As an Island Batik Ambassador, I feel spoiled every time a box comes. In July, we received a ton of awesomeness (you can see that post HERE) and Island Batik informed us that the precuts would come at a later date. While I was away on holidays … a package arrived! Oh, it was extremely hard waiting until I got home!!! I know the neighbour wouldn’t have minded opening it for me and sending me a picture, but it was more fun to wait and open it myself! And here are the precuts I received:
The strip pack is “Midnight Dazzle” along with coordinating fabrics, Backberry and Begonia. The package of 10″ squares on the right is “Constellations” and the coordinating fabrics are Ice and Harbour. The coordinating fabrics are 2 yard cuts.
I am over the moon with these awesome fabrics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now … what do I make with them???? I only have about 2,000 ideas … I think I might need to narrow it down a bit! What a joyful dilemma!
In January, my Island Batik box contained this fantastic maple leaf die from Accuquilt. I made 2 different quilts with it.
And now, I’m using it again to make a table runner for the I’m Falling For You blog hop. What is more FALL than Fall leaves??? As well, the scrap table runner challenge for this month is Orange … so I’m making a 2-fer.
We’ve been away for almost 2 weeks. I took this with me to finish while we were travelling. (Yes, I take my featherweight and sew when I can and when we have power.) Well, I definitely was NOT meant to finish this on our trip! I didn’t take enough of the background fabric AND … once I finished the top, earlier today, I realized that I did not take enough batting or backing … groan … Anyhow, thankfully I was able to find everything I needed and get this table runner done! I stippled the background and did straight lines on the coloured portions of the leaves.
Table runner stats:
Fabric: Island Batik – from the Autumn Wings collection, background is Custard
Batting: Hobbs fusible
Quilting & Piecing: Aurifil thread
Size: 19″ x 37″
Accuquilt die: Maple Leaf
Here is the Full Schedule for the blog hop:
Be sure to visit all of the bloggers and be inspired by their “I’m Falling for You” creations!
This is a Blog Hop that I’m super excited about!!! Kelly, of My Quilt Infatuation, has a wonderful book out and it is absolutely wonderful!!! My official day is Oct. 11. But, I am too excited to wait that long (well, I’ll wait for that day for my assigned mini quilt!
Yesterday, Sandra @ mmm…quilts! posted her Up, Up and Away Quilt! Isn’t it great???
So, I’m going to show you my Up, Up and Away quilt. Kelly has instructions in her book on how to make the mini quilts larger. So, I followed her instructions to make this into a baby quilt. However, I must confess, I had to fudge a bit because I didn’t have quite enough background fabric.
The fabrics are all from Island Batik. But for some reason, the scraps didn’t decrease at all!! (Ya, I know, scraps multiply when you have your back turned! )
I quilted wavy up and down lines on the balloon and wavy organic lines on the background (sky).
This is one of the quilts I’ll be teaching at Essem Textiles in Cloverdale in October! Make sure you sign up and join in the fun!
Here is the full Schedule for the Blog Hop:
Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes
This month, the Island Batik challenge is to make a bag. I choose to make the “Round Trip Duffle.” It is a pattern byAnnie. Island Batik and byAnnie made a kit with everything I need to make the Round Trip Duffle … I mean EVERYTHING!
The Island Batik fabrics that I chose for the bag – from top to bottom are:
Peacock Feather – Teal (from the Proud Peacock collection)
Whip Cream (from the Neutral collection)
Peacock Mardigras (from the Proud Peacock collection)
Paisley Dot Celery (from the Proud Peacock collection)
The key to making byAnnie bags is organization. A list of everything you need to cut is included in the pattern. I copied the list and attached it to each item as it was cut. Then I put it all up on my design wall so that it would be handy and easily found. The quilted pieces were on my ironing board.
The next step involved making all the bag components … the straps, the pockets, and so on … I’m using Aurifil thread #1148 – Light Jade with Schmetz Needles.
It’s getting exciting to see all the parts coming together!
Once it was completed, my daughter had to put her dog, Daphne, in it … believe me, that didn’t last long! (The dog in the bag … the bag was not harmed!)
I am very very happy with how this bag turned out! A friend of mine said, “It looks so professional.” That’s because byAnnie patterns are so well written! I hope to use this bag when I go on my next quilt retreat!
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
It’s September and most kids are back to school … or not. At any rate, the stores have all their “back to school” sales on. Do you take advantage of these sales for your sewing room?
