Saturday, August 01, 2020

August Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - Try A Tool

Can you believe that I have already finished my August Island Batik Ambassador challenge?  I can't!  This month for our challenge we were provided with a ruler by Deb's Tucker Studio 180 Designs - I chose the Corner Beam ruler, and I have to say that I definitley haveto give it a 10, two thumbs up, and five stars!  But let me tell you more about the challenge.


The rules for this challenge were very simple - just to make a project of any size using at least 16 units and use the ruler to make it!  I was super excited to see that my ruler made units as small as 1 inch finished - yes, that means I get to make a fun mini quilt!  Woohoo!

Since the units are small, the William's Garden precut strips were a perfect choice for my project.  This is from the Spring 2020 Island Batik line - the precuts are available in shops now, but the yardage won't be arriving in shops until September/October.  I really like getting my hands on the precuts early, it's like getting a preview of what's coming up!  This was designed by Kathy Engle for Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design Studio.

I started out by unwrapping the ruler and checking out the directions. Then I went to the Studio 180 designs website and watched the video - it looked very simple and easy to make the corner beam units, so I cut a 2 1/2 inch square from each of the 20 strips and got to work!
  
Arent' they beautiful?  Each of the units measures 1 1/2 inches finished.  Look at those precise tips!  And they were so easy to cut, piece and trim.  
Before I knew it, I had all 20 little corner beam units sewn up.  I divided them into 5 stars.  Each unit is so precise that they sew together very nicely!  I was impressed at how well everything matched up.  And I love the pretty blues, greens and purples in this line!  

I decided to put them together into an point layout.  (The background is Egg White)  I added a skinny border (1/4 inch) of the light green (Marble - Frog), and 1 inch of the darker green (Grass).  They really do make a wonderful frame for this quilt!

I love how that light green just sparkles!  Now it was time to quilt it.  I used a size 10 Professional Chrome needle from Schmetz, and 80 wt thread from Aurifil that had been provided in an earlier Island Batik Ambassador box.  It's really great for quilting miniatures.  I used some of the Heirloom silk batting from Hobbs because it's so nice and light - perfect for mini quilts!


I chose to just add some straight echoing lines to give this some nice texture.  I used green thread in the stars and border, and off white in the background.  I think it came out really well!  I am getting a lot more confident in my ruler work!  On a little quilt like this, it's nice and easy to maneuver, too!


This mini quilt measures 11 inches square and I'm delighted with it.  I still have a lot of that strip pack left...I'm pretty sure that there will be more playing with the Corner Beam ruler and William's Garden this month.  I definitely want to explore more designs with this unit - there are so many possibilities!

Keep an eye out for more mini quilt fun on my facebook page.  And you'll want to watch the rest of the Ambassadors blogs this month for more great projects using Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Designs rulers!  


Thanks to all of the wonderful companies for giving me these items to make this project with!


 





5 comments:

Sally said...

Love this Pamela! Great colors and design

Emily said...

So pretty! I can't believe how small those units are! Love the unit you made with the Corner Beam! Those stars would be an awesome border for the medallion challenge.

Anonymous said...

Great job with that new ruler. Beautiful project.
—Gail

Kathleen said...

So perfect! You really are enjoying the small piecing.

teachpany said...

So cute, and love the colors and quilting. I can't believe how small the blocks are! Great job.