Christmas in July- Island Batik and Accuquilt Challenge

The July Island Batik Brand Ambassador challenge is "Christmas in July" and is sponsored by Accuquilt. We were to use the new Tree of Life cutting die to make a project and share the Christmas spirit and spread JOY by giving it to someone. Here's my completed quilt hanging in my Mom's sewing room.

And here's my Mom, Georgia with her new quilt and being supervised by Oliver (Ollie Owl pattern from Funky Friends Factory -April 2022 IB Challenge). She's given me so much that it was fun to give her a special quilt.

Mom loves sunflowers so I was happy to find this beautiful sunflower batik  in my IB stash builder strips - 5" by 42" wof - double the width of jelly roll strips and a great size for piecing. And even better, I found a second lighter yellow sunflower strip for the opposite basket!

Did I mention she loves sunflowers? It was easy to find sunflowers to stage the quilt. Here are two of my myriad choices.

Here's the Accuquilt Tree of Life die and a bit of my cutting. Clearly, lots of triangles will be involved in creating this quilt. This is a BOB die - Block on Board meaning that you can cut out all the pieces needed for a block with just one pass of the die through your Accuquilt Go! machine! NO pesky Y seams and the notched corners (no dog ears) make piecing easy.

So many options with this interesting new die. Would I be making the Tree like shown on the die above or little trees like below?  Or Bowties or Baskets? OR??? Ps. sneak peek at the alpaca and wool pressing mat from our new IB Ambassador sponsor Prairie Spirit Alpacas from Canada.

I decided to make several different baskets. And then had to figure how to arrange them - it was surprising how many different ways 4 blocks could be combined. This was my first choice:

 

After several tries, here's my final arrangement and the completed quilt. I machine quilted in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines creating an X in each of the 100 little squares (1.75") for 400 quilted triangles. That seemed appropriate given all the triangles in the Tree of Life pattern. I used a facing technique (sewing strips to front and turning them and seam allowance to the back) for a seamless edge finish. 

Baskets of Love and Sunflowers for Mom

17" x  17"

Original Design

Sandra Starley

July 2022

Fabrics: Woodcut Blossoms and various other Island Batik fabrics 

Backing: Island Batik Heavenly (Brilliant Blue Collection)

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20 Bleached Cotton Batting and 

Piecing Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Quilting Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

75/11 Chrome Needle: Schmetz Quilting Needles 

Pressing Mat: Prairie Spirit Alpacas

Tree of Life BOB die: Accuquilt

Pieced and quilted by Sandra Starley 

***Fabrics provided by Island Batik, batting by Hobbs, thread by Aurifil, needles by Schmetz, die by Accuquilt, and pressing mat by Prairie Spirit Alpacas. ***

To see more amazing Triangle Quilts, visit my fellow 2022 Island Batik Brand Ambassadors:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Megan Best ~ Bestquilter
Pamela Boatright ~ Pamelaquilts
Elizabeth DeCroos ~ Epida Studio
Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ 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
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads
Brianna Roberts ~ Sew Cute And Quirky
Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Andi Stanfield ~ True Blue Quilts
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

New York Beauty Blog Hop - June 2022- Island Batik Brand Ambassador Project - Quilt the Raven Nevermore

Have I mentioned that I love orange/cheddar quilts and Halloween?? Well, I do!! So, the new Island Batik Halloween collection - Moonlight Hollow- was a delight to play with and create. 

I really love the raven fabrics and the pumpkins. And the polka dots and stars and moons and cobwebs, etc. 

As you may have guessed by now, this month the Island Batik Brand Ambassadors are creating New York Beauty Quilts using new Island Batik Collections and Island Batik is giving away these Collections each week on their blog (scroll down for details).  

Each month, we get a new challenge and this month was definitely challenging! We had to use a special secret fabric collection that we didn't show in our unboxing videos and we had to make a NEW YORK BEAUTY. Yikes, not a 9 Patch or a Churn Dash but one of the truly epic patterns. Curved piecing is not for wimps.

My sister and I worked on designing a paper piecing pattern and a plan with the help of EQ - Electric Quilter. I created preview templates to make sure no ravens were harmed in the making of this quilt. Aren't they perfect for fussy cutting.

It was daunting to create so many little sawteeth and sew the arcs to the backgrounds. Curved piecing is challenging. Lots of pinning was involved and very slow stitching. I will do a special post sharing some of the tips and tricks I've learned in the process. 

And after all the 36 blocks were sewn. I then had literally hundreds more straight sawteeth to sew for the inner and outer borders. They do look pretty cool, though. I used my new AccuQuilt cutting system to cut the black sashing strips and the plain borders.

Yes, all the work was worth it! Here's my Crown of Thorns, Rocky Mountain Road, or New York Beauty. Because of the crow/raven fabric and because I'd never made a NYB before (and may never again) - I christened it "Quilt the Raven, Nevermore". Of course, my witch doll had to join in the photoshoot fun, and Oliver the Owl from the Funky Friends Factory March challenge flew in too.

Quilt the Raven, Nevermore?

