Textile Time Travels: September 2023

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

September Island Batik Blog Hop - Pieced to Perfection

This month’s challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors is “Pieced to Perfection”. We each had a specific new fabric collection to use and were to make a lap size or larger quilt using paper piecing - either foundation paper piecing (machine) or English paper piecing (hand). I used foundation pp which is one of my favorite techniques for accuracy and sharp points.

Look at these beautiful fabrics! I love the yellowy butterfly print.

I received the Buds and Blooms Collection by Kathy Engle for Swan Amity Studios. Such yummy garden prints.

I usually use paper piecing for tiny projects like the little 1.5" pumpkin from myAugust project but this time I used it to go big - 15" Rolling Stone Blocks (one block is almost as big as my entire pumpkin pillow :) It was fun using the technique for big blocks. Rolling Stone is one of my favorite quilt patterns especially in antique signature quilts. Here's one from my collection - it is inspired my new quilt.

I played with block placement and how to make the each block pop and shine. This was one choice.

And here's the full quilt. I really felt like the fabrics needed the green garden fabric to highlight each lovely pair of pretties. And I got to use the 19th fabric of the collection for the corner stones.

Rolling Stone Flower Garden

55” x 55”

September 2023

Sandra Starley

Foundation paper piecing

Machine Quilting

Original Design

Fabrics: Island Batik Buds and Blooms Collection

19/20 fabrics

Batting: Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool and

Piecing and Quilting Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

The Blog Hop just started. This is Day 2

Check out Sarah Pitcher's blog for her amazing dog portrait made with the same collection I used. You won't believe how cool it is.

And visit the Island Batik Blog all month to follow along and enter the great giveaways

Friday, September 1, 2023

2023 September Monthly Color Challenge - Classic Cars

For the 4th year, I'm joining in on a fun project run by Jen of PBJ, Patterns By Jen; her awesome free mystery quilt - the 2023 Monthly Color Challenge. ***SEPTEMBER PATTERN LINK. The Star Pattern is free during September so visit her page after you look at my cute little star block and learn more about it and the Challenge.

This year the inspiration is something totally different: Classic Cars.

September's palette is Mustard

Of course, my mind and color palette always goes to a more Cheddary Orange color. Here I'm trying to decide what fabrics to use and how to coordinate with the previous years' projects. (Beautiful batiks from Island Batik, I'm a 2023 Brand Ambassador).

Jen provides super easy to follow instructions for each monthly free pattern and how to videos too. This month's block is a wonky, off center, or uneven half square triangle star block using a unique variation of the flippy corner or stitch & flip method of making 1/2 square triangles. Block size is 12 inch finished.

I'm using leftovers from my Island Batik fabrics and I didn't think I'd have enough of the darker mustard yellow for the star center. But I was able to to sew together 2 of the cut aways from making the points to sew the center -yay!