It's all up to you (me!)

 This month's Island Batik challenge is a fun one - we can make whatever we want to make, any size, any design!  Oh, boy!  I had about a hundred different ideas, but then I dove into my stash of fabric and found something lovely from the box of goodies I was provided with at the first of the year and was off and running with an idea.  I've wanted to make a quilt like this for some time, so it was a great opportunity to play and have fun with a simple idea.

The fabric I chose to work with is Jewel Quest (designed by Kathy Engle for Nan Baker of Purrfect Spots), and I had a Stack of 10 inch squares to turn into my quilt. 

 I love the colors in this collection, they are just beautiful!  I also had yardage of Rain and Marble-Blackberry to go with them - the perfect light and dark combination that I needed for the design I wanted to make.  (Though I think Rain is not the best name for this lovely blue, it's just too pretty to be called rain!)

I started by cutting two five inch squares from each of the fabrics in the package of squares.  Then I cut lots of strips and squares and started sewing...until I had 40 squares with the light/dark fabrics added.  Can you see where this is going yet?  Time to add sashing, lots more strips to be cut!  The Dark purple Aurifil 50 wt thread (4225 - Eggplant) was just the ticket for piecing this quilt.

I just love it!  Floating squares - that dark purple is so rich behind the bright and fun colors in Jewel Quest!  The precuts are available now, but the yardage won't be in shops until around May.  You will definitely want to watch for them!  So pretty!  

I had some purple and green to use on the back, but I needed to piece a strip to add to make them wider.  I had some leftover blocks and strips, so sewed it all together and made a back that was fun and perfect for the quilt.

Aren't those leftover blocks perfect for the back?  I used some of the black batting from Hobbs for this project - the black batting is so nice - I love the fact that it's a cotton blend, and it's a perfect weight and has a great feel.  I decided to quilt this with straight lines.  I meant to do them side to side, but got the quilt turned sideways without realizing it.  Oh well - up and down quilting is fine!  I quilted it in random widths with the walking foot until I was happy with it.  Then I used the dark purple for the binding and was finished!

I used Auriful  6726 - Airstream in 40 weight for the quilting.  I think the color is really nice on the lights and the darks.  The heavier thread gives really nice thread definition for straight line quilting!

(Isn't that corn fabric fun?!)

I love the 3d look of this quilt!  It really highlights the different fabrics!

So pretty against the green grass! (yay for spring!)

I think that this quilt is just the perfect happy project for April.  Thank you so much, Island Batik for the beautiful fabric to use, and to Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, and Schmetz needles for the great products that helped make this project come alive!  

Make sure you watch for the rest of the fun projects by my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors this month!