I do. Here are some of the products I use in my sewing room and some are suggestions from other bloggers and quilters.
A flannel back tablecloth is great for a design wall … especially if I’m going sewing somewhere besides in my home.
Hair clips are great for clipping labels onto fabric
Spray bottle for water (I always use a dry iron … and I spray the fabric if I want steam)
Shelf liner … will hold your sewing machine foot in place, add it to the back of pincushions to prevent them from slipping around, and in a pinch, you can use a couple of pieces (3″x 3″) to place under your hands when you free motion quilt
Put a small square between your small rulers and your fabric – it’ll prevent the ruller from shifting
Hair ties – place them around the thread and the bobbin and you know which bobbin goes with which thread … plus it keeps the thread from unwinding
These are the small hair ties … they are cloth covered elastics. You can see in the picture how small they are. When my thread and bobbins are in the drawer, it’s super easy to figure out which bobbin goes with which spool of thread. Plus there isn’t miles of thread all over!
Notebook with grid lines … for planning that next quilt and Pencil crayons to colour your quilt
Mechanical pencils for fine lines (on the back of HST or to mark the centre of a block
Elmer’s School Glue … I use this a LOT … dilute it 4 parts water to 1 part glue and it’s perfect for gluing down binding or whatever needs to stay in place.
Binder clips – they are perfect to supplement your smaller clips … great when you have a large number of pieces or ???
Flag post-its, or just plain post-it notes are perfect for short-term labels.
Disappearing Elmer’s Glue Stick. These have MANY uses. I often use it to pre-baste my binding. Then when I get to the sewing machine, binding is done in a flash.
Coloured Sharpies … OK … confession here … these are great for colouring that white thread that is showing, or for outlining shapes (as per Helen Godden).
Design Wall
Piecing:
#1. The project for the “Falling for You” Blog Hop. My day is Sept. 20.
#2. Third project from Scrappy Improv … which I can’t show you until after the blog hop
Quilting:
#1 November Island Batik project is being quilted
Stash Report
No finishes this week … no stash yardage used.
Fabric Used this week 10yards
Fabric Used this year: 99 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 27.75 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 70.25 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. Many days there are more than a few hours spent in my studio. We were away this past weekend, so there was 2 days that I did not sew.
January – August – 235 / 242
Sept – 5 / 5
Total: 240 / 247
Percentage = 97 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
The last To Do list: (from weeks ago)
OK … so I had 2 weeks to accomplish my To Do list. I kept the list light because I want some more time to enjoy the summer! Consequently, it was easy to get it done. I’m keeping this week’s list light as well!
Complete Island Batik’s November project Partially done!
Complete 2nd Project from Scrappy Improv√ done
Prepare more fabric for Island Batik’s December project √ done
Write the directions for the guild’s Fall Mystery quiltDo NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ done
This week’s list:
Finish quilting Island Batik’s November project
Finish 3rd Project from Scrappy Improv
Work on Island Batik’s December project
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the number of UFOs? Try just taking one UFO and focus on it. Perhaps write down all the steps you need to do to complete it. Even if the list is LONG … tackle the first step. I promise that you will feel much better about it! Then later, or tomorrow, tackle the next step. Pretty soon it will be done!
My PHD tally hasn’t changed a lot. Well, no UFOs are finished, but quite a few of the Starts in 2021 are completed. I’ve been working a LOT of my November Island Batik challenge. I am SEW glad that I started early! It’s taking a LOT of time and a LOT of concentration. You’ll see why in November.
GROAN …. How do I choose which quilt is my favourite when I think I made 3 fantastic quilts? I know I’m biased … but I LOVE each one of these quilts!
DrEAMi
This month, I had a DrEAMi … (Drop Everything And Make it) This was a pattern from Sandra Walker (from Musings of a Menopausal Melon) and after seeing that several people made it … I just HAD to. The pattern is “Let Your Star Shine.” You can get the pattern from Sandra’s Etsy shop: HERE. It is a pretty quick quilt to make!
A NEW Blog Hop
Kelly Young has a AWESOME new book that has just been published. She is having a blog hop starting later in September. This book is fantastic! There are 22 mini quilts and they are SEW easy to make.
If you check out Kelly’s blog, My Quilt Infatuation she has an overview of the book HERE.
I have made one mini quilt for the blog hop and am in the process of making another for myself. I will show it to you after the blog hop is over. I don’t want to ruin the surprise of all the mini quilts that you will see during the blog hop.
I must say that this book is really well written! (I have my own copy!) The directions are easy to follow and there are a ton of fun projects to make!
If you live locally, Essem Textiles has the book in their store.
I will be teaching classes of projects from this book in October at Essem Textiles. Dates are TBA.
Rainbow Scrap Table Topper
The monthly table topper is run by So Srappy. The colour for August was aqua. I wanted to try a paper pieced Storm at Sea block … so that’s what I made! It’s 15″ square. Made with Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs fusible batting and Aurifil Dove thread.
Design Wall
Piecing:
#1. November Island Batik project
It’s being paper pieced, and the project is a secret … but I can show you this …
#2. Second project from Scrappy Improv … which I can’t show you until after the blog hop
Quilting:
Nothing at the moment!
Stash Report
The backings from the 3 “favourite” quilts this month, plus the aqua table topper were all from my stash and totalled 11 yards.
Fabric Used this week 11yards
Fabric Used this year: 99 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 27.75 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 70.25 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. Many days there are more than a few hours spent in my studio. We were away this past weekend, so there was 2 days that I did not sew.
January – July – 209/211
August – 26/29
Total: 235 / 240
Percentage = 98 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
The last To Do list: (from weeks ago)
OK … so I had 2 weeks to accomplish my To Do list. I kept the list light because I want some more time to enjoy the summer! Consequently, it was easy to get it done. I’m keeping this week’s list light as well!
Piece and Quilt Let Your Star Shine √ done
Start Aqua Table Topper for the monthly Table Topper challenge √ done
Start “Orange you Glad” project! √ done
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ done
This week’s list:
Complete Island Batik’s November project
Complete 2nd Project from Scrappy Improv
Prepare more fabric for Island Batik’s December project
Write the directions for the guild’s Fall Mystery quilt
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Hi! Apparently several people are unable to link up to the mystery quilt linky party. Here are their quilts:
This one is Joyce’s … she used a black background. Pretty cool, eh? And check out that 2 coloured binding!
This is my good friend, Betty’s. I’ve known Betty for a zillion years and have gone to many many retreats with her! I was thrilled when I found out that she had followed along and did the mystery! She still has to add the border, but what a pretty quilt!
This one is from Chere, a member of the Chilliwack guild. What a fantastic use of stripes!
And another member of the Chilliwack guild, Charlene, made this one. I love the use of red as the background!
And Here is mine … again
Don’t forget to …
Click on this link for an opportunity to win the beautiful “Sticks ‘n Stones” precuts!
Here’s some pictures of quilts from people who are unable to link to the Linky Party:
This is Robin’s – all quilted! The star points certainly pull out the pink in the focus squares. Lovely!
And here’s the back of Robins … she made some extra stars … plus you can really see the quilting on the back!
And here’s Deb R’s quilt … she says “I went with baby quilt size so there will be a total of five rows with one border around all. The border will be the flowered material (shown). Won’t it be a lovely baby quilt?
This is Donna H’s … the middle of the stars is from a Moda digital print. Donna says, “I didn’t fussy cut them so there are a wide range of hues. The 3 contrast fabrics are batiks that pulled some of the colours from the print.” I Love the variety of the star centres …
Here’s what Alice C says about hers, “I have really enjoyed it and learned a new technique with the flying geese. That was a cool way of doing it.” She has perfect flying geese!
Here’s Judy’s … I love the contrast between the dark and light!
Linky Party
Link up and show us your mystery quilt! It doesn’t matter if it isn’t completely finished! It’s just fun to see all of the different looks that fabric choices make!
The fabrics were all Island Batik scraps … The purple and dark pink are all gone … there is a few scraps of the background and light pink. In some ways, I’m sad to see the end of these fabrics … but I’m also glad that I was able to use them! And, they make for a pretty quilt!
If you are looking for a quilt pattern that is easy and fast. This might be just what you are looking for! Sandra Walker of MMMQuilts is the designer. You can purchase the pattern HERE.
I had these very pretty orange Island Batik fabrics that were sitting in my stash, calling for me to use them. Actually, they were shouting. What to do? What to make?
EQ to the rescue … along with Accuquilt Cube 8 dies.
Now, according to EQ, I did not have enough fabric … so I hit the stash builder rolls and pulled out some orange strips. I used them for the half-square triangles. SO EASY to cut with the Accuquilt!
This is actually one of the first patterns that I wrote … it was for a class I taught using the Easy Angle ruler … but it is actually more accurate to use the Accuquilt dies!
