Monday, January 20, 2020

Winter Blues Blog Hop and Island Batik January Challenge - Flying X blocks, Let's Get Scrappy!

Welcome to day 2 of the Winter Blues Blog Hop!  I am sure enjoying seeing all the "Blues" because I love them so much.  The color blue does make me happy, even in these cold and dim winter days.  And I think that this time of year, you just have to spend extra time doing things that bring you joy! 

I'm combining my project with the January Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - which is a Scrap Quilt challenge.  (These fabrics were all provided to me through Island Batik in the boxes that have been sent to me as an ambassador over the last few years as well as the batting, thread and AccuQuilt Go! used for the cutting.)



The first thing I did was to pull out the AccuQuilt Go! and 8 inch Qube set.  I found a block that I liked in the Mix and Match block and pattern book and started looking through my scraps to find blue fabrics that I wanted to use.  I decided to make 12 blocks and used two different blues in each block, so 24 different blue fabrics went into this quilt.  There are fabrics going back to my very first ambassador box in this quilt! It didn't take long to turn all those scraps into pieces for my blocks...

I love the way these blocks came out!  If you aren't too sure if you really like scrappy quilts, try making one with a controlled color palette.  You just might change your mind! I used the same fabric (rice) for the background and the sashing to make my blocks look like they are floating on the quilt, and found a fun strip of raindrops for the cornerstones in one of my Stash Builder rolls

I love my finished quilt!  I decided I wanted to try something new with the quilting so I used my walking foot to quilt curved lines across the quilt.  It was really pretty fun and easy and I love the look of it!  The thread was the same pale blue Aurifil 50 wt that I used for the piecing. 

The batting is Hobbs Heirloom Cotton.  I love the soft loft of it, and how nicely it quilts!  The light quilting makes this quilt nice and soft!

I used Blueberry from the Island Batik foundations line for the border and Cheerios in Blueberry (my favorite color from island batik!) for the binding.  You can see the raindrop cornerstones in this picture as well!
Isn't this a pretty winter quilt?  It measures 40 x 50 inches - the blocks are 8 inches, sashing and cornerstones are 2 inches and the border is 4 inches.
I decided to hang it over my dining room window for now.  I really want to make a nice roman shade for this window, but I am really liking this quilt in that spot for the time being!

I hope you enjoyed my project!  Make sure you go visit the other bloggers who are posting today - so many great projects featuring "Winter Blues".  Thanks again to Carla for hosting this great hop!




And also thanks to Island Batik for providing the fabric, Accuquilt for the Go! cutting system, Hobbs Batting, and Aurifil Thread.  You can see all the 2020 Island Batik Ambassador blogs by clicking the tab at the top of my blog or by clicking here.  There will be lots of great projects coming up!

40 comments:

Susan said...

I DO like it! The way the variegated blues are spread out, it sparkles and shines. Thanks for showing how that can be done.

Sheri said...

Very pretty! And the wavy quilting design looks great!

Turid said...

Another beautiful blue quilt I will have in mind when doing my next baby quilt. I love it hanging in the window. And it's quilted like I can do myself, as I struggle with freehand quilting. Thanks a lot for showing us.

Danice G said...

Beautiful blues and quilting. That blueberry color is so pretty.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Gorgeous quilt! It looks great hanging over the window with light coming through.

Elizabeth V Kelbaugh said...

Blue and white is always so lovely. Great job!

tink's mom said...

This is a wonderful quilt with a great choice for a block. I love how we all come away from looking at a quilt with different impressions. You mention floating blocks and I couldn't see that at first because I was looking at the secondary pattern of the 9 patch. Great use of the many shades of blue you had in your stash.

Carol Swift said...

This is really a beautiful Winter quilt and the blues blend nicely together. Your quilting looks perfect for it...I love it all! Thank you for sharing!

Denise said...

Wow, this is gorgeous. I love it when a plan comes together.

Kathy E. said...

Gorgeous! I love the soft pop of the Hobbs batting...that's one I need to use for sure!

Vasudha said...

It's gorgeous. You can never go wrong with scrappy in blue!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Scrappy in blue and white is a beautiful combination! I love your quilt, and how fun that it fits right over your window!

Karrin Hurd said...

Beautiful quilt, I do love your choice of blues. Of course blue is my favorite color, and I don't think there is one I don't love!

Calicojoan said...

Awwww...that's beautiful and what a great "roman shade". It's a perfect quilter's stain glass window I'd say!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Pamela! I love, love, LOVE your quilt. The fabrics are fabulous and I'm definitely in for a controlled color palette for a scrappy quilt. And your quilting . . . are you saying that you put on your walking foot and just randomly did some wave stitching? Random waves??!! If so, I love that look and even more the feel as you can make it as dense as you choose. Hmm, a Roman Shade on your window . . . could you actually make one from a quilt top. Just thinking out loud. Isn't the filtered light coming through that just lovely, though?! ~smile~ Roseanne

wendy said...

Very pretty! Love the fresh, clean look of blues and whites. Thank you for sharing!

teachpany said...

Gorgeous, and great use of scraps. I love it over the window, but think you should just snuggle with it, lol.

Susan said...

Just look at all those lovely blues - well done!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

I love the way the blue scraps are spread out! Looks great!! Thanks for sharing!

Farm Quilter said...

I love the block and sashing combo you came up with!! HSTs are so versatile and make wonderful things happen in blocks!! Can you figure out how to mount your beautiful quilt to be your shade??

Emily said...

Pretty! I love the different blues.

Kathleen said...

You are so right about scrappy with a controlled palette - it does make it easier for so many folks. I love this and really love it as a "window quilt". I always wanted to do pieced roman shades, but just never have.

Karen's Korner said...

A beautiful quilt and it looks just like stained glass in front of the window.

Jodi - usairdoll said...

Your quilt is beautiful! Blue and white quilts are so pretty. Great job!

Carla said...

What a great quilt and love the fabrics. I am going to combine my hop project and Island Batik challenge, too. Your quilting turned out amazing. Great idea. Thank you for joining the Winter Blues Blog Hop!

Carol Andrews said...

What a beautiful quilt with the different blues adding highlights!

LJ said...

Yes, it's a lovely winter quilt but one you can use year-around, too. I love all the happy fabrics you used. Thanks for chasing away the 'winter blues'.

Nancy D said...

Love your pattern and the way you quilted your quilt!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Beautiful quilt and love how you quilted it. I would hang it to see ll the time too.

Janice Holton said...

I really like the windmill looking design of the blocks. and then the seconary nine patches that are present between them all. Fun quilt!

Scrapatches said...

Very pretty blue and white quilts. Thank you for sharing in the hop ... :) Pat

The Joyful Quilter said...

What a pretty BLUE project for the Hop!!!

Carol Andrews said...

What a perfect way to showcase those perfect blue batiks! What a fun quilt. Thank you for sharing on the hop

Sue D said...

Very pretty quilt in shades of blue.

Anita Jackson @ Domestic Felicity said...

yes, such a lovely winter quilt.

Charlene McCain said...

Beautiful quilt! Love that pattern using all those scrappy blues. It looks great on your wall!

Kathy H said...

Beautiful quilt and I really like hanging it on the window.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

It has a feeling of flowing snowflakes with the block design and quilting.

Sharon said...

What a gorgeous blue & white quilt! Thanks for sharing.

Michelle said...

Beautiful blue and white quilt.