Joan from Moose Stash Quilting announced this blog hop way back in December! I had an idea of what I wanted to do, so I signed up right away!
It was a fun and easy quilt to make! It is called “Hugs and Kisses Quilt” from Melissa Corry’s book “Charming Baby Quilts.”
All of the fabrics were from my Island Batik scraps and I only cut into pieces that were smaller than a fat quarter. Many were from various collections. And for something scrappy like this – they all work well together.
I finished quilting and binding this one day while sewing on Zoom with some friends. I rushed outside to attempt to take a picture in the sun, but the sun was gone and the wind had picked up. How I managed to get a still picture is amazing to me!
Quilt Stats:
Fabrics: Island Batik scraps paired with Island Batik’s solid white.
Size: 48″ x 48″
Pieced with Aurifil #2600 Dove Grey
Quilted with Glide thread “Peacock” using mostly 4″ Cupid ruler (Silly Moon) with the occasional 3″ heart.
Hobbs 80/20 on the inside
Scrappy binding
For quilting all the hearts, I would stitch a heart and then back-track to a spot, then start the next heart. This way, each of the hearts are joined together. And here are close-ups of the quilting:
Have you been following the Stay At Home Round Robin? Last week was Round #4: Flying Geese! I’m using fabric collection “Baby Bloomers” (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton). I absolutely LOVE the fabrics in this collection! As you can see from the picture below, there’s a range of colours! Each one is SEW pretty!
Come back tomorrow and see what the latest prompt is!
One Gift a Month Challenge
Days Filled with Joy is hosting this challenge. February’s gift is a Heart Shaped Zipper Pouch. See HERE for the tutorial.
At first, I thought this little pouch is too small, and then I spotted my ear buds, lying there, the connecting wires spread here and there … they need somewhere safe to live! So I’m going to be making one for me! I think I’ll make 2.
Since, it calls for 5″ squares, I went to my Island Batik stash and found some beautiful heart prints from a stash builder roll! Perfect! Hearts for a Heart Shaped pouch! Aren’t these pretty fabrics?
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: 31 / 31
February: 19 / 19
Percentage: 100%
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!
Lots of fabric used since last time I posted about my stash. The Lone Star Quilt Used 7.5 yards of fabric and the Puff Quilt used 6 yards
I can still brag … ! I’ve made it one month and a bit … can I make it for 2 months?
Fabric Used this week: 13.5yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 18.5 yards from non-IB: 9 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
Net Fabric used: 18.5 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 now hosting “To Do” every week.
The To Do list from a few weeks ago:
of course, having 2 weeks, makes it easier to ‘get er done – grin!!!
Quilt Bird Panels not done
Quilt Naturescape Lone Star√ DONE. and posted!
Work on Gardenia.√ DONE
Work on Melodic Mystery: January’s clue √ DONE
Sandwich Chilhowie√ DONE
Work on February Sweet on You Blog Hop project. √ DONE
Sandwich Nutcracker√ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
This week’s list:
For me, this list is big … it’s what’s on my To Do list, but the ones with purple text are my priority. If I get beyond those, I’ll be extremely happy!
Finish Gardenia to flimsy stage
Melodic Mystery: Finish top
Chilhowie: start quilting
Quilt Bird Panels
Quilt Nutcracker
Start March Island Batik Challenge
Start Dust off a Quilt Book project
Work on Little Green Apples blog hop project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
There promises to be a lot of wonderful projects with this hop! Many of my blogging friends are participating and I know they do awesome work! Come and join in the fun and be inspired!
This puff quilt was made for Island Batik‘s February challenge.
I like the back as much as the front!
This quilt was made with fabric from the Fruit and Veggies (designed by Kathy Engle) collection. This collection is available at Creekside Quilts in Oregon. (BTW – they carry a LOT of Island Batik fabric!)
You can read more about how I made this quilt HERE.
Two opportunities to win!
First: Go HERE to Island Batik’s blog and follow the Rafflecopter prompts.
