Tool Time: Amherst Point

This month, the Island Batik Ambassadors were divided into two camps:  one group would participate in a blog hop of quilts made from the new collections shipping to stores now, and the rest of us would make a quilt featuring our favourite tool.

Those who know me, can appreciate that this was no easy topic for this no-gadget gal.  Folks are shocked when I announce that I have, and use, just one ruler for all my work.  (It's a 6-1/2" x 24" Omnigrid ruler with markings for 30, 45, and 60 degree angles. If I need an angle different from these, I use the protractor from my high school days.  Seriously.)

After much thought, I singled out what has been the biggest help to me in my lengthy quilting career, and a tool I absolutely would not be without:  Electric Quilt. I have each and every version lovingly saved on a shelf by my computer.

Way back when the software was first developed, I was writing a monthly column for the now defunct Quick &Easy Quilting magazine;  my instructions were typed on my Royal typewriter and the piecing diagrams sketched with coloured pencils on graph paper.  I always marveled how editor Sandra Hatch worked her computer magic on my submissions to make them so professional looking.  When I learned that Electric Quilt existed, I mailed a cheque to the company in North Carolina and waited impatiently for over a month for the postman to arrive with the parcel. This was in 1992. It arrived on a floppy disk, which you can see on the top of this pile.  So high tech!  Shortly thereafter, I received a printer upgrade on another disk which would allow me to add an inkjet printer instead of  the then standard dot matrix.  Electric Quilt sent out newsletters periodically, featuring a little mouse and  I read them over and over to glean as much as I could.  As Electric Quilt released each new version, I would upgrade my software, to take advantage of all the new features.  I upgraded to EQ8 the day it was released. By this time, of course, it's an instant download so I no longer have to wait for the postman!  Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of my career is having a block I designed for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks included in an EQ add-on.

Electric Quilt allows me to either draw pieced blocks, or use pre-drawn blocks from their extensive database.  So, for this month's challenge, I decided to use some of my bright colours, splashed on a pure white background. I envisioned a modified, modern take on the iconic Hudson's Bay Point blanket.

The fabrics I chose were from some of the Island Batik "Foundations" lines, which they are so generous in supplying.

Normally I work with blocks, but decided to try and do something different this time. I settled on alternating coloured triangles with white, cut across the full width of the fabric. Some of Island Batik's fabrics are built into the program, Basics, Blenders, Foundations, so I was able to find most of my fabrics there.

The yellow/gold used for the centre and binding is from the Garden Party collection, so I imported images of those fabrics from the Island Batik website.  Alternately, I could have scanned my fabric and imported it to the program.  Using the actual fabric images gives me a clear idea of how my finished quilt will look.

I fussed a bit about the size of this quilt...8 complete sections looked out of proportion - too long and skinny- and 7 made it a wee bit short.  It's no fun to have ones toes cold :) I settled on removing the top and bottom white sections,leaving an angled edge, which I quite like. EQ does not print piecing instructions, but it does give you options for different construction techniques, such as rotary cutting, foundation piecing, or printing templates.  I ruled out foundation piecing right away due to the size of the pieces, and decided to try rotary cutting.  I followed the measurements it gave.

It worked fine, but was a bit slow.

I tried printing a template to see if that made things go more quickly.  It did, so that's the method I used.

This is a quilt for snuggling on the couch, so it's backed with soft, cuddly, flannel.  The pointy sections have straight line quilting, and the plain white sections have orange peel free-motioned.

It was fun to choose the thread colours from my stash, both 50 and 40 weight.

The batting is Hobbs Poly-Down, which is a soft and lofty batting.

Here's the sketch from EQ8, which you can see is very similar to the finished quilt.

After snapping the picture above, I was called away for a minute.  When I returned, there was a pronounced bump in the centre of the quilt...which meowed when I went to smooth it down.

Polly!!

Thank you to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Aurifil thread and especially to EQ8 for developing a must-have tool for quilters. In tribute to the Hudson's Bay Point, I have named this colourful quilt Amherst Point. 

Something New

As a new month begins, so does a new challenge as an Island Batik Ambassador.  This month we are are to try a technique we've never done before.  Yikes!

I've been quilting a really long time... a REALLY long time (!), and I've tried most everything.  This is taking some serious thought! With a germ of an idea, I've chosen the following fabrics from my "Stashbuilders" bundle, and am about to start slicing into them. Stay tuned!

Island Batik Mini Love: Circle of Friends

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik.

Each month, Island Batik Ambassadors are given a project, and this month the theme is "Mini Love".  I *love* minis, so this is right up my alley!

When I first started designing professionally, it was clear to me that my piecing skills needed work, and miniature quilts were the answer. There is no room for error, as even an 1/8" out can ruin your quilt.  I made tons of them, from all disciplines, and even had several of them published in magazines.  This wee one appeared in an issue of "Miniature Quilts".  The log cabin blocks are only 1", making the finished piece 6".  I swear it took me as long to make this as it would have a full-sized quilt!  I still have it hanging in my kitchen, but I have since replaced that awful, square-cornered binding with tidy, sharp mitres. :)

Here's another called "Teacher's Pet", which appeared in the "Miniature Wonders" column of Quick & Easy Quilting back in 2001. I hadn't as yet mastered machine quilting, as this one is hand-quilted.  What I remember most about this quilt was that it was mailed back to me by the magazine early on Sept. 11/2001.  Because of the chaos of that day, the quilt went on a bit of a wild ride.  When it finally arrived home a couple of months later, there were customs inspection stamps from all over the world, including Germany, France, and Scotland. It finished at 12" square. 

This one, entitled "When A Tree Falls In The Forest", was a ribbon winner at Quilt Canada a few years' back. The pieces in those blocks were wicked tiny...

One of my favourites is a miniature version of "Florentine" from my book Quilting Beauties, pieced from silk shirts purchased at Frenchy's.

Last year, I signed up for the International Miniature Quilt Exchange, and that big reveal is coming up very soon. (next month, I think!) Please watch for that.

So...what to do for the batik mini-love challenge?  I decided not to go too tiny on this one, and to use up a packet of red,pink, and white F.Q.'s, sent by Island Batik in my box of goodies. I added a bit of purple for good measure. Since it's February, the month of love, the Friendship Star block seemed a good choice.

The block is pretty simple to make from HST's, and I set the stars to spin in a circle. These are 6" blocks.

 There are 9 stars in my friendship circle.

I traced a circle onto my patchwork with a disappearing marker, and cut it out with scissors.

It needed something fun and colourful for the border.  I went with the same purple used for the centre star, an Island Batik "Blender", in grape. 

For the batting, I chose a small piece of Hobbs Tuscany Silk. Aurifil 2311 was a perfect match to the background for quilting.

I didn't want anything too serious, so the background is done in playful loops, a swirly heart added to each star, and a small feather up the plain sections of the border.

The bias binding was pieced using all of the pinks and reds from the stars.  Don't you love binding circles? No corners to mitre!

 The project guidelines suggested no larger than 24", and it's bang on.
Technically, this is not a miniature quilt, it's more of a "small quilt".

With the addition of a hanging sleeve, it can go on a wall...

...but I like it on the table.  My Mini-Love Friendship Circle :)

Projects will be posted by all the Ambassadors throughout the month of February.  The links are all in my previous post, here.  It's fun to see the theme interpreted so many different ways!

Island Batik Unboxing

It's finally here - the big box of goodies from Island Batik! 

 As one of their 2018 Ambassadors, I have been given the products featured in this post free of charge by Island Batik for use in my work. Since the company is based is California, it took a bit longer for my box to arrive than my U.S. counterparts.  I have been drooling over their pictures since last week when their boxes began to arrive.  I now get first-hand what all the excitement is about, as it's pretty amazing to open such a treasure chest. I got the email around 5:30 this morning that the box was out for delivery, so Polly and I were camped at the front door, waiting.  It was very icy this morning and I held my breath in case that delivery man fell on his way in, but he made it safely!

  The box had gone through a Canada Customs check in Montreal ...but I have no doubt at all that Polly gave it a much more stringent inspection than they did. :)

 22 lbs. of loveliness!

The first thing you notice is the big, wrapped parcel marked "surprise", and it will remain a surprise for now.  These are the new collections to be released at Spring Market and cannot be shown until then.

There was a stack of foundation colours,

 ...and a group of F.Q. for a Galentine's Day project which, with the box's late arrival, has already passed.  No worries, I have a project in mind which will be perfect for these.

 After snapping the first few photos, I wondered if I should stop and wait for better light.  6 am, on a winter day in Nova Scotia, isn't exactly the best time to take photographs, and I had all the lights on plus my flash.  The thought went through my head that a little sun would be nice, and then I reached in and pulled out this bundle.  Too funny!!  Morning Sunshine, indeed.

 It's a beautiful bundle of fabrics in happy, sunny colours. This collection is in stores now. I love it!

At this point, the Customs inspector was getting cheeky about letting me take anything more out of what was now her box.  She's pretty territorial. I had to proceed carefully, because...well, she bites. I had to get a bag of kitty treats out as distraction.

Island Batik also print rayon batiks, and they sent this beautiful scarf and 2 yards of a to-die-for peacock blue. The scarf looks purple in this picture, but it's really a rich dark burgundy.  I have sewn lots with rayon in the past and look forward to making something from this.  It drapes and washes beautifully.

 Here's a stack of "Paisley Dot", in earth tones, as well as coordinating yardage.

 These rolls are called "Stash Builders" and they are 5" x WOF rolls which contain a variety of colours.

 Here they are on the side;  lots of useful yardage here.

We all know how I feel about Aurifil thread :)  I ♥ Aurifil...and I am thrilled that they are an IB sponsor.  They sent a 5,900m cone of 50 weight white, as well as 6 large spools of colours to coordinate with the fabrics in the box.  The green spools are 40 weight, and the orange spools are 50 weight.  I am very pleased to receive some brochures, as I sell Aurifil thread and these will come in very handy with all the information they contain.

You may also have spotted some batting in the box, supplied by Hobbs Bonded Fibres. I am certainly no stranger to Hobbs batting, and have used them for years.  My two favourites are in the "Tuscany" line, the 100% wool, and the 100% silk - both are sheer delight to work with.  Polly especially enjoys curling up to nap on the wool batting scraps. We can purchase these locally at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium.  I am happy they sent along a sample card of their products.

They also sent a cotton batt, and "Thermore", which I have not yet tried.  I suspect it will be wonderful in placemats and table toppers as it is quite thin.

It was a veritable perfect storm of a box, with three heavy-hitters in the quilting industry contributing their products.  I can't wait to get sewing.  Not Polly though;  she was so wired from all of this excitement that she needed a nap.  (or a sedative...)

Thank you, Island Batik, Hobbs, and Aurifil, for this wonderful opportunity.