Monday Musings - Try a Tool Blog Hop with Island Batik and Studio 180 Designs

 Today is the big day, I get to show you what I did for the August Island Batik Ambassador challenge!  This month is a blog hop, which means scheduled posts, with coordinating collections for each day.  And, what fun, it's my Birthday as well, so I had extra fun making something special so share!  And, make sure you read to the end, I'll be adding a giveaway as well as sharing Island Batik's weekly giveaway for the blog hop.

For me a new tool is great fun, I just love trying out new things!  I got the Tucker Trimmer - which is perfect for making half square triangles, quarter square triangles, and combination units (half of each!).  I also received the Magic Wand, which is so perfect for marking the sewing lines.  The fabric line I received is Floral Wonders, designed by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik.  The colors are so pretty and sweet!

I spent most of the last two months trying to figure out what I wanted to make using these pretty florals - it was so hard to nail down my options!  I finally settled on the idea of making quarter square triangles using a solid white background so they would really shine.  And once I came up with an idea I was really inspired with a vision for a cute quilt that could be made with a pack of 10 inch squares - something that would be fun to make and simple enough to go together in a weekend.

Making the quarter square triangle is a pleasant process thanks to that Magic Wand and Tucker Trimmer.  First I cut squares - then used the Magic Wand to mark my stitching lines on the white squares.

You match the white squares with the floral squares and sew on the marked lines.  Cut the squares in half, then press seams toward the floral fabrics.

Pair up the half square triangle units, matching the center seam and mark two seam lines on the opposite diagonal.  I love this method of making quarter square triangles, since you get two at once!  Sew the seam, cut on the diagonal, then press seam toward one side.  This was repeated to make all my quarter square triangle units, then I moved on to using the Tucker trimmer to cut them to size.

This ruler us super easy to use, just line up your center and trim!  Each unit comes out perfectly sized with the seams going right to the corners for nice precise blocks in a flash.  There's not a lot of waste, and it's worth it to have such nice perfect units.  I made 48 blocks in all for my quilt.

I guess you could call the trimmings quilter's confetti!  Next, it's time to lay the blocks out and arrange them!

What a happy mix of colors!  Now that I had the center figured out, I was ready to put the borders together.  I thought a piano key border would make a nice finish for this, so I got the pieces cut, then started sewing.  I was a little taken aback at the number of rectangles I figured that I needed, then realized when I had them all sewn together that I had mistakenly made twice what I needed - so, I decided to make a bonus quilt out of them since they were already sewn into strips.

I decided to add a small border between the hourglass blocks and the border.  I thought I would use white at first, but this soft pink (Petal from the Basics Collection) was so perfect that I ended up using it instead.

I decided to add mitered corners, and was thrilled at how the quilt looked!  Now for the quilting!  I thought hearts and loops would look great on this quilt.  I used the Hobbs Heirloom Bleached cotton batting I received in my Ambassador box, and pieced a backing using the Rice neutral and a strip of pink.  (I love using a strip of contrasting color to extend the backing to a usable size - practical and it looks great, too!)

I decided on a soft yellow Aurifil thread in 50 wt., and I have to say, that I was very surprised at how well this quilted up!  I've been having some struggles with the free motion quilting on my machine lately, but for this quilt it really liked this combination of fabric, batting, needle and thread - no breaking and few skipped stitches!  

Just so I remember, I used the size 14 from this package.  The color banding is the same as the the Chrome Professional needles I received in my Ambassador package, so I think they are the same thing, this is just a multi size package I had purchased sometime earlier.  They are terrific needles and the size 14 did a great job for me on this project!  This is the pretty pink that I used for the binding, it's called Primrose!  

And here is the finished quilt!  Isn't it lovely?  I'm so happy with it!  And since I had those leftover border strips, I went right to work and put them together into a Chinese Coin quilt - just for fun!

For this one I used Egg White for the background.  I feel good that I put those extra strips to good use, and actually got it finished up right away!  I didn't make any triangles in this one, but did want to share, because I love seeing the fabrics in it!

