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.

My Second Island Batik Ambassador Box

The second box of amazingness has arrived.  It weighed in at 23 glorious pounds (10.4 kg) and is full of delightful surprises.  We made an opening video to share with you.

Island Batik along with industry partners,  Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, and Accuquilt sent us these lovely supplies to use in our challenges each month.

I have already started one project for September. (yes really.  I don't want to get behind.) 

These supplies are a delight to work with. 

Have a colorful and happy week.

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.

Shhh....A "Secret" Project

After diligently working on my Island Batik March project, I am nearing a completion.  Of course I can't show it until March - and I hope I finish it by then.
I am doing something I have never done.  Yes, this is a true confession.  I am hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt. I honestly have never done this before. But, as it is the traditional method, I decided I needed to do it at least once.  I sewed more than one side without using a thimble -mostly because I couldn't find one here.  Yes, I do own thimbles but as a rule I dislike using them.

Since I can't show you the front of the quilt, let me tease you a bit with the back of it.  The backing fabric is a delightful Island Batik Neutral called "Whip Cream."  It is off white/cream with a spattering of pale blue and a darker cream swirl pattern.

I have adjusted the photos to show off the quilting better so the colors are not true in the photos.

I had lots of fun quilting this quilt and deciding which quilting designs and motifs to use.  There are a number of "Square Flower" motifs which I learned from Lori Kennedy.  I also pulled out a book or two to look at other ideas. One of those was 180 Quilting Doodle Designs compiled by Karen Burns.
Another was Step-by-Step Free-Motion Quilting by Christina Cameli.   Christina has been one of my favorite FMQ teachers. Her teaching and "you can do it" attitude have really helped me to be better at Free Motion Quilting.  Even though we have never met, I consider her a true friend.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will return in March for the reveal of this quilt. But don't wait until then.  I am sure I will be posting more here before the end of February.

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.

Oh My Stars

For February the Island Batik challenge is called Magnificent Minis.

After some deliberation, I decided that I would do a field of wonky stars.   Then I looked at the fabrics I was given to work with and decided to make it a little more interesting by dividing the field into four colors.  Of course, I didn't want to do it as four squares, so I thought a while longer and decided that I could divide the square in two diagonals.   Making one diagonal - that was an easy thing to do.  But on the other, it took some planning and careful fabric choices.

Here is one of the photos I took of this mini quilt. In case you are wondering this little quilt is 22 1/2 inches square. Each star block is 3" finished - so each star point section is started with a 1 1/2" square and finished at 1" - that is possibly the smallest piecing I have ever done.

But since we had a sunny warm day, I decided to go on a photo "safari" with the mini quilt of stars.  My location of choice was a local park that has a lake.  There is also an old covered bridge there.  So I put the quilt against the wall just inside the bridge, hanging it over one of the boards.

Wow, I love how that shot came out. 

But there are more photos.  

I stepped to the back of the bridge and put the quilt on one of the guard rails.  Before I could take the photo,  a visitor landed on top of the bridge, so I included this photo-bomber. 

Do you see that lovely gray heron?

I tried to get a photo of the heron sitting on a small ?rock? in the lake but he flew as I snapped the photo. 

There is also a nice spraying fountain in the lake. 

I think it made a nice backdrop also. 

And a couple more shots taken in a friend's yard. 

The fabrics are all Island Batiks.  The batting is Hobbs 80/20 Heirloom. The thread is Aurifil for both piecing and quilting. 

Of course I am required to tell you that I was provided the fabrics and the batting for making this quilt by Island Batik and Hobbs Batting at no charge to me.  I also used Aurifil thread in the construction and quilting, but that thread was already in my stash.  

I would like to thank Island Batik,  Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread and Accuquilt for being sponsors of the 2019 Island Batik Ambassador program. 

Throughout the month, the Ambassadors will be sharing Magnificent Mini quilts.  Here is a list of other Ambassadors with links to websites for each. Enjoy the journey with us. 

Carolina Asmussen ~Carolina Asmussen

Gene Black ~ Gene Black (you are here)

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Connie K Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Anja Clyke ~ Anja Quilts

Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs

Becca Fenstermaker ~Pretty Piney

Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Barbara Gaddy ~ Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Dione Gardner-Stephen ~ Clever Chameleon

Sarah Goer ~ Sarah Goer Quilts

Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts

Lori Haase ~ Dakota City Quilter II

Joanne Hart ~ Unicornharts

Mania (Magdalini) Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts

Carla Henton ~ Creatin’ in the Sticks

Stephanie Jacobson ~ Steph Jacobson Designs

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Joan Kawano ~ Moosestash Quilting

Kim Lapacek ~ Persimon Dreams

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Leanne Parsons ~ Devoted Quilter

Bea Lee ~ BeaQuilter

Toby Lischko ~ Gateway Quilts & Stuff

Bill Locke ~ Studio Bill Locke

Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack's Blog

Kathleen McCormick ~ Kathleen McMusing

Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs

Karen Neary ~ Sew Karen-ly Created

Lisa Nielsen ~ Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam

Jackie O’Brien ~ If These Threads Could Talk

Laura Piland ~ Slice of Pi Quilts

Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Vicki Schlimmer ~ Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Sherry Shish ~ Powered by Quilting

Anita Skjellanger ~ Quilt in a not-Shell

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

Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy Quilter

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Terri Vanden Bosch ~ Lizard Creek Quilts

Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts

Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts

Suzy Webster ~ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

(Debora) Anne Wiens ~ Seams like a Plan

Geraldine Wilkins ~ Living Water Quilter

Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore

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.

Island Batik Ambassador 2019 Unboxing

As I have mentioned previously,  I applied to be an Island Batik Ambassador for 2019 and was accepted to the program.

Island Batik is "The best from Bali."  The fabric is outstanding. In a few days I will be showing you my first project as an ambassador.

Full Disclosure:  Island Batik along with partners, Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread and Accuquilt have provided the items I received free of charge as an Ambassador. 

I will also say that I have purchased and used products from all of these companies prior to becoming an Island Batik Ambassador. 

So now, enjoy watching as I unbox the lovely items I received from  these sponsors.



I also have some nice still photos of my amazing "haul."

The table is FULL of happy possibilities. 

Bright Colors and more

Go! Cutter, Go! Qube, Island Batik Fabric, Aurifil Thread.

Another view of the fabrics and that lovely Hobbs Batting

Surprise!  The contents of this package
 will be part of my August Blog Hop post. 

Neutrals in Gray/Black/White and more.
Look at the lovely red rayon scarf. 

Batting Galore from Hobbs Batting. 

This year should be a time of productivity and growth for me as a quilter. I hope you will come along for the ride.


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.