Aurifil – Lana Russel

May 7, 2024May 7, 2024

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.

April 30, 2024

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

March 23, 2024

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

February 19, 2024February 18, 2024

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.

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!

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!

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.

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>

January 29, 2024January 25, 2024

January Island Batik Unboxing!

Supplies donated by Island Batik and their sponsors for our monthly challenges!

Thank you once again, Island Batik, Oliso, Aurifil thread, Schmetz needles, Deb Tucker Studio 180, Funky Friends Factory, and Hobbs batting for supplying us with materials for our monthly challenges!

December 2, 2023

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.

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!

June 10, 2023June 21, 2023

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.

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).

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

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

Compass Point Quilts	NH
Cotton Cupboard-ME	ME
Creekside Quilts-OR	OR
Hancocks of Paducah	KY
Missouri Star	MO
Nine Patch Fabrics	VA
Quilters Headquarters	SD
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 ~ M ania 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

May 9, 2023May 3, 2023

May Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Featuring Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 tools

This month Island Batik challenged each its 25 ambassadors to use a Studio 180 tool that they had received, but not used previously, to make a quilt or a runner with the surprise bundle of the Winter 22 collection each of us received. (Remember the wrapped fabric bundle I couldn’t show you in my unboxing video? ) It is revealed below.

The tools I received were the Wing Clipper Tool and the Quilters Magic Wand. You can find details and directions for how to use the Wing Clipper tool from Deb Tucker herself here and the Magic Wand here.

To use the Wing Clipper Tool, first position your block with the long edge of the center triangle at the top, as shown above. Line up the diagonal lines on the ruler with your seam. So, in the sample above, I moved the tool down so the diagonal lines on the tool matched up with the diagonal lines on my pieced rectangle block. Then trimmed the right side and top of the block.

Then turn the block upside down, line it up with the desired size of your block ( in this case, 2 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ and trim the right side and the top of the block.

This is the Quilter’s Magic Wand. It is used to mark the lines on either side of this tool to indicate sewing lines. I lined it up on the center line where I want to cut the block in two after sewing 1/4″on either side . I found this to be a helpful tool, because I can’t tell you how many times I have sewn right down the middle instead of 1/4″ on either side of the middle of the block.

I used the Magic Wand here to mark these sewing lines. I used a new Schmetz 80/ 12 microtex needle for piecing, supplied by Schmetz. Pieced with Aurifil 50 wt. thread.

And this is Sandalwood, my winter ’22 surprise bundle that was wrapped and tied with bows when I received my box of fabrics and supplies from Island Batik. It’s so beautiful, I had a hard time cutting into it! Sandalwood is shipping soon, so check these shops or ask your LQS.

A Quilter’s Place, Oakdale, CA

Cotton and Chocolate, Simi Valley, CA

Creative Union Fabric, Port Townsend, WA

Creekside Quilts, Gales Creek, OR

KIKI’s Quilt Shack, Fresno, CA

Ocean Wave Quilts, Eureka, CA

Quilt Passions, Mission Viejo, CA

Sew Smart Supply, Los Molinos, CA

Village Sewing Center, Santa Rosa, CA

Will n Beez, Salem, OR

This is the Star Shadows pattern from Studio 180 that was provided to me to make this challenge quilt. Once I decided this is what I wanted to make with the Sandalwood fabric and the Wing Clipper and Quilter’s Magic Wand tools I received, I reached out to Studio 180 and they graciously supplied it to me for this challenge.

This is Island Batik Yellow Amber I used for the back of my quilt and Island Batik solid grey was used for the star shadows. Did you know Island Batik has solids? We were provided with white, grey, and black solids and the grey was perfect for this.

Here is the quilt on my Handi Quilter Forte (now named Amara 24) longarm. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting provided by Hobbs.

Here is the digital quilting pattern I used to quilt it. It’s Mod Petals by Quiltable.