Tahoe in Green

The slide into the end of the school year is usually about finishing up teacher quilts, and I get so focused on that, I don't remember to post them!  Now that we're a few weeks into summer (from a school calendar perspective), I want to be sure to document the quilts I finished.

 

In my brief time at an elementary school, I was a Media Specialist/School Librarian, which falls under the category of "Specials."  Every school is different, but Specials frequently include art, music, PE, etc.  So I make sure to include Specials teachers.  There was a new PE teacher this year, so he went on the list.  His favorite color is green.

 

I chose the pattern Tahoe by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs.  I love Cheryl's patterns, they are easy to understand, easy to follow, and make stunning quilts!  All the fabrics are from Island Batik: two greens from the Limerick collection plus Frog and solid white.  It sewed up very quickly and I love how it looks!

 

 

My Funky Friend Ben

This month, Island Batik Ambassadors are tasked with making a friend--a Funky Friend!  Funky Friends Factory is the crafty business of Pauline, who lives in Australia.  Pauline designs patterns for making soft/stuffed toys.  We were able to pick the toy of our choice and Pauline generously sent us that pattern.  There are a lot of Friends to choose from!  I've made several Funky Friends before but never a teddy bear.  I chose Ben the Beginner Bear.  

 

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Funky Friends Factory, Hobbs, Schmetz, Aurifil, & Oliso.

 

I knew that Ben would end up belonging to Fire Monkey, so I let him pick the fabric.  His favorite color is red.  We ended up with Imperial for most of Ben's body and Shell for the tummy and face, both from Island Batik's Ravishing Reds in the always-available Basics line.  

 

One of Ben's main features is that he has a large tummy area with no seams, perfect for those who want to add embroidery to their bear.  When we visited family in Portland over Christmas, we went to a store called Daiso, referred to by my family as a Japanese-style dollar store.  One of the things we bought there was a cute little firetruck patch.  Fire Monkey is still crazy about all things fire truck and firefighter.  I didn't think he had used the patch on anything yet, so I asked him about it.  He was enthusiastic about using it for Ben!  It's an iron-on patch; I ironed using my Oliso mini-iron, then stitched around it twice using Aurifil thread and a Schmetz microtex needle.  

 

firetruck patch on the belly piece

Pauline's patterns are clear and easy to follow.  She has a blog post for each pattern that shows the visuals for each step.  (There is a link for the step-by-step tutorial in the pattern.)  She also has detailed tutorials for some of the tricky parts in making toys, like installing safety eyes or making perfect feet.  

ready for stuffing!

I printed the pattern pieces onto freezer paper that can go into the printer.  I learned about this product from Kathleen and it makes the process so much easier!  Plus the pieces are reusable!  I saved them all in a large envelope so I can make another Ben whenever the mood strikes. Hobbs Batting generously sent me a bag of their Simply Stuffing 100% polyester filling for toys.  This is probably the best toy stuffing I've used!

Pauline has so many different animals to choose from!  Here are the other Funky Friends I've made with Island Batik Fabrics over the years:

Ollie the Laid Back Owl 

 

Puppy Pete

Slowpoke the Sloth

 

William Whale

Pineapple Snowballs

Welcome to my stop and the very last day of the Irish Chain blog hop, brought to you by Island Batik and AccuQuilt!  I hope you've been following along to see all the amazing projects created by the Island Batik Ambassadors using the newest fabric collections and Accuquilt's 10" Irish Chain block, one of their newest Block on Board dies.

When I first learned that we were getting the Irish Chain die and it created a 10" (finished) block, I thought about what other BOB dies I had from Accuquilt that also made 10" blocks, to see if I could create something fun with 2 dies. I own 2 other BOB dies that make 10" blocks: Pineapple and Rising Star.  I played around with both in EQ8 and decided that I really liked the look of the Pineapple block with the Irish Chain.  

My secret collection was Tinsel Treasures, a signature collection for Sarah Fabian of Quilt Basket, created by Jerry Khiev, creative director of Island Batik.  Tinsel Treasures is a gorgeous winter collection, with snowflakes, trees, deer, candy canes, and more, all in a variety of blue-on-white and white-on-blue prints.  While I love monochromatic quilts, I decided I wanted to add a touch of another color to go with the beautiful blues in Tinsel Treasures. My favorite color combination is blue and purple, so I added just a touch of Grape (pineapple centers) and Lavender (inner ring), both from Island Batik's always-available basics collection.  Solid black made all the fabrics pop.

