quilting – Lana Russel

October 19, 2024

Island Batik Ambassador October Challenge

What’s in Your Bag Challenge? Featuring ByAnnie.com

Our challenge this month allowed us to choose a byannie.com pattern and Island Batik fabric and complete the bag and post about it any day in October. Byannie.com supplied the pattern and supplies, including hardware, to make the bag. Island Batik supplied the fabric of our choice from either the Spring or Summer ’24 collections.

I chose the In Control Bag. My goal was to replace the 3 mugs full of notions that sit on my sewing table, often being knocked off the back of my table landing in the abyss behind my tall trash can. Let’s just say I no longer enjoy getting on my hands and knees nor getting up from that position. The In Control Bag held great promise for controlling my chaos.

I chose these three fabrics from the Summer ’24 Flutter Fields collection.

You can find this collection at these shops:

Creekside Quilts-OR

Fabric Square-OH

JellyRollFabric.Net

Middlebury Sew & Vac

Creekside Quilts-OR

Fabric Square-OH

Here is the entire Flutter Fields collection:

You can find this collection at Creekside Quilts in Banks, Oregon.

I decided to use # 712401075 for the front and #712404083 for the back and #712407810 for the accent.

I loaded the front and back on my Handi Quilter Forte (Amara 24) longarm using Soft and Stable provided by ByAnnie.com for the batting using a narrow horizontal straight line quilt pattern.

I first made all the pieces according to the well written directions. Byannie even prints check boxes for you to check off each step as you go as well as a sheet with the numbers of the pieces to pin to each piece to keep everything organized. There are even video instructions for many of the steps.

I love how professional the bags look when complete. The directions provide steps that lead to a very nicely finished bag. The piece next to the pattern is the stabilizer for the bottom of the bag.

I love all the pockets!

Pockets on the inside, outside, and ends!!

One zippered pocket!

Here are my three mugs with notions that I was referring to earlier that continually get knocked off behind my sewing table. My hope was that they all would fit, be easier to access, and be less likely to be knocked off.

…and it all fit easily! I just used the inside pockets and still have the center part available as well as all the outside pockets!! I’m so please with how it turned out. It will definitely be less likely to be knocked off because of the larger base and it feels so much more organized.

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 What’s in Your Bag 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

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024

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!

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:

August 12, 2024

Island Batik August Ambassador Challenge

Marvelous Mini Challenge

The August monthly challenge was to make a mini quilt of our choice using any technique, not to exceed 24″ square. We could choose any fabric collection except the Surprise Bundle to be disclosed at a later date.

Island Batik’s Poetic Bouquet by Kathy Engle for The Whimsical Workshop

I had a pattern called Hues of Blue by Sherri McConnell that I had saved from a magazine ages ago.. It finished at 22″ square, so perfect! I couldn’t find the name of the magazine anywhere on my copy. I thought this would be a great time to use it as i could feature every fabric in the Poetic Bouquet collection along with the two coordination fabrics. I used the dark coordinating fabric (Storm) for the center block and the light one (Sky) for the background.

Copy of Hues of Blue by Sherri McConnell from an unknown magazine

Once the piecing was complete, I loaded it on my Handi Quilter Forte longarm. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting with a layer of Hobbs wool batting on top to give more definition to my quilting. I test my tension before quilting by placing a 5″ square of scrap fabric to the side of my quilt and stitch some circles and sharp angles to test for eyelashing indicating uneven tension. The stitches should look the same on the front and back as shown above and below.

I wanted the piecing to be the star and not have the quilting overpower it so I used rulers and echoed the block shapes by stitching 1/4″ away from the edges using my Handi Quilter longarm Ditch Ruler.

Here is a close up.

Here all of the shapes are outlined and I’m ready to quilt the background.

All finished! I used various designs for the background using the Handi Quilter Mini Scallop ruler for the borders and the Multi Clamshell and Ditch Ruler for the rest.

Here is the back side and a good picture of Island Batik’s Storm.

Check out what the other Ambassadors made for their Marvelous Mini 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

June 18, 2024

Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza by Shannon Roudhan and Jason Bowlsby

Book Review by Lana Russel

I was given a copy of this 143 page soft cover book by C&T Publishing for review. And to be totally honest, I was super impressed. It starts at the very beginning with needles, thread, and tools, and wraps up with tips on how to quilt on a home sewing machine, which makes it totally accessible for beginning quilters. Following the instructions are 13 projects, most not even needing a pattern because they are wonky and therefore forgiving, so it’s very appropriate for someone just starting out learning about all things sewing and quilting.

The thirteen projects begin simply and gain momentum slowly throughout. Each project builds on the experience gained from the previous project. The gentle succession of projects begins with a mug rug, placemat, pillow, tote bag, wall hanging, 6 quilts, and finally an open front jacket and vest.

If you are a more experienced quilter, perhaps you are growing tired of following a pattern, and wish to explore more artsy endeavors and don’t know where to begin. The blocks and projects within this book would be a great start towards that goal.

Here’s a bit about the authors…

Shannon Roudhán and Jason Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo from Seattle, Washington.Their award-winning designs have been featured in and on the covers of domestic and international publications and their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in books and magazines around the globe. Shannon & Jason have published 12 books including Complete Crochet Course – the Ultimate Reference Guide, Designer Crochet, Boro & Sashiko: Harmonious Imperfection and Contemporary Kogin-zashi: Modern Sashiko Beyond Filling in the Gaps. Their NEWEST book, Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza is available June 2024.

The duo has been married for 29 years and have been teaching adults for 20+ years. They have a mastery of subjects from boro & sashiko, crochet and knitting, sewing, quilting, photography, and embroidery. Their enthusiasm, quirky sense of humor, and relatable teaching style have made them sought after teachers in virtual, local, and national venues. Be sure to check out their selection of online classes on Craftsy, Creative Spark and through their own website at shannonandjason.com. The “edu-tainment” experience of a class with Shannon & Jason will leave you informed, empowered, and in stitches (see what we did there?).

Here’s where you can get your own copy of this just released book.

https://www.ctpub.com/scrappy-wonky-quilt-block-extravaganza/

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

June 18, 2024June 28, 2024

June Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Sleep in Heavenly Peace / Quilt Across America

Featuring Deb Tucker / Studio 180 tools

All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads. Across the US, too many boys and girls go without a bed—or even a pillow—to sleep on. These children end up sleeping on couches, blankets, and even floors. This can affect their happiness and health. That’s where Sleep in Heavenly Peace comes in. A group of volunteers dedicated to building, assembling, and delivering top-notch bunk beds to children and families in need.

So many great charities provide clothing, meals, and toys to families in need. But as wonderful as this aid is, few organizations offer suitable beds and bedding to the kids in these families. Sleep in Heavenly Peace fully believes that a bed is a basic need for the proper physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs. If a child needs a bed, Sleep in Heavenly Peace wants to make sure they get one. NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN!

Quilts Across America is a program that relies on the generosity of quilters everywhere to provide a quilt with each bed that is delivered. Quilts Across America was initiated by Studio 180 Design and Tucker University in July 2023. Help make this the largest quilting project in America and complete the process of getting kids, Off the floor, Into a Bed, and Under a Quilt.

If you are interested in helping out, check out Shpbeds.org and note the requirements below.

Quilt Requirements

Size between 50” to 60” wide and 75” to 90” long.
Simple quilt designs.
Colors that appeal to kids and young adults from 2 to 17 years of age.
No religious or holiday themed fabrics.
Quilted, not tied.
Machine bound is preferred.
No buttons or glued on embellishments.
Simple allover quilting is recommended.

I was excited to join this cause and selected some pretty, uplifting colors of Island Batik fabrics. I opened Electric Quilt and designed a quilt that I could use my Studio 180 tools to make the blocks.

This is the design I settled on.

The lightest fabric I chose is Frosting by Island Batik, from the Foundation line available all year round. I also used it for the backing and binding. I absolutely love the subtle color changes within the design.

The other fabrics I used are:

Pin dot mini floral teal chameleon https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/pin-dot-floral-batiks-mini-floral-teal-chameleon-yardage

Chromatic Triangles Teal Aruba https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/chromatic-batiks-triangles-teal-aruba-yardage

Morning Glory Vine Teal Parakeet https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/tropical-oasis-batiks-peonies-multi-blue-green-yardage

Tropical oasis sprig multi pink purple https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/tropical-oasis-batiks-sprig-multi-pink-purple-yardage

Tropical oasis leaves multi pink yellow https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/tropical-oasis-batiks-leaves-multi-pink-yellow-yardage

Tropical oasis peonies multi blue green https://www.missouriquiltco.com/products/tropical-oasis-batiks-peonies-multi-blue-green-yardage

This is the Magic Wand. It is used to mark on either side of it to indicate the stitching lines. I used my Hera marker which creates a crease so you don’t have to worry about getting any chalk or other kinds of lines out later on. It’s one of my favorite tools.

Then I stitched on the creased lines.

After stitching both lines, I used my rotary cutter to cut down the middle between the two stitched lines, creating two pieces. I pressed those pieces and then placed another square, used my Magic Wand again and stitched on both creased lines.

Then cut between the two stitched lines.

Press and now you have a Flying Geese unit.

This is where the Wing Clipper comes in. Line up the seams with the lines on the tool and trim the excess.

Turn the unit upside down and trim on the other two sides.

The first few blocks on my new Felt Right design wall. Loving my blocks and the design wall as well! At this point I chose to name my quilt Looking Up because of the arrows pointing upwards.

The third Studio 180 tool I own is the Tucker Trimmer. It is used to trim down half square triangles, among other things.

It’s on the longarm! I love my Handi Quilter Forte (now called Amara 24) and Pro-Stitcher!

This is the design I chose to use for quilting. I liked the clouds and swirls. It is by Christy Dillon and is called Calm Clouds e2e.

I love the positivity in this quilt! The arrows pointing upwards, the plus signs, and the friendship stars. I hope it brings a young person endless snuggles and happiness.

This is a good picture of the backing, Island Batik Frosting and is available all year round. I love the very subtle color changes.

This is how I bind quilts by machine. I sew the binding to the back side of the quilt and then bring in to the front and sew using the serpentine stitch.

Quilt Stats

Pattern; Looking Up by Lana Russel

Fabric: Island Batik

Iron: Oliso

Needle for piecing: Schmetz Microtex 12

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Tools: Magic Wand, Tucker Trimmer, and Wing Clipper by Deb Tucker Studio 180

Quilting: Handi Quilter Amara 24, Pro-Stitcher, Calm Clouds e2e by Christy Dillon

Be sure to check out what the other Island Batik Ambassadors did for this challenge. I love this group of creatives!

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>

December 21, 2023January 25, 2024

Island Batik Ambassador December Challenge

Our challenge this month was to make something of our choice that has to do with celebrations. Well, every celebration involves food, yes??? And hopefully with shared responsibilities. Whether you call them pitch ins, pot lucks, or something else, a proper carrier is needed, so I decided to make a casserole carrier.

And Pro-Stitcher has a design for that! Actually they have a couple. The one I chose is Happiness is Homemade. There is another one called Buttered Biscuit. I combined the two as I preferred parts of each. Directions are included with the download.

The fabric I used was Island Batik Small Pointed Floral in Turquoise (BE36-D1) for the front and Island Batik Mini Leaves in Brown Ecru (112325051) from the Natural Healing Collection for the lining. I love the combination of blue and yellow. They were my wedding colors!

i quilted this on my Handi Quilter Forte (Amara 24).

I love the Baked with Love message on the side flaps

And I love this plaid design for the bottom of the carrier.

This is how it looked after turning the cover right sides out. Ready to topstitch the edges.

And I loved this Happiness is Homemade script on the front and back.

