Is this weekend!!!
WOOHOO!!!
There is a beautiful raffle quilt and tickets will be available at the show!
And there are raffle baskets … Two will be raffled off on Saturday and 2 on Sunday … make sure to buy your tickets:
I will be at the show all weekend, so I won’t be posting on Friday. Hope to see you at the show. I’ll be managing Essem Textile’s booth, so stop by and say “Hi.”
All of the Island Batik Ambassadors were invited to become partners with the Missouri Star Quilt Company. And I’m so excited to tell you that I’ve been accepted!
So what does this mean??? It means that when YOU order over $50 from Missouri Star Quilt and you use my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail you will get 20% off your order and I will receive a small commission.
I have not had affiliate links before, so this is all new to me!
Enjoy receiving 20% off all of your orders! You can use my link over and over and over!!! It’s permanently on the sidebar of my blog so you won’t need to always search for it!
Here are a few links you might be interested in:
Happy Shopping!
Is this you? I know it’s me. Our guild is having a quilt show next weekend and I should go through my quilting books and magazines and donate them … someone else might want a pattern that is in something.
Last week, on Monday, I posted about this quilt. You can read about it HERE.
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!
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
Next in line for Piecing:
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 Dr. Seuss quilt used approximately 3 yards.
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …
To Do from the last report:
To Do for next week:
If you were to ask me what my LEAST favourite part of quilting is, it would be Hanging Sleeves. They are not something I enjoy doing! But sometimes, it is necessary.
I belong to the Boundary Bay Quilt Guild and we have a quilt show coming up next weekend (May 4 & 5). Of course, I entered several quilts and each of them needs to have a hanging sleeve.
Here’s a partial picture of the quilt show’s raffle quilt. It’s a beauty!! You can buy tickets at the show.
If you’ve been following me for very long, you’ll know that I highly dislike hand sewing. In fact, after about 10 minutes, my hands are so sore, it’s ridiculous! So my hanging sleeves are put on by machine, or pins.
I know that many of my friends already have their sleeves on and the quilts bagged and ready to go. Not me!! Why do it ahead of time when I can feel under pressure and get them done without delay?
An online friend of mine, Kathleen McMusing had a tutorial YEARS ago for using a blind hem for putting on hanging sleeves. On the 22nd of each month she has a blog post called “Tips and Tutorials.” This past week, she reposted about the hanging sleeve technique using a blind hem. See HERE. She has a plethora of tips and tutorials … so while you’re there, you might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend some time on her site!
The following picture shows me using the Blind Hem stitch to add the hanging sleeve. For the 2nd or bottom row of stitching, I switched to the navy thread so it wouldn’t show on the front. My Oliso iron is awesome for pressing!!! (I received it as part of being an Island Batik Ambassador!)
I used the lint roller to get all the excess lint off the quilt. We are to put a label with our names and phone numbers on the quilt. I’ve just written it on the hanging sleeve. A small piece of paper will have the name of the quilt attached, just below the sleeve.
I tend to be thrifty with fabric, so I re-use the hanging sleeves! Sometimes, they are too long and I just fold them up on the ends. The quilt is going to be hanging and only the people hanging the quilts will see that it’s folded over. Well, I guess you now know as well!
Two done, 4 to go!
All but one of the quilts was made with Island Batik fabrics. They all have Hobbs batting and use Aurifil thread for piecing and most of the quilting.
I will be at the show each day, all day … you can find me vending at Essem Textile’s booth. Stop by to say “hi.”
I did have a finish this week. I showed it on my April Showers Blog Hop post. You can read about it HERE.
Joan, from MooseStashQuilting is the host/organizer for this hop and here’s what she has to say about it:
| Challenge: Late snow showers, rain showers, baby showers, wedding showers. What do you like to shower everyone with? |
I thought of lots of things … a cute baby quilt with umbrellas, spring flowers, showering people with love … so many ideas. It was hard to decide. Then I took a peek into my ‘child’ or ‘baby’ quilt bin and I saw these Dr. Seuss fabrics. Perfect for a baby shower gift!
I pieced them together and thought “what in the world have I done?” So, instead of taking it apart and adding some sashing between all the main blocks, I decided to use black thread and make a bit of a ‘thread’ sashing to break it up. It was fun to use different stitches and it worked!
Here is the finished quilt:
Quilt Stats:
I don’t have a baby shower to go to in the near future, so this quilt will. be donated to the quilt guild. Make sure to visit all of the other blog participants and see what they made!
Monday April 22
Tuesday April 23
Wednesday April 24
Thursday April 25
This about sums up my life!
I have NO finishes to show you this week … Several things are being worked on, 2 things are finished, but I can’t show you yet. You’ll see one of them on Monday! promise!
Finishes since the last Sunday Summary:
The first is Taylor the Tiger, a Funky Friend pattern. It was challenging, but fun to make! You can read all about him/her HERE.
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!
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
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!
When I go to a retreat at Over the Rainbow, I really, really struggle to NOT buy fabric. And this year’s retreat was no exception! Although, I did resist going on the first day! However, on the 2nd day it was another story … and then I needed to go back to check on things for next years’ retreat … and then I needed to go back to pick up some thread. The picture below shows what I bought. The 2 fabrics on the right are Island Batik fabrics: Ravine and solid white. The 2 fabrics on the left are flannel. A total of 12 yards.
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …
To Do from the last report:
To Do for next week:
This year, I am committed to finishing all the projects that I start, plus finished the 6 UFOs that I started the year with. From my chart it appears that I do have several projects that are started that I need to finish!! At least I only have 4 UFOs left!
I’ve been busy, busy, busy!!!
A week-long retreat keeps one very busy!! There’s the prep to get to the retreat … and then there’s all the fun and sewing that happens at the retreat! So much fun!!! Twelve of us went to “Over The Rainbow Lodge” on Camano Island in Washington State. With all that time sewing, a LOT was accomplished!
Here’s a Slide Show of some of what was accomplished. I know that I also missed a lot of pictures. Judy sent me some of her pictures and they are included here! She even got the peacock at the store strutting his stuff!
The Seam Ripper board got passed around the room from time to time!!! LOL!!!
I did complete a secret top … but I’ll show you that when the time is right. I also managed to finish a wallet that I had started before when I was helping to teach a class. It’s the Necessary Clutch from Emmaline Bags. The outside of the wallet is from an upholstery sample that I’ve had for YEARS and the inside is batik fabric.
And I did a few items for a craft sale: Some Kleenex holders and a jar opener. The fabrics are all Island Batik fabrics, along with the shelf liner.
I LOVE ♥️ Star ⭐️ quilts and I LOVE ♥️ Sandra’s Quilt A Longs! I’m going to join in with her Luminous Layers!
I know, I know, I have so many things on my plate, I don’t need to add another … but that’s besides the point! I’m going to do this anyways. It’s not a race and there are steps that will come out once a week until June 15. Nice and easy – right?
Click HERE to see the fabric requirements. AND she talks about the fabrics you need with suggestions. And … there are prizes … what’s not to like? Are you going to join me?
I chose to make Taylor the Tiger. It wasn’t until I was downloading the pattern that I read, “This is an advanced pattern.” Oops – what have I gotten myself into? I’ve made 4 previous Funky Friends patterns, but I’m not so sure that I’m ready for the “advanced” part of it. But, if it’s like any of the other patterns I’ve made, it’ll be well written and if I take it slow, I should be ok. Right?
I don’t have any striped Island Batik fabric, but as soon as I saw the Marble Aqua blender, I knew it would be perfect for Taylor the Tiger. I paired it with Dots-Blue Cornflower.
The pieces were all cut out. So far, this is fairly easy.
