Feather and Flair Blog Hop ~ Firework Quilt

Welcome to my day on the Feather and Flair Blog Hop.  This is the quilt I designed and made for the hop, Firework.  

Feather and Flair is Connie Kresin Campbell's new signature collection with Island Batik Lumin Fabrics.  It should be in local shops now.  If you don't see it in your local quilt shop, don't be shy! ~ ask for it.

Look at how beautiful the fabrics in this collection are!  I was so excited to design a quilt with this fabric.  Thank you, Connie for asking me to be a part of your hop.  The designs on the fabrics are fabulous, too.  Some of the fabrics have peacocks on them!  If you haven't already visited Connie's blog, follow the link at the end of my post.  She is having a fabric and pattern giveaway in conjunction with the hop.  The quilts she made are inspiring, too.  I know you will want to try at least one of her new patterns.

I really wanted to take some pictures of Firework at the beach, but the weather did not cooperate.  Here is a photo of the finished top on my design wall.  You can see how vibrant the colors are.  I enjoyed using the light green for my neutral.  Sometimes it is fun to use a color as a neutral instead of black or white.

I used Hobbs Heirloom cotton for the batting.  I pieced with Aurifil and quilted with Superior King Tut.  This photo shows the binding in progress.  I often use binding that matches the outer border of my quilt, but this time I chose this blue and red/orange/pink fabric.  Do you like it as much as I do?

Firework Quilt

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Size:  37" x 37"

Fabric:  Feather and Flair Island Batik Lumin Fabrics

Batting:  Hobbs Heirloom Cotton

Piecing Thread:  Aurifil

Quilting Thread:  Superior King Tut

Iron:  Oliso

Needles:  Schmetz

Designed in EQ8

I want to thank Connie for inviting me to be a part of her hop.  Be sure to visit all the other quilters to see what they made with Feather and Flair.  Here's the list:

• Monday August 3rd - Freemotion by the River

• Tuesday August 4th - Needled Mom

• Wednesday August 5th - Songbird Designs

• Thursday August 6th - Curlicue Creations (you are here)

• Friday August 7th - Freemotion by the River

Mark your calendars, the Songbird Blog Hop is coming up soon!  August 10 through 19th.  Join me then for more fabric and pattern giveaways and lots of quilty inspiration.

Be creative ~ Sew something beautiful today,

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

For quilt patterns, fabric, and more, click here to visit the Curlicue Creations Etsy Shop.

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Any Which Way Quilt and Pattern ~ NEW!

Meet Any Which Way, one of four new quilt patterns I created with my newest Island Batik Lumin Fabrics signature fabric collection, Sunflower Spice.

This collection is so bright and beautiful!  I loved working with it to bring my designs to life.  Sunflower Spice is a gorgeous rainbow collection featuring Sunflowers, leaves, tossed petals, and foliage designs.  This fabric should be hitting shops now.  If you don't see Sunflower Spice and Curlicue Creations patterns in your local quilt shop, please ask for them.

The Any Which Way quilt is so much fun to make!  I've long wanted to create an allover Flying Geese style quilt.  I enjoyed making these blocks in thirteen different color combinations and putting them together "Any Which Way".  No need to worry ~ the pattern walks you through each step with clear instructions and full color diagrams.

One of my favorite elements about this quilt is how the blocks make this nifty secondary design where they come together.  It adds a whimsical touch to this playful quilt.

I used Hobbs Heirloom Premium Cotton Batting, Aurifil Thread for the piecing, and King Tut in Cleopatra for the quilting.  Rainbow quilting thread for a rainbow quilt.  Perfect in my book.

I backed Any Which Way with Midnight Blue by Island Batik.  I used one of the purple fabrics from the Sunflower Spice collection for the binding.

The Tangerine Azalea in my yard was in bloom when I did the photo session for Any Which Way.  It seemed like the perfect companion for this quilt, plus it smells so wonderful.  Here's a few more glamour shots:

You can order the Any Which Way pattern directly from me through the Curlicue Creations Etsy shop.

To begin sewing right away, get the PDF instant download here: 

 Any Which Way PDF Instant Download Pattern

If you prefer a paper pattern that arrives in your mailbox, visit this link:

Any Which Way Paper Pattern

Mark your calendar for June 1st through 10th for the Sunflower Spice blog hop. Join me here on June 1st for all the details.  My quilting friends are creating beautiful projects with Sunflower Spice for your inspiration.  I will be giving away a fat quarter bundle of Sunflower Spice plus the pattern of your choice to one lucky winner at the end of the hop.  See you there!

And as always, if you sew one of my quilt patterns, please share a pic with me on Facebook or Instagram by tagging @curlicuecreations.  I would love to see your quilt!

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

Please click here to visit the Curlicue Creations Etsy Shop.

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It's All Up to You Challenge featuring Levi's Ladder

Is it December already?  This year is almost all wrapped up and I'm not ready.  I moved over Thanksgiving week and my house is still in chaos. But I did manage to finish my December project for Island Batik Lumin Fabrics Ambassadors.  This is my quilt, Levi's Ladder.

