Dec. It's All Up to You Challenge

 

The December Island Batik Challenge is called It's All Up to You!

This month the Island Batik Ambassadors could make anything we wanted.  I love this challenge as there are always things I've put on a back burner to do at some later time.  Since this was a winter challenge I picked the collage Winter Cardinal pattern by Emily Taylor.  I love her patterns and have made a couple in the past.

This is Woodlands I made in a free challenge month in April 2021

And here is a frog from another free month challenge in March 2023

Here is her downloadable pattern for Winter Cardinal.

I pulled lots of red, green and some brown Island Batik fabrics from my stash.  Collage quilting is always a bit challenging, but also fun to see the image take shape.  The fabric pieces are backed with Steam a Seam 2 fusible webbing.

Some progress.  Lots of fabrics and lots of little pieces.

The cardinal is all fused together as one piece on parchment paper, and then I had to work on the background.  I used one of Island Batik Basics fabrics called Pewter for the background.  It was a lovely color for the project.  Can you see the birds feet on the bottom branch?

Once the bird and background are all fused it is time to finish the project.  Emily had a technique where she fused a piece of stabilizer to the back and added a facing around the quilt.  She also didn't do any quilting!  I thought I'd give this a try as this was a small project (13"x 14").  Then I also could avoid quilting thru all the layers of fabric in the cardinal.

Here is a photo of the facing ready to be sewn.  There are folded triangles in the corners under the facing strips.  It is all sewn at the same time then corners trimmed and it is all turned to the back and pressed.  Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but you can get the idea.

Once it is turned and pressed you can hand stitch the facing or use a fusible 1/4" tape by Steam a Seam2 to secure the facing.  This was very easy.  You can see the corner triangles which are nice for fitting a  rod in for hanging the quilt.

As always Schmetz needles work great when sewing batik fabrics.

Once again, here is my Winter Cardinal.

Many thanks to Island Batik and Schmetz Needles for supplying products for this project thru the Island Batik Ambassador program

Northwood Gnomes

 

My quilt Northwood Gnomes is in the Winter 2025 McCalls Quilting magazine.  This fun quilt was made using all plaid fabrics.  The appliqued gnomes and trees make it feel like somewhere in the north woods.  Raw edge applique makes this quilt a quick and easy one for winter. 

You can get a copy here:  

Digital Issue McCall’s Quilting Fall 2024.

Dresden Plate Island Batik Ambassador Blog Hop

 

                                                            

Sedona Sunrise

51" x 61"

The November Island Batik Challenge is a Dresden Plate Blog Hop.

We were to make a lap quilt or larger quilt using the  surprise Island Batik fabric bundle we received in July.  I received the collection called Island Zest by Kathy Engle for Quilters' Treasure Chest.

These colors are deep, rich and warm. Part of the challenge was to create a quilt using Dresden Plates in the design.  I received a dresden plate ruler by EZ Quilting from Missouri Star Quilt Company as part of the Affiliate program that I was excited to try out. This ruler worked very well in making all the sections for Dresden Plates.  It makes Dresden plate points  in sizes 1" to 8". I also used three Aurifil threads in the quilt.  The center thread looks pink in the photo, but it is really a pretty canary yellow.

I made this quilt a bit differently than most projects I make.  This time I didn't start with a pre planned design.  I was living with my daughter at the time and had all the fabrics in the collection with me and the ruler and a small sewing machine I used for taking to classes.  I decided to make Dresden Plate points in three different sizes 2", 6", and 8" in all the fabrics and then just play with them to see what I could come up with!

The points are very easy to make.

This is what the points look like from the back when they are sewn together.

I ended up with loads of points in the three sizes. The fabrics are lovely and it was fun to play around with how to put them together.  

The smallest dresden points I made into a full circle and I wanted to put it somewhere in the middle of the quilt.  

The largest points I thought would look nice in half circles on the sides and the four corners.

There were three yellow fabrics and two were very similar, so I used those two for the background.

I decided on one of the dark green fabrics for an outside border. 

I came up with several different layouts, none of which I had originally planned.  Designs develop that way sometimes!  Here are a couple layouts

I appliqued circles to the centers using fusible applique.

I ended up not using the green dresdens in the corners, but I still like them.  Maybe in another quilt!

I liked the look of the double layered dresden plates.  I also added dresden points in dark green around the center circle.  I think this makes it look a bit like a compass.

Once I decided on the layout I wanted to make, I pinned the dresden appliques to the quilt backing and straight stitched along the outside edges.  Schmetz needles sewed thru the applique thickness very well.  I used an orange and a lovely blue aurifil thread for the top stitching.  Sometimes it is surprising what colors work best for top stitching and quilting.  This time a blue worked best on the green and blue/green fabrics.  I didn't get a photo of the blue thread.

I decided on making a piano keys border with most of the remaining fabrics.  I used all 20 fabrics of the collection in this quilt.

As I only had my small machine with me and time was running out for the November deadline, I asked my friend Vickie Hunsberger from Quilting for You if she had an opening and could quilt it for me.  She had an opening and had it quilted in a few days!

I had her use one of my Hobbs wool battings and I really like the look and feel of how it turned out.

Vicki does beautiful quilting.  Here a a few close up photos of her work.

I have a bit of quilting envy!

One of my great neighbors let me photograph the quilt with their lovely fall display.  The colors just matched!

Many thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles and Aurifil Thread for supplying products to make this project thru the Island Batik Ambassador Program.

