Hello and welcome to my day on the Island Batik Ambassador and Deb Tucker Studio 180 Tool Craze Blog Hop! This is my quilt, Brilliant Bijou.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this project were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
For the Tool Craze Blog Hop, we were challenged to use our "surprise" fabric collection we received in our January Ambassador boxes. Do you remember that? We were to pair it with the Studio 180 ruler we received as well. Additionally we were required to make a project that included at least 30 units made with the ruler, in two different sizes and as many of the fabrics from the new fabric collection as possible. That's a lot! I'm always up for a good challenge.
The fabric collection I received is Sorbet by Claudia Pfeil. It was paired with the Diamond Rects ruler. The Sorbet fabric should be hitting quilt shops now. If you live in my area, you can get Sorbet at Bernina World of Sewing in Raleigh, NC.
There are too many shops to list them all, but here are a few others that will have Sorbet:
El Friede's Fine Fabric in Boulder, CO
Keep Me In Stitches in Tampa, FL
Colchester Mill Fabrics in Colchester, CT
Heartfelt Quilt Shop in Spearfish, SD
Quilter's Quarters in Cottonwood, AZ
To find a shop that sells Island Batik fabrics near you, try the Store Locator.
I haven't made a lot of quilts with diamond shapes in the past. I'm a little intimidated by the angles. The Diamond Rects tool was easy to use. Look at how nicely the diamonds cut out. The tool comes with detailed instructions. Additionally you can access videos at Deb Tucker's website.
The tool also easily cuts out the side triangles for the unit. I used Island Batik's Merlot fabric for many of the side triangles.
After you cut and sew each unit, you use the ruler to trim the Diamond Rects unit down to the size you need. Easy peasy!
I made 32 Diamond Rects units for the blocks for the center part of my quilt. Look closely. Can you tell that they are a Storm at Sea variation?
The blocks came out great! But I still had to make Diamond Rects units in another size to fulfill the challenge requirements. I decided to make a sparkling diamond border for my quilt. I made 80 more Diamond Rects units for the border.
I snapped this fun pic with them all up on my design wall. They look kind of like a stained glass window to me. I used a variety of fabrics from the Sorbet collection for the diamonds and mixed them up randomly.
Here's a few more pics of Brilliant Bijou from the photo session. It was a little windy on picture day, so it's not hanging perfectly flat, but almost!
I used Aurifil thread color 2520 for the piecing, and Aurifil thread color 1243 for the quilting.
I used my favorite, Schmetz needles for this project.
The batting is Hobbs Poly Down which is nice and light for a summer project. It has a beautiful loft for quilting.
Look at that gorgeous fabric! I really love this collection. Some fabrics just make my heart happy.
Brilliant Bijou relaxing on the front porch.
Quilting close up. I did my standard loopy meander.
I used Island Batik's solid black for the backing.
I usually match my binding fabric to my outer border, but I had one fabric left that was unused in my quilt, so it became the binding fabric. I really love the way it looks! What do you think?
Brilliant Bijou quilt.
Brilliant Bijou
Quilt Stats:
Quilt Size: 50" x 50"
Block Size: 9" x 9"
Fabric: Sorbet by Claudia Pfeil for Island Batik
Thread: Aurifil 2520, 1243
Batting: Poly Down by Hobbs
Ruler: Diamond Rects by Studio 180
Needles: Schmetz
Designed in EQ8
I'm giving away a 5" charm pack of 17 of the fabrics from the Sorbet collection. To enter, scroll all the way to the end of this post and leave a comment. To make it fun, let me know what your favorite flavor of Sorbet is! I love raspberry myself. I will draw a winner randomly at the end of the blog hop. Open to US residents only, due to postage costs. Please be sure I have a way to contact you, should you be the lucky winner.
Have you been enjoying the Tool Craze blog hop? Be sure to visit all of the Island Batik Ambassadors to see the new fabric collections and what everyone made with their Studio 180 rulers. Here's the 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.
Congratulations goes out to Pamela! She's the lucky winner of this charm pack of Royal Crown fabric designed by Kathy Engle for Heidi Pridemore of the Whimsical Workshop for Island Batik!
Pamela commented: "I've never made a puff quilt before, and hadn't even heard of them before this blog hop. But your quilt is so pretty, I'm thinking about it now - at least a small one for my cat. Sunrise certainly seems to like yours! Thank you for sharing your beautiful work!"
If you missed my post about the Puff Quilt I made for the Island Batik Ambassador All Puffed Up blog hop, you can see it here: All Puffed Up!
Be sure to visit my blog this Friday, March 25th to see the new quilt and pattern I made for the Bits and Pieces Blog Hop. ~ See you then!
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.
Hello there! Thanks for joining me today for my part of the Island Batik Ambassador Quilt Modern Blog Hop. This is the quilt I made for the hop, Blowing Bubbles.
Disclaimer: The products used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners at no cost to me.
This month the Island Batik Ambassadors were challenged to make a modern quilt using the "Surprise" fabrics we were given in Box 1.
I received Holly Holiday, a beautiful Christmas themed collection. At first I was stumped. To me Christmas fabric says "Traditional Quilt". How was I going to come up with a modern design using this holiday collection?
The Blowing Bubbles quilt idea just popped into my head from nowhere. Thank you, deep creative recesses of my brain! Once I had the idea, I did a few drawings in EQ8 and thought about how to make it.
First I made a lot of Flying Geese units. I sewed them into blocks to use for my quilt. Some of the blocks became the bottom strip. Some of the blocks were cut into various size circles using dishes and glasses from my kitchen.
I cut all of the Flying Geese parts out with my Accuquilt Go and 8" Qube Set. It's such a timesaver.
After piecing the top together, I used fusible applique to place the Flying Geese circles and zigzag stitched around them with gold Aurifil thread. Then I quilted a fun echoing circular design with white Aurifil thread. I used Hobbs cotton batting for the quilt's inside.
Gold Aurifil thread and Schmetz Super Nonstick Needles. These needles are awesome for fusible applique.
This is the white Aurifil thread I used for the quilting. I've had this cone for four years, ever since my first Island Batik Ambassador box. I've used it over and over, but I still haven't used it up. Maybe it never ends???
I like this clothesline pic I took of the back of the quilt before binding. Isn't it neat how you can see all the bubbles and the bottom strip of Flying Geese?
Now for a few glamour shots. Here's Blowing Bubbles on my front porch railing with some beautifully blooming roses.
Horizontal shot.
Pretty folds.
The backing. This is an Island Batik neutral fabric, Coconut. The neutral fabrics are always available.
I used this red with green dots fabric for the outer border and binding of my quilt.
More fun folds.
Blowing Bubbles
Quilt Stats:
Finished Quilt Size: 43" x 42"
Block Size: 8" x 8"
Fabric: Holly Holiday and Solid White by Island Batik
Batting: Hobbs Cotton
Thread: Aurifil
Did you enjoy my quilt? Would you like to win some Holly Holiday fabric? I'm giving away these 5" charm squares cut from my leftover fabrics. Just leave me a comment at the end of this post and I'll randomly choose a winner at the end of the hop. Then, hop on over to the Island Batik Blog to enter a giveaway for more beautiful Island Batik fabric. Good luck!
Be sure to visit all the Island Batik Ambassadors to see the new fabric collections and the fabulous modern quilts made with them.
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.
