I made 2 quilts for the Island Batik ’22 Fall / Winter Catalog: “Stepping Out” with a black background and an light background (Sprinkles). I LOVE how the different backgrounds give the quilts a totally different look!
McCall’s Quilting: May / June issue
I was very excited to have another quilt in a magazine!!! The magazine put out a call for quilts that are “out of this world.” I immediately thought of this star quilt that’s been in the back of my mind! I submitted the draft (from EQ8) and it was accepted.
After, “talking” with Island Batik, the fabric collection, Wild Blooms, along with Ravine (a basic) was selected and they sent it on it’s way very quickly! It arrived and the top was completed before I went on holidays last year. I LOVE quarter square triangles and it was a fun quilt to put together!
After my holidays, there were a few very intense days of quilting (and shoulders complaining!) then Nova was on it’s way to the publisher!
The directions for making this quilt are in the magazine and digital copies are still available.
I also used Wild Blooms to make this crazy quilted composition book cover. You can read more about it HERE. (and find the links to the pattern).
And, I made this cute tote bag, using Wild Blooms …. using left-overs from the Nova (the star quilt above).
I made the following quilt as a Pattern Tester for Brenda at Songbird Designs. You can order the pattern from her HERE.
This Picnic Tote was made for a Sew It-Show It Blog Hop. See HERE.
And now, all I have left is a few scraps … but the joy I had in making all these projects is huge!
November’s Classic Car colour is Green. Visit Patterns by Jen HERE for your free download of this month’s block …
Here’s my November block, followed by the rest of the monthly blocks. I’ve used scraps of Island Batik for all of my blocks.
Upcoming Class
I will be teaching the “Retreat Bag” at Essem Textiles on December 4. It is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags, but in this class, you will get lots of help and hints to making the bag easily! There is still room available!
Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. I decided to not only sew every day, but to also clean/tidy each day!!! I’m managing to find things to tidy or clean each and every day!!! It’s never ending! But, what do I expect when I’m tearing my room apart to find specific fabric for another project? Or, when a project is finished, I need to put the excess fabric away … This morning, I vacuumed all the dust bunnies that reproduced in the past week … boy, they multiply quickly!
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 –October: 287 / 304
November: 19 / 19
Total: 306 / 323
Percentage: 94%
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!
Except this week, I did buy 1 yards of fabric for a backing.
I finished a testing a quilt pattern for a friend. The quilting is done and it’s already been given away. I can show you the quilt when my friend can release the pattern. However, I can tell you that I used 13 yards of blue fabric from my stash to make the quilt. In my opinion, it’s one beautiful quilt!!! I’m sure that you’ll all be racing to get the pattern when it’s available. The pattern is called “Dashing through the Snow.” It’s the fabric line that lead to the quilt name, but it will be lovely in any colour way! I’ll show you the quilt and give you the link to the pattern at a later date!
The “Take a Stand” totes used 5 yards for the 2 totes. You can read about these byAnnie bags HERE.
The “Modern Squares 2” quilt used 7 yards. You can read about it HERE.
Size: 52″ x 52″
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Quilting: Free Motion ruler quilting on my domestic Janome M7, Silly Moon’s 4″ Beanie ruler was used for the flowers and Rocket was used for all of the straight seams.
Yes, I had another quilt published in Island Batik’s catalog. You can see the catalogue HERE. It’s in the Fall / Winter ’23 catalog on page 33.
My quilt uses the fabric collection “Flutter Wings” by Kathy Engle with Almond (an Island Batik neutral) for the background. I wasn’t suppose to post this quilt until February because that’s when the yardage will arrive at the stores! However, I happened to see a couple of FB posts from a local quilt store and they had received many pre-cuts of the new fabric collections.
I spied some Flutter Wings strip packs. I immediately wrote to Island Batik asking permission to post my quilt since my quilt uses a 2 1/2” strip pack. They said yes.
Phoning Cozy Cottons Quilting was next on my ‘to do’ list and I talked with Angela. She’s the wonderful owner of Cozy Cottons and is so excited to be receiving Island Batik fabrics again! And she ordered patterns for my quilt. They are on their way to Chilliwack now!
Without making you read more, here is a picture of the quilt I made using Flutter Wings. This photo was taken by Jerry Khiev of Island Batik. He always does a fantastic job!!!
Simple quilting … 1/4″ around the coloured squares and a flower in the larger centre squares.
The back is Chameleon
Quilt Stats:
Size: 52″ x 52″
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Quilting: Free Motion ruler quilting on my domestic Janome M7, Silly Moon’s 4″ Beanie ruler was used for the flowers and Rocket was used for all of the straight seams.
So head over to Cozy Cottons Quilt shop in Chilliwack to get your strip pack of Flutter Wings and the pattern! Or, choose from one of the other wonderful strip packs!
Here are a few other places that you can buy Flutter Wings:
The Quilt Connection. Rapid City, SD. (They also have the pattern for this quilt. If they are sold out, you can contact me directly).
Cali Quilt Co – CA
Creekside Quilts – OR
Jambearies Quilt Co – FL
Here is a picture of the quilt, without the borders, that my pattern tester made. I forget which line of fabric she used, but I’m pretty sure it was an Island Batik 2 1/2” strip pack. (Thanks, Lynn!)
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.
Last week on my weekly Synopsis, I told you about driving to a local quilt store and was totally annoyed that it was closed when I arrived. I did email the store and complained. They said “sorry” and that they would correct their hours on Google. It took a few days before that happened. Then, while I was at the retreat, I got a lovely email with a $10 gift card from the store. Since the store was sort-of on my way home, I stopped in and spent the gift card on the thread I wanted! I was pleased that they appeared to value me as a customer!
Lots of Retreat Fun
This past week I was at a retreat with 20 other quilters. We tried out a new venue “Camp Luther” and it was great! There was lots of room, the food was too much, and having a bathroom in each bedroom is definitely a plus. Due to the potential of tripping a breaker, we had no ironing in the sewing room and we needed to walk down the hall to get our pressing done. Most people got their required steps in!
Here’s pictures from the retreat! Lots of creativity!
I always enjoying seeing my quilt designs completed! I LOVE the variations and how people do the pattern, change the pattern and use their own creativity. While at the retreat, I was delighted to see so many finishes!
Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. This fun challenge started October 1, 2023! It’s not too late if you want to join! It’s totally up to YOU as to how you want to use the challenge.
Since my challenge is to tidy/clean AND sew every day, it’s obvious that I didn’t clean my sewing room while I was at the retreat! And my fellow retreaters would definitely say I was lying if I said I tidied my table each and every day!! Of course it got tidied on the day we packed up … but then my room at home was a mess until the next day when I got it all put away!
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 –September: 256 / 273
October: 29 / 29
Total: 285 / 302
Percentage: 94%
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!
This pumpkin Wall / Door hanging used 1 yard of fabric. And I didn’t buy any fabric when I was at the retreat.
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used since the last report: 1 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 181 yards from non-IB: 79.5
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 17.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 170.5 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:
Finish UFO project: Upholstery Walletprogress, but not finished
Start “Turkey Trot” project progress, but not finished
Cut out Malted Mystery FabricsNot done
Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow” 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:
Finish Upholstery Wallet
Work on “Turkey Trot” project
Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow”
Complete next “2023Fall Mystery Quilt” clue.
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. Sorry, no pictures to share!
Piecing projects:
Upholstery Wallet
Work on “Turkey Trot” project
Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
Quilting:
“Dashing Through the Snow”
Upcoming Blog Hops
Island Batik November Blog Hop: (November 1 is my day)
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!
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you about my friend, Carmen’s, devastating fire. This newslink has more details. Some of you may have Prairie Spririt Alpaca/wool pressing mats, bought the WARM socks or her yarn …
Carmen is OK. She’s mourning the loss of several alpacas, chickens and the alpaca guard dog, not to mention the barn and the winter’s supply of hay. There is a go-fund me page, if you’re inclined to donate.
Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. This fun challenge started October 1, 2023! It’s not too late if you want to join! It’s totally up to YOU as to how you want to use the challenge.
As I said in an earlier post, my sewing room is was a total disaster. So, I decided that the challenge for me will include DAILY cleaning/tidying and Sewing. The blue portion of the sewing machine is Tidy/Clean and the Orange is Sewing. The sewing room is looking better, my embroidery thread drawers are neat and tidy!
Cleaning???
Hmmm … the rest of my house is not being cleaned! Does that mean I’m sewing enough?
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 –September: 256 / 273
October: 15 / 15
Total: 271 / 288
Percentage: 94%
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 finished this Pattern Test quilt for Songbird Designs. It used 10.5 yards of Island Batik fabric. You can read about it HERE.
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used since the last report: 10.5 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 169.5 yards from non-IB: 69
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 17.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 159 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:
Quilt and bind “Splendor” progress, but not finished
Make flange binding and Bind “Pin Dot Floral” Quilt #3 √ DONE
MAKE on “Monster Mash” project progress, but not finished
Cut out Malted Mystery FabricsNot done
Work on November IB challenge progress, but not finished
Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow” Not done
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.√ DONE
This week’s list: (purple highlight is priority #1 , 2 & 3)
Finish Quilting and binding “Splendor”
Finish “Monster Mash” project
Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
FinishNovember IB challenge
Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow”
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
One of my sweet followers sent me this meme on Instagram. I obviously fell in love with it! Thanks ioleene!
Now unlimited sewing supplies! That’s up my alley. On Thanksgiving weekend, a local fabric store (if you can call 30 minutes away, local) had a 50% off notions sale. I went over and bought a few goodies. Nothing too exciting … pins to use on my design board, iron-on 1/4” tape for helping with zipper insertion, some magnets and a few zippers.
Pattern Testing
I tested the “Starry Path” pattern for my friend and fellow Island Batik Ambassador, Brenda. She has this and another pattern available on her blog, Songbird Designs (click HERE).
And yes, I did change the pattern a bit … but isn’t it gorgeous? I used the “Wild Blooms” fabric collection along with solid white. The Half Square Triangles were cut with an Accuquilt die. Brenda’s pattern provides instructions for using Accuquilt dies. Hobbs batting (80/20) is in the middle. “Ghost” is the fabric on the back. The The custom quilting used various rulers and quilted with my domestic Janome M7.
Here’s some more pictures of the quilt: It almost looks like stained glass from the back with the sun shining through. In June, I showed you the unquilted back when I posted about Kelly Young’s book, “Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs.”
Island Batik Ambassador
Have you ever considered applying to become an Island Batik Ambassador? They are accepting applications NOW. Here is the LINK. The application explains what is expected from Ambassadors and the benefits being an Ambassador. It’s a challenging program, but I absolutely LOVE it!
If you apply, just make sure you take my email off and put your own in! In the past, I’ve had a few people ask me to ‘vote’ for them or ‘put in a good word’ for them. It doesn’t work that way … each Ambassador needs to apply each year – even we don’t know if we’ll be accepted or not. But fill in the application if you’re interested!
I LOVE ❤️ using Accuquilt dies and this month is no exception. We received the “North Carolina Star” and were told to use it “to showcase our quilting skills and creativity.” It was suggested to use fall colours and to make any project that we wanted!
The North Carolina Star die is a “block on board.” This means that each of the pattern pieces are included on the die.
We were also told that we didn’t have to make the North Carolina Star, but could make anything using pieces from this die. I briefly thought that I could use the square (in the middle) and make a simple 9 patch quilt. But, that would also be called ‘cheating,’ in my opinion.
I have many different collections of fall fabric, thus it was easy to choose one. Autumn Wings looked promising!
I made a trial block:
The trial block will be made into a tote bag sometime in the near future.
I went to EQ8 and got a North Carolina Star block, but it wasn’t the same … it didn’t have the quarter square triangle sections and a few other details. In my attempt to draw the block, EQ8 and I had a disagreement, with EQ8 saying that it couldn’t convert my block to something or other. And, I admit, that my EQ8 skills are lacking. So I had to use the block in the library.
