Hello and welcome to the first day of the Island Batik Ambassador Row by Row blog hop. This is my quilt, Stars and Stripes Forever that I made with the new Americana fabric collection by Kathy Engle. I'm sorry that it is just a top and not a finished quilt. January was exceptionally busy for me and I finished the top and took this quickie photo just before writing my post. Normally I do a lot more photos and I do apologize. I will write another post with more detail when I finish the quilt.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik and Industry Partner.s
The Island Batik Ambassadors were challenged to make a row quilt for the February blog hop. I designed my rows in EQ8. Looking back, I knew I was super busy and I should have chosen simpler blocks, but I loved making these blocks and the way they look together along with the four rows of red star blocks.
Americana is a new collection of red, white, and blue fabrics designed by Kathy Engle. These fabrics should be arriving in local quilt shops in February. They are truly beautiful together. I used all of the fabrics in my quilt. I also used Aurifil thread, Schmetz needles, and cut as many pieces as possible with my Accuquilt Go.
Ragamuffin is my shy kitty. She rarely gets into a photo. Here she is posing with the stack of Americana fabric, plus the coordinating white and blue that I received to make my quilt. Oh kitty.
This week Island Batik is giving away fat quarter bundles of both the Americana collection and the Chantilly collection on their blog. Click here to visit the Island Batik blog.
Thank you for stopping by. Be sure to visit my blog hop partner, Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese to see what she made with Americana.
Here's the complete list for the blog hop so you can follow along and see all the new Island Batik fabric collections and get inspiration from the Ambassadors. I can't wait to see what everyone makes!
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Today I'm going to show you the gradations project I made for the January Island Batik Ambassador challenge. I'm calling this quilt Sunrise. I ended last year with Sunset Tree, so it was only fitting to begin 2022 with a Sunrise.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik and Industry Partners.
The January Challenge is aptly titled Step by Step. This year Island Batik has put together 10 different colorways of gradation fabrics. These beautiful foundation fabrics are available by the yard in local quilt shops.
I received Opulent Orange in my January box. Did you see my unboxing video? I received so many amazing fabrics to sew my projects for the first half of the year, plus batting from Hobbs, and another package will be on the way soon with an Island Batik precut, Schmetz needles, and some yummy Aurifil thread.
Opulent Orange features 20 different foundation fabrics. The colors range from orange to yellow to very pale yellow to red. When I first laid eyes on these I thought "It looks like a glorious sunrise." I knew my quilt would have to reflect this idea in some way.
I worked up a triangle design in EQ8 using all 20 of the fabrics. I sized the blocks at 4" so I could cut all of the pieces out with my Accuquilt 8" Qube.
I auditioned the solid white, gray, and black for the background of my sunrise and decided on Island Batik solid black so the very pale yellows wouldn't get lost or washed out looking in my quilt.
After piecing my quilt top, I quilted all over swirls in an orange Aurifil thread. I did all of my piecing and quilting with my favorite Schmetz needles.
I used Hobbs Heirloom Premium Cotton Batting. It quilts so wonderfully.
Here's my Sunrise quilt! It was super cold and windy out today ~ Brrrr!, so I had to take this quick photo flat on my patio.
This photo shows the quilting nicely and also the black border and binding.
Sunrise Quilt
Quilt Stats:
Quilt Size: 44" x 48"
Block Size: 4" x 4"
Fabric: Opulent Orange by Island Batik
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Cotton Batting
Thread: Aurifil Orange
Accuquilt Dies: 8" Qube, 2-1/2" Strip
Needles: Schmetz
Designed in EQ8
Be sure to come back and visit my blog on Monday, January 31st to see my quilt for the Row by Row blog hop featuring the new Americana fabric collection designed by Kathy Engle for Island Batik. I can't wait to show you what I've been making!
Until then, catch up with my fellow Ambassadors to see the fabulous quilts they have created with the 10 different Gradations collections. Here's the list:
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I'm so excited to announce that I'm an Island Batik Ambassador for the 5th year in a row! Here's my first unboxing video for 2022.
Thanks so much for watching! Thank you so much, Island Batik and Hobbs Batting for supplying such beautiful fabric and batting for my projects.
Have you seen the list of Island Batik Ambassadors for 2022? It's another great group! I encourage you to visit all the ambassador's blogs and get to know them all. Here's a list:
Introducing: Shop Hop! A cute, fun, and whimsical wall hanging or lap quilt.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
This is my second quilt and pattern that is featured in the new Spring 2022 issue of Quilter's World. This should be available in your local quilt shops now. Run out and get a copy before they're all gone!
I actually made this quilt a couple of years ago, for a different issue. It ended up not being used for that one, and I didn't even know it was going to be in Spring 2022 until I was paging through my copy. What a fun surprise!
The fabric collection I used was Soil and Seeds by Island Batik. It's a beautiful collection, but unfortunately, no longer in shops. You could still get this same look by using Island Batik basics and blenders in similar colors. The basics and blenders are always available. Alternately, you could go with a completely different color scheme. These blocks are fun to sew by mixing and matching fabrics to give each bag a different look.
Fuzzy helped me with the pressing of my fabrics.
Each block is sewn with a combination of piecing and fusible applique. I outlined the star flowers with a zigzag stitch in contrasting thread to help them stand out from the yellow background.
I used these beautiful brown and gold Aurifil threads for the piecing, fusible applique, and quilting.
I quilted in simple vertical lines spaced equally apart across the quilt.
The Shop Hop quilt has three borders.
I backed this quilt with this gorgeous dark brown Island Batik fabric. Yummy!
I used the same brown fabric for binding as the outer border.
Shop Hop
Quilt Stats:
Finished Quilt Size: 51" x 51"
Block Size: 12" x 12"
Fabric: Soil and Seeds by Island Batik
Thread: Aurifil
Designed in EQ8
Get your pattern today in the Spring 2022 issue of Quilter's World Magazine. If you sew a Shop Hop quilt, please share a pic with me on Instagram @curlicuecreations. I would love to see it!
Note: This is an affiliate link. Clicking this link will not affect the purchase price. However, if you do make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thank you.
