Island Batik Ambassador December Challenge

It’s All Up to You

December brings another month to embark on our own project, regardless of its size, theme, or technique!

I’ve been going to a lot of retreats lately. I love them so much! It’s a way to meet new quilting friends and I’ve been searching for my new tribe since moving across the country a couple years ago. I began my December quilt at the retreat I attended last month. I joined the Crimson Christmas Quilt Along with Krista Moser. Once I saw her Crimson Christmas quilt pattern, I knew I had to make it! I had some Island Batik scraps that worked great for this challenge.

The beginning process is getting all the 60-degree pieces together before being able to put them on the design wall to see it coming together. A fresh Schmetz 80/12 needle begins the piecing process every time.

It’s beginning to come together here.

And finally it is together after day 2 of the retreat. It just needs to be trimmed at the edges.

After trimming.

I quilted it on my Handi Quilter Forte 24 (Amara 24) using Chrisy Dillon’s Radiate digital pattern for Pro-Stitcher. I was able to audition it using Pro-Stitcher Designer by bringing in a picture of the quilt using the Backdrop tool and auditioning different digital designs until I found one I liked. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and Superior Thread’s Monopoly in smoke for the top thread for longarming so the thread wouldn’t show, just the lovely texture.

After taking it for show and tell at my guild, I hung it in my entry for the holiday. I’m very happy with it!

This is my last post as an Island Batik Ambassador as life is taking me other directions. I have loved this opportunity so very much and it enriched my life for its duration. Island Batik is so generous and supportive of its ambassadors! I would encourage others to apply!!

Please take a look at what the other ambassadors have chosen to do for their It’s All Up to You 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!

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:

August 5, 2024August 12, 2024

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….

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>

April 16, 2023

April Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

Crazy Quilt with Aurifil

Our challenge for April was to make a crazy quilt with the Aurifil thread provided by Aurifil and any Island Batik fabric provided previously.

The Aurifil thread I was gifted was a three pack collection named Rubber Tree. One spool was a light medium tan and two of them were variegated, one light and one darker.

The Island Batik fabric collection that I was gifted that would show off this thread collection the best was River Walk. And I love this collection, so I had no problem using it again for April.

I had some additional Aurifil threads in my stash that worked well in combination with the Rubber Tree collection, so here is the line up I used to create my crazy quilt.

This pattern came to mind as I thought about making a crazy quilt because I had made it previously. It uses machine embroidery and is fun to make.

I love making decisions about which thread color to use next and sitting back and watching my machine embroider it out for me.

The Aurifil variegated threads seemed to change colors in just the right place. I enjoyed using them.

Here is my finished crazy quilt wall hanging. I really love how it turned out.

I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and a new Schmetz needle for this project and appreciate these sponsors for providing these materials for me to use for these challenges.

Check out these Quilt shops for the Island Batik River Walk collection;

A and A Sewing

Bird in Hand Fabric

Boutique 4 Quilters

Creekside Quilts, OR

Portage Quilt House

Quilting by the Hearth

Sew Creative, OR

Stitch, CO

Check out the other Island Batik Ambassador’s blogs to see what they did for their April Island Batik / Aurifil Crazy Quilt 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

April 12, 2015June 6, 2015

St. George, Utah

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to beautiful St. George, Utah. “Jaw dropping gorgeous” is how I described it to my husband on the phone. Perfect weather, mid to upper 70s, sunny, no humidity, and breathtaking scenery! A local park with paved bike paths nearby provided convenient daily walking opportunities.

Stellar bike paths near my hotel provided good opportunity for daily walking.

Palm trees (in front of hotel) are always a good sight!

Superior Thread’s Sue Green-Baker Serger Workshop is what attracted me and it was so worth it! Sue is a knowledgeable and entertaining instructor and the Superior staff was exceptionally helpful and courteous. I have a serger that lives in my closet and really wanted to learn how to use it to its fullest potential.

I attended both the 3 day Beginning and 3 day Advanced Classes back to back, with a day off in between. Each three day class had its own huge binder full of colored pages with detailed instructions and page protectors for safekeeping of the samples you made during class. The fabric for your samples was precut, bagged, and ready to go. Superior Threads included a generous thread package to play with, as well.

Everything was so well organized. I learned how many amazing features a serger has, for sure. So cool! I sewed on Baby Lock’s Ovation, its top of the line model. Of course, I fell in love (OOoooahhhh, that jet air threading!) and it followed me home. My daughter inherits the one still in my closet!

A two hour lunch each day allowed us time to shop at Superior Threads and Fab Fabrics upstairs.

On Sunday, my day off between classes, I rented a car and drove about 30 minutes to Snow Canyon State Park and then on to Kayenta. Others chose to drive to Zion or Bryce Canyon, but I had already been to both a couple of times. I was mesmerized by the scenery, once again. Being a camper, I detoured through the campground within the park. Check out these amazing campsites!!

One of several walking trails –

Then a very short drive to Kayenta and Coyote Gulch, an art village. I loved the area so much, I visited a model home.

During the Advanced Class we met Bob and Heather Purcell, owners of Superior Threads.

Heather presented a trunk show of some of her garments and quilts one evening after dinner. She pieces a quilt about every two weeks and has someone else do the quilting.

Someone else does her quilting and then she makes the garment.

This side she couched Razzle Dazzle over the top.

Close up of quilting – makes it look like papyrus

This visit was an exceptional one. I just love spending time with like minded peeps!