Second: I am giving away over 1 yard of fabric from the Fruits and Veggies collection. Leave a comment on my blog stating what you like about this collection and what you might make with the fabric if you were to win. This is open to anyone in Canada or the USA. I will use a number generator to randomly pick the winner when the blog hop is completed.
I was Featured!
Jennifer from Inquiring Quilter, Andrée from Quilting and Learning, and Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation all featured the Lone Star Quilt I posted last week! You can read more about this quilt HERE.
A Puff Quilt??? A Bubble Quilt??? I’ve never made one before. It wasn’t even on my bucket list. I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, many fellow Island Batik ambassadors were in the same boat! We discussed many options and had a lot of suggestions for each other!
I ended up looking at many you-tube videos and a few Instagram posts to figure out how to make my Puff Quilt. The video that made the most sense to me was this one: How To Make A Puff Quilt The Easy Way ~Bubble Quilt ~ Puffer Quilt. I didn’t use a minky on the back as the video suggested … I used more of the Island Batik fabric from the collection I was given.
I was given “Fruit and Veggies” collection by Kathy Engle. Along with 2 yards of Veggie Garden – Green (one of the collection fabrics) and 2 yards of Mint (a foundation fabric). Isn’t it a beautiful green & blue collection?
I started out using EQ8 to decide the placement of the fabrics. The final decision was this Trip Around the World.
I cut the fabric into 5″ strips and then squares to get my layout. Once on the design board, I webbed the quilt together. You can see the technique on my Youtube channel HERE.
I forgot to take a picture of it totally webbed together … this picture shows some of the rows sewn together with the bottom webbed.
Then I put a pleat or tuck on each side of the squares … in this picture you can see where I’ve pinned the squares so they could be sewn all the same size.
Here is the top with all the tucks/pleats sewn …
Then I needed to make the back … I only used 13 fabrics for the top, so the back uses the other 7 fabrics, plus the fabric that is in the centre of the front.
I used 10″ width of fabric slices and sewed them on the diagonal, thinking that the seams would not ‘clash’ with the seams on the front. It worked!
I lined up the top of the quilt front with the back and sewed them together. Then, I sewed down 2 blocks worth and started stuffing the squares. I used almost 2 bags of polyester fibre fill for the stuffing.
Here’s a picture of the puff quilt in progress as I’m sewing down the latest stuffed row.
I must admit that the binding was a bit difficult to put on. The blocks were all wavy and I had to straighten them while pushing the stuffing out of the way. It took a lot longer than I expected, but it slowly got done!
Here is the finished quilt from the front.
And a view from the back! The intent was to just have the puffs on the front, but the back also became a little puffy.
Blocks on front: started as 5″ squares. With pleats became 4.5″
Binding is Veggie Garden – Green.
2 Opportunities to win Island Batik Fabric!
Island Batik is giving away 2 fat quarter bundles! One of King’s Castle and the other Juicy Mosaics. Visit Island Batik’s blog for your opportunity to win this amazing fabric! Click HERE and follow the Rafflecopter prompts.
I am giving away over 1 yard of fabric from the Fruits and Veggies collection. Leave a comment on my blog stating what you like about this collection and what you might make with the fabric if you were to win. This is open to anyone in Canada or the USA.
Another Picture!
The lilac trees are no where near ready to bloom, but I just had to take a picture of this quilt in the garden!
Make sure you visit “The Quiltery, For the Love of Geese” to see Denise’s puff quilt. She used the same fabrics as I did and I bet they are totally different puff quilts!
Have you been following the Stay At Home Round Robin? Last week was Round #2: Stars! I’m using fabric collection “Baby Bloomers” (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton). I absolutely LOVE the fabrics in this collection! As you can see from the picture below, there’s a range of colours! Each one is SEW pretty!
One Gift a Month Challenge
Days Filled with Joy is hosting this challenge. This month it’s a little basket that Pink Penguin has a tutorial for (See HERE).
I finished this basket and posted about it on Friday (see HERE).