I sewed my 18 Irish Chain blocks first, and I was so in the groove that I forgot to take pictures!  I chose the darkest blues to make the chains, and used 4 prints with larger wintery designs for the bigger squares so that the trees and deer would stand out.  The blocks came together really fast.

 

All of my Pineapple centers are the same, with Grape in the center, a beautiful light blue with pine needles next, and then a ring of Lavender.  Then I used a variety of the blue-on-white prints for the next rings, and a lighter blue for the outer ring.  I kept thinking of them as snowballs!  So I named this Pineapple Snowballs.  

My original plan was to just make a 5 x 7 block layout, for a finished quilt that was 50" x 70".  But once I had it together, it looked unfinished, so I used pieces B & D from the die to extend that chain into a border.  My finished quilt is roughly 54" x 74".  I quilted it with a medium blue Aurifil thread and used a Schmetz needle for all steps.  The batting is Hobbs 80/20.

 

on my design wall, before outer border

Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Schmetz, Hobbs, Aurifil, and Oliso.

 

My friend Gail of Quilting Gail also has Tinsel Treasures and she made not one, but TWO beautiful quilts with this collection.  Be sure to visit her and see what she made!

 

 

Irish Chain blog hop

Today starts a brand new blog hop showcasing the newest fabric collections from Island Batik/Lumin Fabrics.  (Lumin Fabrics is the new parent company for Island Batik.) Each ambassador was sent a half yard bundle of one of the new collections that will be hitting the stores this month, as well as an Irish Chain Block on Board (BOB) die from AccuQuilt.  Be prepared for lots of Irish Chain inspiration!

 

I was sent the beautiful collection Tinsel Treasures, a signature collection for Sarah Fabian of Quilt Basket, created by Jerry Khiev, creative director of Island Batik.  Tinsel Treasures is a gorgeous winter collection, with snowflakes, trees, deer, candy canes, and more, all in a variety of blue-on-white and white-on-blue prints. 

 

Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the very last day of the blog hop (May 22nd) to see my quilt!  Don't be too sad, though, there will be lots of beautiful Irish Chain inspiration between now and then.  Here is the full schedule:

May 5:

• Mania Hatzioannidi, Mania for Quilts
• Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

May 6:

• Kimberly Flannagan, Kimberly’s Quilts
• Solomae Stoycoff, Cuddle Cat Quiltworks

May 7:

• Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
• Sarah Pitcher, Pitcher’s Boutique LLC

May 8:

• Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
• Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

May 12:

• Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

May 13:

• Connie Kresin Campbell, Freemotion by the River

May 14:

• Denise Looney, Quiltery
• Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany

May 15:

• Susan Michaels, Dragonfly Fiber Art
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst, Chatterbox Quilts

May 19:

• Renee Atkinson, Pink Tulip Quilting
• Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

May 20:

• Tina Dillard, Quilting Affection Designs
• Carol Stanek, Stitch With Color

May 21:

• Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilt Studio

May 22:

• Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
• Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

The blog is a great time for giveaways!  Island Batik has a new giveaway every Friday on their blog.  Visit every week and enter for your chance to win beautiful Island Batik fabric!  Additionally, many of the Ambassadors will do their own giveaways, so be sure to visit everyone.  I hope you enjoy all the possibilities with the Irish Chain block!

Drunkard's Path Challenge

The April challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors features the classic Drunkard's Path block.  I admit, my heart sank a little when I got the list of challenges, because I hate sewing curves and avoid it at all costs. But alas, there was no avoiding it for this challenge!

Though I avoid curved piecing, there are some Accuquilt dies that feature curves and I admit, I've been curious to see if that would make the curved piecing better, so I bought an Accuquilt Drunkard's Path die.  They have a few sizes; I purchased the one that created 4" finished Drunkard's Path units.

 

 

I played around with different designs.  Ultimately, I chose a block that is laid out like a classic sawtooth star, but with the curved Drunkard's Path units instead of sharp points for the stars.  Because my centers needed to be big to accommodate the 4" units from the die, I chose to go square-in-a-square for those to create a little more visibly interest and a chance to incorporate more fabrics.

Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Schmetz, Hobbs, Aurifil, and Oliso.

 

I had a 10" stack of the collection Breezy by Kate Colleran.  This is a collection from last year but I still see it online in several places, including: 

• Batiks Etc & Sew What Fabrics; Wytheville, VA
• Hancock's of Peducah; Peducah, KY 
• Creekside Quilts; Banks, OR
• My Favorite Quilt Store; Houston, TX 

 

I used all twenty fabrics from Breezy in this quilt and actually don't have much left from the 10" stack.  There are a few lighter fabrics in the collection and I maybe should have skipped them; the one I used for the drunkard's path curves disappears into the Mint background when you are not close up.  I decided to go with the motto "finished is better than perfect" and didn't rip it out because I didn't have enough of any one fabric from Breezy to fix it at the point I knew it was a problem.

 

The curved piecing wasn't terrible.  One my fellow ambassadors, Sarah Pitcher of Pitcher's Boutique, suggested gluing.  Accuquilt has little notches for the center to make it easy to line up, so I started by gluing at the notches and then slowing gluing out to each end.  I tested sewing with the smaller piece on top and the larger piece on top and found that I didn't notice a difference in one being easier or neater than the other, though I did like gluing a LOT more than pinning. I would glue up a bunch of units, let them dry, chain piece with a Schmetz needle, and smooth out the curve very carefully with my Olisio mini iron.  The blocks came out better than I expected! 

My top has 72 Drunkard's Path units.  I layered the top with Hobbs Bleached 80/20 batting and quilted in wavy lines on the diagonal with Aurifil thread in a light green.  The background is Mint and the binding is Grass, both from Island Batik's always-available Foundations collection. Truth be told, I'm glad to have the curved piecing challenge behind me, but I am glad to know that if I have to, I can make a passable block with curves.

Stay at Home Round Robin prize winners

The 2025 Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR) has ended.  We are so pleased and grateful that so many sewed along this year!

Five of your six hosts met on a zoom call to draw the winners. Our 6th member was away on a trip but Wendy's cat Wilbur did occasionally stand in! 

 

For the prize drawing: we've been keeping track of every SAHRR participant and each time you've linked up, you've gotten a number for that post. On our zoom call, we used a random number generator to select winners for each prize.  All winners have been notified and responded with shipping addresses.  Here is the full list of winners identified by initials:

• Oliso Iron: CL
• Island Batik fat quarter bundle: KH
• Island Batik fat quarter bundle: DB
• Island Batik fat quarter bundle: CK
• Aurifil Thread: NH
• Fat Quarter shop gift card: RB
• Pattern from Devoted Quilter: F
• Pattern from Devoted Quilter: SS
• Pattern from A Quiltery: JB
• Pattern from A Quiltery: J
• Pattern from Sew Fresh Quilts: CH

Thanks to our fabulous sponsors!  And thanks to everyone who sewed along!  We WILL be back in 2026 with another Stay at Home Round Robin!!

 

Orange Blooms

For March's Island Batik Ambassador challenge, all the choices are up to us!  We can make whatever we want with Island Batik fabric.  I've been obsessed with flower quilts lately, and when I was at a new-to-me quilt shop about an hour away a few months ago, I picked up 2 flower quilt patterns.  One was Bloom by Kate Spain.  Here's my version!

I decided to stretch myself a little and focus on orange for these flowers.  Orange is not normally my color but I do love the brightness of these blooms.  I went through my scraps of Island Batik and pulled out all the orange and orange-adjacent fabrics I could find.  Many of these are stash-builder strips, which are 5" by WOF.  Once I had all the flower fabrics picked out and cut, I dug through my scraps and stash-builder strips again, this time looking for greens for the leaves and stems.

Whenever I'm following someone else's pattern, I figure out what pieces I can cut with my Accuquilt to save time.  Many parts of the flowers use HSTs, so I cut those with my Accuquilt.   

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Schmetz, Aurifil, Hobbs, Accuquilt, and Oliso.

I actually did all the piecing on this one a few months ago, but it's been sitting around waiting to be finished and photographed.  Now that spring is finally here, I was inspired to finish it!  

 

I quilted it with yellow Aurifil thread with my favorite organic wavy lines quilting.  Schmetz needles are the only needles I use, for piecing and for quilting. The batting is Hobbs Tuscany collection cotton wool blend.  (Because I pieced this in 2024, I did not yet have my Oliso mini iron, but I did use it to press my backing, not pictured.)

My Orange Blooms quilt measures 52" x 55".  And I am not even close to being over my current obsession with flower quilts!