CityScape quilt in Island Batik - Make it Modern with Hobbs challenge!

This month's Island Batik ambassador challenge was to make a modern quilt larger than crib size and to feature Hobbs batting.  I must admit that I have spent the entire month of May wrestling with this challenge!  The batting part was easy - we were supplied with an abundance of different Hobb's batting types, but since I wanted to try out the Silk Blend batting from the Tuscany Collection I really wanted my quilt to be be worthy of this special fiber! I've been mulling over a variety of ideas, but none of them were just right.  Finally inspiration struck and I ran with it!

And I am very pleased with my project for sure!  I decided to make a baby size quilt (38 x 48) using my CityScape pattern  and the bundle of foundation fabrics from my Ambassador box.  I've been thinking for a while that I really need a new cover quilt, and this will be perfect.  The bold colors in the fabric are perfect for a modern quilt!

Aren't the purples and greens lovely?  This is a great combination of values and textures, so I knew it would make a great quilt.  I chose a light colored basic from my stash for the sashing, and a scrap of a pretty purple for the cornerstones and was ready to get cutting.

It didn't take long to get all the blocks sewn together and before I knew it the top was finished and was time to decide on thread.

I didn't have any green, but did come with some light and dark purple in my Aurifil stash!  The grey spool is 28 weight.  I thought it would be great for some straight line quilting with my walking foot.  Since I only had the small spool I decided to use the lighter color on the back - it looks great on the Almond Basic from Island Batik that I used on the back!

I was a bit surprised when I unwrapped the batting.  I really thought that the silk blend would be more slippery, but it was not at all slippery - in fact it felt very much like a regular cotton batting!  It was very nice to lay out, very stable and nicely firm.  The wrinkles from being in the package smoothed out easily and it was easy to pin through for the basting.  It clings nicely to the fabric and I noticed no fiber migration to the top of the quilt at all.

I started out by quilting stitch in the ditch beside all the sashings.  Then I just started quilting straight lines randomly through the blocks.  Every once in a while I would spread the quilt out and say, is that enough quilting?  Three times the quilt said, no - I need more!  The batting has a nice low loft to it, and isn't stiff at all, so it's very nice for using at a sit down machine like I have.  It didn't make the quilt feel bulky at all!

Finally, it was done and ready to add the binding.  I used the same light color for the binding as I did for the sashings.  I don't usually like light colored bindings, but this looks really nice on my quilt!

I was excited to use my new photography lighting to take pictures - wow, what a difference, especially on a gloomy day!

The colors really come through without having to do a lot of editing!  I was pleasantly surprised at how much better my pictures were with the improved lighting, definitely worth it.

I really love how my quilt came out, even though I did get one block in upside down.  I definitely enjoyed trying out the silk blend batting from Hobbs.  I am planning on making a few samples from the leftover batting to see how it washes.  This batting shouldn't be dried in a machine, so you probably wouldn't want to use it for a project that will need frequent washing, but it really is nice to work with!

My CityScape pattern is available here in my Etsy shop.

As always - a big thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting and Aurifil thread for providing me the materials needed for this project!

Don't forget to visit the rest of the Island Batik Ambassadors blogs to see what they have made - some really fabulous projects have come out of this challenge!

Carolina Asmussen ~Carolina Asmussen

Gene Black ~ Gene Black

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts (Me!)

Connie K Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Anja Clyke ~ Anja Quilts

Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs

Becca Fenstermaker ~Pretty Piney

Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Barbara Gaddy ~ Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Dione Gardner-Stephen ~ Clever Chameleon

Sarah Goer ~ Sarah Goer Quilts

Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts

Lori Haase ~ Dakota City Quilter II

Joanne Hart ~ Unicornharts

Mania (Magdalini) Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts

Carla Henton ~ Creatin’ in the Sticks

Stephanie Jacobson ~ Steph Jacobson Designs

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Joan Kawano ~ Moosestash Quilting

Kim Lapacek ~ Persimon Dreams

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Leanne Parsons ~ Devoted Quilter

Bea Lee ~ BeaQuilter

Toby Lischko ~ Gateway Quilts & Stuff

Bill Locke ~ Studio Bill Locke

Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack's Blog

Kathleen McCormick ~ Kathleen McMusing

Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs

Karen Neary ~ Sew Karen-ly Created

Lisa Nielsen ~ Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam

Jackie O’Brien ~ If These Threads Could Talk

Laura Piland ~ Slice of Pi Quilts

Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Vicki Schlimmer ~ Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Sherry Shish ~ Powered by Quilting

Anita Skjellanger ~ Quilt in a not-Shell

Laticia "Tish" Stemple ~ Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy Quilter

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Terri Vanden Bosch ~ Lizard Creek Quilts

Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts

Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts

Suzy Webster ~ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

(Debora) Anne Wiens ~ Seams like a Plan

Geraldine Wilkins ~ Living Water Quilter

Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore

Happy reading (and quilting!)

Ahh - Time for the Weekend!

