Island Batik Ambassador EPP Challenge featuring Sunset Tree

This is my last Island Batik Ambassador project for 2021.  I've been working on this quilt since February.  It has over 1500 hexagons, all made from my Island Batik scraps.

Disclaimer:  The products used to make this project were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.

The challenge for December was to make an EPP (English Paper Piecing) project using any of our Island Batik fabrics.  The requirement also stated that our projects could be as small as 12" x 12".

I adore English Paper Piecing.  I usually have a project or two going on at a time.  I enjoy using the traditional hexagon shape and have a crazy fantasy that someday I will have all of my scraps basted into hexagons and sorted by color into boxes, ready to use.  Kind of like an artist's palette.  I like to make my hexagons 3/4" per side.  They fit nicely into cross stitch floss boxes for organization.  I enjoy hand basting with thread.  All of the hexagons for this project were cut using the Accuquilt hexagon die.

I've been wanting to create a hexie quilt from a photo for a while.  I decided this would be the right time for it.  This Oak tree is in front of my home. It's the view I have from my favorite front porch stitching spot.  I used this photo of the tree at sunset for my guide.  I imported the photo into EQ8 and played with the settings a bit until I came up with a workable plan.

This is the tree quilt with the actual tree in the background.  It's a slightly different angle than shown on the quilt top, but still fun to see them together.

I finished the hand piecing of the hexagons at the end of November.  Then I layered my quilt sandwich using Hobbs fusible batting, and took it to the machine to quilt.  It was a little scary quilting something I had hand stitched for so long.  I used six different colors of Aurifil thread for the quilting and Schmetz needles.  I quilted pebbles and swirls into the sunset parts of the sky.  I quilted back and forth lines in the blue parts of the sky.

I used a purple Aurifil thread to quilt a knotty tree bark design over the tree area.  I feel like the purple color adds to the feeling of twilight.

I quilted wavy purple lines along the bottom edge to suggest grass blowing in the breeze.

The back of the quilt is also beautiful!  

I just can't get enough of these beautiful Island Batik fabrics!

I bound the edge of my quilt with a solid black Island Batik fabric.

Sunset Tree

Quilt Stats:

Finished Quilt Size:  55" x 45"

Finished Hexagon Size:  3/4" per side

Fabric:  Assorted Scraps by Island Batik

Batting:  Hobbs Fusible

Thread:  Aurifil

Needles:  Schmetz

Dies:  Accuquilt Hexagon

Designed in EQ8

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Sunset Tree quilt as much as I enjoyed making it!  To see the EPP projects made by my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors, click on the links below:

Megan Best ~

Bestquilter

Pamela Boatright ~

Pamelaquilts

Elizabeth DeCroos ~

Epida Studio

Jennifer Eubank ~ Archipelago Quilting

Jennifer Fulton ~

The Inquiring Quilter

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Joanne Hart ~

Unicorn Harts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~

Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich - Stitch By Stitch Custom Quilting

Connie Kauffman

~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~

The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~

For The Love Of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Sally Manke ~

Sally Manke, Fiber Artist

Maryellen McAuliffe ~

Mary Mack Made Mine

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

Janet Yamamoto ~

Whispers of Yore

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

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Hexagon Project Update

This project has come a long way since my last update!  I'll bet you can see what it is now.  It's nearing the finish of the hexie piecing.  I may have to stop and make a few more black hexagons.  I'm almost out of them.  It's exciting to see it coming together.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

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Hexagon Project Update

Here's the progress on my current hexagon project.  It's more than doubled in size since my last post about it.  Can you see what it is yet?

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Are you following the Island Batik Ambassador Try a Tool blog hop?  Click here to visit the Island Batik blog for a wrap up of last week's projects and enter to win some fabulous fabric!

Good luck!

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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

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New items added weekly!

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.

EPP Project Progress

Progress update on my current EPP project.  I've been working on this slow and steady. All Island Batik fabrics. It's still got a long way to go.  Any guesses as to what it is yet?

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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop.

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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.

New Hexie Project Prep

Have you seen my new hexagon EPP (English Paper Piecing) project yet?  I've posted a few in progress pics on Instagram and Facebook recently.  I've just begun stitching the pieces together.  This is how it all begins.  I like to cut out my hexagon shapes with the Accuquilt die.  I favor the smallest size.

For this project, I cut all my fabrics from my Island Batik stash.  

I cut out a variety of sunset colors, pinks, yellows, oranges.

A variety of blues, some stormy, some twilight.

And black too, some solid, some not.

More sunset hexies.  Can you guess what I'm making?

This is about one third of the hexies I basted, separated into three colors, and organized in a cross stitch floss box.  I like this size hexagon because they fit so well in these boxes.  Someday maybe I can have a different box for each color, like an artist's palette, ready to "paint" any design I dream up.  That's the goal ~ to turn all my scraps into basted hexagons, ready to stitch. I'll be posting updates periodically as I work on this project.  It's a slow one.  I hope you enjoy watching it come together as much as I do.

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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop.

Connect with me:

Subscribe to the Curlicue Creations Newsletter

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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.

The Rainbow Connection - Update #2

Morphing into some blues this week.  What do you think?

Have a colorful day!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Related Posts:  

The Rainbow Connection - Update #1

I'm Gonna Pop Some Hexies

The Rainbow Connection - A Beginning