Harvest Vines, an Island Batik & AccuQuilt challenge

June's Island Batik ambassador challenge is sponsored by AccuQuilt.  Each ambassador was sent a BOB die for the challenge.  BOB stands for Block on Board, which means all the pieces needed for one quilt block are on the same die board and can be cut in one pass through the cutter.  

 

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

Our assignment was to combine the BOB die with the 8" Go Cube to create a new design.  I was sent the Snail's Trail die which makes an 8" Snail's Trail block, perfect to combine with the 8" cube.  I knew I would want to play around in EQ to create my design.  I had previously learned of this etsy shop that is authorized by both EQ and Accuquilt; she sells the files for the blocks you can make with the Go Cube, to be imported into EQ.  Perfect excuse to buy it!  After playing around, I chose two blocks to combine with Snail's Trail, Windmill and Mosaic #15.  

 

I had a 10" stack of Sundance by Kathy Engle, a collection from last year.  Sundance is not my normal colors and I thought it would be good to venture out of my comfort zone!  I played around with a few different background colors and as soon as I tried Frog from the Foundations line, I knew I had a winning combination.  The green just made those yellows and golds pop.  The whole thing looks like the harvest to me, and the green weaving between the blocks looks like vines so I named this Harvest Vines.

I find black thread on black fabric hard to see, so I used Aurifil 2784 dark navy for piecing and for quilting.  I started with a brand new Schmetz chrome needle.  I still had quite a few squares left of Sundance so I pieces a back with some 10" squares, smaller scraps, and Island Batik's solid black.  I layered the quilt with Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 black batting.  I love the black batting with dark quilts!  

 

Part of the assignment is to give this quilt as a gift of comfort. I have not yet determined a recipient.  Quilts will frequently tell you where they are meant to go; I know the right person or cause will make themselves known.  

 

 

I had a great time playing with the Snail's Trail die and I know I will use it lots and lots!  I've already got at least 2 quilts in mind that use this die! I love how easy it is to cut all the pieces!