A Triple Crown

June's challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors is to try a technique that's totally new to us.  Island Batik, as well as industry sponsors Aurifil, Accuquilt, and Hobbs, supply us with amazing products to use in our projects.

For someone like me who's been quilting forever, it takes some deep thinking to come up with something I haven't yet tried.  Last year, I figured out how to do an interlocking herringbone, a technique I now like very much. Thinking cap firmly in place, I started jotting down ideas.  

About this time, my friend Nellie dropped in and casually mentioned how she was making an old-fashioned scrap quilt, and stitching it on her treadle.  That sounded fun, and something I hadn't tried. Then I got to thinking...there are other machines in my house never used for quilting...like my beloved Juki serger.  That would be interesting, so I added it to my list, which now read like this:

1. Do a quilt -as -you-go
2. Make a totally reversible quilt
3. Make a quilt on the serger 

In a blinding lightbulb moment, I decided to combine the three techniques for a veritable quilting trifecta (or in this case...a TRY-fecta - groan...)  I hauled my serger down to the diningroom table, put in a new sharp needle, and threaded it with Aurifil 50 weight.

I had some pre-cut strips left from a previous project using the French Blue collection which would be great on one side, and chose colours for the other side from the Stashbuilder rolls. My plan was to alternate concentric rows of colour, with plain white batik.

So, if all goes as planned, one side will look like this:

 ...and the reverse side will be this:

I used my Accuquilt Go! cutter fitted with the 2-1/2" strip die to cut my pieces.  It was done in jig time, and the WOF strips were perfectly even. I SO love this cutter!!

My quilt-as-you-go/reversible plan meant I would layer strips of fabric wrong sides together, with batting strips in between, and stitch them using a log cabin courthouse steps design. Then, in another lightbulb moment...it dawned on me that I could also cut my batting strips with the Accuquilt Go!

It worked perfectly for this.The batting I chose was Hobbs Poly-Down, which is a very stable, evenly needled, polyester.  I started with a 4" centre (4-1/2" die) and cut 1 square of red batik, 1 square of yellow batik, plus one of batting.

The fabrics were layered, and the edges lined up and pinned in place;  notice my pins are not near the edge where they might knick the serger blade.

I was using the left needle only on my 4 thread serger (i.e. making it a 3 thread) and it's a perfect 1/4" seam if my fabric is hard against the blade.

All four sides of the sandwich were stitched, and then I added a strip of white on one side and a strip of yellow on the other, right sides facing. After stitching these in place, I flipped them away from the centre and added a strip of batting in between the two layers, butting it against the sewn seam allowance. Since it wasn't in the seam, my batting strip is now too wide...but the serger blade trims it even, so it wasn't necessary to use the rotary cutter at all. Easy-peasy.

Here's the first row of strips in place.

I continued building and trimming as I went.

In no time, this baby-sized quilt was cut, sewn, and quilted-as-I went.

The next challenge was to figure out how to photograph this, so Polly and I headed outside.

Polly perched herself on top of the pergola for a bird's eye view.

Here's the other side. Even though technically this is quilted, you can see how it looks a little "baggy".  Clearly it needs more quilting.

Switching back to my regular sewing machine, I chose matching colours of 50 weight Aurifil thread and did an outline stitch 1/4" from each seam with the walking foot.  On the back, where it was both blue and yellow strips, I used the pretty yellow in the bobbin.

Now it looks quilted!

The quilt ended up at 36" x 40", a good size for a baby quilt.

This was a fun and interesting project;  thank you for a great challenge, Island Batik, Hobbs, Aurifil,and Accuquilt!

X and O: My Magnificent Mini

The first challenge for the Island Batik 2019 Ambassadors is to make a miniature quilt and post sometime during February.  The guidelines were pretty broad:

• Must be 24” x 24” or smaller
• Any fabrics except “surprise” fabrics
• Any technique

February is always a red-and-white month for my sewing, so I cast my thoughts to something Valentine-heart-love related. I hit upon one of my previous designs, "X and O", and decided to remake it on a smaller scale. This is the original, which uses an 8" New York Beauty block in a diagonal setting.

The pattern is in my book, Quilting Beauties, and since it has the templates and foundations on a CD, it's really easy to resize the blocks in the printer menu.

I resized my blocks to finish at 4", and went looking through my red scraps of Island Batik fabrics.  I had a little chuckle when I discovered that the hank of rayon in this year's box was tied in red and was just the right size for my spikes!  Waste not, want not...

See?

For the background fabric, I used a piece of the Check It Out from my December project.  I love the subtle colour change in this print, and knew it would not overpower my little quilt.  For the light print I chose a piece called "Almond", from the Neutrals line. It has a faint marl of purplish-pink running through it. Underneath the spikes, is a pure white batik so that the points will show nicely.

 The piecing was pretty straight forward and the centres for the side blocks were easily sewn in.

For the centre, however, I decided to eliminate the seams and appliqué a complete circle on top of the spikes. To do this, I put my pins in straight down through the fabric, and then gently bend them back and slide them in horizontally. This way the circle stays in place as each pin goes in.

I chose ultra-fine Aurifil 80 weight cotton to machine blind stitch the circle in place, switching to a size 10 Microtex needle. It disappeared right into the fabric.

Looks like we are ready to quilt! I always love comparing the piece to the sketch drawn in EQ8 to see how close I came.  Not bad!

The batting used is Hobbs Tuscany silk, which is one I use a lot, and always in a miniature.  It allows the quilting to show, but without adding bulk which a heavier batt would do. It produces a beautiful drape in the finished quilt.

The thread chosen to quilt this miniature is the same Aurifil 80 weight used for the appliqué. The space for quilting is pretty small, so a fine thread is perfect.  I kept regular 50 weight thread in the bobbin, and switched my needle out to a size 10/70 Topstitch needle.  The larger eye of the needle prevents drag on the thread when doing free-motion.  

 I didn't do a whole lot of quilting, as I didn't want to overpower the design of the patchwork.  There are curves in the white triangles under the spikes, a little lick of flame in each spike, and tiny fleur de lis flanking the centre New York Beauty blocks. The background has some echo quilting, and a heart added in each setting trianle. 

Here's the back, which is the same Almond used for the front, and 50 weight Aurifil in the bobbin.

My  miniature X and O finished at 16" across.  Thank you to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, and Aurifil thread for the products used. You can find the pattern for X and O in Quilting Beauties. 

Unboxing Island Batik 2019

With the conclusion of the Getaway Blog Hop, a new year as an Island Batik Ambassador begins.  I am nothing short of thrilled to be included on this incredibly creative, and very diverse, team of designers, artists, and makers from around the world.  Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, and Aurifil thread pack up a generous bounty of goodies for us to use in our work, and it's SO much fun when the box arrives.  This year, there was a bonus surprise box from Accuquilt...which knocked most of us for a loop!

Even though the boxes had been inspected by Canadian Customs, Polly insisted on giving them a second once over, just to make sure.

My sniffer cat gave them her approval.  The box on the right - the one with the materials - had a hard journey; one side of the box was taped back together somewhere along the way.

 A glorious box of colour, with a big ol' surprise right on top!

 This bundle has 8, half-yard cuts from the foundations line.  Isn't this a gorgeous piece on top?

Island Batik also produces rayon fabrics,and they sent along 2 yards for each of us.  Interestingly, I received this Tjap used in a cotton batik in an earlier shipment. I am sewing with it now, and loving it!

Island Batik make scarves from the rayon, and have gifted us with one of those as well: Look at this gorgeous lilac, I have a light grey jacket it will pair great with.

This strip set of French Blue is gorgeous, and includes 2 yards of coordinating light and dark prints - Blueberry and Cloud. This collection is shipping to stores now, and was one of my favourite featured collections in the recent Getaway Blog Hop.  You can see what Pamela and Joyce made with this lovely grouping.

This package contains 3 yards each of plain white, grey, and black solids.

 As there is a "modern" challenge in our year, these pieces come in very handy. (Plus they make a gorgeous foil for the bright batiks!)

These packages are called Stashbuilders and they add variety to our colour selections.  We get two packages, which contain just under 3 yards/package.

Aren't they pretty?

Then there is 5 generous yards of a neutral foundation fabric called Rice, which coordinates nicely with the other fabrics in my box. I can't help but think of the time these carefully coordinated boxes take to pack.

Hobbs is one of the program sponsors, and they sent a bounty of batting: cottons, blends, Thermore, and (my favourite) a beautiful silk from the Tuscany collection.

Aurifil supplied us with thread, and these colours coordinate with my foundations bundle shown above.  Again, I marvel that someone took the time to match threads to our fabrics.

 Here's my booty all together...well, almost all.

There's also these two surprise packages which I can't show you yet.  You will have to wait until the blog hop in August to see them! (But trust me, I tore into the packages as soon as I set the camera down :).

What about that second box??  Oh, my - this was totally unexpected, and such an incredible surprise.  Accuquilt has partnered with the Ambassadors and supplied each (all 50 of us!) with a Go! cutter system, a cube set of 8" blocks dies, and a 2-1/2" strip cutter.

 I love the slogan: cut time, quilt more!

Polly is looking pretty pleased with all of this, and I haven't stopped smiling!

It will be a busy year for the Ambassadors.  I will share the names and sites below, and encourage you to buckle up and follow along for some pretty fun times ahead.  I also hope that you will visit the sponsors to this wonderful program:  Island Batik, Aurifil thread, Hobbs Batting, and Accuquilt.  I thank each of them sincerely for their generosity.
2019 Island Batik Ambassadors:

Carolina Asmussen ~Carolina Asmussen

Gene Black ~ Gene Black

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

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 ~ Create 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