February’s gift is a Heart Shaped Zipper Pouch. See HERE for the tutorial.
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: 31 / 31
February: 5 / 5
Percentage: 100%
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!
The basket above used 1 yard of fabrics. Yes, many were scraps, but it still adds up.
I can still brag … ! I’ve made it one month … can I make it 2?
Fabric Used this week: 1 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 5 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
Net Fabric used: 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 now hosting “To Do” every week.
The To Do list from a last week:
Sandwich Bird Panels√ DONE
Sandwich Chilhowie. not done
Work on February Sweet on You Blog Hop project √ DONE
Bind Island Batik’s February project √ DONE
Finish colouring Nutcracker√ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √ DONE
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
This week’s list:
Quilt Bird Panels
Quilt Naturescape Lone Star
Work on Gardenia
Work on Melodic Mystery: January’s clue
Sandwich Chilhowie
Work on February Sweet on You Blog Hop project
Sandwich Nutcracker
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
This blog hop is starting Monday!!! The next 4 weeks have LOTS of eye candy for you!!! The Island Batik Ambassadors have mad a Puff Quilt from their assigned collections! I’ve seen glimpses of some of them … you are in for a treat!
And there’s already a chance for you to win some fantastic fabric. Visit Island Batik’s blog to enter! Island Batik is giving giving away a Fat Quarter bundle of the complete Island Batik collections – Broken Glass by Kathy Engle or Exuberance by Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design!
Take a look at the following snapshots of some of the fabrics in each collection. Which is your favourite?
I told you earlier this week that I was joining a challenge called “One Gift a Month.” I showed you the start of the project.
Well, I worked on it for a bit and finished it!
It was an easy project to make! If I were to make it again (if I remember this), I would make the boxed corners on the lining about 1/4″ larger so that the lining would be a bit smaller and fit into the main part of the basket without extra fabric floating around.
I used “Deco Revival” fabric from Island Batik. It was pieced, quilted and top stitched with Aurifil #2581 (Dark Dusty Grape).
Upcoming Blog Hops
Island Batik: February Blog Hop! (My day is February 13)
The next 4 weeks have LOTS of eye candy for you!!! The Island Batik Ambassadors have mad a Puff Quilt from their assigned collections! I’ve seen glimpses of some of them … you are in for a treat!
The pictures below give you a taste of some of the designs in each collection. Which is your favourite?
In November, Carla from Creatin’ in the Sticks announced the Sew It – Show It Challenge: Shades of Blue. How could I resist? Blue is my absolute favourite colour!!
I have a LOT of blue flying geese and half-square triangles that I have made as a leader and ender project. I put them together to make these 3 table toppers. (All different sizes since my table tops are different sizes!) They use all sorts of Island Batik fabrics from my Island Batik scraps. That means that they were left-overs from some projects and pieces from stash-builder rolls.
Hobbs batting (80/20) is in the middle and they are Free-motion quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove Grey).
I taught a binding class to a wonderful group of ladies this week and thought these 3 little table toppers would be perfect for demonstrating my easy method of machine binding!
Here’s a closeup of 2 different stitches that can be used for securing the binding down.
Here’s the list of all the “Shades of Blue” Blog Hoppers. They all have awesome “blue” projects and it’s well worth visiting each and every one of them!
I decided that I needed another table runner for the top of my piano. I chose a beautiful dark blue Island Batik fabric called “Ravine” and paired it with “Rice. This was also a DREMI: DRop Everything And Make It. This is the result:
Another DREAMI
I received a lovely charm pack and pattern from Missouri Star Quilting … and I just had to make it! Yup, it was a DRop Everything And Make It project! Such a fun project.
Another UFO Finish
The Spicy Colour Challenge quilt was started last December and I finally got it finished this month! You can read about it HERE. That makes 12 UFOs that I’ve finished this year. SEW … I will be getting my PHD in 2022. However, I still have a list of UFOs that need to be finished, so I will be having PHD in 2023!
Island Batik Fabric
Hobbs 80/20 on the inside
Aurifil thread (to piece and quilt)
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!
Lots of stitching in the past week!
January – November: 288 / 333
Dec: 18 / 18
Total: 306 / 351
Percentage = 87%
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!
However, this week, I went out to Chilliwack to Cozy Cotton Quilting to pick up some quilts, deliver patterns and give her another quilt for display. Angela had recently received a lot of Island Batik bolts (mostly from the Pumpkin Spice collection) and I just couldn’t resist … so I had 3 fabrics cut for me! Aren’t they beautiful ???? I will definitely be making the trip out to Cozy Cotton just to buy Island Batik fabric!!!
The Spicy BOM used 4.5 yards of fabric. The newest branches table runner used 1 yard. And the mugs / snowflake used 1.5 yards
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √ DONE
This week’s list:
Finish Clue #4 Chilhowie
Start Classic Cars Colour Challenge BOM – Jan / Feb
Start colouring the Nutcracker
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
Design Wall
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. I must apologize, I’ve been calling Judy by the wrong name !!! I’m so glad that she let me know and now I’m calling her by the correct name!
Piecing:
Classic Cars Colour Challenge BOM
Chilhowie – Clue #4 in progress
Quilting:
Once I do some colouring with Inktense pencils, I’ll start quilting the Nutcracker. Here he is on my window for tracing.
Upcoming & Current Blog Hops
Island Batik‘s December’s Lone Star Blog Hop. Week #3 is started! LOTS and LOTS of fabulous quilts!
In July, I received an awesome Surprise package in my Island Batik, box and this is what I got: 20 half yard cuts of fabric from the Baby Bloomers collection, a signature collection for Karen Overton. Also included was 2 yard of Dots-Pink Carnation and 2 yards of Cow Moon Clouds – purple.
The only Lone Star I’ve made was a Judy Niemeyer pattern and I didn’t really want to purchase one of her patterns. I knew that there must be other options!
So, what to do??? EQ8 to the rescue … I downloaded the Baby Bloomers fabric collection and started to play! I’m not sure when, but I must have followed a tutorial at one point, because I found a folder called “Lone Star Practice.” Bingo! I found exactly what I wanted to make. I substituted the original fabric with the Baby Bloomers fabric and came up with this:
When I searched the Internet for “How to make a Lone Star Quilt,” I came across a few tutorials by Donna at Jordan Fabrics. WONDERFUL!!! Here’s the tutorial I mostly followed: One Jelly Roll, Lone Star. However, in order to make the quilt I wanted to make, I needed to make some adjustments. Mainly with the purple going up each point of the star.
I needed to make a strip set of my fabrics, I used my 2 1/2” Accuquilt die and made perfect strips very quickly!
I laid out the strips and pinned them onto my design wall.
I sewed the strips together (picture above) and cut according to the directions. And forgot to take a picture of the cut pieces!
Then, I made sure to mark Every. Single. Intersection. to ensure almost perfect points … (hmmm, that didn’t always work according to plan!)
Yes, I used “Dude” from Silly Moon Rulers and a pencil to mark the intersections. Then I used the forked pins to hold the intersections in place. I’m usually not a pinner – but it was a MUST in this case!
When I put the light pink from the collection up on the design wall with the star pieces I had assembled, my immediate thought was “what in the world were you thinking?” It did NOT look good. It looked washed out. I started digging through my stash! Many different fabrics were auditioned. I found this slightly darker and brighter pink tied up with one of my Island Batik precuts and BINGO, it was perfect for the quilt. It is called “Floral Carnation” and is from the Blenders collection (available at all times).
I quilted it with Aurifil Thread, #2515 (Light Orchid) on the top and Aurifil #2423 (Baby Pink) in the bobbin. When auditioning the threads, I felt that the Baby Pink was too light for the top but the Light Orchid was perfect. However, I didn’t know if I had enough Light Orchid to use for both the top and bobbin. I used Aurifil #4225 (Eggplant) to attach the binding.
Quilting Close-ups
The Finished Lone Star
Be sure to visit Maryellen at MaryMackMadeMine! She had the same fabric collection. I haven’t seen her quilt, but I just KNOW that it will be a totally different Lone Star!
Hashtags for industry (only if you are actually using the products): #hobbsbatting #accuquilt #accuquiltgo #schmetzneedles #doyoueq #janome #bernina #juki #dritz #olfacreates #junetailor #brothersews #cloverusa #oliso #studio180design #omnigrid
Carla, from Creatin’ in the Sticks, has organized this great blog hop! Do you love music? I certainly do! I’ve played the piano for years and the oboe and bassoon in high school. Although, I must admit that I haven’t played much in the last few years.
However, I have sewn and I have a few pieces (yes, just a few … not even a dozen) of fabric with music on it!
I decided to use some scraps of 2 similar fabrics and make some zipper pouches. I also used scraps of Hobbs 80/20 batting! The larger pouches are 9-10″ x 11″ and the smaller ones are roughly 4″ x 5.” When I was finished with these, I found that I only had a 2″ x 4″ scrap of fabric left! It was a great feeling to have used up all of this fabric!
Oh me, oh my! What a blog hop this promises to be!!! Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets … I have a few! Do I need to pick just one??? Carol, from Just Let me Quilt, organized this blog hop and I signed up right away!!!
But before I started, I decided that I needed to actually define what a “gadget” is. According to Mirriam-Webster a gadget is “an often small mechanical or electronic device with a practical use but often thought of as a novelty.”
Hmmm, to me, I have always considered a gadget something that makes my quilting easier. Sometimes the “gadget” is electronical, sometimes mechanical, but always is practical and useful. Hence, I’m going with my own definition of “gadget.”
I will show you the gadgets that I used for this project. I doubt this will make me the Queen of Gadgets, but even I was surprised at how many I actually used!
Gadget #1
EQ8
I used EQ8 to design this quilt using Island Batik’s “Pumpkin Spice,” a signature collection for Sarah Fabian, designed by Kathy Engle. I had received a 10″ stack, along with a 2 yard cut of “Celery” (which I used for the background) and a 2 yard cut of “Bluegrass” which I used for the binding.
And yes, just in case you were wondering, I recently upgraded from EQ7 to 8. A tiny learning curve, but lots of features I really really like! Well worth upgrading! Wish I’d done it sooner!
I received this fantastic fabric collection: Flourish by Kathy Engle, along with 2 yards of Dots-Brown Brownie and 2 yards of Vertical Vine-Orange
And the collection of 20 half-yard cuts of Flourish s to be paired with Studio 180’s Corner Pop tool.
I browsed through the Studio 180 Blockbuster blocks for a block that used the Corner Pop ruler, plus some of the other Studio 180 rulers that I have. I found Blockbuster #52, Sparkler and Blockbuster #17, Salem Star. I drew the blocks in EQ, changing them slightly and came up with this quilt:
One requirement is that I use 30 units using the Corner Pop ruler! No problem!!! This quilt has WAY more Corner Pop units! The Salem Star has 160 Corner Pop units and the Sparkler Star has 80 Corner Pop units – for a total of 240 units!
And, of course, true to how I work, the colours in each block would change. This quilt used 18 of the 20 fabrics in this collection on the front. But, knowing how I work, I knew at this point, I would divide the blocks into 2 fabrics and go from there.
Before I started cutting, I visited online instructional videos at Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design YouTube channel to learn more about the corner pop ruler. I did not need to review the Tucker Trimmer video or the V-block video as I have used them several times!
I was so excited to get started making the 10 Salem Star blocks that I forgot to take any pictures! {groan} Let me tell you, there was a LOT of trimming, but I must admit, the points came together perfectly! And, if you know me at all – perfection is not my claim to fame!
I used a lot of the Vertical Vine-Orange in each block, with Dots-Brown Brownie in the corners and the border.
Here’s the 10 Salem Star blocks completed:
Here I am, using the Corner Pop ruler to cut the large corner of the Sparkler block. The Vertical Vine-Orange looks very faded in these to pictures.