There’s a drizzly rain outside – not great for taking photos … and since I just finished quilting and binding this, I had to make do with a photo on my design wall.
This is “Let Your Star Shine” a pattern by Sandra Walker of MMMQuilts. You can purchase the pattern HERE. (And see the pattern in different colour-ways).
Mine is mostly quilted … just the border to finish, trim and add the binding. I don’t have enough of any fabric, so the binding will be scrappy.
If you look closely at my quilt, you will see that I messed up the 2nd to outside border. I didn’t notice it until I was quilting that border. Too late to fix it! So, I’m considering it my own design change. I hope Sandra forgives me … the original is SEW much better!
This quilt was super easy to make!!! The directions are VERY WELL written. The mistake in the borders is totally mine! (Yup … going too fast and thinking I had everything correct! …)
This quilt is 36″ square, but I wanted it a little bigger, so I added the 3″ dark pink border … now it’s the perfect size for a baby quilt!
This quilt was made with my Island Batik stash … Hobbs Fusible batting and quilted with Glide “Cool Grey.”
I received the “V Block” from Studio 180 Designs. I love this block … but what to do? What to make?
I also received 2 Fat Quarter Bundles of Autumn Wings … along with 2 yards of coordinating Bubbles-Sahara (from the Blenders collection and 2 yards of Teal from the Basics collection. Autumn Wings should be available in the shops now and Bubbles-Sahara and Teal are available all the time.
Aren’t these fabrics absolutely gorgeous? !!!
I watched the video from Studio 180 on making the V-block and the High/Low blocks. As I was watching, I loved the block in the background. It had a pinwheel in the middle. No problem. I also have the Tucker Trimmer and I used it to make the half-square triangles.
Here’s the design I came up with in EQ. But alas, I didn’t have enough of the Bubbles-Sahara fabric to use for the background. But I did have enough “Custard,” from a previous Island Batik shipment, so I substituted it.
Here’s the first High/Low star that I made. I’m SEW impressed!!!! Using the Studio 180 tools, the blocks come out PERFECT. Look at how those seams nest together SEW nicely. It’s definitely not ME!!! I’m not a perfectionist. It’s using tools that make it work well! I’m liking them!!!
I also used the V-block to make these 4-pointed star blocks and used the Tucker Trimmer to cut the 5 1/2″ blocks for the centers. On the design wall. I wasn’t sure that I liked the solid squares in the middle. So, I decided to make the rest of the High/Low blocks and see.
Nope … I still didn’t like them. And while playing around with fabric, I decided that a square-in-a-square would be the block to put in the centre.
I was able to buy a “Squared Square” Studio 180 tool and made the blocks quickly and easily. Much better, don’t you agree? (And now I’m happy to have another useful tool!)
And the blocks ready to sew together! Along with a bunch of V-blocks for potential border treatment. Along with trialing the sashing strips.
Some of the border blocks started (all V blocks), but not sewn together …
Played around with the border blocks and liked this version better! And I added square in a square blocks on the corners (using the Squared-Square ruler).
It quilted like a dream … an absolute dream!!! Before I started quilting a put a fresh Schmetz needle in!
Here is a picture of the quilting on my domestic machine (Janome M7) using Silly Moon’s “Rocket” to sew 1/4″ away from the star …
All finished!
I used Schmetz needles, Aurifil #2000 – Light Stand for the quilting and #4029 – Turf Green to sew on the binding.
Remember that this fabric collection is called Autumn Wings … well it’s the middle of summer and autumn is a ways off … so I took this picture on my dried out lawn (the closest to having fall colours!)
Make sure that you visit Mania from Mania for Quilts. She has the same fabric collection and her quilt is absolutely totally different than mine. She is very creative and talented!
You have 2 opportunities to win … well, actually 4. Two from Island Batik and 2 from me. Click on the Rafflecopter link for opportunities to win either a 10″ stack of Butterfly Blooms or a 2 1/2″ Strip pac of Autumn Wings from Island Batik.
In order to win one of these packages of fabrics from me, you must live in Canada (but outside of Quebec). They have at least 10 x 10″ pieces of Autumn Wings – some are much bigger. Reply in the comments answering the following questions: (I know some people are unable to respond in the comments – just send me an email and answer the questions).
Where in Canada do you live?
Have you ever won fabric from me before?
What would you do with the fabric?
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
Have you been following along with the Mystery Quilt? I know lots of people have and I can’t wait until the Linky Party on August 24 to see them all!
I have already seen one quilt in my email and one on Pinterest. Both are fantastic!
If you want to make it – it’s not too late. Go Here to find all the Clues.
Here is my quilt – and all of the fabrics were from my stash!
Design Wall
Piecing
#1. I started cutting “Let Your Star Shine” and these are the fabrics I’m using. This is a pattern by Sandra Walker. It’s available on her Etsy shop HERE.
So, this is what I will be sewing this week.
#2 I hope to start my “Orange you Glad” blog hop project
#3 Aqua Table Topper also needs to be started!
Quilting:
Nothing at the moment!
Stash Report
Since I can finally show you the mystery quilt, I can add the fabrics used into my tally!
Fabric Added this year: 27.75 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
Net Fabric used 59.25 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. Many days there are more than a few hours spent in my studio. We were away this past weekend, so there was 2 days that I did not sew.
January – July – 209/211
August – 13 / 15
Total: 222 / 226
Percentage = 98 %
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
2 weeks ago:
OK … so I had 2 weeks to accomplish my To Do list. I kept the list light because I want some more time to enjoy the summer! Consequently, it was easy to get it done. I’m keeping this week’s list light as well!
Put Country Panels on the back burner √ done
Finish IB September√ done
Blog posts: #1 Get Unboxing Video post completed #2 Get August IB post ready √ done
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes√ done
This week’s list:
Piece and Quilt Let Your Star Shine
Start Aqua Table Topper for the monthly Table Topper challenge
Start “Orange you Glad” project!
Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes
My UFOs are completed for my PHD in 2021, but I have 2 New Starts that need to be done, plus probably several more … some are Island Batik projects, some of squirrels that have yet to raise their heads and some are other monthly challenges. As you can see, I’ve added another column to the Starts in 2021!
Arrange blocks as shown below. Ensure that Contrast #2 goes in one direction and Contrast #3 goes in the opposite direction when matching seams.
Web quilt together. If you don’t know how to web a quilt, see my tutorial HERE.
Clue # 10b
Add Borders to the quilt. For a quick easy way to add borders, see my tutorial
And here’s my pattern tester’s quilt! Thanks, Barb! Same quilt, different fabrics. Different fabrics make for a very different looking quilt!
Watch for the Linky party on August 24-30 and show us your quilt top. If you can’t manage to link up – email me your picture and I’ll put it on the blog!
I love making quilts. Just had to tell you that, in case you weren’t aware of my passion! But I also like to play!
As an Island Batik ambassador, I have received a couple of rolls of Fusible Batting Strips from Hobbs Batting.
I posted about making these bowls HERE. But I figured that I should do a proper tutorial for them.
Last year we received a roll of Fusible Batting from Hobbs. These strips, cut at are 2 ¼” are perfect for 2 ½” fabric strips … but I didn’t want to make another rug … so I got to thinking. My thoughts brought me back to when I originally took a Jelly Roll Rug class (taught by Dawn F. at the Boundary Bay Quilt Guild) and I remember one lady had a horrible time trying to keep her rug flat and she quipped, “I made a bowl.”
Did you know that by setting goals, you are actually motivating yourself? That’s right! Way back in January, you decided to do your PHD in 2021. That meant finishing at least 12 of your UFOs and finishing every project that you start in 2021. (We don’t want that UFO list to increase, right?)
SEW … take a good look at your list(s) … what do you need to work on? What is your biggest challenge? How about in the next month, you spend at least 15 minutes a day working on your biggest challenge. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much you actually get done!
Something about me: before I retired, I often had to work several 12 hour plus shifts. I had to be at the hospital prior to my students arriving and I couldn’t leave until the last one had left. This meant that I was often there about 13 hours a day. Add in the 45 or more minutes to commute each way and it made for long days. And I had to get up the next day and do it all over again. It was hard to unwind … so I would sit at my sewing machine for 15 minutes. I actually set a timer so that I would quit and go to bed. It helped me unwind and I managed to get a lot of piecing or quilting done!
I know that you don’t all have an area that you can leave your machine up and your supplies scattered nearby – but it’s something to consider.
I have completed 12 UFOs this year. Here they are:
On the “Complete all the 2021 Starts” I’m doing pretty good! Of course I still have my Island Batik projects to finish, so there’s a few new starts there. Plus, I’m sure that a few squirrels will be tempting me!
Quilting Gail 