Friday, December 31, 2021

Storm at Sea Finish!

My Storm at Sea quilt is complete!  If you remember, this quilt was only a top when it was my day on the Island Batik Storm at Sea blog hop.  Click here to read my original post.

Disclaimer:  The products used to make this quilt were generously given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
We had a terrific cloudy day to take photos, all day until I hung the quilt.  Then the sun came out and made tree shadows all over the side of my house and the quilt.  Oh well.  My son said it makes it more charming.  Now that I'm inside writing the post it's cloudy again.

This quilt features the Petal Pathway fabric collection by Kathy Engle for Island Batik.  This fabric should be available in local quilt shops now.  I love the way the colors glow against the solid black.

I quilted an allover swirl design with purple Aurifil thread, 40 wt., color #2545.  

The batting is Hobbs Tuscany Collection Supreme 100% Unbleached Cotton.  I won this batting in Hobbs Creating for the Holidays Instagram contest.  Let me tell you, it is plush!  It is the most plush cotton batting I have ever tried!  Wow is it nice.

While I was taking photos, Trail Mix came over to see what was happening.  "Why is this quilt hanging on the side of the house?", she seemed to be asking.  "How can I cuddle it?".  

I will be sleeping under this quilt tonight, for New Years.  I'll probably be sleeping long before midnight.  Happy New Year!  Welcome 2022!  Here's a few more pretty pictures:







Storm at Sea
Quilt Stats:
Finished Quilt Size:  62" x 74"
Block Size:  12" x 12"
Fabric:  Petal Pathway, by Kathy Engle, for Island Batik
Batting:  Hobbs Tuscany Collection Supreme 100 % Unbleached Cotton
Thread:  Aurifil #2545, 40wt
Dies:  Accuquilt Storm at Sea, 1-1/2" Strip
Needles:  Schmetz
Designed in EQ8

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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas
Curlicue Creations


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Monday, December 27, 2021

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 ~
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Joanne Hart ~
Mania Hatziioannidi ~
Emily Leachman ~
Denise Looney ~
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~
Claudia Porter ~
Gail Renna ~
Brianna Roberts ~
Michelle Roberts ~
Gail Sheppard ~
Andi Stanfield ~
Jennifer Thomas ~
Janet Yamamoto ~

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas
Curlicue Creations


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Thursday, December 23, 2021

Divide and Conquer Large Bag Finish!

Here's the finish of my large Divide and Conquer ByAnnie.com bag!  I actually finished a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't get to the blog post until today.  It's almost Christmas.  All the gifts are wrapped and I have a few minutes to write.

Disclaimer:  The products used to make this bag were generously provided by Island Batik, ByAnnie.com, Aurifil Thread, and Schmetz Needles.
This is the front of the bag.  I used the Autumn Wings fabric collection by Island Batik.  Aren't the butterflies beautiful?  I love the colors in this collection.  These bags both have a Fall feel to them, my favorite season.  I used Schmetz needles and Aurifil thread for all the stitching on this bag.

This is the back of the bag.  It has a handy velcro strap that can be used to fasten the bag to a luggage carrier.

When you open the bag there are two large vinyl zippered compartments.

The center of the bag features four mesh zippered pockets to help keep all of your things organized.

This bag is definitely large enough to carry everything I need for a weekend or overnight trip.

I plan on using the smaller bag to carry my hand sewing.  I love to travel with an EPP project or a bit of cross stitch.  Now I just need somewhere to go!

If you missed my post about the small Divide and Conquer bag, click here.
 

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas


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Monday, December 13, 2021

Ascension Quilt and Pattern ~ New!

This is the Ascension quilt.  It's one of my new patterns this year.  This quilt is featured in the Island Batik catalog.  The pattern is available in my my Etsy shop and select quilt shops across the USA.

Disclaimer:  The products used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
The Ascension quilt is a pieced quilt made from one block in three different colorways.

The center part of the quilt is framed with a gold border and finished with a blue border.

I used Island Batik's new Mariners fabric collection to make my quilt.  This fabric is available in local quilt shops now.  

I used Schmetz needles for both the piecing and the quilting and Hobbs batting.  I quilted in an allover swirl design.

This quilt is backed in a coordinating Island Batik basics fabric.

The binding was made with the same fabric as the blue outer border.  I like to blend my bindings.

So lovely!  The fabrics in the Mariners collection feature waves, shells, and nets.

Ascension Quilt
Quilt Stats:
Finished Quilt Size:  58" x 58"
Block Size:  12" x 12"
Fabric:  Mariners by Island Batik
Batting:  Hobbs
Designed in EQ8


Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas


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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.