This week I taught “Travel Posts” to 2 lovely talented quilters! Travel Posts is in the book Color Block Quilt Making by Elizabeth Chappell. It’s a great book and if you’re looking for quick and easy patterns – this book is for you! Essem may have this book in stock.
This is the quilt I made for the class sample. Simina helped pick out the fabrics: the coloured portions are grunge.
Anyhow, the class participants came very prepared and had their fabric all cut and labelled and were ready to roll! They finished the tops in class! Aren’t they great?
Here’s the 2nd one I did using Island Batik fabrics from the “Mystery Collection” and Island Batik solid grey.
As an Island Batik Ambassador, I am to make 12 projects, one a month using ONLY Island Batik fabrics. This is my 3rd year as an Ambassador and I have a bit of an Island Batik stash. The projects below are either the monthly challenge or ones I have done on my own. As you might guess, I LOVE Island Batik fabrics!
January
Between Christmas and New Years 2020, I hosted a Holiday Seclusion Mystery here on the blog. You can see a summary of it HERE.
These are the 2 quilts I made to test the mystery. The first one uses an older Island Batik that I bought, but neglected to keep record of the name of the fabric. It is paired with solid white. Although it was started in 2020, it was not finished until 2021.
This one was made with Scrapbuilder bundles in blue, teal and green, along with a solid grey. I love the overall graffiti or wild quilting on it!
January’s Island Batik challenge was to make placemats. I LOVE blue and LOVED making these placemats! You can read about them HERE.
I joined in the monthly Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. January’s colour was PINK. Here is the mug rug I made.
February
These 2 baskets were a free byAnnie pattern and you can read more about them HERE.
This quilt was provided as a mystery quilt for the guild. The Designer is Sue Pontifex, from Piece Arch Quilters in White Rock. This is a variation of the original design. You can read more about the quilt HERE.
February’s Island Batik challenge was “Create for a Cause.” Each ambassador was to create a quilt to give to a charity of our choice. The guild I belong to gives “comfort” quilts to a local cancer agency. This quilt is destined to go there when they start receiving quilts (after Covid). You can read more about this quilt HERE.
This quilt used the beautiful “Mystery” collection of fabric designed by Claudia Pfeil.
This month’s colour for the Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. was yellow. You can read more about this mug rug HERE.
March
Scrapbusting ws Island Batik’s challenge for March. What a fun fun challenge. My 2 quilts are shown below …
The Scrappy Irish chain with the star was a LOT of fun. Lots of 2″ scraps from every collection that I have had as an ambassador!
Is a quilt that started out small and became bigger as I really liked the colours. It initially started as a sample for a ruler quilting class.
This is a quilt, designed by an Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker, you can read more about this quilt HERE and Here and HERE.
The Island Batik challenge for this month was “Spread Love & Joy with Accuquilt.” Boy, did I have fun! I love using the Accuquilt cutter and the precision cutting. You can read about my 2 quilts HERE.
In March, I took a course “Speed Dating with Improv” by Krista from PoppyPrints. It took me a while to get the facing done, but it was finally finished in June! I used Island Batik solids for this piece.
I finally put the facing on my Story-less Improv and you can read more about it here, here and HERE. This was from a by Krista’s classes @ Poppyprint. It has the super fun title of “Speed Dating.”
Purple is June’s Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. You can read more about this coaster HERE.
July
July’s Island Batik challenge was “Never Too Early.” I made a mini quilt and a basket. You can read about them HERE.
August
Try a Tool was Island Batik’s August challenge! Oh! Did I have fun with this one! Check out the details HERE.
Another quilt designed by Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker. This is “Let your Star Shine.” You can read about it HERE and HERE.
This quilt was created for the “Orange you Glad” Blog Hop. You can read about it HERE.
This month’s scrappy table runner challenge was “aqua.” I wanted to try paper piecing a “Storm at Sea” block and ended up with this 14″ x 14″ square table topper. You can read about it HERE.
September
Island Batik’s September challenge was to make a byAnnie bag. I made this wonderful “Round Trip Duffle.” Read about it HERE.
This table runner was made for the Table Scraps monthly challenge (orange) and the Falling For You blog hop … you can read more about it HERE.
Kelly Young launched her newest book “Scrappy Improv Quilting” and I couldn’t help but enlarge this quilt and make a baby sized hot air balloon. You can read about it HERE.
October
October’s Island Batik challenge was to use Aurifil thread related to our assigned Endangered Species. I was given the Pangolin … it was fun zen-doodling the scales … you can find out more details HERE.
Then, I was involved in a blog hop, featuring Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” I made this ornament wall hanging for the blog hop. See details HERE.
November
The challenge for Island Batik, for November was the “Storm at Sea” block. I made 2 totally different quilts using the same block. You can read about them HERE.
I finished another quilt – with inspiration from Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” This quilt used a lot of orphan log cabin blocks … For more details see HERE.
December
English Paper Piecing was the challenge for December. It was a HUGE challenge for me, but I got it done! And I’m happy with the result! See more details HERE.
This is another hot air balloon from Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” You can read about it HERE.
Catalogue Quilts
There were 3 quilts that were published in the Island Batik Spring/Summer 2021 Catalogue. You can access the Catalogue HERE.
Left to right: Modern Squares, Feather Chain & Flutterfly Stars.
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
Oh, I put off putting a facing on my improv piece. I haven’t faced a quilt before … so why not procrastinate and put it off? and wait a little longer? and put it off? and put it to the side so it’s not staring me in the face? Maybe it’ll just disappear and I’ll forget about it …
Oh … it’s on my PHD chart of “Starts in 2021” and so in order to get my PHD in 2021, it does need to be finished. And a lot of my followers have seen me say in my “To Do” list that it needs a facing … for several weeks. Sigh …
Last week in my PHD in 2021 May post, I talked about how one can easily be faced with procrastination. I wasn’t thinking about this project, but it fits!!!
SEW … with a renewed determination to get it done, I decided to Google “How to Add a Facing.” The first link that showed up was a Youtube video from American Patchwork and Quilting. I grabbed a drink of water and started to watch it. You can see it HERE. AND my immediate reaction was
HOW CAN IT BE THAT SIMPLE ????
I quickly cut the squares for the corners and the side strips. I LOVE the fact that there are hanging triangles on ALL 4 corners, so I can easily change how I want it hung! I cut the squares at 4.5″
Then I pinned the triangles and facings in place:
The facings were pinned in place and I sewed as directed …
Turned the facing and triangles to the backside.
Then, the directions said to HAND stitch the facings down. OH NO!!! I hate hand stitching. What to do? I took my trusty Elmer’s disappearing glue and glued the facings down. If it holds for a period of time, I’ll be happy! If it doesn’t, well then I’ll pull out the black thread and hand stitch it down. But I’m crossing my fingers and hope that it holds!
This little piece used Island Batik solids, Aurifil, dove for quilting and Hobbs batting.
Design Wall
Piecing
#1 Amish panel: I’ve cut some of the blocks apart … I’m just deciding if I want to cut them all apart … Then I need to add black sashing …
#2 July Island Batik project … it’s a secret for now!
Quilting:
#1 Mystery Quilt … coming soon! This will be a mystery quilt that you can do over the summer. I’m still writing the pattern, but I think there will be around 10 clues. (This mystery was originally going to use fat quarters, but I’ve changed my mind and have gone in another direction … so it’s no longer called the “Bunny Fat Quarter Mystery.”
Stash Report
The backing of Story-less Improv used 1 yard as did the “Follow Your Own Path”
Fabric Used this week 2 yards
Fabric Used this year: 60 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 24 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 36 yards
Husband’s purchases: 0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!
Stitchin’ Time
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day
January – May– 150 / 150
June – 6 / 6
Percentage = 100 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting it “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
I had a fun day today, sewing and chatting with other Island Batik Ambassadors. It’s certainly fun getting to know each other! To discuss what we’re working on, what concerns us, and what’s new!
Design Wall
Piecing
Last week, I said that I had nothing on my design wall. Well, that wasn’t exactly the truth … I just had nothing NEW on the design wall … I did have the pieces from the class “Speed Dating with Improv.”
And, they have changed a bit … they are now sewn into a block and need borders.
As we were taking the course, Krista (the instructor) told us to think of a story to help with the assembly. Some of the ladies had fabulous stories and you could see it in their quilt layout. Me? I couldn’t think of a story. On a Zoom chat, (as this was being assembled, someone suggested that I had an apple in the middle. OK … I guess so, if you use your imagination … So, the final title of this little sampler might just be, “Maybe it’s an apple?” OR … what do you see in this sampler? PLEASE tell me …
Quilting:
My April Island Batik challenge is being quilted. (Sorry – no pictures until April
Stash Report
The SAHRR is finished and although the top is all Island Batik, the back was from my stash … so that used 4.5 yards of fabric. You can read about it on tomorrow’s post!
Fabric Used this week 4.5 yards
Fabric Used this year: 35 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 9 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 25 yards
Husband’s purchases: 0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!
Stitchin’ Time
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day
January – February – 59 / 59
March – 28 / 28
Percentage = 100 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting it “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
Last week:
I accomplished everything on my To Do List!!!
Finish SAHRR√ done
Borders on Healthcare Hero’s Mystery (this is for the guild …) √ done
Start putting Speed Dating top together √ done
Make Table Runner for the Scrap Challenge – green this month √ done and posted about HERE.
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ done
This week’s list:
Finish quilting and binding April Island Batik Project
Start A&A’s quilt
Sandwich Healthcare Hero’s Mystery (this is for the guild …)
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
I will post more about PHD in 2021 on Wednesday with a linky party for YOU!
What’s coming up on the blog in March and April and May?
Tomorrow!!!!! March 29 – SAHRR parade … there will be a linky party for all the SAHRR quilts
And … I’m waiting to find out what colour April will be! Then I’ll think about a table runner!
In April, there’s the “In the Kitchen” blog hop happening!!
Doesn’t this sound like a fun fun, FUN blog hop??? And … I just might have an idea of what I’m going to do!
Lots of things happening here. All in my studio … no travelling …
Teaching
On Friday, I taught a Scrappy Irish Chain class. It’s the first class I’ve taught by Zoom. It was a lot of fun! And the ladies were wonderful!
There are 2 things that I did not like about teaching via Zoom and both of these help me in reducing my own stash!
I couldn’t walk around the group with a bunch of my own 2″ or 2.5″ squares and give them to everyone to include in their own quilt.
I couldn’t take a huge box of scraps and tell everyone that I wanted the box empty after the class.
I make 4 patches as leaders and enders … and occasionally, they work into a quilt. I have a lot of Irish Chain pieces and they were put back in the box until I teach this class again.
As I was demo-ing various parts, I managed to get some of the components sewn. This is 9 completed blocks.
Design Wall
Piecing
Then on Saturday, I took a class “Speed Dating with Improv” with Krista Hennebury @ Poppyprint. I don’t do Improv … I’ve not been too interested in Improv … but … it doesn’t hurt to learn something new, right? But, to be brutally honest: I was scared!!! Improv is so out of my box!!!
However, I certainly felt a LOT different after the class!!! We cut things free hand. Yes, straight lines and curves!!! With NO rulers!!!! The piecing doesn’t have to match!!! Woo Hoo!!! After years of attempting to get great points and to match corners … it didn’t matter!!! It was a LOT of fun!!!! If you’re interested in Improv, check out Krista’s classes @ Poppyprint.
I used Island Batik solids: black, white and turquoise.
Here’s a picture of what’s on my design wall. Now, to organize and arrange and put all the fillers in.
Quilting:
The T-shirt quilt is now a pieced top … and is sandwiched. There is a TON of stretch with the T-shirts – even though they all have interfacing on the back. They still stretch! Sew, I thought I’d use Hobbs fusible batting with the hopes that it would decrease the stretch. However, there is the issue of using heat on top of the logos. Sew, I used a pressing cloth. It took 2 full days to press everything … and it didn’t always stick very well. Sew, a lot of pins were inserted!
I started out with a Schmetz 90/14 quilting needle. It didn’t like it. Then, once I re-thought what I was sewing through … T-shirt material, iron-on interfacing, fusible batting and cotton backing … a light bulb went off in my brain and I switched to a ball point needle (Janome blue-tip). Much better!
Then there was issues with the thread. I started off with Glide … it bunched up above the needle and broke a ton!! Then I switched to the same colour in a CanSew polyester thread … same problem. Finally, I switched to Aurifil and viola! It’s the perfect thread for this quilt.
Here’s some pictures of me quilting the quilt! It’s big … it’s over 6′ x 8′. It will be a wall hanging / banner.
Stash Report
The Moorewood Mystery is finished. It used 12 yards from my stash. You can read about it HERE.
Fabric Used this week 12 yards
Fabric Used this year: 18.5 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 9 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 9.5 yards (YAY … no longer in the red!)
Husband’s purchases: 0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!
Stitchin’ Time
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day
January – February – 59 / 59
March – 14 /1 4
Percentage = 100 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting it “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
Last week:
I accomplished everything on my To Do List!!!
Pick out a backing for SAHRR√ done
Finish quilting Moorewood Mystery√ done
Get the Echo Lake T-shirt top completed √ done
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √ done
This week’s list:
Get Echo Lake T-shirt quilt finished.
Sandwich SAHRR
Borders on Healthcare Hero’s Mystery (this is for the guild …)
Arrange Speed Dating top
Work on Salt and Sand project!
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
One UFO completed … but the list in Starts in 2021 is getting longer …
What’s coming up on the blog in March?
Salt and Sand Blog Hop … Just thinking of this blog hop makes me want to travel and visit someplace warm! But alas, I’ll be staying home for now. But, I’m positive when we get to travel, I will appreciate it much much more!
March 29 – SAHRR parade … there will be a linky party for all the SAHRR quilts
And … I need to think of my project for the Table Runner Scrap Challenge:
These are the 3 baby quilts that were started this fall. They were all donated to the guild. And they were fun to do. The one in the middle and the one on the right had flannel on both sides. I learned that it is difficult to FMQ a 2-sided flannel quilt. When I tackled the pink one, I just did straight lines with my walking foot. The quilt didn’t stretch as much and it was way easier to do! The one on the left had quilting cotton on the top with flannel on the back. It was very easy to free-motion quilt the wavy lines. Continue reading →
This has been a year of growth for me as a quilter. Becoming an Island Batik Ambassador has been a highlight of my year! Thanks to the monthly challenges, I stepped outside my comfort zone and made things that I NEVER would have. As well, a short photography class helped me go beyond my “quilt on a clothesline” photos!
Island Batik provided all of the fabrics for the quilts and projects this year. My heart is over-filled with gratefullness for their generousity and that of the co-sponsers (Aurifil, Hobbs batting & Accuquilt). I was totally spoiled this year by being an Island Batik Ambassador!
I am also grateful to my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors! They offered a ton of support and encouragement. Not to mention the plethora of ideas that flowed … it’s been a fun year!
February: Magnificent Mini
The first challenge for the year was to make a mini. I wasn’t sure what to do … My love of fall colours and the desire to make something I would use, lead me to make this Suduko mini quilt. For more details, go HERE.
On the huge boulders on the side of our yard.
March: Vintage Re-Imagined
What happens when you have beautiful fabric, an idea and EQ7? Stars on Ice became the reality of that dream. See HERE.
April: Accuquilt Baby Quilt
All ambassadors received an Accuquilt cutter and dies. I used the 8″ cube dies to make this beautiful baby quilt. See HERE.
May: Make it Modern
Me? Make a modern quilt??? Find out more about how it came about HERE.
Christmas RAPPing
This table runner was made for a Blog Hop celebrating the book “Christmas RAPPing” by Margaret Brewster Willingham and Nan Baker. You can see the blog post HERE.
June: Try It
We were challenged to try a new technique … sew, I used one of Angela Walters quilting tutorial series and this table runner was born. See HERE.