I used kabab skewers for my handles but you could use wooden spoons or dowel rods or anything else that fits.

Now I am set to bring a dish to our next shared meal in style.

Happy Holidays to those who celebrate the season!

Check out what the other Island Batik Ambassadors did for the challenge this month:

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

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!

October 27, 2023October 27, 2023

Island Batik Ambassador October Challenge

Falling for Accuquilt

Our challenge this month was to use the Accuquilt North Carolina Star block, generously donated to us by Accuquilt. We could use the entire block, just parts to make a totally different design, and/or pair it with companion dies. We could make it into any project we liked, using fall fabrics, if possible.

I thought about what fall decorations I needed, and came up with ideas for placemats. Placemats add a finishing touch to a table setting and we host Thanksgiving. Time to get busy.

First, select fabrics. I selected a variety of fall colored fabrics and wanted to use the larger prints as the focus fabrics. They became the 4 51/2″ squares in each corner of the North Carolina Star blocks. Then it was pure fun to play with the other fabrics to see how placement changed the entire look. The block itself was 12″ square and I wanted the placemats to be about 12″ x 18″ so I added some designs on the sides.

My first placemat used Pine Leaves Cone-Gr as the focus fabric in the four corners. I really love this one. Other fabrics used were Leaves- Green in the very center, Berries -Orange, Pebbles -Coffee, and Sprig – Yellow in the middle and on the right border, and Rock -Yellow and Copper on the left side.

This placemat was made with Leaves – Green Cactus in the four corners, Berries – Orange in the very center with Leaves-Green Grass and Rock – Yellow in the center cross and Rock – Yellow on both borders.

This placemat features Pine Leaves from the Sandalwood Collection for the four corners, Leaves-Green from the Sandalwood Collection for the very center, and Leaves – Green Cactus from the Sandalwood Collection, Pebbles – Coffee, Sprig – Yellow, and Berries – Gold and Berries – Orange from the Sandalwood Collection for the rest of the placemat.

This placemat features Leaves – Green from the Sandalwood Collection for the four corners, Sprig – Yellow, and Bubbles – Cherry to complete the center, and Copper, Rock – Yellow, Sprig – Yellow, Pebbles – Coffee, Round Petal Floral, and Leaves – Green Grass from the Sandalwood Collection for the side borders.

All placemats are backed and bound with Rock – Green Grass.

I quilted all of them at the same time on my Handi Quilter Forte with the Filigree Leaves e2e design from Pro-Stitcher Patterns.

I was able to use some Hobbs 80/20 batting scraps left over from what they generously supplies us. I don’t like to waste!

Quilted on my Handi Quilter
Forte (now Amara 24)with Pro-Stitcher

My Handi Quilter Glide 2 foot made it so easy

Quilted with Filigree Leaves by Pro-Stitcher Patterns

I like the way they look on my dining room table. I enjoy some of them more than others, but that happens when you give yourself freedom to play. And they will let good with some of my other solid color placemats to complete the table setting for Thanksgiving dinner.

Many of the fabrics I used are from the Sandalwood Collection, which is a Winter ’22 Collection. These were the only fall colored fabrics I had on hand to work with, so if you see some you like, check your local retailer to see if they still have them. Country Charm or Celtic Fields are Summer ’23 Collections with similar colors and look. Otherwise, check out their current Island Batik fabrics, and I’m sure you’ll find something that needs to follow you home! I can always count on Creekside Quilts near me in Oregon to have Island Batik fabrics.

Remember, every project needs a new needle. I use Schmetz needles, normally an 80/12 Microtex. Hobbs 80/20 batting goes into nearly every one of my quilted projects and this one is no exception. Accuquilt makes cutting fabric so much easier and cutting the pieces is my least favorite part of quilting, so I use my Accquilt whenever possible. This time, it was the North Carolina Star BOB. Aurifil 50 weight thread is used for piecing. And a big thank you to Island Batik, who gives us freedom to play with our fabric and projects!

Please take a minute to check out what the other Island Batik Ambassadors did for their challenge this month:

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