Be sure and visit all the Ambassadors on the blog hop and visit Island Batik to enter into their weekly drawing for one of two fat quarter bundles.  You don't want to miss that!

I am also having a drawing for three partially used half yards of the collection.  These are not full half yards, but there is still a lot of fabric in them.

Leave a comment on the blog to enter.

Drawing open for USA residents only due to postage costs.  Make sure that I can contact you if you are a winner.  Drawing with be at the end of the blog hop.

November Dresden Plate Island Batik Blog Hop

Here is the information from Island Batik on the November Dresden Plate Blog Hop.  Look for my post on Thursday Nov. 7.  Be sure and go to the Island Batik Blog each week and enter their fabric drawing.

Welcome to the much-anticipated Dresden Plate Blog Hop! Over the next four weeks, 26 talented Island Batik Ambassadors will come together to showcase their creative takes on the iconic Dresden Plate block. This classic design, admired for its beautiful radial pattern of petal-like wedges, offers endless possibilities for artistic expression. Each quilter will experiment with this timeless block, using the new Island Batik collections to create stunning lap-sized or larger quilts.

We can’t wait to be inspired by the unique interpretations, clever techniques, and incredible quilting on display. So, grab your favorite sewing supplies and join us as we celebrate the boundless beauty of the Dresden Plate!

Throughout the next four weeks of the Blog Hop, we’ll be unveiling stunning quilts that showcase the fabrics from our latest collections, hitting the shelves this month. Don’t forget to express your anticipation to your favorite quilt shop! Find out which stores carry Island Batik near you by using our Store Locator; just enter your zip code, and your local shop will pop up on the map – it’s incredibly convenient and helpful!

Every Friday, we’ll compile round-ups of the projects and host a giveaway of two Fat Quarter bundles from the new Island Batik collections highlighted during that week! Make sure to explore all the amazing creations on the Ambassadors’ blogs and join in on their additional giveaways for even more chances to win.

Below is the complete list of Ambassadors, the collections they’ll feature in their projects, and their scheduled post dates:

WEEK 1

November 4:

• Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
• Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

November 5:

• Pamela Boatright, PamelaQuilts
• Connie Kresin Campbell, Freemotion by the River

November 6:

• Mania Hatzioannidi, Mania for Quilts
• Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

November 7:

• Megan Best, BestQuilter
• Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

November 8:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

WEEK 2

November 12:

• Lana Russel, Lana Quilts
• Julia Schweri, Inflorescence Designs

November 13:

• Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs
• Denise Looney, Quiltery

November 14:

• Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
• Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

November 15:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

WEEK 3

November 18:

• Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts
• Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilt Studio

November 19:

• Renee Atkinson, Pink Tulip Quilting
• Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany

November 20:

• Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
• Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
• Sarah Pitcher, Pitcher’s Boutique LLC

November 21:

• Carol Stanek, Stitch With Color
• Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

November 22:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Final Giveaway

WEEK 4

November 25:

• Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels
• Victoria Johnson, Forever Quilting For You

November 26:

End of Blog Hop + Final Round Up

What's in Your Bag Island Batik Challenge

 

The October Island Batik Ambassador Challenge is called What's in Your Bag!  

This month our ByAnnie.com is the sponsor and provided all the Ambassadors the supplies needed to make a bag of our choice.  This year I let my daughter pick the bag and she selected the pattern Hang in There.

This pattern is for a beside/sofa pocket organizer.  It comes in two sizes and I decided to make both of them.  Island Batik also let us select what fabrics we wanted and I picked four lovely fabrics from the collection called Poetic Bouquet.

I've made several By Annie bags and this is the easiest one so far.  This organizer requires no quilting, no zippers and no binding!  Wow!  That really simplifies things!

As in all By Annie patterns the instructions are very clear.  All pieces are labeled and there are step by step instructions as well as an online video for extra help.  With the darker fabrics I selected, By Annie sent me their Soft and Stable in black.  That is the first time I've used the black and it worked really well.

I tried to take a few photos of some of the steps. Below you can see the fusible interfacing has been fused to the fabric pockets on the small bag and the large bag.  The labels keep things organized.

It was interesting that the smaller bag was taller and less wide.  The larger bag was wider and not as tall.

Here the small organizer is almost finished.  Need to top stitch around the pockets.  Clips work really well to hold all the layers.  I love the mesh for the pockets and the fold over elastic for the mesh.  It is VERY easy to sew and makes great pockets.

Small organizer finished.  You can see the flap at the top that will go under the mattress.  Size is 15 1/2" H x 12 1/2" W.

Here is the large organizer finished.  It was a lot larger than I expected - 13" H x 23 1/2" W

There are a lot of pockets!  This could be very handy - especially if you are someone who likes to read in bed, or have remotes or phones you want to keep accessible.

Here are photos I took once the organizers were finished.  I will tell you my surprise after the photos- see if you notice anything in the pictures.

I never once considered the measurements of these organizers.  My bad!  These do NOT fit on our bed!  They are made for beds that have a mattress AND a box spring under it.  We have a mattress on top of drawers and it sits lower to the floor.  In the photos above I have the organizer laying on top of the mattress just to get a photo.

Oh well!  These were made for a gift, so now I just need to make sure they will fit on their bed - ha!  Lesson learned!

I also used Schmetz needles and they work great sewing thru all the layers.

Thanks to Island Batik, By Annie and Schmetz for supplying products to use in this project.