Oh, Baby! Island Batik Ambassador Challenge for April 2019

It's the end of the month, so I guess I'd better get this post published for the Island Batik Ambassador Challenge!

I've actually had my quilt finished for over a week, but haven't had the time to write this post.  The challenge was to make a 40 to 48 inch square baby quilt using Island Batik fabrics and Accuquilt dies.   Part of the Ready, Set, Go package we received was an 8 inch Qube set that includes 8 different dies that make tons of different blocks!  There is an included book by Eleanor Burns that includes 46 different block patterns.  I chose nine of them to make a fun sampler quilt!

I am really having a blast using the Accuquilt Go! cutter on my projects - I just love how accurately it cuts the pieces, and how portable and easy to use the cutter is.  I cut most of my quilt while sitting in the living room watching tv with my husband one evening.

I used the Ditty Stack I received in my first Island Batik Ambassador Box.  I love the soft pastels in this set, though they are really hard to photograph!  It was also a lot of fun to figure out how to cut the pieces for my project using the 10 inch squares.  It was really a great way to practice using the cutter as I went through my blocks and figured out how best to get the amount of units needed and cut them efficently. 

I pulled out a spool of cream Aurifil 50 wt that was in my Ambassador box for the piecing.  (Thanks to Aurifil thread for the great threads included in my box!)  I love 50 wt for piecing, it's a strong, but thin thread that doesn't add extra bulk in the seams!

The blocks all came together perfectly because the pieces were cut perfectly!

I used the 2 1/2 inch strip cutter to cut the cornerstones and sashing.  For the cornerstones I used two 10 inch squares.  I cut three strips from both squares in one pass, then turned the strips I cut 90 degrees and cut them into 18 squares in a second pass.  What a quick and easy way to get them done.

Since I needed 5 strips for the sashing, I used a 14 inch piece of fabric (Almond from the neutral collection) and folded it on the mat so I could cut all five in one pass.  Then I just cut 24 sections of 81/2 inches.  Easy as pie!

Here it is on the design wall - I assembled in rows of blocks and sashing, and cornerstones and sashing.  I love using cornerstones because they help you line up everything so it's perfectly straight.

Then I was ready to get it quilted!  For me one of the most challenging parts of finishing is deciding how to quilt my quilts.  This one was no exception.  I finally decided to quilt butterflies and loops.  For batting I used the Hobbs Classic cotton in crib size from my Ambassador Box.

I used a pretty lavender 50 wt thread from Aurifil.  Doesn't it look pretty? 

Not fancy, but it's pretty cute!  I think the quilting is pretty and soft, just like the colors of the Ditty fabrics.  Look at how nicely those points meet!  Accurate cutting makes great quilts!

 

My little sampler quilt came out to 43 inches square.  I really enjoyed using the Go! cutter and dies to make this fun quilt.  I picked star and pinwheel looking locks, and each block was fun to make.  Using the dies made it easy to put my blocks together because the pieces matched perfectly and were so well cut. I used every die except for the 4 1/2 inch square and 4 1/2 triangle for my project!  

Thanks again to AccuQuilt for the fun challenge, and for providing the Ready, Set, Go! Ultimate cutting system, Island Batik for the lovely fabrics, Aurifil thread, and Hobbs Batting for the rest of the supplies to finish my project.

Here is the complete list of Island Batik Ambassadors - there were some lovely projects this month, you will want to check them out!

Carolina Asmussen ~Carolina Asmussen

Gene Black ~ Gene Black

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts (me!)

Connie K Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Anja Clyke ~ Anja Quilts

Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs

Becca Fenstermaker ~Pretty Piney

Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Barbara Gaddy ~ Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Dione Gardner-Stephen ~ Clever Chameleon

Sarah Goer ~ Sarah Goer Quilts

Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts

Lori Haase ~ Dakota City Quilter II

Joanne Hart ~ Unicornharts

Mania (Magdalini) Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts

Carla Henton ~ Creatin’ in the Sticks

Stephanie Jacobson ~ Steph Jacobson Designs

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Joan Kawano ~ Moosestash Quilting

Kim Lapacek ~ Persimon Dreams

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Leanne Parsons ~ Devoted Quilter

Bea Lee ~ BeaQuilter

Toby Lischko ~ Gateway Quilts & Stuff

Bill Locke ~ Studio Bill Locke

Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack's Blog

Kathleen McCormick ~ Kathleen McMusing

Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs

Karen Neary ~ Sew Karen-ly Created

Lisa Nielsen ~ Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam

Jackie O’Brien ~ If These Threads Could Talk

Laura Piland ~ Slice of Pi Quilts

Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Vicki Schlimmer ~ Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Sherry Shish ~ Powered by Quilting

Anita Skjellanger ~ Quilt in a not-Shell

Laticia "Tish" Stemple ~ Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy Quilter

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Terri Vanden Bosch ~ Lizard Creek Quilts

Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts

Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts

Suzy Webster ~ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

(Debora) Anne Wiens ~ Seams like a Plan

Geraldine Wilkins ~ Living Water Quilter

Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore