TGIFF and a Matching Finish!

TGIFF is an acronym for Thank Goodness It’s FINISHED Friday. It is hosted by a variety of different bloggers that show their finished quilt or project for that week. You can visit THIS LINK to see who is hosting each week. This week, I am the host!

I made 2 of the Small Clam Up byAnnie bags. You can get the pattern HERE. When I made the Switchback bag in October (see THIS POST), there was some quilted fabric left over. I couldn’t just throw it out. These bags used the perfect amount of quilted fabric! I had used fabric from the “Frosted Folliage” collection by Tiffany Hayes of Needle in a Hay Stack and Whip Cream (an Island Batik foundational fabric).

I know that I’m biased, but I think they turned out so very cute! I will likely use one with my Switchback and will give the other as a gift in the future.

Here they are with my Switchback bag:

Link up your finished project!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

A Left-Over Friday

When I made the ‘Splish Splash’ quilt, I had a few partial blocks left- over. (See HERE to read more about this quilt).

I’m really trying to use up the left-overs in a somewhat timely manner. It doesn’t always work, but in this case, I made a placemat and 2 zipper pouches as leaders and enders as I worked on my November Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics) challenge.

The fabrics are from “Splish Splash”. The inside of the placemat and the larger zipper pouch is scraps of Hobbs Thermore and the smaller zipper pouch has scraps of Hobbs 80/20.

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Sew Stylish Challenge with ByAnnie

ByAnnie generously provided me with my chosen pattern and all the necessary hardware to make Switchback. The only criteria for choosing a bag was to make sure it had an Add-On Video!

Here’s a picture of everything I received from ByAnnie!

Before I began, I pressed all the fabrics with my wonderful Oliso m3pro iron!!! I LOVE this iron for quilting and used it during the making of Switchback when I needed to press a seam.

ByAnnie patterns come with a label sheet so you can label all of your cut pieces. This makes gathering the specific components easy. It is VERY important to do this. It saves lots of re-measuring and prevents future headaches. The picture below is of all my cut & labelled pieces. I pin these onto my design wall for easy access.

For the quilting, I did a wavy stitch with my walking foot. I used the same thread in the bobbin as in the top, that’s why you can see the quilting on the lining. The 2nd picture shows most of the quilted and cut pieces. Yes, I used a Schmetz needle! The 4th picture is close to the end … lots of clips to hold pieces in place! Unfortunately, I neglected to take other pictures as I went along.

Here are some pictures of the inside of the bag: Lots of pockets and extra hardware for keys or a carabiner. The 3rd pictures shows the extra hardware being used for extra security for the bag.

The Switchback can be worn as a backpack, an over-the-shoulder bag or as a cross-body bag.

Here is a picture of the finished bag! I’m loving it!

Bag Stats:

Thank you to the generosity of Island Batik and Industry partners! They have supplied the products for free as my role as an Island Batik Ambassador! Island Batik, ByAnnie, Aurifil Thread, Schmetz Needles, and Oliso Iron.

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors to see what they made this month:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

A Teal Finish

Well, teal isn’t exactly a fall colour, but it is a finish!!

This started out as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge for August … although she called for Aqua. I asked Google what the difference was and Google said, “Aqua is a light, bright blue-green color, while teal is darker, more muted blue-green color with a greenish undertone.” Whatever … close enough in my book, plus mine is scrappy, so anything close goes!

I used 2 different teals for the half-square triangles and the squares were all scrappy teals and aqua (LOL!). The binding is scrappy and my teal container is almost empty!!! WOW!!! In some ways, that is sad because it’s a favourite colour of mine! But, in another way, it’s good: I’m using up stash!

Here’s a picture of the quilting … and yes, the quilting was all free-motion on my domestic sewing machine … that’s why you can see so many inconsistencies in the swirls. I used Silly Moon’s “Rocket” for the straight lines through the squares.

Quilt Stats:

Do you have lots of WIPS (Works in Progress)? If so, Leanne of Devoted Quilter has a fun way to track your progress. This is for October and November. You can download a form to colour in each day as you work your way through. You can go to Instagram and click on her post HERE and she will send you the link to the downloads. She also sends out motivational emails each Monday to inspire you to keep working on your WIPS.

I’m joining her this year. Not only am I going to work on my quilting projects, but I’m going to work on tidying up my sewing room. It’s a MESS!!! I’ve chosen the 6 petal flower to track my progress and one petal each day is for 15 minutes of concentrated tidying. Here’s a few pictures of the current status of my sewing studio:

I’m linking to Quilting Jetgirl’s Favourite Finish of the Month. As always, it’s HARD to choose a favourite!! I need to choose between these 2 quilts. The first is the Curved Crazy Quilt that I did for the Island Batik Blog hop (see HERE) and the 2nd is the Splish Splash quilt that I did for a wedding gift.

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Splish Splash

I’m not in the water … but I’m using a fabulous 2 1/2″ strip pack from Island Batik called Splish Splash by the Whimsical Workshop. It’s full of sea horses, fish, starfish, seaweed, bubbles and stars … just wonderful!

I chose a pattern by the Fat Quarter Shop called Jelly Roll Twist (see HERE). It’s a super easy quilt to make and sews up quickly.

Here are the blocks on my design wall … but of course, I switched them around before sewing them together.

It was a very fun quilt to quilt on my domestic sewing machine. I used Silly Moon’s 4″ Beanie to create the orange peel flowers in the neutral squares. Each short and each long strip was quilted differently. I used rulers for some of them and free motioned many of them. There are swirls, loops, circles, feathers, flowers, hearts, squares, ribbons and many many more.

Here are some closeups of the quilting (one on the front, the rest on the back.) I used a product called “Fireside” which I recently learned is only available in Canada (although some shops may ship internationally). It’s wonderful for the backs of quilts. It’s nice and cozy, but doesn’t stretch or make as much of a fluffy mess as Minky. This took awhile to quilt, but I had fun quilting it!

And the best part: The wedding is on Saturday and the quilt is done!!!

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 60″ square
  • Fabric: Island Batik: “Splish Splash” by Heidi Pridemore of the Whimsical Workshop and the neutral is Milk Shake (an Island Batik basic that is available year round). The binding is Small Pointed Floral-Tu -a blender.
  • Hobbs Batting: Heirloom 80/20
  • Aurifil Thread: 50 weight
    • Piecing & Quilting: #2600 (Dove Grey)
  • Silly Moon Rulers: Rocket, Cheesie, Charming, Jelly, Turkey, Twinkle, and Beanie (4″)
  • Schmetz Needles: Universal 80/12
  • Oliso Iron

Threaded Chaos Blog Hop

The blog hop is over and there have been a LOT of wonderful and creative crazy quilts featuring new collections and Aurifil thread.

Make sure to check Lumin Fabrics FB and IG post for a round-up of this week’s Threaded Chaos Quilts and enter to win some fabric!

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

A Beautiful Blooming Friday!

This beautiful quilt was designed by Denise of A Quiltery. It’s a sew along with free blocks every 2 weeks. Or, you can get the embroidery designs and make it in your embroidery machine. That is what I did! I used fabric from the “Radiant Burst” collection by Jerry Khiev, along with the Egg White neutral and solid white. The binding is scrappy fabrics from the collection.

It was free motion quilted on my domestic machine (Janome M7). I stippled around the flowers, used Silly Moon’s Rocket to do paradox lines in the hexies and half hexies. On the border, I free motioned flowers with different petals.

Quilt Stats:

Thank you very much, Denise for the wonderful pattern!!! I’m in LOVE ♥️ with it!

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Two Finishes For Friday!

I finished 2 retreat bags … one small and one large. This is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags. You can find the pattern HERE. If you insert the hardware, the bags stay open. However, if you choose to make the bag without the hardware, you will still end up with a nice zipper bag. Or if you use Soft & Stable or Bosal foam for the interfacing (instead of fusible fleece), you actually do not need the hardware.

This is the Large one. I used left-over fabric from the backing of the “yellow” quilt, see HERE. For the interfacing, I used left-over pieces of Hobbs 80/20. I used Aurifil black thread to do the loop-d-loop quilting and top stitching.

This is the small one. I used a couple of fat quarters left from when I made the Glowing Hearts Quilt. I purposely saved the Hexi fabric for a bag!

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Hot Stuff Challenge with Oliso

Way back in January, the Ambassador’s all receive an Oliso M3 Pro Iron. I received the coral iron and matching carrying bag. I LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ this iron. It heats up quickly and is easy to handle. My wrists don’t get sore! And the light at the front is awesome. But that’s not what this challenge is about!

Here’s what Island Batik said about the challenge:

It’s time to turn up the heat and give your iron cover a fabulous makeover! In the Hot Stuff Challenge with you will “Glitz-Up” your carry bag. You get to transform your plain iron carry bag into a creative masterpiece using any techniques you like – quilting, embroidery, appliqué, painting, buttons or even a mix of them all!

Show off your unique style, experiment with colors and textures, and make your iron cover as bold or elegant as you like. Whether you go for fun and funky or sleek and sophisticated, the goal is to create something that sparks inspiration every time you press!

Are you ready to give your iron carry bag a glitz-up? Get carried away and turn your carry bag into a work of art!

For those of you that know me, you KNOW that this is not a challenge I would excel at!

So what to do????

I was on Zoom with some quilting friends and was lamenting about this project! I looked up to my magnetic board and saw a flower that was made with a strip of fabric (edges pinked) and a bobbin in the centre. I had made this many years ago and used a magnet and it became a pin. Then, inspiration hit!! What if I covered my iron case with these cute flowers? And I could also use fabric to make leaves … And, using a glue gun to put the flowers and leaves in place, the project suddenly became doable! YAY!!!

I decided to use fabric from the Flutter Fields collection by Jerry Khiev. I thought the oranges/corals coordinated well with the trim on my carrying bag. I used this collection last fall to make Dresden Plates (see THIS POST).

So, with vacation holidays approaching, it was something I could do without a sewing machine. I can’t hand sew for long periods of time, but it was something I could do while travelling, in small bits of time. I prepared all the fabric, pinking the edges … gathering my thread, needle and a thimble … I was all set to go. I prepped 6 strips for 6 flowers.

I cut 6 strips at 15″ x 2 1/4” and used my pinking sheers to pink the edges. The goal was for the strips to finish at 2″. It worked!! Using my Oliso Iron, I pressed a fold in each strip at 3/4” . (This left the opposite side at 1 1/4“.

I made a total of 6 flowers by gathering the folded edge and sewing it onto the bobbin.

For fabric leaves, I found this visual tutorial HERE. There are no instructions regarding size or other details, but I think I figured it out. I cut the squares at 5″ and double folded them on the diagonal. Then, I gathered the ends.

Then, using a glue gun, I glued the bobbin flowers and leaves in place!

Here’s a picture of both sides of the iron caddy, on opposite sides of the pressing mat cover (see below). I ended up using only 4 of the bobbin flowers. When I was positioning the flowers on the side, having 2 on each side was too crowded!

Another friend suggested that I make a matching carrying bag for my Alpaca/wool pressing mat (from Prairie Spirit Alpacas). I started out with these beautiful fabrics from the collection. I decided to do a ‘burrito’ style pillow case. Boy – was that a mistake!!! The ‘cuff’ was only 4 1/2” wide, when usually on a pillow case it is MUCH larger. The 4 1/2” was really skinny. I had to work at it and eventually got it turned right side out. Note to self: Make the cuffs much larger! For the ‘tie,’ I used the gross-grain Island Batik ribbon that comes with many of the collections.

The following pictures show the piece with the front & back joined together, one side and then the other.

Pictures of the Coral Oliso M3P Iron on the iron covering bag: (can you see the light?)

Stats:

  • Island Batik fabrics from the Flutter Fields collection by Jerry Khiev
    • Flowers
      • Sparkle-Multi Pink Orange
      • Butterflies and Leaves
      • Tossed Butterflies – Orange
    • Leaves
      • Dandelion Multi Green
      • Sparkle-Teal Bluegrass
      • Mini Floral-Green Hunter
    • Bag
      • Dandelion-Muli Red B
      • Butterfly Floral Neutral
      • Wavy Leaves-Brown
  • Aurifil Thread:
    • Flowers: #2220 (Light Salmon)
    • Leaves: #2890 (Very dark Grass Green)
    • Bag Piecing & Top Stitching: #2325 (Linen)

Thank you to the generosity of Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics) and Industry partners! They have supplied the products for free as my role as an Island Batik Ambassador! Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Schmetz Needles, and Oliso Iron

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors to see what they made this month:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

An Orange Friday Finish!

Orange was the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for the month of June.

I showed you a few pictures of this quilt in progress. I used scraps of Island Batik orange and Island Batik solid grey (Lumin Fabrics).

Here is the finished quilt. It was obviously re-arranged from when it was on my design wall. That’s one of the beauties of a disappearing 9 patch!

And a close up of the quilting … I used Silly Moon’s Charming ruler for the big orange squares and the straight edge for the smaller squares and free motioned swirls in the solid grey sections. All quilting was done on my domestic sewing machine (Janome Continental M7).

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Christmas in July

Melva, from Melva Loves Scraps is hosting this blog hop …

My Project

Every year, just before Christmas, the Boundary Bay Quilt Guild collects placemats for Meals on Wheels. I try to participate … This year, I’ve used up some ‘left-overs’ from projects to make the placemats. These are from an Island Batik strip pack called Prairie Dreams that I received 2 years ago. First I made a bargello quilt using the strips (see HERE) and then I used some on the bottom of a robe (THIS POST).

There was STILL some left over, so I made these place mats. They are backed with different Christmas Fabric. There are leftover pieces of Hobbs 80/20 batting in the middle and they are pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread. There was STILL some left over, so I made these place mats. They are backed with different Christmas Fabric. There are leftover pieces of Hobbs 80/20 batting in the middle and they are pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread. There was STILL some left over, so I made these place mats. They are backed with different Christmas Fabric. There are leftover pieces of Hobbs 80/20 batting in the middle and they are pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread.

These will double as an everyday placemat and a Christmas placemat.

Blog Hoppers

Visit all the other blog hoppers to see what their “Christmas in July” projects are!

July 24

July 25

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

A Friday Finish in July!

I finished this quilt awhile ago, but I waited until the Rainbow Scrap Challenge featured purple for the month!!! I used the Accuquilt die, “Glorified 9 Patch.” This quilt was originally started as a demo on how to use the Accuquilt. The store offered the class and my intent was to use the pieces to demonstrate how easy it is to sew curved seams. However, apparently it was bad timing and the class was cancelled. I ended up sewing the quilt together. It definitely did not take long. The quilting was easy, I just followed the curves at approximately 1/2” intervals.

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Canuck Quilter’s Mystery Quilt

This quilt is FINALLY done!!!

Joanne Kerton from Canuck Quilter Designs offered a mystery quilt this spring. I’m a sucker for mystery quilts and couldn’t resist doing it! She called it a “Colour Value Mystery” and offered 2 options: Modern or Traditional. I opted for the Traditional. I’ve done a few of Canuck Quilter’s Designs and they are always well written!

Here’s a few of the progress pictures: Fabric cut out, blocks ready to assemble and on the design wall prior to sandwiching.

And the Finished Quiilt:

Close up of the Quilting: A little free motion, but mostly ruler quilting.

Thanks Joanne for the fantastic mystery sew-along!

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Glowing Hearts

I joined Sandra Walker’s (MMM Quilts) Glowing Heart Quilt-a-long this spring. I originally was going to make a baby quilt, then I changed my mind and made it bigger. I used 7 fat quarters from a bundle of “Bluebird” by Editya Sitar for the hearts. 3 for the background of the hearts and 3 for the sashing. My intention was to alternate the ‘backgrounds’ with light and dark, but I wasn’t paying attention when I cut the darks and all of a sudden, I had enough for all the backgrounds. The light fabrics then became the sashing. The extra pieces were used for the scrappy binding!

To quilt this quilt, I used Silly Moon’s 4″ Cupid ruler. I started off in the middle, doing half hearts in a vertical row. It was OK … but once I got back to the top, I decided ‘enough of that!’ Then I filled out the sides of the quilt with random hearts. I did a heart, back-tracked on the ruler and started the next heart. In a few spots, I used the 3″ Cupid to fill in.

I’m joining in the Glowing Hearts Parade! There are already several quilts posted … it’s quite the variety and well worth going to check it out. HERE. Thank you Sandra for the easy paced, wonderful sew-along!

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Using Left-overs and TGIFF

I love using Left-over pieces and blocks from quilts. And the sooner they can be used, the better. When I made one of the quilts using Tinsel Treasures for my May Island Batik challenge, I had a design change that left me with lots of the longer Irish Chain pieces.

Where all the white sashing is, I originally had pieces from Tinsel Treasures. But, oh my! It was WAY too busy and did not look good at all! I swapped them out and used Island Batik’s solid white instead. It was much better, giving the eye places to rest!

I put all of the longer pieces together and joined in lots of the smaller blocks to make these 2 place mats. I had the extra smaller blocks because I had miscounted. Yup, I do that often!

These placemats will be donated to the guild for Meals on Wheels at Christmas time.

They were pieced and quilted with Aurifil Thread #2600 (Dove Grey). I used Hobbs fusible batting in the middle.

Here’s the link for you to add your Finished project for this week!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

A Secret Project – Revealed

Early in the spring, a dear relative was diagnosed with cancer. Oh … so young (in their 30s) … a heart-wrenching diagnosis. Of course, once I decided exactly what quilt I was going to make, I plowed ahead, putting almost all the other quilting projects aside. It’s called prioritizing. It’s not often I work on one quilt at a time, but other than a few enders and leaders, this one was worked on … quilted and bound.

My idea was to make a quilt that was cheerful and warm. I wanted it to provide LOVE and HUGS. I wanted it to be big enough to provide warmth during chemo, without toes peaking out.

The quilt has arrived at it’s destination so I can now post about it!

Hocus Pocus by Studio 180 Designs

  • Supply List: This Post [I did not use fat quarters. I used (1) 10″ Stack and 2 yards of neutral) I omitted the border]
  • Video: HERE
  • Tips: HERE

I made the original block and cut it as directed … then I auditioned 3 of the layouts:

And here’s a picture of the layout:

The final quilt:

The Quilting:

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 56″ x 70″
  • Fabric: Island Batik: Floral Fun 10″ stack (by Kathy Engle for Lizard Creek Quilting), paired with “Rice” and bound with Cheerios-Navy
  • Pattern: Hocus Pocus by Studio 180 Designs
  • Hobbs Batting: Heirloom 80/20 Cotton
  • Aurifil Thread: 50 weight
    • Piecing: #2600 (Dove Grey)
    • Quilting: #2600 (Dove Grey)
    • Binding: #2775 (Steel Blue)
  • Silly Moon Rulers: Rocket, Beanie, and Cupid
  • Schmetz Needles: Universal 80/12
  • Oliso Iron

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

A Yellow Finish

Rainbow Scrap Challenge for March was Yellow. I didn’t have a ton of Island Batik yellow scraps (not like my blue and green stash), but I made these rectangles and sashed them with Island Batik’s solid black.

As you can see in the picture, I did a double loop-d-loop quilting.

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

A Book Review

When I first saw this book, it intrigued me! I knew that the guild library was looking for new book suggestions, so I suggested it.

Wowza! Within a week our wonderful librarian (Margaret) notified me that she had it! I was able to pick it up at our next guild meeting.

This book has all the basic beginner quilting information (which, honestly, I skipped over). It also explains how to take simple cross-stitch patterns and change them into a quilt pattern. Then she has Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced quilt patterns. All of the patterns involve either rectangles or squares, with the occasional half-square triangle. There is even a complete alphabet, if one wanted to put a specific letter on a quilt!

Personally, I believe that a beginner quilter could easily complete the advanced designs. They have smaller pieces and more of them, but easily do-able.

Before I left for my retreat, I cut out 3 quilts from the book: The swan, the train and the butterfly. The swan I cut into smaller pieces than the book suggested. The train was cut into larger pieces than instructed and the butterfly was cut as directed. Here’s pictures of the kits.

The train was pieced at a quilt retreat. The background is Island Batik’s ‘Fondant’, the black is an Island Batik solid and the prints are left over from an older line called “Midnight Dazzle.”

And then it was sandwiched and quilted once I got home. And the monkey was from a quilt that was being quilted at the retreat and the block was cut wrong … he fit into the conductor’s window perfectly!

  • Quilt Stats:
  • Fabric: Island Batik: The background is ‘Fondant’, the black solid and the prints are left over from an older line called “Midnight Dazzle.”
  • Size: 38″ x 43″
  • Thead: Aurifil Thread: 50 weight
    • Piecing & Quilting: #2600 (Dove Grey)
  • Batting: Hobbs 80/20 Black
  • Silly Moon Rulers: Rocket and Beanie
  • Schmetz Needles: Universal 80/12
  • Oliso Iron

The swan was partially pieced at the retreat and I’ve finished piecing the top. These are all from Island Batik blue, teal and neutral scraps, along with solid red and black.

And the butterfly is waiting for it’s turn. It hasn’t progressed out of the bag. It’s time will come!

My opinion on this Picture Patchwork should be obvious since I’ve plunged into doing 3 quilts from the book. I think it’s a great book, with many easy patterns in it!