I came up with the middle quilt, but felt it was too busy … the quilt on the right was more to my liking.
I forgot to take pictures as I made the blocks! But I will tell you that I had the instructions right beside me. There are so many pieces and my seam ripper was occasionally friendly with me! 😁
Table Topper Stats:
Size: 27″ x 27″
Fabric: Island Batik “Autumn Wings” collection and Ghost (available anytime)
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!!!
Something New to Try
Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. This runs from October 1 to November 30th. WIPS is Works in Progress. And, for my PHD in 2023, I want them Gone. Do you?
I thought I’d give this a try … Leanne has several different trackers to choose from and they each have 61 icons for you to colour for each day that you work on a Work in Progress. It’s free!! It sounds like fun and if it motivates me further to get projects done, done, done – I’m IN!!! We’ll see how it goes! And, I have already downloaded the sewing machine tracker. But there are other trackers for you to choose from … the choice is yours! Are you going to try it as well?
My Tally Sheets
This month, I finished the “Pieced to Perfection” quilts (see HERE), the Dog pouches (see HERE) and the Shweshwe pouch (see HERE).
And again, no UFOs finished this month! Maybe next month!
Here’s my tally sheet:
If you want to keep track of your own progress, please feel free to download the 2023 Template.
Here’s my Task Sheetof my UFOs. This helps me keep track of what I’ve accomplished with my UFOs and what I need to do. I made a little progress on the wallet this month.
You can download your own Task list from Ms P Designs HERE.
Linky Party
Show us your progress with your PHD in 2023! Or show us what YOU are celebrating in the quilting realm!
Did you see my post earlier this week? The one with the Island Batik “Pieced to Perfection” quilts?
These were made with the fabric collection “Copper Patina.” These collections should be shipping to your local stores in October. To read more about these quilts and If you want an opportunity to win fabric from this collection make sure you comment on the original POST, HERE.
Coming Soon!
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!
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!
I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the animals reading amongst mushrooms and beautiful flowers!
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 – July: 209 / 212
August: 13 / 13
Total: 222 / 225
Percentage: 98%
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!
My Housecoat / Robe took about 6 yards of fabric. I used Hobbs silk batting, Accuquilt dies and Aurifil thread, along with a multitude of Island Batik fabrics. For more details, see this BLOG POST.
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used the last week: 6 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 146 yards from non-IB: 59.5
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 15.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 130.5 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.
So, this month, Island Batik has given us freedom to make whatever our heart desires. My heart has many desires, but unfortunately not enough time to make everything!
When I was at a retreat at Over the Rainbow at the beginning of April, one of the retreaters, Dana, was wearing her quilted housecoat / robe and it looked great. It is super scrappy and very beautiful!! I’ve been meaning to make my own for some time. I’m always cold these days, so a quilted house coat will be perfect for me. Pamela, from Pamela Quilts made a quilted jacket for the Island Batik Fly Away challenge and I fell in LOVE. You can see her jacket HERE.
Now blue and teal are my favourite colours, so that was an easy decision to make. I went through my old garment patterns and found a few housecoat patterns. I pulled them out and none of them would be good for what I wanted to do. BUT I had a silk robe (that was bought in China eons ago) that was perfect. Boxy sleeves, a rectangle front and back. So, with seam ripper in hand, deconstruction began. I made my pattern pieces from the deconstructed robe.
I started out with cutting Hobbs silk batting larger than my pattern pieces; wanting to leave extra room in case the quilting shrunk the pieces too much. I drew the 45o lines on the batting and then using, a Brilliant Blues gradations strip pack that I received in January, I did a quilt as you go and got the sleeve bases done.
My plan was to do the quilt as you go on the batting and then later line the housecoat/robe with rayon.
The housecoat/robe was basically designed as I went along …. After I had fun making the sleeves, I pulled out my AccuQuilt Tree of Life block and made it. It was quilted onto the back.
