Get Hopping!

I am a day late reminding you of the final two days of the Island Batik Blog Hop.  This week there are two great collections.

 Steam Engine is a cousin of the Graphic Gems collection that I used for my quilt in the hop. These two collections could be mixed together seamlessly.  The two stops here are sure to inspire you.


I am using the Sunny Side Up  collection as part of my November Challenge quilt. I love what these two ladies did with this fabric

Monday, August 26th - Steam Engine

Maryellen @ Mary Mack’s Blog

Jennifer @ Dizzy Quilter

Tuesday, August 27th - Sunny Side Up

Connie @ Freemotion by the River

Joan @ Moosestash Quilting

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Crumbled Potato Chips

Surely this never happens to you, but sometimes I just mess up royally.   Such was the case this weekend. 
I bought some fabric to make more of the diagonal cut Four Patch Posies.   I very carefully cut repeats from the fabric. Once across gave me three of them. Then I took a little break.

When I came back, I was ready to get with the sewing.  I grabbed the repeats and cut them into squares.  Then I cut the squares into triangles.  I grabbed a stack of triangles and started laying them out.....OOOPS!  I only had three - where was the other one.  I grabbed another stack - Same!
Like a ton of bricks, realization smacked me in the head. I had only cut three repeats and carefully lined them up.  Phooey!  Now what? I started looking at the pieces and decided that two from the first set and two from the second set would still look interesting. So I laid out as many as I could.

Hmmmmm. There is a single from every stack left. I sat for quite a few minutes arranging and rearranging them until I was okay with how they looked.
Here are the results.

At least they look interesting. I think with some borders and a little creativity I can still make a fun quilt with them.

But lesson learned - watch what you are doing!  Ha ha.   if you take a break, stop and look again with discernment before you jump in.  And if you mess up and crumble that bag of potato chips, realize that you can still use them to top a casserole.   (yes I am reaching for that comparison to tie the title to the story.)

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Like Eating Potato Chips

A couple of days ago a friend and I were discussing how she might use a "difficult" fabric in a quilt.  I mentioned doing a "four patch posie"  like I did with some spiderman fabric some time back.  I was looking for instructions and found a different way.  I knew I would have to try it.

 Now it is like eating potato chips - I can't stop with one block. I just want to keep eating making these little blocks.

Basically, you line up fabric the same way as you would for a one block wonder (OBW) quilt but only use four layers. 

Then you cut squares with the four layers lined up. They need to be at least 4 inches - bigger would be better.
You cut the squares diagonally both ways.  Then each triangle stack makes a block.

You can see the how-to video that I found on YouTube below.


Now, I have a few more cut that I need to sew.  See you later, folks!

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

New Project, A Handy Tip and a Blog Hop Update

As I hate to be behind or late with anything,  I have started on my November Island batik project. I am making a blue and yellow quilt using the SunnySide Up collection along with some of the basics and foundations fabrics. I have made a lot of half square triangle blocks.  The stack below is forty of them.

I made these using Triangles on a Roll. When you are making lots of the same unit this is really fast.

Here is my handy tip: When I am working on a project and making pieces to put into blocks later, I use these cheap inexpensive plastic envelopes from the Dollar store.

It keeps all of my pieces together so they don't get lost in the clutter.  They will hold a lot more than you realize.  This one has 96 half square triangle blocks as well as 48 border sections.

The Blog Hop:

Here is Island Batik blog hop schedule for this week . A different Island Batik Spring 2019 collection is being featured each day. You should visit my fellow Ambassador’s blog hop stops every day to see what beauties have been created with this wonderful fabric.

Monday, August 19th - Petal Pushers

Joanne @ Unicornharts

Carla @ Creatin’ in the Sticks

Tuesday, August 20th - Quiet Shades

Connie @ Kauffman Designs

Vasudha @ Storied Quilts

Wednesday, August 21st - Seedlings

Vicki @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Mania @ Mania for Quilts

Thursday, August 22nd - Soil & Seeds

Gail @ Quilting Gail

Also you can go to the Island Batik blog post for the end of week two and register for this weeks prize, a bundle of the lovely collection, Quiet Shades.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quilting Finished on This One

The string quilt is quilted.  Now it just needs trimming and binding.

I started stippling on this quilt but I got bored with it.  So I decided to use the "Alien Fingers" pattern that I learned from Leah Day.  Actually this is more "Gene's Variation of Alien Fingers" - My aliens are stranger than Leah's  aliens.  LOL
The back shows the texture better. 

The color isn't true in the above photo, but it shows the texture better than any other picture I took.

This one is more true to color

Also, I have  been making some HSTs using Triangles on a Roll. 

I love that I made twenty of these and all the waste is in the photo below.

Now that is thrifty!

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Beat The Heat - Blog Hop

Today is my day for the Island Batik Beat the Heat Blog Hop featuring  the Spring 2019 fabrics from Island Batik.   My fabric line to share with you is Graphic Gems.  This collection won my heart.

So how do we "Beat the heat" in Alabama?

We have lots of methods.  One classic way is to enjoy the early morning cool and the late evening cool.  And I am going for the late evening way of beating the heat.   It is a true delight to take a blanket - or better still a quilt - outside to place on the ground (or perhaps a truck bed.)  Then we lay out in the cool(er) breeze of the evening and look at the wonder of the stars.  To me, stars have always shown the magnitude of creation.  So, my creative soul chose to make a star quilt with these lovely fabrics.  

I used the AccuQuilt Go! Qube 8" set and the two companion sets (Angles and Corners) to make my stars.  Lots of pieces were carefully but quickly cut and laid out into blocks.

These were sewn together to make 12" finished blocks. Since the 8" Qube makes 4"sections, it was simple to use those sections to make a 12" block.

I love the richness of the colors and how the patterns in the batiks play together so well.  The low volume "whites"  really add interest to the background in this block.

As I had planned the quilt in Electric Quilt 8,  I printed out one of each block to make the sewing easier.  I didn't sew the wrong pieces together using this method.

I hope you have been noticing the lovely visual textures and designs of these batik fabrics.  There are rich darks and  amazingly rich colors.  And I have to share my favorite fabric(s) in this line.

Yes, I love these Gears fabrics.  The gears, propellers and concentric circles make my heart just sing.  I particularly love the lower one because of the multiple colors in the fabric.

Have I talked and teased too much already? I have a lot of glamour shots of this lovely quilt.  So let's look.

 The quilting is a simple stipple design done on my domestic machine with an off-white/bisque Aurilfil thread.  The batting is Hobbs Cotton Batting with scrim - one of my favorites for quilting on my domestic machine. This quilt has been washed to get the lovely "crinkly" texture that makes me so happy.

Stars in the Southern Skies

You know you wanted to see the backing  

 For the backing I used two of the fabrics from the quit and added a different Island Batik fabric called Raindrops in Grape from the "All A Flutter" collection that I purchased specially for this quilt.  you should know that various lines of fabric from Island Batik play very nicely together.

A puppy was playing with her owner in the park and she came to give her approval to the quilt. She was so sweet!

How about a few close-ups?

For the binding I also used the Grape Raindrops fabric, but I added a flange with a teal from the Graphic Gems collection.

Here are a some closeups of some of the blocks. You get the opportunity to 

enjoy some of the fabrics up close also.

I even added a few raw edge appliqué stars in the "blank" areas in the top and bottom rows. 

The fabrics for this project were provided by Island Batik.  The batting was provided by Hobbs Batting an industry partner for the Island Batik Ambassador program.  Some of the thread was provided Aurifil - an industry partner.  The Go! Cutter and some of the dies used were provided by Accuquilt - another industry partner.  Thanks so much to all of you.

You should really visit all the stops along this blog hop.  You will be blessed with inspiration.

The official Island Batik Blog is having a giveaway each week of the hop. Below is the current widget for the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also check out the other Ambassador's posts as some of them are having giveaways also.

Monday August 5

Leanne Parsons - The Devoted Quilter

Sherry Shish - Powered by Quilting

Tuesday August 6

Bill Locke - Studio BIll Locke

Lisa Nielsen - Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam

Wednesday August 7

Sandra Walker - Mmm! Quilts

Terri Vanden Bosch - Lizard Creek Quilts

Thursday August 8

Pamela Boatright - Pamela Quilts

Kathleen McCormick - Kathleen McMusing

Monday August 12

Karen Neary - Sew Karen-ly Created

Carol Moellers - Carol Moellers Designs

Tuesday August 13

Michelle Roberts - Creative Blonde

Laticia "Tish" Stemple - Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

Wednesday August 14

(Debora) Anne Wiens - Sweetgrass Creative Designs

Gene Black - Gene Black (you are here) 

Thursday August 15

Tina D Dillard - Quilting Affection Designs

Bea Lee - Bea Quilter

Monday August 19

Joanne Hart - Unicornharts

Carla Henton - Creatin’ in the Sticks

Tuesday August 20

Connie Kauffman - Kauffman Designs

Vasudha Govindan - Storied Quilts

Wednesday August 21

Vicki Schlimmer - Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Mania (Magdalini) Hatziioannidi - Mania for Quilts

Thursday August 22

Gail Sheppard - Quilting Gail

Monday August 26

Maryellen McAuliffe - Mary Mack's Blog 

Jennifer Strauser - Dizzy Quilter

Tuesday August 27

Connie K Campbell - Freemotion by the River

Joan Kawano - Moosestash Quilting

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Under my needle

Today I have another project under my needle.  You may remember that a week or so ago, I basted this quilt.  Today I started quilting it.  I decided to start with the focal point - i.e. the lime colored diamond "square."  For that I did some special quilting to make it stand out more.

 For the rest of the quilt, I am planning to do a simple meandering/stipple somewhat loosely. (loosely for me, that is.)  As there are lots of bias in this type of block, the quilt doesn't lay very flat. So I am "quilting out" the excess as I go.

I have to say that the meandering is going pretty fast -or at least it seems so. I have about a sixth of it quilted.  If you don't remember this is how it looked basted.

Don't forget that this month the Island Batik Beat the Heat blog hop is going on.  There is lots of inspiration and a few prizes so try to read the posts from all of the Ambassadors in this hop. Tomorrow, August 14th, is my day on the hop. I hope you like my quilt as much as I do.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Working on an Island Batik Project

I have been quiet for several days.  Here is why; I have been working on my September Island Batik Challenge.   For this project I am using some lovely fabric designed by Jackie Kunkel.  It is called Electric Desert. The borders are a different line of Island Batik fabric in blue and yellow - but it plays very well with the colors in the Electric Desert line. For the background I am using Island Batik's black solid fabric. Here is a quick look at some of the quilting.

This is a whimsical quilt so I decided to just have fun with the quilting.  I didn't worry about "perfection" but rather chose for perfectly imperfect.

I will tell you more about this quilt and how it was designed in my September challenge post.

Right now,  I am spending a few minutes at a time hand sewing the binding onto the back of the quilt.

The little binding clips are so handy to hold it in place as I hand stitch.  I am about halfway finished with it.
You may notice that I left the outer border lightly quilted.  I thought it would make the edges a bit softer.  Since I am using Hobbs 100% cotton batting with scrim, this will be a delightfully comfy little quilt.

Okay, it is back to work for me, the binding awaits.

Island Batik's Beat the Heat blog hop has just posted the end of week one giveaway.  You will want to be sure to visit and enter.  The prize is a precut bundle of Garden Party.  It is a lovely rainbow of color for you to use in your creative play

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Fabric Decoupage and a Quilt Basted

A day or so ago, I saw Jackie Kunkel's video on FaceBook showing how she decoupaged some clear glass plates with fabric on the back.  Her plates looked awesome.  I stopped in our only nearby hobby store looking for supplies.  They didn't have the dishwasher safe Mod Podge, so I got the Gloss version and decided to do something similar but different.  I cruised around the store and found a little metal bucket on clearance (49 cents!) and a storage box for 99 cents. 

Friday afternoon, I sat and played with fabric scraps and did some decoupage.  It isn't all that pretty but it was fun and I learned a few things for next time.

Here is my bucket

And here is what I did to the top of the box

Neither of these is great but I know to plan a design ahead of time when I try it again. 

Saturday morning I pulled out a quilt that I had started to baste once before and got it basted.  

I even stabilized it with some walking foot quilting so I can easily quilt it later.

As I was basting this quilt, I realized that I love it more than I knew. It is extremely scrappy and has a lot of memory fabrics in it from other projects. I think that the one green diamond makes it somewhat modern also. I plan to give this as a gift but I would be quite happy to keep it. 

For now, I have another Island Batik quilt that I am quilting - slowly.  I can't show it yet.  But it is silly and fun.  (or at least I think so.)

Don't forget that the Island Batik "Beat the Heat" blog hop starts Monday. I can hardly wait to see what my fellow ambassadors have to thrill us with.  My day will be August 14th but you don't want to miss any of these posts. You can see the full list AND register to win Island Batik fabric at this post. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.