Weekend Sewing and Organizing

 Ever since we returned from our long trip I've been struggling with how cluttered my sewing room has become.  It really is overwhelming!  One of the things I wanted to work on this weekend was to clean off the sewing table.  I started by organizing my scraps by color, but when I finally found my strip bin I realized that it was time to do some sewing because it was absolutely overflowing.

I guess that in order to clean up a mess you need to make a bigger mess sometimes!  I turned the radio on and got busy sewing blocks.  I had a nice stack of telephone pages all ready to use, so I decided to sew until they were all gone.

Twenty nine blocks later I had whittled down the strips and strings to fit in the bin!  Yahoo!  Next I put the scraps in boxes to be dealt with later and finally ended up with some clear space on my table, which made me feel much better!

Isn't that so much nicer?  Today I plan to tackle the top of the dresser by the window.  I do not know where I am going to put all that stuff, but I do know that I need to clear some space.  The cluttered surfaces definitely make me feel less creative and more stressed, so I need to get back to work on that!

My other weekend project was making the first block for the Sewcialites 2 Quilt Along!  Isn't this an unusual block?  It was a little challenging to make, I ended up making one of those center units 3 times because I wasn't paying attention!  I'm using my leftover Sunset Plains fabric from last month's Island Batik Blog Hop.  I added a few filler fabrics, so I think I'm set to make this fun quilt!  I really enjoyed the first Sewcialites, I made the three inch blocks for that one and was pleased with my mini quilt.  This time I'm doing the 9 inch blocks - which will make a beautiful bed quilt, but it'll take patience at one block a week!

Hope you had a good weekend!   

Lover's Kiss pattern - part of the Quick Quilts Pattern Bundle!

Thanks for your interest in the Quick Quilts Pattern Bundle and in my Lover's Kiss Pattern!  The bundle has now expired, but my pattern is always available for purchase!

I wanted to show you some of the quilts I have made with this pattern - it's part of the Quick Quilts Pattern Bundle, but it's also available on its own in my Etsy shop,  This version is one of my favorites - it was made from 2 1/2 inch strips of the Island Batik Lavendula collection.

This version was made with half the blocks and features a solid border - the color scheme inspired me to use black and white batiks in the next one - which includes the piano key border option:

This is a great pattern for fall prints, too!  I also used Island Batik fabrics in this fall version:

And this is my most recent fall quilt, for this one I used fat quarters and a solid border, which made a nice quick finish!

Last, but not least is the original, made in pink and red for Valentine's day! You can see how versatile this pattern is - and it makes a good size quilt at 58 x 74.  You can always make it a little smaller by not making as many blocks.

You can purchase Lovers Kiss on its own for $9.00!  Here is the pdf version:

Lover's Kiss

And here is the printed version:

Lover's Kiss Printed Pattern

Make sure you keep your eye out for the next pattern bundle - this was a great one!

Quick Quilts Pattern Bundle

Tool Talk Blog Hop with Island Batik and Studio 180 Designs - my turn!

This post is brought to you courtesy of the Island Batik Ambassador program and the products I used were provided by Island Batik and Sudio 180 designs, Aurifil thread, Schmetz Needles and Hobbs Quilt Batting.

I love tools, so really was looking forward to this challenge!  I had a short time frame to complete this challenge, but between the beautiful fabric and this fun ruler, I had a blast and made a really gorgeous mini quilt - here it is with all the details!

Hello from the traveling quilter!  I had to get my quilt done in advance for the Tool Talk blog hop since my husband and I left for an 8 week road trip on August 6.  I have been looking for the perfect photo op for this quilt while my husband and I have been traveling around the country - I thought that this view at the Painted Desert was a great option.  I had hopes for the Grand Canyon, but it was too wet and foggy there...but actually since this line is called Sunset Plains, I think this picture was the perfect choice!

I absolutely loved these beautiful fabrics!  Sunset Plains was designed by Kathy Engle for Island Batik, and I was delighted to get to use these for the blog hop!  The tool I received from Studio 180 Designs was the Corner Pop II.  I had so many ideas for blocks using this tool, but I decided to keep it simple since I had a short time frame to get this done before we left on our trip.