Here is the Prairie Spirit Alpaca / Wool mat making pressing the blocks perfect! Using the mat and trimming the blocks makes for perfect blocks! I’m amazed!
This picture shows a truer colour of the Vertical Vine-Orange. As well, it shows the completed corner using the V-block ruler. And pressing on the Prairie Spirit Alpaca/Wool mat = crisp seams!
The 2nd trim on this block … looks like I need to adjust the ruler just a smidge!
More trimming! The first picture is using the Tucker Trimmer ruler and the second picture is using the Corner Pop ruler.
Swirling those centers of the pinwheel block. I love the look of the tiny pinwheels and I really LOVE the ease with quilting over that area without dealing with lumpy seams!
Here is a close-up of some of the quilting. All quilting is done on my domestic Janome M7.
Here is the completed quilt with Floral Leaves-Brown for the binding.
When I make Island Batik Blog Hop quilts, I attempt to use ALL 20 fabrics in the quilt. Well, there were a couple of orange fabrics that blended in too much with the background and corner triangles, so I used them on the back, with a few other fabrics from the collection!
Here’s a close-up of the quilting from the back:
A Give-away!
I’m giving away this little bundle of fabric that is left-over from making the quilt. If you live in Canada and would like to receive this bundle, leave a comment or email me. In your comment (or email) tell me what you might make with the fabric … At the end of the Blog Hop, I will put all of the names in a hat and my husband will draw the winning name.
This blog hop is to celebrate National Sewing Month. ?? National ?? the hosts are in the US and I live in Canada, so I’m declaring it International Sewing Month. Works for me!
My mother taught me to sew at a young age. By the time I was in Grade 8 and taking Home Ec, I was pretty bored with making an hair kerchief and an apron. My next project was a skirt with a zipper in it. The teacher put the zipper in to demonstrate the insertion. When I got the final marks for the project, she gave me 2/10 for zipper insertion. WHAT???? Unfortunately, I had NO assertiveness skills at that time and didn’t argue with her. When it was time to choose courses for Grade 9, I definitely knew that Home Ec was one course I wasn’t going to take! By the way, I had the same teacher for cooking and was not impressed with having to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our first project! Can you blame me?
I made this V-neck top! It was a quick easy project! Even though I haven’t been sewing garments for a LONG time! It’s a nice cool top for the warm summer days!
There are PRIZES!
That’s right! Lots of prizes that you could win! Click on the Rafflecopter and follow the prompts!
Look at this beautiful Naturescape pre-cut that I received from Island Batik! Along with 2 yards of Glacier and 2 yards of Large Netting-Pineneedle. PLUS, 4 spools of Aurifil Thread:
50 wt: #4250: Variegated Flamingo
50 wt: #2890: Very Dark Grass Green
40 wt: # 2410: Pale Pink
40 wt: # 2770: Very light Delft
I’m dreaming of what wonderful quilt I can design with these beauties!!!
And, I also received this stack of fabrics “Positively Pink,” Breast Cancer Awareness with coordinating yardage for the Pinktober Blog Hop.
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 – Aug: 209 / 242
Sept: 4 / 4
Total: 203 / 236
Percentage = 86%
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!
I don’t have anything new that is finished … but I have had a couple of finishes in the last week or so.
The first finish was my July Island Batik project that used the Accuquilt Tree of Life Block on Board. The 73 pieces of the block can be cut in one run through of the die. But of course, I had to do it differently and make it scrappy. You can read more about the quilt at this BLOG POST.
I must admit that I am very pleased with how this quilt turned out.
Yes, this quilt used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread for the quilting.
Oh, and Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs hosts a favourite quilt of the month linky party, and this happens to be mine!
My 2nd finish is my post for the UFO blog hop. This kit had been languishing in my “To Do” box and was on my UFO list both last year and this! You can read about it HERE. Here’s a picture:
Monthly Colour Challenge
Jen, of Patterns by Jen holds a monthly colour challenge. This month’s challenge is purple.
