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 ~ 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

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.

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.

Sue Green-Baker
Sue Green-Baker

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.

How to decide?

 

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 –

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

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I could wake up to this every morning!

 

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

 

Bob Purcell
Bob Purcell visited during class

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.

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Heather Purcell

 

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

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