I started out my spreading out the fabrics and arranging them in the order I wanted.  I thought that I could make spinning stars by using this tool with solid black squares - since I was winging this I started out with 4 inch black squares and using the tool to "pop" an elongated triangle on to the corners.  The ruler is easy to use, and there is a video that really helps if you are nervous about using this ruler - in face, Deb Tucker has a ton of helpful videos that you should check out!

Right away these fabrics had me thinking of canyons with these lovely designs!

Cactus and succulents, too!  Beautiful colors, and it was hard to cut into these, but I persevered, knowing I was making a mini quilt and would have fabric left to make something else fun. (I'll show you that next week!)

Back to sewing...I used a Schmetz Microtex size 10 needle, and Aurifil thread in black for my piecing.  This is a great combination for batik fabric, the needle and thread combine to make a tight and accurate seam allowance.

I added the corners to each star one at a time because for most of the squares I needed to sew a different corner triangle on each side of the square - that was a lot to try to figure out!

Ok, I'm liking how this progressing!  Now to add the next row!

It didn't take long to get the next row going, and from there it was just a matter of trimming and sewing the corner pops to make the stars!  

I wasn't too sure if I was happy with it at this point because all I could see was the black squares, I was kind of hoping the star points would not overlap so much, but went ahead and sewed the squares together to see what it would look like, and I was pleased!  I had ordered a spool of pretty variegated Aurifil Thread - Desert Dawn!  It matched my project nicely - I love the contrast with the solid black Island Batik I used for the background!

I used Hobbs Black Heirloom cotton batting and solid black for the backing.  I love the Hobbs black, it's got such a nice weight to it!  It quilted up great - don't the swirls look great against the black? I added a black binding and my little quilt was ready to hit the road with me!

Just a few nice closeups to show off the lovely colors!

The back is nice, too!

I definitely enjoyed using the Corner Pop II tool for this project!  The ruler was easy to use, I made the smallest unit for my quilt which finishes at 18 x 21 1/2 inches.  I was impressed with the accuracy and easy use, and I can't wait to try out some of the more complicated designs I thought up before going with my more simple quilt!  

Would you like to win this quilt?  I am going to give it away - just enter on the Rafflecopter quilt - if you don't live in the US I would need you to pay the postage to ship it, however.  The drawing will take place next week, so make sure you enter today!

Don't forget to look for these lovely fabrics in a quilt shop near you - as well as the fun Corner Pop II tool!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tool Talk Blog Hop with Island Batik - Week 3

Wow another great week of quilts using Island Batik and Studio 180 tools!  So many pretty quilts - I like this blog hop because the quilts are just so unique in design!  Here is the schedule for the upcoming week, and make sure you go all the way to the bottom to enter to win some beautiful fabric, too!

WEEK 3

September 19

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

September 20

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

September 21

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

September 22

Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts

September 23

Blog Hop Week 3 Round Up + giveaway

Ready for this week's giveaway?  Fat quarter bundles of Silverado Canyon and Paisley Got Mod are going to be up for grabs (I'm using Paisley Got Mod for next month's project, so can tell you - it's so pretty!)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you are having fun with us on this hop!  I love the Wedge Star block - looks like it would make some interesting blocks!

Tool Talk Blog Hop with Island Batik - Week 2!

 Wow, did you love all the great projects from last week as much as I did?  So much inspiration!  I know of some Studio 180 tools that I am putting on my wish list for sure.  Here is the schedule for next week.  I can't wait to see the new projects!

WEEK 2

September 12

Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

September 13

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

September 14

Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

September 15

Megan Best, Bestquilter

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

September 16

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

There is also a new giveaway!  These fabrics are so beautiful and happy:  Honeycomb was designed by by Carl and Linda Sullivan of Colourwerx and Cheers was designed by Kathy Engle for Jackie Kenkel of Canton Village Quilt Works

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Island Batik Tool Talk Blog Hop - Week One!

Today starts out our Island Batik Ambassador challenge for September!  This is a fun two-fold challenge - we had to use a special ruler designed by Studio 180 designs and the bundle provided for us from the Spring 2022 Collections that are arriving in Quilts shops this month.

Here is our first week of challenge projects:

WEEK 1

September 6

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts

September 7

Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

September 8

Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter

September 9

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

This week we have a giveaway for Bee Kind designed by Kathy Engle for Swan Amity Studios and Baroque, designed by Kathy Engle for Quilt Basket

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I plan on trying to make sure I keep you updated with this fun event, even though my husband and I are still traveling!  I have my quilt ready to go for my day, can't wait to share it with you!  Happy Labor day!

ps - I'm running a nice sale in my Etsy shop today and tomorrow if you feel like you need an idea for a new project!

Marvelous Mini Challenge Wrap up!

 There were so many cute mini quilts in last month's Island Batik Challenge that I wanted to be sure to put links so you can go visit all of the wonderful Ambassador projects!  I'll sprinkle a few sneak peaks in along the way, but be sure to go visit all of their blogs to see the Marvelous Mini's that were made!

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Megan Best ~ Bestquilter

Pamela Boatright ~ Pamelaquilts

Elizabeth DeCroos ~ Epida Studio

Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting

Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ For The Love Of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Anorina Morris – sameliasmum.com

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia

Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads

Brianna Roberts ~ Sew Cute And Quirky

Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Andi Stanfield ~ True Blue Quilts

Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Hope you have fun going through the list and seeing what everyone made - I know I did!  

August Island Batik Ambassador challenge - Marvelous Minis!

 If you know me, you know that this challenge made me very happy!  I love mini quilts and am always excited for the opportunity to make one!  I went through the supplies I received from Island Batik in June and decided I wanted to use the precut strip package - Bee Kind.  Bee Kind was designed by Kathy Engle for Swan Sheridan of Swan Amity Studios and it's absolutely lovely!  These fabrics are currently shipping to quilt shops, and the precuts are available right now.

Aren't the colors bee-utiful?  I absolutely love these happy colors, and the cut prints!  The only downside to using them in a mini is that you really can't see the detail, but I have plenty of fabric left to make another project where they will shine more.  For this project I also used Hobb's Thermore Batting, Schmetz Needles and Aurifil thread.  Thanks to these companies for their partnership in the Island Batik Ambassador Program I had everything I needed to get started!

I dug through my stash of magazines and books featuring mini quilts and found one that I liked, it featured blue and yellow, so were perfect for using the coordinating fabric I received.  This quilt was made with 9 patch blocks and quarter square triangles, so I figured out what I needed to cut and got started!

See the cute bees, hummingbirds, and flowers?  Aren't they adorable?  These are a little tricky to categorize as light or dark, but since the quilt is scrappy, I did my best.

I made lots of tiny strip sets - so cute!

Chain stitching - doesn't take long because the pieces are so small!  A size 10 Schmetz Mircrotex Professional Chrome needle helps keep those seams accurate (this one is sewn with regular 1/4 inch seams, but with a mini you need to be extra sure you are staying accurate).

It's good to use a nice thin thread like 50 weight Aurifil as well!  I like to give them a nice press with a dry iron to keep them from getting warped, too.

These blocks are 1 1/2 inches finished!  So cute!  This is the blue I used for the quarter square triangle blocks.

The triangle units were easy to make, just had to be a little organized to get them all in the right color combinations!  I really like blue and yellow, so pretty!

A tiny yellow border, bigger white border, and finally a blue border completed my top, which finished at 14 1/2 inches square - a nice size for a mini quilt!

I layered up my quilt using Hobbs Thermore batting - it's a nice flat poly batting that is perfect for a quilt that you want to lay nice and flat.  I used light blue Aurifil 50 weight and the same size 10 Schmetz needle I used for the piecing to quilt this in a diagonal grid.  I like the fact that the quilting disappears in the center but adds a nice texture to the borders.

I brought this quilt with me on vacation, thinking I might find a good photo opp to show it off - what better place to display it than in front of the National Quilt Museum!  I was delighted to find a display of mini quilts in the museum, and even though my quilt can't compare to those masterpieces I am happy to at least show it off outside!

I'm getting lots of inspiration on this trip - but I miss my sewing machine!  Hope you are enjoying the quilts from the rest of the Ambassadors!  I'll be highlighting them over the Labor Day weekend, so keep your eye out for some great inspiration.  Thanks to Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting and Schmetz Needles for the products used in this project!