A Zipper Pouch
This little zipper pouch was made with my embroidery machine, using an AnitaGoodesign pattern. For more details see this POST.
July: Artsy Fartsy
I do not do Artsy-Fartsy … I’m a more traditional quilter. However, this project was enlightening. I remembered how to do some simple embroidery stitches … and with it being “Artsy-Fartsy” I didn’t need to worry about it being exact. You can read about it HERE. This bag was made for travelling and I used it on my month long trip to Europe & Africa.
Quilt of Valour
One of my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors organized a group of us to make Quilts of Valour out of a wonderful line of fabric called “Freedom.” It had lots of red, white & blue fabric. Since I was making one for a Canadian veteran, I just wanted to use the red and white. I did have to dip into the blue fabric for a few squares (scattered randomly) and the binding. It is my own pattern. Read more about it HERE.
August: Beat the Heat
This was made for a blog hop. The line is “Soil & Seeds.” I loved the line and wanted to be able to showcase each fabric. This quilt was perfect for that. For more details, see HERE.
September: Child’s Play
This quilt used the Accuquilt Die “Cleopatra’s Fan.” It was an intimidating block for me to make: it had CURVED piecing. However, I did learn that with the die, the pieces are cut perfectly and sewing the curves was not all that difficult. It was fun to design the butterfly. Except for the antenna, the butterfly was cut with the Accuquilt 8 ” Cube dies. You can read about the post HERE.
Biscournu Pin Cushions
These little pin cushions were made with the “mistake” blocks from making the Christmas Rapping table runner (May). I think they are so stinking cute! And a fantastic way to use up those orphan blocks. For more details see HERE.
October: Top it Off – using Applique!
Nothing says “October” to me more than pumpkins. I had some great orange fabric, a great background fabric, my embroidery machine and this table runner fell into place. For more details, see HERE.
Island Batik Rayon
I needed new clothes … I had an ancient T-shirt pattern, I had this beautiful rayon fabric … SEW this top, which fits me perfectly, was made! Check it out HERE.
November: Tool Time
We needed to use our favourite tool. My favourite is the Tri-rec ruler … and the Shape-cut ruler … and … a zillion other tools that are necessary for my quilt making … Visit THIS BLOG POST to see a video on how I used these tools.
The Tool Time Mistake
I forgot to take pictures as I was making this quilt. And it can easily be made with the Accuquilt Go, 8″ Cube dies. See HEREand HEREI love how this quilt used the same fabrics as the quilt above, but with a white background instead of black. It certainly gives the quilts a very different look!
Randy the Rhino
Many fellow Ambassadors made various “Funky Friends” for quilt market. After my trip to Africa, I just HAD to make the Rhino! See this POST for more details.
December: 3D Challenge
This quilt pattern has always spoken “3D” to me. It was the obvious choice for a quilt! See HERE for more details!
Sewing Machine Cover: 3D Challenge #2
I needed to make sewing machine covers for all of my machines. I used the extra fabric from the 3D quilt to make this serger cover. To find out how I did it, go HERE.
Snowman Table Runner
You can call it a squirrel, you can call it a DrEAMI, but I’m calling it DONE. Check out the details HERE.
Alice Alpaca: 3D Challenge #3
Alice was fun to make! See this POST for more details!
Disclaimer: The products featured in this Blog post were given to me by Island Batik, and their co-sponsers Aurifil, Hobbs Batting & AccuQuilt! And the Patterns for the Stuffed Animals were from Funky Friends.
When we were in Hawaii in January, we went to Pearl Harbour. I was captivated by the history of the bombing and intrigued by the “Tree of Life” relief. According to “A Day at Pearl Harbor – USS Arizona Memorial” the design “has come to be known as a symbol of peace and harmony”.
I had already recieved an outline from Island Batik of our upcoming projects. “Make it Modern” was the title for the month of May. As I looked at the structure and took the photo, I pondered, “Could I? Should I? Can I?”
And the answers to my questions were: Yes, yes, yes…. Continue reading →
Quilting Gail 