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

Star Spangled Bouquet

Just before Christmas, my friend, and fellow Island Batik Ambassador Brenda Alburl (Songbird Designs) asked if I could do a pattern test for her! She always has unique quilts and I didn’t hesitate in saying “yes.”

This was the quilt she asked me to test:

It’s a very Patriotic quilt, for Americans. I’m Canadian, so I immediately knew that I would not be making it in red, white and blue.

I’m wanting to use up my stash … so here’s Block #1 using Kansas Troubles fabric:

When I got the first 12 blocks done, I thought, “this looks great, maybe I should stop now!” However, I had Block #2 cut out and started … so I carried on!

Here’s a picture of the Block #2s and then the quilt layout.

I used Silly Moon Rulers to quilt: Rocket and Beanie … and of course, Dude for accurate measurements!

A close-up of some of the quilting:

And the finished quilt:

I know that my quilt looks quite different than Brenda’s, but that’s what you get when you use totally different fabrics.

If you like this quilt, be sure to get the pattern from Brenda at Songbird Designs! Her patterns are very well written, lots of colour pictures, and easy to follow directions!! Thank you, Brenda, for having me test this pattern for you!

Quilt Stats:

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

A Quick Finish & TGIFF

I thought I needed a small gift … so I made this zipper pouch. No pattern, but I loved the fabric and felt that the zipper was a perfect match. The fabric was from my Island Batik stash and it was from an older collection. I quilted some feathers on the front and back, but you can’t really see them very well.

And a picture of the lining.

Zipper Pouch Stats:

Here’s where you can link up and show us your Finished Project!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

Thanks, Irene, for taking pictures!! My husband says it’s a typical picture – I’ve got my eyes closed! LOL

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to:  

It’s All Up To You: March’s Island Batik Challenge

Here’s what Island Batik had to say about our March project:

March brings a free month for you to determine your own project of any size, using any theme and any technique!! This is an opportunity for you to express your creativity without guidelines. Have fun!

Almost the minute I saw this 10″ stack, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to make!

It’s called, “Earthly Stories” by Jean Wells of The Stitchin’ Post and was paired with 2 yards of Weave-Brownie (Blenders) and 2 yards of Cornsilk (Neutral) [Both are available year round]. Pre-cuts and yardage of Earthly Stories is available in stores now. Here’s a picture of all of the fabrics in Earthly Stories:

I wanted to make a “Bear Paw” block (with a difference) … I’d use the Cornsilk for the background and sashing. The Weave-Brownie would be used for some of the cornerstones and the binding. Unfortunately, I did not put my ideas in EQ and my plan turned out different than I thought. However, I do like the end result!!

First, I cut 6 1/2” squares from 24 of the darkest 10″ squares. From the remnants of the squares I cut, I used the Accuquilt, Qube 8″, die #5, to make 2 1/2” unfinished half-square triangles (HST), pairing them with the Cornsilk fabric. Then 3 HST were sewn together and added to one side of the 6 1/2” squares. 3 more HST were sewn, along with a cornerstone and added to the adjoining side. Throughout the process, I used my Oliso M3 ProLight Iron. (I LOVE ❤️ this little iron!!!)

Once I had the 24 blocks done, I arranged them on my design wall. If you look closely, you will be able to se that some of the blocks were not square and needed to be trimmed by about 1/4” on the 2 sides without the HSTs. I wanted to add some “Brownie” cornerstones, but only in select areas.

While I was working on the sashing, I had this niggling feeling that I might not have enough of the Cornsilk fabric for the cornerstones… groan …

And yes, the niggling feeling was correct! What to do? Make the quilt smaller? I didn’t like that idea … use the left-over 10″ squares as cornerstones? I neglected to take a picture, but it looked way too busy! I auditioned the Weave-Brownie and immediately thought, “YES!!!” So, that’s what I used!!

The quilting: I used Silly Moon‘s Rocket to outline the bear claws (stitch in the ditch) and Beanie 2/6 to make the flowers in the brown cornerstones and the main squares in the bear claw.

And yes, there is a flange binding:

Here’s a picture of the finished quilt:

Quilt Stats:

Thank you to the generosity of Island Batik and Industry partners! They have supplied the products for free as my role as an Island Batik Ambassador, making it possible to make this project! Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles, Oliso Iron, and Accuquilt,

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Linking to: