’s what she had to say:
Challenge: Life can send us spinning sometimes, so let’s put those spins and whirls to good use in a quilt. Make something with pinwheel blocks, circle quilting, or whirly gigs. Try not to whirl out of control!
I went to EQ8 to figure out how many 8″ pinwheels, using 4″ HST, I would need for a decent size baby quilt. Here’s what I came up with: 15 pinwheel blocks and (15) 8 1/2″ unfinished squares.
Using Island Batik’s Sunny Meadow collection and solid white, I used the 8″ cube die to cut all of the triangles for the half square triangles. The cutting was done quickly, very quickly! I pieced it together and then had fun quilting! And yes, I just might have ‘whirled out of control‘ in the quilting. But I enjoyed every single minute of it!
Here are some close ups of the quilting:
Quilt Stats:
Size: 40″ x 48″
Hobbs 80/20 inside
Aurifil Thread:
Piecing: #2600 Dove Grey
Quilting: #2835 Medium Mint
At the moment, I’m debating whether to donate it or keep it for a special baby that I know nothing about … he or she may not even be conceived at this time. Time will tell.
The Blog Hoppers
Make sure you visit the following bloggers to see their “Give it a Whirl” quilts!
I was intrigued when I heard about this blog hop. It’s organized by Villa Rosa. You have probably seen them, even if you don’t recognize the name!! They are the patterns that are printed on post-card sized cards. I have made several of their quilts or table runners, more or less, using the directions given.
Here’s a bit of history about Villa Rose Designs:
We call Pat Fryer, the owner and the creator of the Villa Rosa Designs brand, our Rose Queen, because she absolutely adores roses. In fact, her love of roses helped her name her new venture in 2010. When she designed her first Rose Cards, she had a brilliant and unique idea to name ALL of her VRD patterns after Roses (also why we call them Rose Card patterns). For many years, all of the patterns were named after roses. Now we have a collection of talented designers who all have their own covers and logos, but Pat’s quilt designs are still named for roses. If you look at the Villa Rosa Designs patterns, you will see a rose in the top right corner on the cover of the pattern. That is the specific rose the pattern is named for.
Tricia sent me a zip of 5 patterns for the blog hop. I doubt very much that you could purchase this set of 5 in Canada for $8.95. I’ve seen individual ones priced at anywhere between $2 – $5! HOWEVER … keep reading and you can have an opportunity to WIN these 5 patterns!
I choose Gypsy Rose.
This was in February, just after I had posted my Island Batik Log Cabin quilts. I was about to put the extra “Heavy Metal” fabric away but instead, I immediately started cutting for this quilt. Now, I didn’t have all 20 skus left, but I cut from what I did have! I just love the blues and purples in this fabric collection!
This was an easy and fast quilt top to put together! I completed the top in an afternoon while I was also piecing a couple of other projects!
I used Silly Moon‘s “Charming” ruler to do all the quilting! It’s simple, but effective!
Update: In order for me to pick YOU to be selected by me, You need to leave a comment on my blog. If you also choose to follow me on Instagram, you will be entered into my draw twice.
Sponsors (for the Prizes!)
Many companies have donated prizes for this blog hop!
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!
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:
2023Fall 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: 17yards
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:
Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023Fall Mystery Quilt” sandwiched, not quilted
Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress
Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
Finish IB February project √ DONE. and posted
Work on “It Moose be Love” blog hop project √ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.√ DONE.
To Do for next week:
Quilt and Bind “2023Fall Mystery Quilt”
Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 (rounds 6)
Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
Finish IB March project
Fast and More Fun: blog hop project
Give it a Whirl: blog hop project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
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!
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.
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
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.”
I’m excited to be in this byAnnie Blog Hop!!! Annie Unrein and her amazing team has provided me with a pattern and all the necessary hardware I need to make my bag.
First, I needed to select fabrics from Island Batik‘s Celtic Fields collection, along with a pattern:
The pictures below show Celtic Fields with Doughnut (the neutral) and Celtic Mini Knot Red-B (from the Celtic Fields collection).
Here is a picture of everything that was supplied for the Take a Stand bag. Fabric is from Island Batik and ALL of the other products are from byAnnie‘s!
byAnnie bags have excellent instructions! So although I’m not a great bag maker, I already know that I can make any bag and it will look fantastic! However, there are a few things that I KNOW I need to do to have success. Besides knowing that I need to take my time and follow the instructions, I need to:
First: to copy the labels to ensure that I cut the proper sizes and use the proper pieces in the proper order. (1st picture) and to make it much, much easier when making the project!
Second: to read through the pattern (YES!! I do!) and since I’m making 2 sizes of “Take a Stand,” I highlighted the small one with yellow and underlined the large one with teal. (2nd picture)
The first thing I needed to do was quilt the main pieces … I did watch a Youtube video by Randi (of Randi’s Roost and a fellow Island Batik ambassador) with ideas for quilting. Randi used straight lines, and I used masking tape to give me a rough guide, but I used curvy lines and made ‘curvy’ diamonds.
For the quilting and the top stitching I used Aurifil Thread #3817 called Variegated Marrakesh and for the majority of the seams that would not show, I used Aurifil Thread #5012 (Dark Green).
Once all the pieces were cut and labelled, I put them on the design wall. Since I was going to do both sizes a step at a time, I just doubled them up (left picture). Then I went to work, preparing all of the components (right picture). I used a Microtex needle from Schmetz Needles.
Aurifil Thread #2220 (light salmon) was used on the fold over elastic on the mesh pockets. Then, I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the process.
The byAnnie videos are invaluable when constructing the bags! As a bonus, Randi (who was mentioned above) had 2 videos on the final construction of the bags! Visit her YouTube channel for extra videos.
The neighbour’s dog, Lexi, approves of the bags!
And here’s some pictures of the inside:
Are you Intimidated?
Are you intimidated with byAnnie bags? There’s a few things you can do to help you in your journey. First go to the byAnnie site, find the free patterns, watch the videos and make them. Another option is to join the byAnnie Facebook group (HERE). There’s lots of hints and tips. Randi does a group on Facebook where she walks you through the steps slowly. So you have lots of time to make each step and ask questions as you go along. Her future plans are to do Get Out of Town 2.1 (January) and Travel Essentials 2.0 (April). Sign up for her notifications HERE.
Joan of Moose Stash Quilting is the wonderful host of the Monster Mash Blog Hop.
The Challenge … Sew and share something scary, not scary, or something in between. If it’s Halloween related you know we will love it!
Well, I don’t like scary … so mine is not scary! Just a simple pumpkin to hang on my front door. It was fun to make the strips a little improv, and then I squared it up. Believe it or not, this took me about 5 days to make, doing a little here and a little there! Although, I’m positive I could have made it in a few hours! 😁
Stats:
Size: 12.5″ x 16″
Fabric: Strips from Island Batik’s “Opulent Orange” 10″ stack paired with “Mocha.”
Hobbs 80/20 Batting is inside
Quilted with Aurifil #3817 (Variegated Marrakesh) on my domestic Janome M7.
Monster Mash Bloggers
Be sure to visit each blogger, there will be lots of Monster eye candy!
Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt, is the organizer and host of this fun blog hop!
Here’s what she had to say:
Sew your project with dog themed fabric or applique/embroidery of dogs
She also gave an option of doing something vintage … but not for me … I’m going with the dogs! 🐶
I have made a few dog quilts over the years … and the 2 doxie pillows were made by my friend, Linda! So I just had to include them – they are so darn cute!
I had a LOT of scraps left from the last 2 quilts. They were all in one container! BONUS!!! and I’ve mixed them up and paired them up and cut them up … and made a bunch of “doggie bags!” Using some of my 7″ stash of zippers.
This is Week 2 of Island Batik’s “Pieced to Perfection” Blog Hop.
Lots and lots of beautiful quilts are being shown!
September 11 was my day to show my quilt using the “Copper Patina” fabric collection. I absolutely LOVED the teals in this grouping! Hobbs Batting, Aurifil thread and Silly Moon Rulers were used to create these quilts!
Here are pictures of my quilts and you can read more about them HERE.
If you want an opportunity to win fabric from this collection make sure you comment on the original POST, HERE.
Are you ready for a Mystery Quilt?
I will be hosting a Mystery Quilt here on my blog starting Wednesday, September 27. The clues will be posted every Wednesday for 8 or 9 weeks.
When I originally made this quilt, I used a Kansas Troubles layer cake. I will be making this quilt along with you using a 10″ stack of Island Batik fabric.
The quilt will finish at 59″ x 59″
Fabric Requirements:
A 10″ stack (or layer cake) that has at least 39 squares. (Yes, you can use fabric from your stash if you wish) The pattern tester used 20 squares from a layer cake and 20 squares from a coordinating fabric that she cut herself. Both quilts look great!
Background: Fabric 1 ¼ yard or 1.1 m
Binding: ¾ yard or 0.8 m
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!
January – August: 225 / 242
September: 10 / 10
Total: 235 / 252
Percentage: 93%
Stash Report
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! But not when I’m on holidays!
The 2 quilts for the Island Batik challenge used a total of 16 yards of fabric.
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used the last week: 16 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 156 yards from non-IB: 66.5
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 17.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 144.5 yards
Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.
To Do Tuesday
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
The To Dolist from last week:
Get “Splendor” Quilt to flimsy stage: FIX those mistakes !!!!! Not done
Work on September’s IB challenge. √ DONE , blog post written and posted
Work on Pin Dot Floral Quilt.progress, but not finished
Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics.Not done
Work on “It’s a Dog’s Life” project progress, but not finished
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.√ DONE
This week’s list:
Get “Splendor” Quilt to flimsy stage: FIX those mistakes !!!!!
Work on Pin Dot Floral Quilt
Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
Finish “It’s a Dog’s Life” project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Paper piecing, also known as foundation piecing, is a quilting technique that involves sewing fabric pieces to a paper foundation. Precision, relative ease of use and design flexibility of paper pieced patterns make them a very popular choice among quilters. Show off the fabric from your assigned Spring’ 23 0.5 yard bundle and make an eye-catching paper pieced showstopper!
My assigned bundle is Coper Patina shown here:
Years and years ago, Carol Doak had a yahoo group with lots of paper piecing blocks. She recently started a Facebook group with lots of new patterns. This inspired me to make a Block of the Month pattern from years ago for this month’s paper piecing challenge.
I printed out the patterns and started making the blocks.
Chain piecing and paper piecing without sewing on the paper! I’ve never tried the freezer paper technique, but using paper straight from the printer works for me.
I paired a lot of the fabrics together and made the blocks on the left, with the centre star. The centre star used “Egg White” (a basic that is always available) and “Swirl Teal Jade” from the collection.
But I wasn’t happy (picture on the left). It seemed like a mish-mash of the fabrics and did nothing for the centre star.
So I started making more blocks using one fabric from the collection and Egg White. The picture on the right shows these blocks in progress. Yes, I’m much happier.
Here is the finished quilt with lots of custom ruler quilting.
Quilt Stats:
Fabric: 9 select fabrics from Copper Patina, paired with Egg White
Binding: Scrappy with select fabrics from Copper Patina
And there is More!
There was the ‘left-over’ blocks from my first attempt. I added the solid Black sashing and border, with Swirl Teal Jade for the cornerstones. I must admit, I like this way better than my first attempt with the Swirl Teal Jade star. Perhaps if I had used solid black for the star, I might have been happier. However, it’s too late now and I’m not going to do it over again! I’m happy with this one!
However, before I went with the black, I attempted to use some of the gold fabric in the collection for the sashing:
No! No! No!
Sew, out came my trusty seam ripper, I auditioned other fabrics and settled on the black.
Much better!
Quilt Stats:
Fabric: 17 select fabrics from Copper Patina, with solid Black
Size: 46″ x 46″
Pattern: BOM by Carol Doak plus “Tennessee” from 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars (it’s the middle star on the left)
Binding: Scrappy with select fabrics from Copper Patina
I had wanted to take a picture of the 2 quilts together on the lawn, but with our drought conditions and brown scrubby grass, I went across to the neighbours rock garden and took the picture there.
*** Be sure to visit Britany at Bobbin with Brittany to see what she made with Copper Patina! ***
Joan of Moose Stash Quilting is the organizer of this blog hop. Here’s what she had to say about this Blog Hop:
We all know that crazy and scary feeling of wondering what we were thinking, when we started or were in the middle of sewing something out of our comfort zone. Now’s the time to share them with us all! It always make me feel better, knowing I’m not truly the only crazy person out there!
The rules are simple, make your project, write a post and have it scheduled to publish by midnight EST, the day your scheduled.
Well, I OBVIOUSLY did not read the instructions. I took it to mean that we had to do some Crazy Quilting. Probably since I’ve made a few projects in recent months … You can read about these projects HEREand HERE.
I used a pattern by Karen Overton, The Quilt Rambler. You can access the pattern HERE and the Youtube video HERE.
I was inspired by a fellow Island Batik ambassador who made a crazy quilted book cover for the “Crazy Quilt” challenge. You can see Emily’s (Darling Dogwood) book cover HERE.
I used an Island Batik fabric collection called Wild Blooms. There is Hobbs 80/20 batting in the middle and Aurifil thread was used for the piecing and quilting. The button came from my button box and I think it might have been one of my mom’s buttons! That translates to “It’s likely OLD!”
I’m always asked about my quilting. I quilt on a domestic sewing machine, a Janome M7. I LOVE my M7!!!!
Here is mine:
The following pictures show the Back insert, the button applied, the zipper and vinyl pocket and the bookmark in the composition notebook!
Here are the rest of the Crazy Blog Hoppers
Be sure to visit each of them! I promise you’ll be inspired!
Joan, of Moose Stash Quilting dreamed up this blog hop!!! At first I wasn’t sure if I could do a quilt with a pig on it. Boy, was I not thinking or paying attention!!!! Of course, with the PHD in 2023 happening on my blog, this blog hop is right up my alley!
Of course I have PIGS
PIGS: (Projects In Grocery Sacks)… they might not be in grocery sacks, but I have them!!!
UFOs??? (UnFinished Objects) Of course, I have a list … and I keep finding more!!
WIPS (Works in Progress) … usually many many of those!
Here’s what Joan had to say in May: Our next month’s challenge is all about those pesky projects that we haven’t finished. If you haven’t joined already, you might want to look in the corners of your sewing area and see if there isn’t something you can finish and share with us, too!
It’s never too late to finish a PIG, UFO or WIP … but you can certainly go find one and work on it!
My “When Pigs Fly”
I’ve had my 2022 “Nutcracker” (by Helen Godden) on my To Do list as a UFO since Christmas. I decided it was time … time to ‘get-er-done’!
I have done several projects, guided by Helen Godden. You can visit her website HERE … she has some free patterns and there are Youtube videos to guide you in your quilting. The first picture is “Flower Power” and each block is around 8-9″ square (you can read about it HERE) and the 2nd picture is the Merry Christmas from 2020 or ’21.
I had outlined the Nutcracker with a sharpie. and had coloured it in with Inktense pencils. I used Aloe Vera to set the colour, sandwiched it with Hobbs Batting – Thermore (which is perfect for wall hangings) … and it has sat and sat and sat …
In May, I pulled it out … and started to work on it. The first thing I needed to do was all of the outlining with black thread. I used Aurifil Thread #2692. I started that and within about 30 minutes, I was bored. I did think about tossing it aside, but I resisted. I looked at the youtube video to see what the December 1 stitching was. It was the cap/crown. OK … so I continued to do the outlining until I reached the cap/crown. Figuring that I would do the rest of the outlining as I went along! December 1 was the cap/crown … easy peasy, December 2 was the red part of the crown … easy peasy … and on it went … checking out each day and stitching as directed.
I didn’t take a picture of each day’s directions, but I took a few as I went along. I completed the quilting in about 3 days … doing a little here and a little there. (So I obviously did not do one day at a time!)
In the following pictures, you should be able to see the progress … and yes, the definite imperfections!
When I went to outline the “Merry Christmas,” I realized that Helen had coloured hers in black. So, I pulled out my trusty “Stained” Sharpies and coloured mine in as well. This was easier and faster than pulling out my Inktense pencils and Aloe Vera gel.
Here is my finished Nutcracker from the back. I cut out 3″ squares of the binding fabric and folded it in half to give me the corner hangers.
And from the front where I used Aurifil Thread #2311 (Muslin) for the background quilting.
Other Piggy Participants
Here’s a list of everyone that’s participating in the blog hop! I’m exited to see what everyone’s been working on!
A few years ago, Patti participated in a Stay at Home Round Robin … she diligently sent me photos of her progress … then decided she was DONE. She can’t remember if she put it on the “Free” table or put it somewhere else … but it was out of her hands … she was done with it!
Fast forward to the present day …
Patti is on the “Comfort Quilt Committee” for our guild (Boundary Bay Quilter’s Guild). She was given a quilt that was donated for the cancer centre. She absolutely HAD to show it to me … Can you see why????
And here you can really see Patti’s started SAHRR …
The lady that picked up the discarded SAHRR added lots of her own fabrics and made a super beautiful quilt …
Sew, You Never Know!
IB Blog Hop is Over
Island Batik has had a blog hop over the last 3 weeks. Did you see it? It featured Studio 180 Tools and new fabric lines.
I was given the “Sandalwood” collection, designed by Kathy Engle for Kari Nichols of Quilting Renditions and the Wedge Star Tool. You can read more about this quilt, the fabric and the tool HERE. It was a lot of fun to make! I was especially thrilled when I had PERFECTLY pieced star centres (well, on most of them!)
And here’s the back and a close up of the quilting.
If you would like to see a recap of all of the quilts from the hop, (without visiting each blog) visit Island Batik’s blog HERE.
Are you a “Rose Colored Glasses” kind of person? Do you think things are better than they really are? Do you think positive most of the time?
What’s the challenge?
Your sewn project must have one or more of the following: Rose/pink fabric Eyeglasses Roses Positive Words
I thought of a LOT of things … and some friends came up with other options:
wine glasses with re wine in the glass
wine coasters
eye glass cases
Well, when I was packing for my guild’s retreat last week, I had this “Retreat Bag” from Emmaline Bags that I wanted to finish. When I saw the lining fabric and some of the fabric for the outside of the bag, I just KNEW that finishing this bag would fit the project! Rosebuds and roses …
By the way, the pattern for the Retreat bag comes in 2 sizes from Emmaline Bags .
At the beginning of the year, when I got my first 2 Island Batik boxes for 2023, I had a “Surprise” package:
I didn’t know what fabric collection was hidden inside the wrapping!
This is what I found when I opened it: and yes, I ohhh and ahhh’d over it! I LOVE these beautiful fall colours!
The collection is “Sandalwood” designed by Kathy Engle for Kari Nichols of Quilting Renditions. And the collection is paired with 2 yards of Dijon (from Opulent Oranges) and 2 yards of Mocha (from Neutrals).
I also received the Wedge Star tool from Studio 180. So many options to play with!
And as an ambassador, I was also able to get the extra Technic Sheets that accompany the tool. Studio 180 also has a plethora of videos that go with all of the tools and several of the Technic Sheets! So, if you have a Studio 180 tool and are not sure how to proceed, visit the videos for clear instructions. HERE.
I followed the directions and started making the stars … sewing and trimming …
My first 3 blocks and then the start of the “Twisted Wedge Star” on my Prairie Spirit Alpaca/wool pressing mat.
One thing that I was totally amazed at was how, after all the sewing and trimming most of the blocks had PERFECT centres. If you know me at all … this is totally amazing! I was SOOOOOO excited!! It’s no wonder that I LOVE Studio 180 tools!
It was SEW much fun to make all these blocks that I didn’t take the time to photograph many progress pictues!
All in all, I made 6 Wedge Stars and 6 Twisted Wedge Stars. I used all 20 of the fabric skews in the top! The back used 3 of the skews and the Dijon yardage that was paired with the collection.
When the top was pieced together, I pulled out a batt of Hobbs Batting 80/20 (I buy this by the roll and I receive lots of Hobbs batting as an ambassador I LOVE Hobbs batting! and sandwiched the quilt using 505 spray baste!
And the quilting began … NOTE: many people think I have a long arm … I don’t !! I quilt on my Janome M7. I had my husband take pictures fo there is some proof! (grin)
Schmetz Needles, Microtex Chrome 70/10, was used for the quilting. I know that a LOT of people think that you need a larger needle when quilting batiks, but you don’t. These needles work great!
You can see the Aurifil Thread 2370 (Sandstone) that I used to quilt this quilt.
Here is the final quilt:
And with the fall colours, the only place to take a ‘fall-ish” picture was pinning the quilt to the wood pile. I didn’t think the rose coloured tulips or the ornamental cherry blossoms would look great with this quilt! This wood pile will be cut and split in the near future … all ready for next winter!
The back and close-up of the quilting:
Quilt Stats:
Size: 43″ x 57″
Fabric: Sandalwood Collection, with Moocha (sashing & borders) and Dijon (in some blocks & backing)
Backing fabrics: Dijon, Berries Gold Oc re, Pine Leaves Cone Gr, & Rock Yellow Amber
Binding: Various greens from the Sandalwood Collection for a scrappy binding.
If you are interested in the Sandalwood fabric line, it can be found at the following stores. Many many other stores carry Island Batik and specifically Sandalwood fabrics, but I’ve kept my list to Washington State and Oregon – stores within my driving distance! The fabrics should be shipping soon!
Creative Union Fabric, Port Townsend, WA
Creekside Quilts, Gales, OR
Will-n-Bee’z, Salem, OR
To find stores that carry Island Batik fabrics, check the store locator HERE.
One Canadian Store that carries many of the collections seen in this blog hop is Lori’s Country Cottage. I visit it almost every time I visit my sister!
Lori’s Country Cottage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA
These little bags are April’s One Gift a month from Days Filled with Joy … I started them in April, finished in May. They both use Island Batik fabrics from different collections.
These are January and February’s gifts … since I made 2 in February, and March’s slipped away from me … That’s 5 gifts that I’ve made in 4 months … I figure that’s OK!
May’s gift of the Month won’t be posted until later this month as “days filled with Joy” has a lot on her plate.
Blog Hop
To see a recap of Week 1: visit Island Batik’s blog HERE.
Week 2 of Island Batik’s Blog Hop will start on Monday. My day is Tuesday!!!
Are you determined to finish a bunch of UFOs and to NOT increase the number of quilts or projects on your UFO list???
Congratulations on making that choice!!!
Let’s Get ‘er Done!
So, we’ve all got this list of UFOs to do. And we have the list of “NEW Starts in ’23” … Are you feeling overwhelmed?
We’re a third of the way through the year! Do you have a third of your UFOs done? It’s OK if you don’t, this isn’t a challenge where you have to get one done each month, but it does help.
So, let’s take one of your UFOs. It won’t get done sitting in it’s box, or stashed under the bed, or in the back of the closet. Get it out!
Decide what do you need to do? Can you start where you left off? Do you need to figure out where you left off? Whatever it is, DO IT!!!
Your UFO will get finished the same as everything else … one stitch at a time. Take the time to do at least 15 minutes of stitching today … if you can stitch for 30 minutes, then that’s even better!
Let’s get at least ONE UFO done before the end of May! Sound good?
My Brother in Law, Dale, LOVES puffy quilts! He Loves bright and cheerful quilts. I gifted him the puff quilt that I made for the February Island Batik challenge. Obviously, their little dog, Brûlée, loves it as well! You can read more about this Puff quilt HERE.
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!
I missed 1 days this week because I was travelling, so that was a total of 3 days missed so far this year!
January – March: 90 / 90
April: 27 / 30
Total: 117 / 120
Percentage: 97%
Stash Report
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!
May IB challenge : Sandelwood and the Wedge Star tool
June IB challenge (The luscious teal and green 10″ stack)
Xs & Os.#1 & #2. – cut with Accuquilt dies
Quilting: These are all sandwiched and ready to quilt …
IB Catalogue Quilt (not shown)
Nutcracker
Bird Panel
Current Blog Hop
Island Batik Blog Hop: Tool Craze: This Blog Hop starts TOMORROW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My day is May 9
Each Ambassador was given a 1/2 yard of each fabric in a collection, along with coordinating fabric, as well as a Studio 180 tool … It’s going to be fun to see what each person creates!
If you visit Island Batik’s blog, HERE, you have an opportunity to win some awesome fabric. These fat quarter bundles are soooooo beautiful!!!
Here’s the list of who’s participating in the blog hop this week:
Bea announced this annual blog hop in mid January and here’s what she has to say about it, “The theme is supposed to mean that you look at your shelf of quilt books and find an old one or one you haven’t used in a while and “dust it off” and then make something from the book, it could be that you like the block of a quilt but not the 80s colors or maybe you like the colors but not the quilt or the size or whatever, the book is just supposed to INSPIRE you to make something.”
By the way, I don’t know if any of you follow Bea Lee (@ Bea Quilter) but she is a fabulous designer! If you have any Accuquilt dies, she has a plethora of them and most of her designs use them! She’s well worth following!
Anyhow, back to the blog hop. I’m sure this is one of the first books that I purchased after I graduated from nursing school and was newly married. I’m sure I’ve looked at it several times, I’ve never made anything from it … until now!
This book was published in 1979. And the promise of an 8 Hour quilt was appealing.
I had a 10″ stack of this beautiful Island Batik fabric collection called “Constellation” and I’ve been dying to open it and start to use it! I was also given 2 yards of “Ice” that co-ordinated with this stack and I used it as well.
True to how I make quilts, I didn’t follow the directions … I made rectangles using the 10″ squares and squared them to 9″. I also did not sew a 3/8″ or 1/2″ seams … I sewed a 1/4″ seam. I didn’t miter the corners of the borders and I didn’t use muslin. I also did not ‘envelope’ the quilt … I sandwiched it in my usual manner.
However, this was used for inspiration for a quilt for this blog hop!
I have no idea if this quilt took me 8 hours to make! I usually work on a couple of projects at the same time, but I do know that the top was put together easily in an afternoon … along with other projects being sewn! It was quilted and bound in an afternoon … so it might have taken me less than 8 hours!
Close-ups of the quilting. I used Silly Moon “Twinkle” for ruler quilting the stars and meandered between them.
Quilt Stats:
Size: 42″ square
Fabrics: Island Batik “Constellation” and “Ice”
Piecing and Quilting: Aurifil #2600 (Dove Grey)
Quilting Rulers: Silly Moon “Twinkle”
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Binding: Fabric: “Harbour” and Aurifil 2775 (Steel Blue)
Quilting Gail 