PamelaQuilts: August Magnificent Mini Challenge for Island Batik

It's been a great month, and I have been having a blast working on this month's Island Batik Ambassador challenge - super exciting when I get to do a mini quilt! I am absolutely in love with miniature quilts, and have spent much happy time in my sewing room creating this month's challenge! As always the fabrics and notions used in this post were provided as part of the Island Batik Ambassador program.

The parameters for this challenge were to create a mini quilt using any technique and no larger than 24 x 24. I thought it would be fun to revisit my June Mini Madness quilt from 2020 and make it in these fun soft colors!

Tranquil Moments was designed by Carol Moellers - I really enjoyed playing with these soft colors, they make me think of sherbet! Perfect for a hot summer day! I also used a stack of Naturally Neutral for the backgrounds, I like using a variety of backgrounds in a quilt and these worked great for that! Tranquil Moments Stacks are available at Ace Sewing and Vacuum here in Oregon!

I designed June Mini Madness back in 2020 as a summer distraction, and it was really fun! The blocks start out fairly simple, like this four-patch.

They are all nine patch blocks, and they get a little more difficult step by step! This churn dash is a favorite of mine!

Some blocks are pretty tricky! But they are oh so cute! Using a good thread like Aurifil 50 weight and a size 12 Schmetz needle really help those seams to be accurate to keep your points nice and pointy!

And my iron from Oliso really helps with pressing the seams nice and flat - I love the pointy tip for getting those seams just perfect!

By the end, you will have built the skills to make lots of classic quilt blocks in a small size!

Once the sashing and cornerstones are added it makes an impressive display of piecing skills! I decided to keep this one in order of piecing because I liked seeing the progression of skills!

Hobbs Thermore batting is a great choice for mini quilts as it is a thin and lightweight batting that isn't too bulky, but gives your quilt a soft feel. It's really the perfect batting for a quilt when you want to minimize bulk.

All basted and ready for the quilting! I decided to use the same dove grey 50 wt from Aurifil that I used for the piecing. In fact I used the same Schmetz needle as well and just changed to my walking foot for the quilting. I've been liking a tight grid on the diagonal for quilting mini quilts lately, and started out doing that, but as I worked on the quilting I decided that this would be a cute doll quilt to give my grand-daughter for her fourth birthday. So I didn't do as much quilting as I would if I were going to display it on my wall. I think it will be so cute for her!

So sweet! I think she will love it! It measures 20 x 24, a perfect size to snuggle on a baby doll or stuffed bear!

And the colors just make me smile!

I think Scamper likes it, too! Maybe he might snuggle in there with Teddy!

Thanks to Island Batik for the beautiful fabrics, Hobbs Quilt Batting for the Thermore batting, Aurifil for the thread, Schmetz for the needles, and Oliso for the wonderful iron!

Visit the rest of the ambassadors to see their mini projects for this month! So many different projects, every one of them just amazing! Next week we start our Adventurous Applique Blog hop - stay tuned for great projects, giveaways, and lots of fun as we explore a new technique for applique!

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting

Megan Best ~ BestQuilter

Pamela Boatright ~ You are here!

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs