Hello! Welcome to my day on the Island Batik Ambassador Lone Star Blog Hop. This is my quilt.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this project were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
For this challenge, we were to make a Lone Star style quilt, using the surprise fabric we received in our second 2022 Ambassador box, lap size or larger. I have never made a Lone Star quilt before, and I was a little nervous about it. I usually do my own patterns, but for this challenge I consulted a book in my sewing library, All-Star Quilts by Helen Frost and Blanche Young.
The fabric collection I received is Chicken Coop. It's all black and white with a barnyard theme. I do love it, but I was a little worried at first. One of the characteristics I associate with Lone Star quilts is a bright burst of color. I did ask to be challenged when I was asked what colors I would like to work with this year. This collection for a Lone Star quilt certainly met that request!
Here's another look at the collection. You can see the chicken wire, fence posts, chickens, and more. It's really cute!
At first, I thought about adding a punch of solid color to give it more life, but I ended up dividing the fabrics by their value, mixing the designs up within the value groups, and going from there. The pattern I chose from the book is called Broken Star. Instead of making eight pieced diamonds, it required 32, enough to make four large lone stars. My Prairie Spirit Alpaca pressing mat really helped to keep all those diamonds in shape.
As I pieced the diamonds, I played around with them on my design wall to see how they looked together. This is not my final star. The one I went with used all the same fabric for the center part of the star. I used Island Batik solid gray for the background of my quilt and gave it a floating look by sewing a gray border, and then a black border. It came out bigger than I expected, 76" x 76". That's what happens when you add borders nilly willy without doing the math! The backing I prepared for this quilt was originally 72" long. I'm glad I measured the top before I started quilting.
I took the photos yesterday, and it was rainy outside. I found out it is approximately 76" between the columns on my front porch. It just barely fits!
Lone Star
Quilt Stats:
Fabric: Chicken Coop by Island Batik
Thread: 6724 by Aurifil
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Black
Pattern: Broken Star by Helen Frost & Blanche Young
Be sure to visit all the Island Batik Ambassadors during the hop to see the new fabric collections and the glorious variety of Lone Star quilts we have all created. I hope you will be inspired to make your own Lone Star quilt. Here's the list for the blog hop:
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.
For the month of October, the Island Batik Ambassadors were challenged to sew a ByAnnie bag. I made the Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this project were given to me by Island Batik and Industry Partners.
Here's the pattern. You can find this pattern, plus a helpful add-on video on the ByAnnie.com website. This is the third ByAnnie pattern I've sewn, and my favorite so far. The step-by-step directions are written clearly and each step has a little box to check off, which keeps me on track and feeling accomplished.
I chose to use the Midnight Glow fabric collection from Island Batik. As I've mentioned many times recently, this is my new favorite fabric line. It's so dramatically gorgeous. You can sink right into it.
One of the first steps to sewing a ByAnnie bag is the cutting and prep. A sheet is included in the pattern that you can copy and use to label each piece as you cut and prep. I chose to print my labels on some light sticker paper so they are super easy to use and remove. No pins needed.
The outer shell of the bag is made from a main fabric, a lining fabric, and ByAnnie's Soft and Stable. Here I am quilting the layers together with matching Aurifil thread.
Zippers are prepped as well. This bag has three zippers, one for the main closure, and two pocket zippers.
I cut bias binding strips from this gorgeous coordinating fabric. The bias binding makes it easy to sew around the curvy elements of the bag.
In this step, I am prepping the bag straps. I did all of my pressing on my Prairie Spirit Alpacas pressing mat. It's wonderful. I love it more with every project.
One of the features of the ByAnnie bags that I love is the beautiful and sturdy coordinating hardware.
Here's the bag front pocket, prepped and ready for bag construction.
After all the bag parts are prepped and sewn, the bag itself is sewn together. The inside seams are covered with bias binding for a beautiful finished effect. I used Quilters Perfect Klips to hold the binding in place. Sewing this part can be tricky. I used a stiletto to help feed the layers under the presser foot evenly and also switched my needle to a Schmetz leather needle. A jeans needle would probably work well for sewing through all the layers, too.
This is actually the inside zipper pocket of the bag. This is showing the lovely finished seam binding. At this point my bag is ready to be turned right side out! Exciting!!!
And here it is! The Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0. This is the front side of the bag, with a pretty zipper pocket.
The back of the bag also has a pocket, and a trolley sleeve. Notice the padded, adjustable carrying strap.
There is a nice poochy pocket on each side of the bag. This will be just perfect for carrying a water bottle and a small snack, or anything else you need quick access to.
Inside view. This is a roomy bag!
Inside three section, elastic edged pocket.
Inside large zipper pocket.
Inside the large inner zipper pocket.
Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0
Bag Stats:
Size: 13-3/4" x 18-1/2" x 8" (at bottom)
Pattern: Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0 ByAnnie.com
Fabric: Midnight Glow by Island Batik
Thread: Aurifil
Needles: Schmetz
All the Island Batik Ambassadors are making ByAnnie.com bags this month! Visit their blogs throughout October to see what they made. Here's a list:
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.
.jpg)