Here's a peek at the back - I'm so glad the colors show up so nicely!

It looks so perfect with the yellow roses!  Floral Wonders is the perfect name for this collection, the colors really do look a beautiful flower garden!  It was such a pleasure to work with this collection and all of the wonderful products - what a fun summer project.  In fact I enjoyed making this so much that I decided to write it up as a pattern!  So good news if you want to make your own version of this quilt  just click the link below to see it in my Etsy shop:

Keeping Time

I've even included instructions for the bonus quilt, so two for the price of one :)

Thanks to Island Batik, Studio 180 designs, Hobbs Quilt Batting, Aurifil Thread, and Schmetz Needles!

Here is the schedule for this week:

August 16:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts - you are here!
Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

August 17:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist

August 18:

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky
Suzy Webster, Websterquilt 

August 19:

Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting
Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter

August 20:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

This week Island Batik is giving away a Strip Pack of Floral Wonders as well as a Stack of Midnight Dazzle!

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Leave me a comment, and I'll add your name to a special surprise drawing at the end of the hop as well!

Have a happy and quilty day!!!

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!

Tread Brightly in my Inspired by Nature project for Island Batik

Welcome to my day for the Inspired by Nature Blog hop with the Island Batik Ambassadors!  

I immediately had an inspiration when I read the guideline for this challenge -  "What in nature inspires you: flowers, insects, animals, trees, the ocean, the sky? There are so many places to find the inspiration you need for this challenge!"  There is definitely so much to be inspired at this time of year, with the beautiful earthy colors of fall, along with the ever changing weather - wind, rain and frosty mornings.  Fall is definitley my favorite time of year!

 I've been so excited about this project - it's always so much fun when you have the perfect project in mind for a set of fabric.  And I am so thrilled that it came out exactly like I pictured it!  All of the products I used in this quilt were provided to me as part of the Island Batik Ambassador program, and I will give you the details as I tell you about what I created!  First of all - the fabric:

This line is Tread Brightly designed by Bella Nonna Design studio for Island Batik.  Just look at all the awesome color in this line!  So fun!  I just love those woodcut prints, and the dots.  If you look at the previous fabrics from Bella Nonna Design Studio, you'll see more of the rich colors and fun designs. I really was drawn to these even thought they aren't my usual type of choice for working with.  Tread Brightly is part of the summer collections by Island Batik that are shipping to quilt shops right now.

I was also given a selection of fabrics from the basics line and chose the lime green to go with them.  

I can see so many of the colors of the fabrics I was working with in these colors that my daughter and I collected on a nature walk!

I went to EQ8 to find a project that I had made several years ago - Autumn Winds.  It was super easy to make it the size I wanted to work with - the center is 24 x 36 with the border. I printed full size applique templates, and after piecing together 12 sheets of paper I had my pattern to work with and started putting together the center. One good tip is that when you are working with larger pieces of applique, cut out the center so you can reduce the stiffness of your work.  I chose the lightest fabric in the collection for my face, and this fun stripe for the background.  The bonus is that you can use those center portions for your smaller pieces.

After getting the basic center done I added this lime green border to frame it!  I used EQ8 to audition several pieced borders to showcase all of the lovely fabrics, and in the end decided to keep it simple with strip pieced sixteen patch blocks.  I decided to use the gray solid as a background, to add a little touch of our rainy fall days to the quilt.

Very nice start, but I think she needs a crown of flowers and some leaves blowing in the wind to complete this piece.  EQ8 has lots of great flower and leaf motifs, so I pulled a variety, printed them out at the size I wanted and traced them onto the fusible web, then had fun choosing fabrics for them!

I should have taken more pictures, but I got so into working on my quilt that I didn't even think about it until I had made my final choices of placement!  Well, as you know, making the top is just getting half way done  I still had the quiting to go.  For this piece I decided to try out the fusible batting that Hobbs Batting included in the second Ambasador box that I received.  I was curious to see how the batting would work - I had used a fusible batting years ago, and I was really hoping to find that the Hobbs version would be better.  And it definitely was!

As I unwrapped the batting, I noticed a slight smell - kind of like vinegar, but it quickly faded.  I also noted that the batting had a bit of a tacky feel, and I had to work a bit to unroll it, but it really wasn't a problem.  I cut the batting just a bit bigger that my top so it would be a little smaller than the backing to make it easier to press.

It was pleased at how easy it was to work with this batting.  I just used my regular ironing board and started at one end, working my way carefully to the other end, then moved the sandwich up to press the next area.  I had to press with the iron for about 10 seconds to get a good bond on both sides, even so it probably only took me about 15 minutes to press the entire quilt.  I was super happy to see that the back looked great when I was done, too!  I did have to repress the edges from the back, and when I started quilting I decided to start out with stitching around the edges just to make sure I didn't have any problems.  

When I saw how easily that was accomplished I decided to add some straight stitching to the border while I was at it, and I discovered that I love this batting because I got none of those annoying puckers, and everything stayed perfectly straight!  It also did not make my quilt feel stiff at all.  I suspected at the beginning that I might have to re-press at some point, but I didn't. I'll definitely keep this batting in mind for future projects, especially if I'm going to be doing cross hatching.  It stitched very well when doing the free motion as well and I can't say that the finished feeling isn't any different than regular batting, so definitely a win for the fusible cotton batting!

For the center of the quilt, most of the quilting consisted of quilting around the appliques.  I am very grateful for my stash of Aurifil thread because I was able to find a thread for every color in this quilt!.  I do wish I would have remembered to cut out the centers of the layered flowers because it's pretty stiff in that area, but since this will be a wall hanging it's ok. 

I used the nonstick needles by Schmetz, and I do think that they reduced the amount of skipped stitches and broken threads.  I easily stitched through one or two layers of fusible, but did struggle a bit through the thicker portions.  Still a vast improvement over the usual stitching on fusible, though so I am happy with them!  Don't forget to change your needle when you start a new project - it really does make a difference in your stitching....

After binding my quilt with the lime green I took it outside for a photo shoot - the sun was starting to go down and was so gorgeous on my tree!  Luckily the wind wasn't blowing at the time, but I think this quit really captures how I feel on a gorgeous fall day when the wind is blowing and the leaves are falling from the trees - all the wonderful color and smells make my soul soar!

I added a bunch of inspiration pins to my board on pinterest - so many cool examples of flower crowns!  I could do a whole series of quilts just playing with this theme! And I'm tempted to buy a flower crown for myself to wear, too!

You can see how well the fusible batting performed - not one single pucker or wrinkle on the back!  

I love how the colors mix and match with each other!

This was such a fun quilt to work on.  It was so enjoyable to just play with the colors and do something whimsical!  I hope you enjoy my quilt, too! Autumn Winds finished at 48 inches wide and 36 inches tall.  

I cut some of my leftover fabric up into five inch squares and I have two sets to give away.  Each set has two each of 19 fabrics (I used up all the background fabric, so can't share that).  

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Don't forget to visit Michelle Roberts at Creative Blonde to see her project using these great fabrics!

Here is the rest of the schedule for this week, followed by the Island Batik Giveaway for the week:

November 23:

• Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
• Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

November 24:

• Pamela Boatright, PamelaQuilts
• Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde

November 25:

• Vasudha Govindan, Storied Quilts
• Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

November 26:

• Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist
• Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

November 27:

End of Blog Hop and Round-Up

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Last, but not least - a big Thank You to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles, and Aurifil Thread for the fantastic products used to make this challenge quilt!  I loved working with them and am so happy with my finished quilt!

I am thankful for being able to be an Island Batik Ambassador - what a fun year 2020 has been - one more challenge, and our year will be coming to a close!  Can't wait to share what I'm working on, and I'll be giving you a chance to join in with my Winter Mini Madness as well...stay tuned for more info this weekend!