Quilting it!

My December challenge quilt for the Island Batik Ambassador program is moving right along.  I finished the top using the pieces from the last post.   Then I layered and basted it using a Hobbs Silk Blend batting. 
The next step was some ditch quilting to stabilize the quilt sandwich a bit more. 

Now the FUN part has started.   With the quilting in the ditch, I can start anywhere on the quilt for the free motion quilting.  So I started in the upper right corner on the black background.  I have decided to do LOTS of pebbles on this quilt.   All of the black in the interior will be pebbled.  It makes a wonderful texture that I just love.

Another great thing about pebble quilting is that it pushes the background down and lets the design part of the quilt seem to pop forward.   And since the theme of the challenge is 3D,  it also adds a nice 3D texture to the design.    I am hoping to have the finished in early December so that I can share it with you.

The design is a variation on a classic quilt design that I have wanted to make for a very long time.  I am excited about this quilt - so excited that I really want to share the top with you right now.  But I am going to show some restraint.....and build  your an-ti-ci -------------------pation!

Happy Thanksgiving my dear ones. Be sure to thank whoever creates dishes of the food that you enjoy on Thanksgiving.  And also thank the farmers and others who work to get that food to your table.  We have so much to be thankful for. 
And I am thankful for you readers who keep me inspired with your comments.  Blessings to you.

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.

A little Bit of Piecing

Things happen and life gets busy. Sometimes I don't have either the time or the inclination to sew on a given day. 
But I did find a bit of inclination and some time to sew.  I have a project for December in the works and part of it has been in the "hmmmm, what do I do next?" stage for a while.  But as I was sitting in my recliner playing a game of solitaire,  ****WHOP****  the muse struck me.  The answer was so simple.  I had some strips that were already precut to 2" wide. Those were cut into 3 1/2" sections and pieced into rows.  Ooops, well it seemed like a good idea - but if I flip one and put it against the other one the middle color matches.  (the muse speaks) - " Silly boy, add one more piece from a sixth fabric."  I found a piece of the same line and added it.   Now I have four of these sections.

Perhaps in the next few days I can take these and add them to the project. 

Of course you may be noticing that these are Island Batik fabrics.  All but the yellow are from the Electric Desert line by Jackie Kunkel.  The yellow is an Island Batik blender. 

This will likely be a part of my December Challenge quilt.  So stay tuned to see what becomes of these lovely strip sections.

I also have a plan to make a quilted binder cover.  I found it on Happy Quilting.  Melissa made hers for a recipe binder, but mine will be for my music notebook.  I collect songs for playing on my ukulele and jamming with my brother who is learning guitar.  If mine is  a success, I will make one for his binder also.  And just like that I will have one Christmas present sorted out.

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.

Sunny Skies: Tool Time - November Island Batik Challenge

Welcome to my blog post for the November Island Batik Tool Time challenge.  Roughly half of the Island Batik Ambassadors are doing  "Tool Time" this month, while the alternate group is doing "A Piece Of...." to showcase new fabrics.
I have found that these challenges bring out the best in my quilting.  I love the rush of creating something new while fitting into the challenge theme.

If you saw my post way back in August, you know that I am using Triangles On A Roll as my tool for this challenge.  The top of this quilt was mostly done early, but then life interfered with getting it completed.  However, I did get it finished (and posted) before the end of November, so I am good. Ha ha.







I started by designing the quilt to use lots of half-square triangles - just so I could use the "tool" I had chosen for the challenge.  To use the  Triangles On A Roll  it is necessary to cut pieces of fabric just slightly bigger than the section of paper you are using.  I discovered that with these I only wanted it big enough to do twelve sets of triangles at most. If you can read the fine print on this photo you can tell that for four units, you will need two 10" squares.  Since I was using some squares from an Island Batik Stack of Sunny Side Up, this was perfect for me.

I also used some yardage. For those units I could use more than one section of four at a time.
** Late addition: It is on the instructions but I want to remind you that you should lower your stitch length to make it easier to tear away the paper.


It was challenging but also fun to sort out the color arrangement. I had worked that out prior to starting using another tool that I love: Electric Quilt 8.

I made lots of half square triangles, 96 if you are counting! I probably made a few extra that will show up in a scrap quilt later.  I also used the Accuquilt Go! cutter and a die from the Qube Companion set "Angles" for the inner border that completes the design.  Accuquilt gave each ambassador a cutter and Qube 8" set.  However,  I did purchase the "Angles" companion set as I saw the value in having it for designs I want to make.
There are 48 border units so it was a big help. The border units are made with the angle die "14" from the Qube 8" Corner Companion.  This die makes the sides of the Triangle in a Square block. When you join two of them, they create a 4" by 2" section.  That worked perfectly with my Triangles On a Roll units.

You can see the border units on the far left of the photo.

I used Hobbs Premium Cotton batting for this quilt as I expect it to be used and washed a lot. With this batting I can machine wash and dry the quilt with no worries. I love using Hobbs Batting.

The quilting thread is from Aurifil and was in my July box of goodies that were provided to me from Island Batik and partners.

It is a subtly variegated yellow to white.  It is so subtle that I originally thought it was just yellow.  I realized that it was variegated when I started winding bobbins for quilting.  It worked out fantastically on the quilt.













So now, how about some quilt photos?

Draped on an old fence
After two days of rain, it is amazing how beautiful that blue sky looks.

On the ground in a field

Sunny Skies on the porch steps under skies that are indeed sunny today. 

Full View, taken from the porch with the quilt laid on the ground

The Island Batik fabric, Hobbs batting, Aurifil thread, and the Accuquilt Go! cutter were given to me as an Island Batik Ambassador in consideration for promoting these brands while creating the challenge quilts.

I love using these fine products for creating glorious quilts and quilted items.

I hope you are finding a way to stay creative too. Remember, a few minutes each day will add up to great accomplishments if you are consistent.


I hope you have been following the Island Batik "A Piece Of...." Blog hop.  If not you can find the round up of week two HERE.  You should really be following as there are some wonderful giveaways involved.

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.

Binding Ready to Apply

"How do you eat an elephant?" the little girl asked.  Her wise old grandfather replied, "A little bit at a time!"

This quilt is coming together "a little bit at a time."  True, there is no elephant involved.  Still, when you are so busy with other things in life, you can still fit in a creative project in the time that you do have.  For this quilt, I chose a lovely yellow fabric for the binding.  This one is called Tossed Mermaids from the Islander line by Island Batik

Isn't it fun and whimsical?

It was difficult to use this fun design and cut it up  because I know as a binding you would not see the mermaids.  But the color goes very well with my blue and yellow quilt.  So, I cut it.

The binding is rolled up on an empty Aurifil spool waiting until I have time to sew it onto the quilt.  I used the same yellow variegated Aurifil thread to join the binding as I used for quilting.

I will also be using it to sew on the binding and sew it down. I love this thread! 

Remember that you can find time to fit some creativity into your day. 

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.

Checking In (Sneak Peek)

The November challenge quilt that I am making for the Island Batik Ambassador program is now all quilted.  I just need to cut binding and sew it on. 
I can't show you the quilt top just yet.   So,  I did the "swirled quilt" photo that I have been seeing on social media. 

I love the fabric and the quilt.  It will be so nice to snuggle in during the cold snap that is starting tonight here in my area of Alabama.  I need to get busy making and attaching the binding! 
But today I will be helping Mom with a financial matter and that will take some time.  Maybe I can get the binding made this weekend. 
Wish me luck.

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.

Starting Quilting

Last week, I finally got my November Island Batik Challenge quilt basted.  Then I sewed some stabilizing stitches in the seams of the columns.  I confess I didn't go back and do the rows. 
Today I started quilting it.  I am using my variation of a design I learned in a Leah Day class on BluPrint.  It is called Alien Fingers, but when I do it they become Freaky Alien Fingers as I meander about with them instead of making "hands" with them. 
Seriously though, I love the effect especially after it is washed and gets crinkly.  To me that says it is a comfortable quilt.

I love this blue and yellow together. 

I am using a lovely yellow Aurifil thread to quilt it with.  I didn't realize until I had wound four bobbins that it is a variegated yellow and white.  I think it is perfect for this quilt.

It just looks yellow on the spool. 

FYI the two bobbins on top of the spool pin are for this quilt.  The two on bottom are my go-to piecing thread - a 50 weight cream/bisque.  Since I rarely use two spools at once, I use that spool pin for bobbin storage.  In my limited space, it is a perfect solution.

The photo thing wasn't working again. I hope you can see the photos. I used the solution that the blogger help community offered.

I showed my Facebook Fans the Funky Friend that I made for the Island Batik booth at Quilt Market. So I am going to show it to you here. This is Pete. He is made with a pattern from The Funky Friends Factory.   The fabric Pete is made from will be coming to stores in February.  Pete is made from the Santa Fe line of Island Batik fabrics.  Isn't he just adorable?

Puppy Dog Pete

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.

Catching Up

***Sorry for some strange reason the photo part of Blogger is not working for me. Hopefully now you will see photos as I did some 'internet magic'***

It has been a week since I posted - mostly because I didn't have much to post. I did some stabilizing stitches on my November challenge quilt. (Yikes it is already November and I am not ready!) But that is not something that is exciting to show since it is "in the ditch" quilting - and I am not ready to show the quilt top.

One thing that I also do is weaving. And as this week has been spent more with Mom and medical appointments, I am using this 15 inch Schacht rigid heddle loom as it travels well.

This loom comes with a stick shuttle that you wind by hand. But I prefer to use a boat shuttle that has bobbins that you can wind on a bobbin winder - or  for portability,  a cordless drill.

Stick shuttle

Boat shuttle and Bobbins

For bulkier yarns, I do use the stick shuttle. But for this project I am using thread-like yarns that come on cones.

Yarn Cones on Left

I am doing one of my favorite techniques that is called clasped weft or "two color interlock."  We made a video on this technique that you can find here .

I love to unroll the cloth beam and look at my work.

Blogger is being quirky today and not allowing me to upload the photos in the usual way, so if this post looks a bit "odd" I apologise, but I am not in control of it.

I must tell you that until Mom is back to normal,  my posts may be sporadic. Feel free to email me 

photo to deter spammers. 

I must tell you about an upcoming blog hop!  The Island Batik Ambassadors who were not in the earlier blog hop this year are getting their turn in November.
So I am going to send you to the Island Batik Blog for full details AND a giveaway.
Island Batik Blog Post
The prize is this precut bundle of the new Little Sir Little Miss line

There are many delightful prints in this Batik line from Island Batik

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.