Included in the pattern is a link to a photo tutorial that comes with the pattern. I don’t think I could have figured it out without the tutorial. Thank YOU, Pauline for the photo tutorial!!!
I embroidered the nose with Aurifil floss and inserted the safety eyes.
One thing that Pauline HIGHLY suggests is that you transfer ALL of the letters and pattern markings onto pieces. I didn’t do this at the start and was always having to pull out the pattern pieces to check what letter was where. THEN I did it. It didn’t take long and ultimately it was a definite time saver!! I don’t like to use Friction Pencils on fabric, (they’re great on the pattern instructions), but I put the letters inside the seam allowance on the wrong side of the fabric! They will never be seen! Please, pay close attention to this!!! It’s a lot easier to mark your pieces prior to sewing … don’t ask me how I know this!!! LOL!!! Well, I guess I just told you!
| A note about Frixion pencils: I know a LOT of quilters love these pencils. I am not a fan. Yes, I have 3: a green, purple and teal. That’s all I need. I sew with batik fabrics a LOT. Occasionally, the Frixion pen will leave a thin white line on the fabric. That makes me annoyed. When used on non-batik fabric, the marks are erased. But let the fabric get cold and it reappears. These pencils are fantastic for marking on paper. That’s what they were designed for! You can mark up your pattern, and when you’re finished, iron the paper and the marks disappear! Perfect. |
Here is Taylor the Tiger, pre stuffing …
Once Taylor was stuffed, I attempted to give her a pedicure and do her front toes. She cooperated – to a point and then she refused to have her back paws done. This could be because I ran out of floss … she’ll have to wait to have her back paws done.
Now, Taylor is a bit mischievous! The first thing she did was climb up on the piano. She does NOT know how to play and it sounded terrible. Just like an unruly 2 year old smashing on the keys!
Then she ran outside! I caught her sniffing at the tulips in the front yard and jumping up onto the hose holder.
Then Taylor ran across the street to the neighbour’s rock garden! Thankfully there were no cars coming!
And she tried to hide!
I was able to catch her and put her inside. She thought she could hide by the bears or with our granddog, Daphne.
Then, Taylor made it into the sewing room and posed near her other Funky Friends.
Thank you Island Batik, Aurifil Thread and Pauline from Funky Friends Factory! Taylor would not have been made if it wasn’t for your generous partnership!
Four of the Zoom hosts got together last week and using a random number generator, the winners were chosen. Here’s a picture of us …
Here is the list of winners.
All of the winners have been contacted and each accepted their prize!
And yes, we are planning another SAHRR in 2025! I hope you join us as you make a totally unique quilt following the weekly prompts.
This is my SAHRR for this year. You can see the parade of quilts on THIS POST. There are several right on the post, then visit the Link party and you will find the links to other participants.
I went through all the comments left on my blog during the Villa Rose Fast and More Fun blog hop. (See my post HERE). Winners were chosen randomly. I attempted to contact all of the winners. Most responded and their addresses were sent to Tricia. She will be contacting the ones I did not hear back from and distributing the prizes!
April’s colour is Blue. Visit Jen at Patterns by Jen to get your free pattern for April. It’s free for the month, then there will be a small charge for it! Or you can purchase the whole set right away!
I’m using Island Batik fabrics for my blocks.
This block was fun to make. It was fun because I was able to use my favourite colour! And it was fun because I LOVE 🩵 star blocks. And it was fun. because I don’t think I’ve ever made this star block before (but alas, I could be mistaken!)
Here’s the 4 blocks (January – April) on my design wall!
He has indeed!
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
I had some wonderful company this past week and missed one day of sewing! Oh, but it was a ton of fun catching up!!
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
Here’s the clues for Canuck Quilter’s 2 colour mystery. I’m actually all caught up!
And the Lone Star Left-overs up on the design wall
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!
No finishes, no shopping!
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …
To Do from the last report:
To Do for next week:
Well, that is correct!! I have NO new finishes … but I’m plugging along at several projects … and attempting to get ready for a retreat!
My Lone-star Left-overs is now a flimsy (1st pic). It’s a sort-of finish. I do all my own quilting on my domestic machine, so I don’t consider flimsies as a finish. It’ll be done when I get a round-to-it! The 2nd picture is the Fall Mystery Quilt where I used Island Batik’s “Cheers” fabric collection. And, yes, I’m using Silly Moon‘s Kite ruler … as well as the smallest Drop ruler (not shown).
The above poem and picture comes from this site: https://www.quantumenterprises.co.uk/roundtuit/traditional-round-tuits.htm
I’m sure that I had a wooden Round TUIT years ago … but I have no idea what happened to it! LOL!!!
Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl hosts a Favourite Finish of the Month Link Party. Oh, why is it SOOOO hard for me to choose just ONE favourite finish? Especially this month because I have so many that I LOVE.
However, I think that my SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) is my absolute fav of the above quilts! You can read more about this quilt HERE. I used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting.
Both Andree and Jennifer featured my quilt from last week. This was from the Give It a Whirl blog hop. You can read more about it HERE.
This is so true!!!
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
I had some wonderful company this past few weeks and missed one day of sewing! Oh, but it was a ton of fun catching up!!
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
Here’s the start of the clues for Canuck Quilter’s 2 colour mystery.
And some of the Lone Star Left-overs up on the design wall
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!
These 3 quilts were posted this past week. The purple/blue one was for the Villa Rosa blog hop (see THIS POST), the middle one is from the SAHRR ’24 (see HERE) and the 3rd one is Pinwheels for the Give it a Whirl blog hop (see THIS POST).
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
To Do from the last report:
To Do for next week:
Carol from Just Let Me Quilt is the organizer and host for this Whirly Blog Hop.
Here’s what she had to say:
| Challenge: Life can send us spinning sometimes, so let’s put those spins and whirls to good use in a quilt. Make something with pinwheel blocks, circle quilting, or whirly gigs. Try not to whirl out of control! |
I went to EQ8 to figure out how many 8″ pinwheels, using 4″ HST, I would need for a decent size baby quilt. Here’s what I came up with: 15 pinwheel blocks and (15) 8 1/2″ unfinished squares.
Using Island Batik’s Sunny Meadow collection and solid white, I used the 8″ cube die to cut all of the triangles for the half square triangles. The cutting was done quickly, very quickly! I pieced it together and then had fun quilting! And yes, I just might have ‘whirled out of control‘ in the quilting. But I enjoyed every single minute of it!
Here are some close ups of the quilting:
Quilt Stats:
At the moment, I’m debating whether to donate it or keep it for a special baby that I know nothing about … he or she may not even be conceived at this time. Time will tell.
Make sure you visit the following bloggers to see their “Give it a Whirl” quilts!
MARCH 18
MARCH 19
MARCH 20
MARCH 21
For the SAHRR ’24, I used Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.” For more information on a SAHRR, see THIS POST.
Here is my finished SAHRR … all quilted and bound.
Quilt Stats:
You can read about the progress of my SAHRR on these POSTS:
And close ups of the quilting and you can see that I quilted right over the labels:
These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG.
Stella, Regina, Heather F., Rosie, Kathy R., Jacomina, Kathleen, Judy B., Robin B.
Link your SAHRR (finished or flimsy) at the linky party. This will be open until March 24 at 11 PM (Pacific Time). After that, the hosts and I will be choosing the winners. Don’t forget to link up!
We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!
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I was intrigued when I heard about this blog hop. It’s organized by Villa Rosa. You have probably seen them, even if you don’t recognize the name!! They are the patterns that are printed on post-card sized cards. I have made several of their quilts or table runners, more or less, using the directions given.
Here’s a bit of history about Villa Rose Designs:
| We call Pat Fryer, the owner and the creator of the Villa Rosa Designs brand, our Rose Queen, because she absolutely adores roses. In fact, her love of roses helped her name her new venture in 2010. When she designed her first Rose Cards, she had a brilliant and unique idea to name ALL of her VRD patterns after Roses (also why we call them Rose Card patterns). For many years, all of the patterns were named after roses. Now we have a collection of talented designers who all have their own covers and logos, but Pat’s quilt designs are still named for roses. If you look at the Villa Rosa Designs patterns, you will see a rose in the top right corner on the cover of the pattern. That is the specific rose the pattern is named for. |
Tricia sent me a zip of 5 patterns for the blog hop. I doubt very much that you could purchase this set of 5 in Canada for $8.95. I’ve seen individual ones priced at anywhere between $2 – $5! HOWEVER … keep reading and you can have an opportunity to WIN these 5 patterns!
I choose Gypsy Rose.
This was in February, just after I had posted my Island Batik Log Cabin quilts. I was about to put the extra “Heavy Metal” fabric away but instead, I immediately started cutting for this quilt. Now, I didn’t have all 20 skus left, but I cut from what I did have! I just love the blues and purples in this fabric collection!
This was an easy and fast quilt top to put together! I completed the top in an afternoon while I was also piecing a couple of other projects!
I used Silly Moon‘s “Charming” ruler to do all the quilting! It’s simple, but effective!
Quilt Stats:
There are LOTs of prizes from this. blog hop. (See the list of sponsors below).
Each blogger participating in the hop will select winners for:
This is a HUGE hint for you to visit each of the bloggers and follow their individual guidelines to increase YOUR chance to win!!!
If you are chosen by me, I will need your Name, Shipping Address and Email.
There is also 3 awesome grand prizes:
So … in order for me to pick YOU to be selected by me, I need you to do 2 things:
1. Comment on my blog
AND 2. Follow me on Instagram @quiltinggail
Update: In order for me to pick YOU to be selected by me, You need to leave a comment on my blog. If you also choose to follow me on Instagram, you will be entered into my draw twice.
Many companies have donated prizes for this blog hop!
Thursday, March 14
https://villarosaquilts.com/
Friday, March 15
1. Kathleen McCormick — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
2. Cheree H — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
3. Roseanne Nelson — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
4. Wendy Tuma — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
5. C&T (Valerie) — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/
Saturday March 16
1. Bernie Kringel — https://needleandfoot.com/
2. Sandra Walker — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
3. Linda — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
4. Debbie Huber – http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
5. SIY (Branyn/Jennifer) – https://blog.siysewityourself.com/
Sunday, March 17
1. Carolyn — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
2. Emily (Norton House) — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
3. Gail Sheppard — https://quiltinggail.com/ YOU ARE HERE!!
4. Susan Slaton — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 18
1. Nann Hilyard — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
2. Jaftex (Jennifer) — https://scottfortunoff.com/
3. Jan Altomare — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/
4. Tricia – http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, March 19
1. Joy – https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
2. Emily Leachman — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
3. Vicki S — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
4. Rose Mikulski — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
5. QOVF (Lexie) — https://www.qovf.org/
Wednesday, March 20:
Thursday, March 21:
I received a box of Hobbs Batting from Island Batik. Oh my, I am so spoilt!!!
The box contained 4 Queen size batts of
Now, I know you’re thinking “what if I don’t make a queen size quilt?” That’s no problem! I cut out the size of batting I need for any quilt and save the ‘left-overs’ for other quilts. I put them in the original bag so that I keep the types of batting separate. If the left-overs are not quite the correct size, I will join them together to make the appropriate size. Some quilters call this “Frankenbatting.” Seriously! I guess it reminds people of the monster, Frankenstein!
My method is super simple. I overlap the pieces by about 1/4” and use diluted Elmers glue to join the 2 pieces together. Once the glue is dry, I use a large zig-zag stitch and call it done! It doesn’t leave a lump and I challenge anyone to find the join in my finished quilts! I have searched for the joins in my quilts and I can’t find them!!
