Category: Aurifil

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Island Batik Ambassador Challenge November

Dresden Plate Blog Hop

This month’s challenge was to make a Dresden quilt lap size or larger using the Surprise Bundle we received from Island Batik.

My Surprise Bundle was Midnight Garden, a beautiful collection of blues, purples, and a bit of gold. This was designed by Jerry Khiev as a Spring/ Summer collection and will be shipping to shops beginning next month. Ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Here is my 1/2 yard bundle along with 2 yards each of two coordinating fabrics, a light and a dark shown in the upper right. I added two background fabrics previously supplied by Island Batik.

I had never made a Dresden Quilt before, but remembered I met a girl the first time I attended the Empty Spools Seminar who had written a book with patterns for Dresden Quilts. I purchased the book and template from her, Amalie Belden, so I perused through the book and chose a pattern that appealed to me. I preferred the pointed top blade, so I made that change.

I thought this was adorable. Of course, I’m a sucker for polka dots. But I did change the blades to a pointed top instead of the flat top.

I took this project with me to a quilt retreat. Here I’m just getting started making 180 Dresden blades! Yum, those colors! I used Aurifil 50 weight for piecing.

I like the movement this background fabric provides! It’s Moo Milk!

I so enjoyed quilting the blades by freemotioning the swirls on my Handi Quilter Forte 24. Too fun!

This background is lavender and I love how it brings out the purples.

It’s always exciting to see it all come together, even if it is using blue tape on a wall to make it happen.

These are the four corners, the last part of the puzzle.

And here’s the finish. I really love it! It finishes at 48×48. First Dresden and first time making flange binding. I love the border Amelie designed for this quilt as well. I used Hobbs Heirloom cotton batting and loved the soft texture! I quilted it on my Handi Quilter Forte 24 longarm.

Here you can see the flange binding a bit better.

Thank you to Island Batik and their Industry partners, for supplying me with products to use for these monthly challenges. These include but may not be limited to Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles, Oliso Iron, Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Rulers, ByAnnie patterns, and Funky Friends Factory patterns.

Check out what the other Ambassadors made for their Dresden Plate Blog Hop Challenge:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting

Megan Best ~ BestQuilter

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color

Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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Island Batik Ambassadors September Challenge

Adventurous Applique Blog Hop with Aurifil thread

Maybe you remember the Full Bloom BOM quilt by 4th and 6th Designs. The edge painting appliqué technique used was the basis for this popular quilt. The technique is raw edge and is the basis for our September challenge. Here is a video that shows this technique if you are unfamiliar with it. YouTube Video demonstrating the edge-coloring technique.

Full Bloom applique quilt using Island Batik fabrics and the edge stitching process
This beautiful collection of fabric was given to me by Island Batik to use for this challenge.
Twilight by Kathy Engle for Create with Claudia

I love these colors and this collection and couldn’t wait to get started! Shipping to shops this month!

I came across this perfect pattern, Night Owls by Fat Cat Patterns. The colors worked beautifully for this pattern. The Twilight collection and two coordinating fabrics were given to me by Island Batik for this challenge.

I added a few other Island Batik fabrics to work well with this collection. These beautiful 40 weight threads were given to me to use for this challenge by Aurifil threads.

I used Steam a Seam 2 and my Oliso iron to bond the applique pieces to the background fabric.

I used my paper scissors to cur out the Steam a Seam shapes leaving a little extra to cut through once adhered to the applique fabric.

I fussy cut the center of the daisies in this fabric for the owl toes!

I have all 9 of my owls are made and am ready to begin edge painting and coloring as well as use some decorative stitches to outline my applique stitches. I used a new Schmetz needle 90/14 for the heavier40 weight Aurifil thread,

I wasn’t comfortable with coloring outside the lines with edge coloring at first, but after a few blocks it was very fun and freeing!

Here I was trying to make the stitching look like the owl’s feathers. Aurifil 40 weight threads worked great for this application.

Loved getting to use some of my decorative stitches also and after a couple of afternoons of fun with decorative stitching I was ready to add the sashing and borders and complete the top.

Soon after I was ready to have some fun quilting my owls!

I used Hobbs Tuscany Silk Blend for the batting.

I love my owls and all the decorative stitches I was able to do with my 40 weight Aurifil thread!

Thank you to Island Batik and their Industry partners, for supplying me with products to use for these monthly challenges. These include but may not be limited to Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles, Oliso Iron, Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Rulers, ByAnnie patterns, and Funky Friends Factory patterns.

Be sure to hop on over to these Island Batik Ambassador’s websites to check out their creations for this challenge. Listed below are the dates and Island Batik collections featured. Also be sure the follow Island Batik blog to register for very nice weekly prizes!!

WEEK 1

September 3:

September 4:

September 5:

September 6:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

WEEK 2

September 9:

September 10:

September 11:

September 12:

September 13:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

WEEK 3

September 16:

September 17:

September 18:

September 19:

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Island Batik Ambassador July Unboxing Video

Island Batik sends its ambassadors 2 shipments per year, one in January and one in July, including their fabrics and other sponsors supplies for us to use in our monthly challenges. Each shipment includes 2 boxes, one full of Hobbs Batting and the other has Aurifil thread, Schmetz needles (January), byAnnies pattern of our choice and Island Batik fabric along with any straps, hardware, and Soft and Stable to complete the project (July), an Oliso iron (January), Deb Tucker Studio 180 ruler (January) and a Funky Friends Factory pattern (January).

Below is my video I uploaded to my social media last month to show my box contents of goodies I was sent.

For a closer look….

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May Island Batik Ambassadors Challenge

Our challenge this month was to make a paper pieced quilt, English or Foundation Paper Pieced, based on a holiday or celebration of our choice. The fabric I was supplied with by Island Batik for this project was Dots and Doodles by Carol Moellers Designs.

Ask for this collection at your local quilt shop. Shipping this month!

Many of these beautiful fabrics reminded me of fireworks and July 4 so I decided to make a quilt to hang at the top of my stair banister in July, much like I did last spring when I made the one below.

A good iron is a must for foundation paper piecing and I love my new Oliso iron provided by one of our Island Batik sponsors, Oliso. I prefer steam. but you can use it dry as well. It gets good and hot. And I love how I don’t have to set it up on it’s heel after each use.

Here are the pieces of one square. Any guesses what it will be??

Here it is, all laid out and ready to sew together, then quilt and bind. I used Aurifil thread for piecing and I will, of course, use Hobbs batting when I quilt it. This will go over the top of my stair rail to decorate for Independence Day, July 4.

Once again, I used this book for my inspiration and darling dog patterns.

I had an eventful April, to say the least, which set me back from my intended goals, one of which was to finish this quilt in time to post it today. I was ill most of the month, including a hospital stay for a week, with a diagnosis of Miller Fisher Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. It was a scary time for my family and I. I had a lot of numbness with muscle weakness and swallowing issues. After 4 infusions 24 hours apart, I was released, and the numbness eventually subsided along with the other issues. I am still dealing with some after effects, but am so thankful for the medical personnel who ordered ALL the tests and diagnosed me within 24 hours of checking into the Emergency Department. Time is of the essence with this syndrome. So thankful!

Check out what the other Island Batik Ambassadors have done or will do for this challenge.

WEEK 1

May 6:

May 7:

May 8:

May 9:

May 10:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

WEEK 2

May 13:

May 14:

May 15:

May 16:

May 17:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

WEEK 3

May 20:

May 21:

May 22:

May 23:

Thanks for following along with my sewing and quilting adventures! And thanks to Island Batik, Oliso, Aurifil, Hobbs Batting, and Schmetz Needles for supplying products for us to use for our challenge this month.

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April Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Funky Friends Factory is a new sponsor with Island Batik this year and what fun projects! We had our choice of stuffed friends to make and I chose Mickey Moose. I have this thing about moose. They are just so cute! I don’t know if it stems from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show as a child or just what, but I do realize they are not friendly creatures in the wild. But the cute factor is high on my barometer!

These are the fabrics I chose for my moose: Circle Dots Yellow and Optic Flower Yellow for the body, Fan Red Burgundy for the antlers, and Circle Dots Purple for the hooves and foot pads, and ear backs.

And here she is, born today, April 30, Mildred Moose, Milly for short. Love her.

She got loose!

More munching!

Here’s where I was able to nab her and bring her back home.

I used Aurifil 50 wt thread for piecing her together and Aurifil black 12 wt for hand embroidering her eyes.

I begin every project with an new Schmetz needle. I used a size 12 Microtex for this quilting fabric.

This being the last day of the month, be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors to see which Funky Friend they decided to craft.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Megan Best ~ BestQuilter
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts
Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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Island Batik Ambassador March Challenge

Our March project was our choice! Since I loved the Rollin’ Round collection and I had some left from last month’s project, I decided to use it again. It’s available now in your favorite local quilt shop. My local shop, Fiddlesticks, in Vancouver, WA just received a new shipment of Island Batik!

I used the following pattern because I liked how it made the fabric the star of the show. The strips are 3 1/2″ wide on the fan blades so you can get a nice look at the fabric designs. It’s available as a free pattern download here https://www.artgalleryfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/projects.cgi?patternID=5

It finishes at 42″ x 42.” Great size for a baby quilt or a lap quilt!

It went together very quickly and before I knew it, it was ready to quilt.

I used Hobbs Tuscany cotton wool blend batting which was a dream to work with and I loved the loft it provided in just one layer of batting.

I used Island Batik Mushroom for the backing and some tan variegated Aurifil thread along with some white Aurifil thread for quilting after pinning carefully.

Island Batik Mushroom , a Foundation available all year round.

I was traveling and had my travel Bernina with me, so I decided to stitch in the ditch to stabilize and the echoed the pattern in the negative space in each of the corners. I used a new Schmetz #80 microtex needle before quilting. Smooth sailing!

I’m really happy with the result and love the fact that it will be a companion to my log cabin quilt from last month! Check out that post here: http://lanaquilts.com/category/blog/

Thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Aurifil thread, and Schmetz needles for the supplies used in in the project.

I think you’ll enjoy seeing what the other Island Batik Ambassadors completed for their It’s All Up to You Challenge this month!

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Megan Best ~ BestQuilter
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts
Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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February Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Our challenge this month was to make a log cabin quilt, any size, using our given collection. I was fortunate enough to receive Rollin’ Round by Kathy Engle for Quilting Renditions. It has fun designs of wheels, gears, bicycles, and all things round. And the colors are gorgeous jewel tones with some wheat colors and oranges as well. Bright and beautiful!

Rollin’ Round is shipping to shops this month! Ask for it at your favorite shop.

All cut out and ready to roll!

The pattern I chose is called River Log Cabin by Amy Ellis and I found it in Missouri Star’s Mod Block Magazine, Vol.1, Issue 1. It’s a different layout than I usually see and it seemed a little more modern to me. The strips are cut different widths; the grey background solid was cut into 1 1/2″ strips and the Rollin’ Round fabrics were cut into 2 1/2″ strips.

I put a new needle in before every project. Schmetz Microtex 80/12 needles are what I use for piecing.
Beginning to put it together. Strip piecing all the way!
I love these bright, beautifully saturated colors!
The orange and teal! Yum!
If you’re looking for a bicycle print, this one is super cute!

All 80 squares have been trimmed, sewn into rows, and rows sewn together. Now for the quilting. I only had my travel machine with me and no walking foot, so straight line quilting it is! I stitched a presser foot edge away from the seam lines and used Aurifil 50 wt 100% cotton thread for quilting (and piecing, but a more neutral color than shown below).

You can see the design layout now. Circles were perfect for Rollin’ Round!

I love it!

For the backing I chose Optic Flower in teal and Platinum, which is one of the Naturally Neutrals in the Basics collection. You can see the teal here, the other end of the backing has the Platinum.

Optic Flower – teal
Platinum
I’m calling it Desert Sunset!

Be sure to view and follow what the other Island Batik Ambassadors have completed for their Log Cabin challenge:

February 6:

February 7:

February 8:

  • February 12:
  • February 13:
  • February 14:
  • February 15:

February 19:

  • February 20:
  • February 21:
  • February 22:

February 26:

And last but not least — enter to win the giveaway from Island Batik!!!

Week 3 (Squiggles, Dots and Lines + Romance Garden):

<a class=”rcptr” href=”http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d463e29d66/” rel=”nofollow” data-raflid=”d463e29d66″ data-theme=”classic” data-template=”” id=”rcwidget_hg0cdatt”>a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

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Covering the World: One Quilt at a Time

by Accuquilt

Beginning in June 2023, AccuQuilt is partnering up with Island Batik and Baby Lock in a pay-it-forward campaign called “Covering the World: One Quilt at a Time.” As an Island Batik Ambassador, I chose to participate by donating one of my quilts to my local guild to donate locally as needed.

Earlier this year I participated in one of GE Designs Quilt Alongs, Strip Twist. My Island Batik Stash Builders were perfect for this quilt. Stash Builders are 5″ strips by width of fabric that come 4 strips to a roll, 5 rolls per package. That’s nearly 3 yards of fabric and perfect for cutting 5″ squares or 2 1/2″ strips. I whipped this up at my annual quilt retreat using Schmetz needles and Aurifil thread.

Assembled pieces
My first completed block!
Trying a layout
All together
Added borders and scrappy binding using more of my Island Batik Stash Builders, Hobbs 80/20 batting, and Pro-Stitcher on my Handiquilter Forte
Donated to our guild’s charity chairperson, Darlen,e at our November meeting

I know someone will appreciate this one as it is delivered this month.

Thank you Island Batik for the fabric and GE Designs for the inspiration!

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June Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Flying Geese

Our challenge this month was to make a quilt or table runner using Flying Geese blocks with the Fall or Winter 2022 bundle we received. I had been looking forward to using the Winter 2022 pre cut bundle I received, Holiday at Home, because I love how the peach (Conch) companion fabric brings out the subdued peach in the background of the fabrics. I was also given the Hunter fabric, but didn’t end up using that fabric for this project.

Hunter and Conch

It was back to The Trendy Table for inspiration for my table runner. I’m a sucker for what I call Film Strip sashings or borders, the small squares repeated in a row, as in the runner in the top right of the front cover. So, that was my choice for this month.

I made this at a quilt retreat in April and was so busy chatting with my friends, that I forgot to take progress pictures! I used Aurifil thread and a fresh Schmetz 80/20 needle in my machine. Every project deserves a new needle!

I quilted it using double batting, one layer of Hobbs 80/20 and one layer of Hobbs wool on the top to provide the loft I wanted. Hobbs has many varieties of batting for every need. The digital quilt design is used is Hollies and Berries from Pro-Stitcher Patterns quilted on my Handi Quilter Forte 24 (Handi Quilter Amara 24).

And…it’s reversible!

Digital quilt design is Hollies and Berries from Pro-Stitcher Patterns

The Holiday at Home collection can be found at these shops:

Compass Point QuiltsNH
Cotton Cupboard-MEME
Creekside Quilts-OROR
Hancocks of PaducahKY
Missouri StarMO
Nine Patch FabricsVA
Quilters HeadquartersSD
Sew What Fabrics/Batiks Etc.VA

Check out all the other Ambassadors to see how they handled the challenge:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – 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
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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