Yesterday was one of those rare gorgeous, warm, no wind days on the coast!  We decided to take a break and get out of the house for a change.  It had been a very busy week of working on dresses for a pageant and two emergency bridesmaid dresses.  I was ready to get out and enjoy a day of relaxing!

After lunch at our favorite Pizza Place we headed for the beach.  It was a little breezy there, but I didn't have to put my sweatshirt on, so you can just about count that as a heat wave!  We stopped for an afternoon Ice Cream Cone at the Tillamook Creamery - what a deal!  You get a huge scoop of ice cream for $2.25!  I bypassed the chocolate and tried Coconut Creme - it was delicious!

After that we headed back home.  Still beautiful, no wind at all!  It was close to dinner time, but I decided to drag out my lounge chair and relax with a book.  I kept hearing a funny click/chirp and spied hummingbirds up in the tree above me!  This is at 6:00 in the evening!  Absolutely clear, warm and no wind (wait till next week, I'll go out there on a regular afternoon and let you see what it's like)

I didn't even get bitten by any mosquitoes, though I watched various birds flitting through the air catching bugs.

I was having a hard time concentrating on my book because I was enjoying being outdoors so much in the perfect weather!

It was so lovely to enjoy an evening in the yard - that rarely happens due to the winds that come up most afternoons.  We live at the top of a hill so we get it full blast most days.

Now I am refreshed and ready to get back to quilting!  I am working on finishing up the Vintage Embroidery quilt:

And getting together a new shop sample for my CityScape Pattern.  I have all the blocks put together now and just need to do the sashing.  This is the third sample I've made for this pattern, we keep running out of the fabrics we use!  Good problem to have in the quilt shop :)

I enjoyed picking out another bunch of fat quarters and I could not resist that lime-y green with the pebbles.  It's going to be perfect for the cornerstones, and the seagulls are an ideal sashing.  They tone down the blocks, but keep with our ocean theme.

Next week I have some mending, pants hemming and two wedding dresses to finish up.  I keep thinking I'll get to the end of the pile, but every time I get close, the phone rings again!  Not that I'm complaining...it helps keep the bills paid, and that's important.

Hope you are having a good weekend!  Get out and enjoy the fresh air - it will do you a world of good!  Then you can go sew :)

Lovin' some Lewis & Irene!

My finish for this week is a shop sample for Threads That Bind.  It's a new version of my CityScape pattern using the fun prints we have been getting from Lewis & Irene LTD.  The two lines I used in this quilt are Down by the River and Enchanted Forest.  I think they mix and match beautifully!

I love all the cute animal prints.  The small scale made them perfect for cutting up into the small pieces in this quilt. And I saved a larger print for the back of it!

You have to get in closer to see the cuteness:

This little quilt measures 38 x 48 and takes 7 fat quarters, plus a bit of yardage for the sashing and cornerstones.  It's a great crib quilt size!

The blocks are really fun with all the different little animals - the otters are my favorite and I picked that one for the binding.

Feels good to get a quilt finished this week - my list of projects is getting long and I have a lot of catching up to do!  If you would like to try my CityScapes pattern you can find it here in my Etsy shop.  If you are an international buyer, make sure to buy from my Etsy shop so we can take care of the proper taxes.  Thank you!

Linking up with BusyHandsQuilts for Finished or Not Friday - it's always fun to see what other quilters are working on!

Crazy Busy!

Yes, it's been a crazy busy week for me. The quilt shop asked me to come up with a new sample for Quilt Run and I ended up with two ideas that were just begging to be made. Of course, with the original samples, there had to be patterns as well, so I had to piece, and quilt both samples as well as writing patterns this week. It was a challenge, but I rose to the occasion and now have two new patterns to show you!
The first one is CityScape. I designed this to use the fat quarter bundles we have made up for the shop that use the Bear Essentials line of fabrics. This one is in teals and blues. I love the way it came out, and my daughter would like to have one for her bedroom! The quilting is really simple on it - just straight lines - yet it really adds to the overall effect of the quilt. I have included every size from baby to king size in this pattern, so whatever size you would like to make, I've got it covered!
The second one is Daisy Garland. It uses the Simple Pleasures line from RJR fabrics by Debbie Beaves. Such pretty prints! The border is purple daisies and it is as sweet as it sounds! I loved working with these fabrics, like a shot of sunshine on a rainy day here. It features strip piecing and an easy no waste technique for the flying geese that make up the stars. It goes together pretty fast and looks great!

Another neat announcement - I have been featured on Stitched Stories. Jenn just wrote up the neatest little article, and it just made my day to see all the nice things she had to say! (Made me blush, too! What a sweet-heart!) She has a wonderful Etsy shop full of great fabrics patterns and fabrics - Little Shop of Stitches. I think this charm pack would look absolutely fabulous in my Windmills pattern - I might have to try it!
Hope your weekend was lovely - my grandsons were here and I had a wonderful time with them (and their parents, of course). I'm looking forward to a good sewing week, and hope you are, too!