The box also had an information booklet about the different types of batting.
Obviously, I have not posted any pictures of quilts in this post, but there are a LOT of quilts coming! I use Hobbs batting in every single quilt I make!!! I absolutely LOVE ❤️ it! I actually buy it by the roll, so I always have lots on hand!
This Blog Hop runs from March 14 to the 21st. Everyone is using at least one of 5 patterns that was sent to us! I know at least one person is making all 5 patterns!! My day is the 17th. Check out Villa Rose Designs for the complete schedule! Many of my fellow blogging friends are participating! I’m positive that it will be a fantastic blog hop! And there are a TON of fabulous prizes!!!
Can you relate to this?? I certainly can!
March’s Island Batik challenge was to make what we wanted. I have LOTS of Island Batik scraps and I am really a fan of scrappy quilts. I also like to have two colour quilts … so these 3 quilts were born. I had a lot of fun making them!! You can read about the process HERE.
Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread and Schmetz Needles were used in the making of these quilts! And my new Oliso iron was used for all the pressing.
Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!
I had some wonderful company this past week and missed one day of sewing! Oh, but it was a ton of fun catching up!!
Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
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!
No shopping this week, so nothing added! My 3 Island Batik quilts used a lot of fabric. Even though I used scraps, it’s still counted as fabric!
Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …
To Do from the last report:
To Do for next week:
I decided I would make a scrappy quilt for the March challenge. I had have a large bag of green Island Batik scraps. I started out making 4 x 4 blocks with 2 1/2” squares all from the scrap bag. But, I didn’t count very well and made way too many blocks.
I didn’t like the look of the 16 patch blocks with a plain block in between. I know I had seen a quilt with 16 patches, alternating with a plainer block using half-square triangles. Do you think I could find it? Nope. Not a hope. So, I went to EQ8 and designed the first 2 blocks. I quickly realized that I could cut the 3rd block with my Accuquilt Cube 8″ dies (#5 for HST & #10 from Corners) and eliminate making a ton of half square triangles.
And this quilt was born.
Once I had the blocks up on the design wall, I decided I didn’t like it. It almost seemed unfinished to me. So I added half blocks all the way around with a 4 patch in each corner. The alternating blocks use a soft green called ‘mint.’ It’s an Island Batik basic and was the perfect choice for this quilt!
By the time I finished the above quilt, I still had lots of 2 1/2” squares left, many in 16 patch blocks. So, I pulled out ‘Ghost’ to make the neutral blocks and this quilt was born. I added a 4 1/2” border around it using Vegi Garden – Green Gr from the Fruit and Veggies collection. I used this collection last year for my Puff Quilt (see HERE). There was the perfect amount of this fabric for the borders and to bind the 2 quilts with about 1/2 yard left.
Then, I started to tidy my sewing room and guess what I found? MORE 2 1/2” squares!!! a couple of 16 patch blocks!!!! and a few of the neutral blocks using ‘Mint.”!!! I guess that’s what I get for not being consistent in my cleaning!!! So, there was enough to make Quilt #3! And just the right amount of the green fabric for a border … This quilt was destined to have a scrappy border. I just did plain straight line quilting in this one. It’s OK … but it again showed me that I much prefer to do custom quilting as seen in the 2 quilts above.
When this quilt was complete, I did have a few stray neutral blocks and some green 4 patches, but not enough to do much with. I still have a fairly big bag full of green scraps, but they are all smaller than 2 1/2” square.
Here’s a picture of all 3 of them on the clothesline. A couple of them will definitely be donation quilts.
Quilt Stats:
My Oliso iron was used every step of the way! I’m still not used to leaving it flat, but it’s definitely a smooth iron and is plenty hot!
For now, I’ve put all my green scraps away … I think it might be a while before that bag is touched again … maybe …
Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread, needles and the iron were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles, Oliso
Quilting Gail 