Here is my purple block, made with the rich colours of Island Batik fabrics!
And all of my 7 blocks so far for this year … I think it will be a very pretty quilt when it’s finished!
I don’t have a lot of purple quilts … but these are a few that I’ve done in the past couple of years.
This blog hop came from the creative mind of Joan at Moose Stash Quilting!
Many of us have lots of UFOs ! These are known in the quilting world at UnFinished Objects. In the past I had over 100 UFOs. I thought I only had 80-something, but I kept finding more and more! On my blog, I run a PHD in (the year). PHD stands for Projects Half Done, but is a cute play on the academic PhD. The idea is to complete at least 12 UFOs and finish every project you start that year. This Blog Hop fits nicely into my PHD in 2022 and I managed to get another UFO finished!
One of my UFOs on the list was called “Kit – Narrows.” This was a Row by Row kit from Fiber Lilly in St. John’s, Newfoundland. I bought the kit 5 years ago when my husband and I were there. Fiber Lilly is a lovely quilt store, and one I would frequent if I lived nearby!
I know that I’ve been frequently known to call applique “CR-APplique.” I have hated applique. But, I am determined to do more and hopefully, one day, I might even like it!
I used HobbsThermore for the batting. It is a thin polyester batting that is low loft and does not beard. I find it is perfect for small projects!
Here is the quilt, after the pieces were fused on and before the quilting.
Then, it needed quilting and the button houses attached. The land, and boat were all outlined with an applique stitch. I did a large meander for the clouds in the sky and waves in the water. The iceberg is easy to see, but can you spot the whale’s tale?
I took my time with the quilting and used the following Aurifil Threads:
# 5004 – Grey Smoke (land, whale & motor)
# 2311 – Muslin (Iceberg, boat, fisherman)
# 4655 – Storm @ Sea – variegated (sky)
# 4669 – Stonewash Blues – variegated (water and binding)
In my latest Island Batik box, I received a lovely pressing mat from Prairie Spirit Alpacas. I’ll talk more about it in a future post, but I LOVED using it !
Last month my husband and I made a quick trip to Edmonton to visit my sister. Of course, it included going to a few stores. We went to Lori’s Country Cottage where my sister picked out what she wanted to buy at their longest day of the year sale. And she also picked out fabric for the Flower Window Hanging Class that we did together. (The class was by Epida Studio and I highly recommend it!)
Then we went to Winfield, a small town SW of Edmonton. The quilting store is Country Stitches Quilting and Fabrics. They had a LOT of Island Batik fabrics and I bought the “flower” and “background” fabric that you see in my Flower Window Hanging. My sister fell in love with a panel and bought enough fabric to make a decent sized quilt. (See picture below!) I resisted and only bought the 2 Island Batik fabrics! And, since it’s IB fabric and already used, I’m not adding it to the stash report.
Here’s some pictures of the store! It’s packed with lots of fabrics, IB fabrics, panels and more! They also sell online.
Lots of panels
Stitching Time
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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!
This week I’ve been doing more “unsewing” than sewing … but it still counts, right? And, I’ve been gallivanting around with my cousin, so that has cut into sewing time.
January – June: 149 / 180
July 1 – 5: 5 / 5
Total: 154 / 185
Percentage = 83%
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!
3 Yard Quilt. My cousin, Connie, kept talking about 3 yard quilts that her guild did. I looked at one of her patterns, cut it out and started sewing … Here are the fabrics I’m using (from my stash)
2. Summer Mystery Quilt: I will be hosting a mystery quilt here on the blog … I’m in the process of writing the pattern and sewing it. When it’s almost ready, I’ll announce the dates and all the details.
3. Island Batik Christmas in July quilt … I’m using an Accuquilt die and am loving how all of the pieces are cut perfectly!
Quilting:
Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!
This little bag is made with 2 pieces of fabric that I got from the Trend-tex tour I took. It is a DrEAMI project. A Drop Everything And MakeIt. Sandra, from MMM Quilts hosts a DrEAMI linky party each month. You can see all of the DrEAMI projects HERE.
Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt is hosting this blog hop. Here comes the Sun is a great title for a June blog hop. However, I live in Western Canada … on the WET coast! We haven’t seen much sun and it has been cool! On the news, they are calling it “June-uary.”
What is the challenge for “Here Comes The Sun”?
Sew something that has a summer theme like: sunglasses, beach items, sunny skies, and/or yellow colors. It can be a quilt, a bag, a toy, or whatever you want it to be.
So, I took a class from Elizabeth at Epida Studio and made this great window hanging with the sun inside the flower! (She has several different classes and is a fantastic teacher! I highly advise that you look into taking a class from her)
The technique to make this was totally new to me. It’s called Pojagi. It’s a technique that Elizabeth learned in Korea. The seams make it look like stained glass.
And here’s a picture of it in the window!
The fabrics are Island Batik … The yellow is Ogee Petal Sunshine, the flower petals are Floral Wonders and the background is Butterfly Blooms.
Once this was stitched together, it was a bit flimsy, so I sprayed it with Terial Magic and it was perfect!
Here’s the list of all of the blogs that are participating! Enjoy the sunny eye candy!
My cousin, Connie, is visiting from Ontario and we’re having a blast! We spent one day at Quilt Canada, with my husband enjoying it as well! (I’ll talk about Quilt Canada in a future post). Then we did a tour of Trend-tex (a fabric distributor). Today, we went to a fabric sale in a home and to a fabric store. Such fun! There’s a few more days before she heads home … who knows how much trouble we can get into?
Pop Star
Pop Star is finished … and I will be linking to the Pop Star QAL Final Parade. If you want the pattern you can find it HERE. MMM Quilts has some fantastic designs! I LOVE making her patterns!
This quilt was made with Island Batik fabrics: the background is linen, the light blue is pool, and the dark blue is raven. It was sandwiched with Hobbs 80/20. I backed it with a light yellow flannel.
Here’s a closeup of the quilting in the corner … the star used Silly Moon’s Twinkle ruler.
Stitching Time
‘
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!
This week I’ve been doing more “unsewing” than sewing … but it still counts, right? And, I’ve been gallivanting around with my cousin, so that has cut into sewing time.
January – May: 119 / 150
June 1 – 20: 15 / 20
Total: 134 / 170
Percentage = 79%
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!
I was at Quilt Canada last week … and I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful fat quarter bundle. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it … but I do LOVE it. It’s called Bluebird, by Edyta Sitar and I bought it at the Chitterchatter booth. There is a total of 5.5 yards.
When Connie and I went on the Trend-tex tour, we did get a lot of swag … but I’m not counting it because it’s too hard to calculate different sizes of fabric and I didn’t buy it. Also included was a water bottle, a scone and a delicious treat! I have no idea what I’ll do with the fabric, but it’ll be used or it’ll go to the guild’s free table.
The Pop Star quilt used 1.25 yards of background …
Even I’m surprised that I don’t have anything being pieced at the moment!
Quilting:
Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!
2. The Island Batik Catalogue quilt tops are done – one is quilted and needs the hanging sleeve and the other is in the process of having all of the quilting removed and will be re-quilted … I used an OLD Aurifil Variegated Rayon thread that looked great on the top … and the back was HORRID!!!! Of course, I did not check the back until I was done! Call me dumb, call me stupid, but it serves me right for not checking the back!
Here comes the Sun Blog Hop
This blog hop starts this week! My day is on Tuesday!
Island Batik Blog Hop
Have you been following the latest Island Batik Blog Hop? With quilts featuring the New York Beauty pattern? It’s been quite a variety of wonderful quilts!
I posted mine on June 6 … you can read about it HERE. Here’s links to the blogs that will be posting this week:
You can win a fat quarter bundle of Tranquility or Woodblock Bouquets … both wonderful collections! Just follow the prompts in the Rafflecopper giveaway below
Quilting Gail 