Disclaimer:  The items used to make this project were given to me by Island Batik Lumin Fabrics and Industry Sponsors.

This month the Challenge was "It's All Up to You", which basically means we can make anything we want to.  My son Levi graduated from UNCW this month, so I chose to make him a graduation quilt.

I'm so proud of him!  What a special day.

Teal is the main color for his school, so I used the Tantalizing Teal strip pack for my quilt.  I used every bit of it!  It's a beautiful range of blues and greens.

I designed my quilt in EQ8 and cut out the pieces with my Accuquilt 8" Qube.

This quilt has 2808 pieces in the top.  It took me a long time to sew it all together.  The blocks are 6" x 6".  My Oliso iron sure came in handy pressing everything nice and flat.  

 

After my move, part of my sewing studio is back inside my home.  The cats really enjoyed getting back to work and "helping" me sew again.  Here Jake is selecting some beautiful Aurifil thread.  I paired it with my favorite Schmetz needles for nearly flawless piecing.

  

I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Bleached Cotton for this project.

I also used some stash busters in yellow and teal.  The yellow added some bright accents to the quilt.  I used the teal for the borders.

Sunrise helped keep the rows in order while I pieced the top together.

Here is one of the blocks.  This is a traditional quilt block, Jacob's Ladder.  There are 28 pieces in each block, wow!  I strip pieced the four patches, but it was still a lot of stitching.

Here is what one block looks like quilted with a loopy meander.  You can see a lot of different teals in this one.

Quilting close up.

Jake again.  She made a formidable speed bump as I was sewing on the quilt binding.

Levi's Ladder

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Size:  70" x 70"

Block Size:  6" x 6"

Fabric:  Tantalizing Teal and Assorted Stash Builders by Island Batik Lumin Fabrics

Thread:  Aurifil

Needles:  Schmetz

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20 Bleached Cotton

Dies:  Accuquilt 8" Qube

Designed in EQ8

That's all folks!  2025 is a wrap for me.  Thank you so much Island Batik Lumin Fabrics for a year of fun challenges.  Check out my fellow ambassador's blogs to see what they made for the It's All Up to You December challenge, here:

• Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
• Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
• Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
• Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs
• Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
• Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts
• Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
• Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
• Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
• Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
• Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
• Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
• Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
• Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
• Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
• Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher's Boutique
• Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
• Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
• Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
• Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations (You are here)

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today,

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations Etsy Shop.

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Sew Stylish ~ On the Go 2.0 Bag

The October challenge for Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics) Ambassadors was to make a ByAnnie bag.  I chose to make On the Go 2.0.

We were able to choose any ByAnnie pattern with an add on video, plus we got to choose the Island Batik fabrics we wanted to use for our bags.

I chose to make the On the Go 2.0 bag.  ByAnnie sent us all the supplies needed to make this project.  Soft and Stable, zippers, beautiful hardware, fusible interfacing, strapping, magnets, and basting tape.  I chose three fabrics from Island Batik's Fossil Finesse collection to make my bag.

One of the first steps to making most ByAnnie bags is sandwiching the Soft and Stable between your main fabric and your lining fabric and quilting.  I chose to quilt simple straight lines with purple Aurifil thread and Schmetz 90/14 needles.  This is the main (outside) fabric I used for my bag.  Isn't it beautiful?

In this step, I'm making the straps.  This photo shows the beautiful ByAnnie hardware and the coordinating purple fabric I used for the carrying strap, binding, and trim on my bag.

I've made many ByAnnie bags in the past, so I'm familiar with most of her products, but this was my first time using her Double Sided Basting Tape.  I loved this stuff!  It is so easy to use, and she specifically lets you know what steps to use it on in the pattern.  I liked it so much, I used it to secure a few other parts whilst sewing.  This is going to stay in my tool box for future use.

If you've never sewn a bag before, or have trouble with sewing 3D objects, like me, I highly recommend ByAnnie patterns.  They are so wonderfully written, with a check box for every step.  If you need extra help, she has in depth videos on her website.  For this project, I reviewed the Zippers are Easy video and also used the On the Go 2.0 Add On Video for the part where the zipper section of the bag is sewn onto the main body of the bag.  The visuals were super helpful.

I would also recommend having a stash of Wonder Clips handy.  I use them instead of pins almost exclusively when I sew a ByAnnie bag.  

Additional products I used to make my bag include:

   
          Oliso Project Iron                                   Schmetz Needles                            Aurifil Thread

                                   

                                               Bag Front                                              Bag Back

                              

                                       ID slot under flap                                       Inside of Bag

As you can see, it's a really handy bag!  I finished it up yesterday and took it out with me last night.  I wore it cross-body so I could have my hands free.  It's a nice small size, but has plenty of room for my phone, keys, sunglasses and a lip gloss.  Thank you so much ByAnnie and Lumin Fabrics for this fun challenge.

Be sure to visit the other Ambassador's blogs to see the wonderful ByAnnie bags they are making this month.  Here's the list:

• Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
• Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
• Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
• Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs
• Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
• Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts
• Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
• Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
• Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
• Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
• Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
• Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
• Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
• Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
• Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
• Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
• Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
• Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
• Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
• Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations (You are here)

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today,

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations Etsy Shop

Connect with me:

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