Viva Las Vegas! This is my March Island Batik Ambassador project.
This month we were given the freedom to make any project we desired. We get to do two "It's all up to you" projects this year. The second one will be in December, to finish out the year. I've already started on that project, too.
For the March project, I chose to use this pattern I picked up last summer whilst visiting my parents in Las Vegas. The pattern name is "Ode to the King" by Madi Hastings. I purchased this at the
Quiltique quilt shop. It's a small quilt, intended for a row by row. The pattern included die cut fabrics, which I did not use. I traced all the pieces onto Heat 'n Bond Lite so I could make my quilt with Island Batik fabrics of my choosing.
I mainly used fabrics from the Squiggles, Dots, and Lines 10" precut stack that I received in my January
Island Batik Ambassador box. Additionally, I used Moonstone for Elvis' skin, Storm for his hair, and Eggshell for the background and backing fabric.
You can find Squiggles, Dots, and Lines at many local quilt shops.
Here's a few:
Red Pine Quilt Shop ~ MN
Around the Block ~ NY
Equilter.com ~ CO
Kirstens Quilt ~ Denmark
There were a lot of intricate pieces to trace, press, and cut out.
Here are some of the pieces after cutting.
This is how the top looked after ironing all the pieces to the background. My new
Oliso iron did a fabulous job of adhering everything.
I love fusible applique so much. I should do more projects like this. I usually do a zigzag stitch to secure the edges, but because the pieces were so intricate and had a lot of sharp points and tiny bits, I did a straight stitch close to the edges instead. Plus, this is going to be a wall hanging. It will not get a lot of washing, if any. My
Schmetz needles did a fabulous job of stitching neatly through all the layers and the sharp points easily penetrated even the tiny points without damaging the fabric.
Detail of Elvis' face. The Moonstone fabric for the skin tone added a lot of dimension.
The "V" in Viva. Yes, I did cut out all of those tiny circles with a small sharp scissors. I did not stitch around the edges of the little circles.
After auditioning many, many thread colors, I decided on this minty green
Aurifil thread for the quilting. I made a quilt sandwich with a small piece of
Hobbs Thermore batting that I had leftover from a previous project. Thermore is great for small projects. It's lightweight and quilts beautifully.
I was inspired to try this micro grid quilting that I saw on a lot of quilts at Quilt Con in Raleigh. I used my Janome Memory Craft and quilted the lines 3/8" apart. I love the texture this quilting created.
I cut strips leftover from fabrics I used in my quilt to make a fun, colorful binding.
Viva Las Vegas
Quilt Stats:
Quilt Size: 27-1/2" x 12-1/2"
Fabric: Squiggles, Dots, and Lines by Island Batik
Thread: Aurifil
Batting: Thermore by Hobbs
Needles: Schmetz
Pattern: Ode to the King by Madi Hastings
Visit my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors to see what projects they are making for March.
Here's the list:
Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
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