This picture is making sure the dark blue border around the Tree of Life is the correct width! I was turning the edge under 1/4” so that the other pieces could be added.
I was zoom sewing with my sister and she said that with having a Tree of Life, I needed something “earthy” below. These Prairie Dreams strips were left-over from a Bargello quilt that I made for our March “It’s All Up to You” Challenge. You can read about it HERE. I did it as a quilt as you go under the Tree of Life and slipped each piece under the dark blue border around the Tree of Life.
Then I made 10 Glorified 9 patches, made with the Accuquilt die. These squares use “Rice,” a lovely neutral, a variety of dark teals along with “Nautilus teal” from Claudia Pfeil’s Mystery collection that I received a few years ago. These are intended for the front of the housecoat.
And here are the pieces laid out on my design wall. Once I had them on the wall, I realized that the sleeves made with the Brilliant Blue strips was a “NO.” They are beautiful and I’ll use them in another project – they won’t be wasted.
I dug through my Island Batik stash and found the teal/gold print with turtles on it. It’s a piece I’ve been hoarding keeping for something special. So why not use it for my cozy housecoat? A much better fit, right?
The edge of the robe, the tie, and the back lining is made with an Island Batik rayon “Night Moves” that I received a few years ago in one of my boxes. The half stars above the tree of life were made with Studio 180 Wedge Tool using a blue fabric that was in a stash builder’s roll.
Housecoat / Robe Stats:
Fabrics: Variety of Island Batik cotton and rayon
Needles: Schmetz Microtex
Thread: Aurifil:
#2785: 50 (very dark navy) wide binding and hem
#4661: 40 wt (variegated mint julep) sleeve quilting
#4655: 50 wt (variegated storm at sea) Tree of Life quilting
So would I make this housecoat/robe again? The answer is “not this way!” If I were to make another one, I’d quilt the lining as I quilted the top and simply serge the inside seams. But that won’t be happening anytime soon! 🤪
Just in case you’re not aware, a DrEAMI stands for “Drop Everything And Make It.” And I did. I put all the things I was working on aside and made this cute “Call Me” pouch. It’s a free pattern byAnnie and is super easy to make!
Our grand-dog is here and we go for daily walks. It’s too warm to wear a jacket and I HATE carrying my phone in my jeans … so I made this! I tried it out this morning and it’s perfect!!!
Island Batik fabrics were used: Nautilus Floral Baja, from the Mystery collection and Cherio – Bermuda from basics. Quilted and pieced with Aurifil Thread. The Annie’s Soft & Stable, mesh, vinyl and fold-over elastic were left-overs from a previous by Annie bag.
At the end of the month, Sandra, from MMM Quilts holds a link party for DrEAMIs. Since it’s the beginning of the month, I’ll have to wait until the end to link up!
A Mistake
When I finished my pouch, I went back to working on a few works in progress. There are 2 mistakes in this Splendor quilt … can you find them?? Time to get the seam ripper out! And then give this one a good press!
This weekend, I received an email from the local coordinator of Quilts of Valour. The quilt I made was given to the longest serving combat doctor in Canadian History! How cool is that? And now I wonder if he’s aware that the quilt was designed and made by a former nurse educator?
I’ve given a few Quilts of Valour over the years, but never knew what happened to them. It’s truly an honour to know where this quilt went! Dr. W, I’m glad you were the recipient!
The quilt was made with Accuquilt “Maple Leaf” die and dies from the 8 ” Qube. I used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread. You can read more about it HERE.
One Gift a Month
July’s gift is a Trivet. You can go to Days Filled With Joyfor information and the link to her tutorial (when you go to Raewyn’s blog, click on the Patterns & Techniques tab.) Or, you can visit Kaye Wood’s youtube video HERE. (That’s where Raewyn originally got the instructions).
I found my Insul-Brite!!! (remember last week I asked if anyone knew where I had put it?) It was in the space under my ironing board, tucked behind my bolts of fabric. Not exactly where I would expect it to be! But I found it when I was searching for something else! Hopefully next week I can show you my finished trivet!
So far for the One Gift a Month, I have made gifts for January, February, April and May.
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 – June: 178 / 181
July: 16 / 16
Total: 194 / 197
Percentage: 98%
Stash Report
Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly link 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 had to buy backing … 3 yards to be exact … I’ll be using it soon … well, maybe soon, I still need to make the top, but I knew the company had gone out of business, so I had to buy it soon! YUP, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used the last week: 0 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 131.5 yards from non-IB: 52
Fabric Bought this week: 3 yards
Fabric Added this year: 15.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 116 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:
Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing) In Progress I figured out what I need to do.
Start August IB challenge.√ DONE. it’s started!!!
Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #1 In Progress it’s sandwiched
Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #2 to flimsy stage In Progress it’s sandwiched
Sandwich, Quilt and Bind Island Batik October challenge In Progress it’s sandwiched
Finish binding “Test” quilt In Progress no change from last week
Continue piecing “Splendor” Quilt. √ DONE. still more to be done, but it’s being worked on
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 Mystery Quilt (making and writing)
Continue working on August IB challenge
Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #1
Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #2 to flimsy stage
Quilt and Bind Island Batik October challenge
Start working on September IB challenge
Finish binding “Test” quilt … come on, Gail! It’s almost done!
Continue piecing “Splendor” Quilt
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
This was a Hugs and Kisses quilt that used various Island Batik pinks, purples, and greens. If you recall, I made a blue & green Hugs & Kisses quilt and cut out too many greens (you can read about it HERE). So not wanting to waste those blocks, I cut out the pinks and purples and joined them up to make the following quilt.
I used the Accuquilt Go! to cut the pieces: Die #10 from the 8″ Qube ‘Corners’ collection paired with Die #5 from the 8″ Qube set. It made piecing the Hugs and Kisses very simple. Each Hugs or Kisses block uses 4 mini blocks composed of 1 Die #10 and 2 Die #5. Then the blocks are arranged to form a Hug or a Kiss. I added sashing and borders and the quilt was a flimsy!
Hobbs 80/20 is in the middle and I used Odif 505 spray baste to hold the layers together.
It was quilted with both the 3″ and 4″ Cupid ruler from Silly Moon.
This quilt was donated to the “Comfort Quilts” committee at the guild and will be given to the B.C. Cancer Agency at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Here I am giving the quilt to Dawn, one of the volunteers of the “Comfort Quilts” committee.
Why did I choose “Comfort Quilts” as my charity? I don’t know anyone that hasn’t been touched by cancer. We all know family members and friends that have dealt with cancer. When I was working as a nurse in the hospital, we cared for cancer patients daily: it didn’t matter what department I was working in. It’s a heart-breaking disease and the treatments can often be grueling and harsh as one fights an uphill battle. If providing a quilt can give someone comfort, I’ll all for it!
June’s gift is Little Gift Pouches. You can go to Days Filled With Joy for information and the link to her tutorial. She initially made the pouches for tea bags, but they can be used for many different gift ideas: lip balm, gift cards, … you get the idea! And the bonus is that they take less than 5 minutes to make. I know it’ll take me longer to pick out the fabric and ribbon! 😊
So far for the One Gift a Month, I have made gifts for January, February, April and May.
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 – May: 147 /150
June: 25/ 25
Total: 172 / 175
Percentage: 98%
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 following quilts used 17 yards of fabric.
Yearly Tally:
Fabric Used the last week: 17 yards
Fabric Used in 2023: 131.5 yards from non-IB: 52
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 12.5 yards
Net Fabric used: 119 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 Do list from 2 weeks ago:
Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing) In Progress
Finish the Secret Project#1 for Kelly Young’s new book √ DONE and posted
Finish the Secret Project#2 for Kelly Young’s new book. √ DONE and posted
Lone Star Left-overs – make back √ DONE and posted
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 Mystery Quilt (making and writing)
Finish project for “Picnic Party” Blog Hop
“Pin Dot Blossoms“
Island Batik October challenge
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Quilting Gail 