70" x 70"

Original Design

Sandra Starley 2022

Traditional pieced and foundation paper pieced blocks, Graphix and Contempo Batiks: (Moonlight Hollow Collection)

Backing: Beige (Foundation Basics)

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20 Cotton Batting

Piecing Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Quilting Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Needle: Schmetz Quilting Needles 

***Fabrics provided by Island Batik, batting by Hobbs, thread by Aurifil, and needles by Schmetz and Accuquilt Go by AccuQuilt. ***

___________________________________________________

To see more amazing New York Beauty Quilts and join in the Giveaways, visit my fellow 2022 Island Batik Brand Ambassadors' Blogs and the Island Batik Blog :

Week 1  

June 6 - Harvest Night

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

    

June 7 - Jewel Carvings

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts
Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

    June 8 - Moonlight Hollow 

- you are here :)

Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

    June 9 - Nightshade

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter
Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

June 10:
Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway at Island Batik Blog

WEEK 2

    June 13- Pumpkin Spice

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

June 14- Santorini

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

June 15 - Savannah

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts
Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

June 16- Snowsicle

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

June 17 
Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway at Island Batik Blog

Week 3

June 20 - Tranquility

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

June 21- Winter Sky

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

June 22- Winter Wonders

Megan Best, Bestquilter
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

June 23 - Woodblock Bouquets

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

June 24
Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway at Island Batik Blog

Week 4 

June 27 -Woodcut Blossoms    

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

June 28
End of Blog Hop and  Final Round-Up at Island Batik Blog

Triangle Tricks - May Project Island Batik Brand Ambassador

 May's Challenge was to step away from squares and rectangles and play with TRIANGLES! 

  

Cutting and sewing triangles can be a bit tricky ...  but luckily, last weekend I received a wonderful new Accuquilt cutting system with the 8" Mix and Match Cube. Thanks Accuquilt!! So I opened up the package and started cutting!  I cut and pieced 4 triangle blocks, featuring new collections- Contempo and Woodcut Blossoms Batiks along with Brilliant Blues.

I love how the different blocks made with the 8-inch cube fit together and allowed me to do lots of straight line (and diagonal) quilting through the blocks and create lots of little triangles with my machine quilting. I quilted 11 horizontal and 11 vertical lines to make squares and then quilted diagonally across them to create X's in each or 4 triangles for 400 little triangles.

Photoshoot Fun!

Tricky Triangles

20" x 20"

Original Design

Sandra Starley

May 2022

Backing: Heavenly (Brilliant Blue Collection)

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20 Bleached Cotton Batting and 

Piecing Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Quilting Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

75/11 Chrome Needle: Schmetz Quilting Needles 

Pieced and quilted by Sandra Starley 

***Fabrics provided by Island Batik, batting by Hobbs, thread by Aurifil, and needles by Schmetz. ***

To see more amazing Triangle Quilts, visit my fellow 2022 Island Batik Brand Ambassadors:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Megan Best ~ Bestquilter
Pamela Boatright ~ Pamelaquilts
Elizabeth DeCroos ~ Epida Studio
Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ 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
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads
Brianna Roberts ~ Sew Cute And Quirky
Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Andi Stanfield ~ True Blue Quilts
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Owl's Well - April 2022 Island Batik Brand Ambassador Project

 This month's Island Batik Brand Ambassador was sponsored by the soft toy company, Funky Friends Factory. I picked Ollie the Owl because I think owls are awesome and I'm a night owl.  I used 3 fabrics from the new Graphix line (great black and white geometrics) and added an orange dot (Blenders) for a fab pop of color. I searched through my Grandma's button box and created a perfect pair - a big black button and a little white one that fit inside it. The pattern shows felt for the eyes and beak. I used the batik and pinked the edges with pinking shears.

Oliver Owl

Pattern by Funky Friends Factory

Sandra Starley 2022

Pattern: Ollie the Laid Back Owl, Funky Friends Factory
Fabrics: Graphix and Orange Blender Batiks: (Graphix Collection)

Batting used as stuffing: Hobbs Premium Poly-Down Polyester Batting

Piecing Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Quilting Thread: Aurifil #50 weight

Needle: Schmetz Quilting Needles 

Pieced and quilted by Sandra Starley 

***Fabrics provided by Island Batik, pattern by Funky Friends Factory, batting by Hobbs, thread by Aurifil, and needles by Schmetz. ***

 I had sew much fun sewing this soft toy owl using the FFF pattern and the new Graphix Collection by Kathy Engle. The owl pattern has a lot of personality and pizzazz, especially with the black and white and orange! It has great quilted details too. The pattern is available as an immediate PDF download and so you could start on your own Ollie today! 

If you haven't done any toy or stuffed animal sewing, don't be aftraid. The pattern is very clear and easy to follow. There is even a step-by-step photo tutorial that walks you through the whole process. 

There are oodles of different toy patterns available. Visit my fellow 2022 Island Batik Brand Ambassadors to see their new Funky Friends:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Megan Best ~ Bestquilter
Pamela Boatright ~ Pamelaquilts
Elizabeth DeCroos ~ Epida Studio
Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ 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
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads
Brianna Roberts ~ Sew Cute And Quirky
Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Andi Stanfield ~ True Blue Quilts
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt