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 piecesMy first completed block!Trying a layoutAll togetherAdded borders and scrappy binding using more of my Island Batik Stash Builders, Hobbs 80/20 batting, and Pro-Stitcher on my Handiquilter ForteDonated 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.
This month features paper piecing, either English paper piecing or foundation paper piecing. Our challenge included using our collection of fabric assigned to us to make a lap sized quilt or larger. This is week 3 in our monthly blog hop.
The Natural Healing collection is the one I was lucky enough to work with this month. Look for it coming soon to your local quilt shop.
I was given this 1/2 yard bundle by Island Batik to use for this challenge. Isn’t it gorgeous?! Natural Healing is a fantastic name for this collection.
I choose to use foundation paper piecing and found some inspiration in this book:
Paper piecing isn’t my normal mode of operation, so I used this book for some help. Since our collections this month are for spring, I went looking for some springy patterns. I thought these designs were super cute, so I used them to make a small, lap sized quilt to hang over my stair railing to decorate for spring.
We were traveling in our RV for 10 weeks, so I brought my Singer Featherweight and all the supplies I would need to make this project on the road.
Allowing 1/4″ seam allowance around the outside.
I was planning on quilting using rulers and straight lines, since I only had my Featherweight to work with, but we decided to make a bee line for home once our Airstream Caravan was over, so I had time to put it on my Handi Quilter Forte 24 longarm and use Pro-Stitcher for the body of the quilt. I still used rulers around the paper piecing.
Love the buttons and hand embroidery on these cute blocks.
This design is Spritzi from Pro-Stitcher Patterns.
Many times I choose to sew my binding onto the back and flip to the front and use a decorative stitch. That is what I did here.
I used the Serpentine stitch and elongated the width and length to fit the binding.
I think I’m gonna like it as a spring decoration!
I used Hobbs Tuscany batting, which is a cotton and wool batting which drapes beautifully. I always use Schmetz needles, a new one for every project. Hobbs and Schmetz supplied me with the batting and needles for this project.
Be sure to check out what the other Island Batik Ambassadors have done or will do for this challenge and check your local quilt shop for Island Batik fabrics.
AND NOW for the GIVEAWAY! Win this Island Batik Royal Crown 42 piece 10″ stack just by commenting on this blog. Do you enjoy paper piecing? Random winner will be drawn on September 26 (in honor of my grandson’s bday!).
This month was a free month for us to determine what to make and which fabrics to use. I had been wanting to try the ProStitcher Fabric Bins, so that was my choice. The Pro-Stitcher Fabric Bins come in sizes, but you can adjust the size and make them any size you want. I like to keep my Island Batik fabrics separate from the rest of my stash, so these will be perfect for that.
This video shows the pattern stitching out on my Handi Quilter Forte and also the overall shape of the bin before sewing the seams. The program stitches a 1/4″ line to the outside of the design to make it easier to cut it out leaving the 1/4″ for the seam allowance. This project comes with easy to follow written directions. Here is a closer look at both bins flat on the longarm before sewing the side and bottom seams. The top fabric is Round Petal Floral Lemon Lime by Island Batik and the blue fabric on the bottom is Sprout by Island Batik.You can see the one side and one bottom seam. The horizontal seam shown here is made by bringing those two seams together to make the boxed bottom. The lining fabric is Mocha by Island Batik. It’s one of the beautiful foundation fabrics!Bottom seamBinding the top of the bin is the last thing to do! Flip it inside out and voila! My larger bin is bound in Lime solid by Island Batik. It measures 11″ x 11″ x 11″, perfect for storing my scraps I have cut into 10″ squares.Here’s my smaller storage!! It measures 8″ x 8″ by 8″. This will store my 5″ and 2 1/2″ squares. Fabric is Sprout by Island Batik, bound with Cheerio in Bermuda by Island Batik. The bundle inside my bin is Natural Healing. Look for it in September when I’ll be using it for my September Challenge. A different design on each sideA different design on each sideThis is a picture of my Pro-Stitcher history showing some of the designs I used for the sides of my bins.
I used 2 layers of Hobbs 80/20 batting on the blue one and quilted with denser stitching to help make it stand upright. I used Bosal foam on the yellow/green one, which is a heavier batting/stabilizer/foam usually used for tote bags. Then I didn’t feel like I needed to quilt with as heavy quilting because it stands upright easier on its own.
Many thanks to Island Batik for supplying the fabric and Hobbs Batting for supplying the batting for this project! Check your local quilt shop for Round Petal Floral, Lime solid, Sprout, Cheerio Bermuda, and Mocha by Island Batik!
Check out what other creative projects my fellow Ambassadors did for their challenge this month!
