Round Robin #6: Letters & Numbers

Welcome to the last prompt of this year's Stay at Home Round Robin!  This time it is Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing who tells us what to add, and she picked letters and numbers.  Before I go into my thought process and what I did, let's take a look at where I left off after last week's round.

When we first chose our rounds and prompts, this one stumped me.  I think I mentioned previously that my original plan for this year was to make a sampler quilt.  I knew I could incorporate every other prompt into a sampler block, but the letters and numbers threw me.  After a day or two of ruminating, I thought of X & O block.  Those are letters of the alphabet!  I got out my graph paper notebook and sketched an X block that I liked. (I never did design or sew an O block.)

Then when I switched to this half-medallion with a large sampler border, I kept the X blocks.  And by putting them in the corners, I got this cool chain effect going through the whole quilt on the diagonal!  I also really like this block, and may use it again in something.

I thought I got a picture of the whole top before I layered it for quilting, but I did not.  The weather was acting up at one point and I must have forgotten I never actually took the photos.  So here is the completed top layered on the batting and backing, but before quilting. It looks like I added an outer border, but I did not. That's the extra batting from the layering.

Are you sewing along?  Link up this week with Kathleen.  And you now have 3 weeks to complete your round robin quilts, then come back on March 18th and link up with Gail one final time.  Quilt tops and finished quilts are both accepted for that final round, so don't worry if you can't get it quilted and bound by then.  After everyone shows off their beauties, we'll do the prize drawings.  Remember, you get an entry for every week you've linked up.  If you want some inspiration for how to use letters and numbers, be sure to visit all the hosts!

• January 15th: SAHRR starts!  Link your Center Block with Gail of @ Quilting Gail
• January 22nd: 1^st Round: Signature Blocks * Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts
• January 29th: 2^nd Round: Two Colors * Anja @ Anja Quilts
• February 5th: 3^rd Round: Triangles * Emily @ The Darling Dogwood (That's me!)
  
• February 12th: 4^th Round: Square in a Square or Set On Point * Brenda @ Songbird Designs
• February 19th: : 5^th Round: Four * Gail @ Quilting Gail 
• February 26th: 6^th Round: Letters and Numbers * Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
• March 18th: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!
  
  
  
  

Round Robin #5: Four

We're nearing the end of the Stay At Home Round Robin!  This week it is founder & mastermind Gail of Quilting Gail's turn to pick, and she picked four.  Four what?  Four whatever you want!  Four blocks, four colors, four of a certain kind of unit, four-patch, whatever your heart desires that can incorporate the number four.  After last week's fourth round: here is what I had:

 

Now, what did I do with the prompt four?  Remember the block I made for Round 3, when I chose triangles for my prompt?   

For that round, I made four blocks.  For this round, I made four more.  Cheating?  I hope not!  This is supposed to be fun, after all! But, if you think this is perhaps bending the rules, I will point out that each block has four fabrics that are not the background, four HST units, and four triangle-in-a-square units.  Surely all of those add up to a passable prompt for four.

 

The reality is that I originally planned for this quilt to be more sampler-style, but I ended up making that large center with the first few rounds incorporated into it.  When I made that change, I really didn't like the outsides being too different; I wanted it to look more symmetrical.  So I decided to make four more so all four sides would match.

How will you use the prompt of four?  Link up with Gail, and remember that if you are behind, you can link up a previous round--all progress is progress!  Check out how each of the hosts incoperated four into their quilts for this round. Then come back next week to see the final prompt!

• January 15th: SAHRR starts!  Link your Center Block with Gail of @ Quilting Gail
• January 22nd: 1^st Round: Signature Blocks * Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts
• January 29th: 2^nd Round: Two Colors * Anja @ Anja Quilts
• February 5th: 3^rd Round: Triangles * Emily @ The Darling Dogwood (That's me!)
  
• February 12th: 4^th Round: Square in a Square or Set On Point * Brenda @ Songbird Designs
• February 19th: : 5^th Round: Four * Gail @ Quilting Gail 
• February 26th: 6^th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
• March 18th: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!
  
  
  
  
  
  

Round Robin #4: Square in a Square

Welcome back to the Stay at Home Round Robin!  This week, what we're adding is up to Brenda at Songbird Designs.  She is giving us a choice: Square in a Square units, or blocks on point.  Before we get to what I added, here is a look at where I left off after my triangle round last week:

From here on out, I am going sampler-style with 12" blocks around the middle that is made up of my center block and first two rounds.  I created a block that started with a square-in-a-square, and then used HSTs and flying geese to create a second square-in-a-square effect.  

I made four of the blocks and added them to the center of each side.  Someone commented last week that they wonder if my triangle blocks would stay in the same positions.  They are sewn in now, so yes!  There are three different purples in these blocks.  I am using various purple Island Batik scraps and the background fabric is a neutral called Almond.  Here is how it all looks after this round:

Be sure to link up with Brenda this week if you are sewing along!  Remember, every time you link up, you get an entry into the prize drawings from our fabulous sponsors; all prizes will be drawn in March after our parade of finishes.  

And be sure to check out all of our hosts this week to see what they did!

• January 15th: SAHRR starts!  Link your Center Block with Gail of @ Quilting Gail
• January 22nd: 1^st Round: Signature Blocks * Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts
• January 29th: 2^nd Round: Two Colors * Anja @ Anja Quilts
• February 5th: 3^rd Round: Triangles * Emily @ The Darling Dogwood (That's me!)
  
• February 12th: 4^th Round: Square in a Square or Set On Point * Brenda @ Songbird Designs
• February 19th: : 5^th Round: Gail @ Quilting Gail 
• February 26th: 6^th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
• March 18th: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Fairy Cabin

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik log cabin blog hop!  I was sent the beautiful Fairy Floss collection by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.  I love these colors together! 

 

Log cabins are such a versatile block; there are so many options!  I worked with EQ8 to design my quilt.  I had a center I really liked, but it wasn't large enough for a whole quilt, and using it as a really large block and repeating 4 times would have been larger than I had time for.  I was feeling really stuck.  I had dinner planned with my quilting friend Kate, and I took my laptop.  After we ate delicious Mexican food, I brought out my laptop, opened up EQ8, and showed Kate what I had.  She almost immediately suggested a courthouse steps block I had already been playing with as a border.  It was exactly what I needed!  I took her ideas home and played some more.  I think we sent about 20 texts back and forth that night with me taking pictures of my EQ8 screen and her suggesting tweaks!  I am so pleased with our joint design!  I am calling it Fairy Cabin, with a nod to both the Fairy Floss fabrics and the log cabin blocks.  I like the idea of this being in a fairy's home, or even hung in a fairy's cabin!

The center I liked, as designed in EQ8

Fun side story: at the restaurant, there was a young girl, maybe about 6, who walked up to our table and was absolutely fascinated with the images in EQ8.  Her family had to drag her away!

The center in the actual fabrics

Fairy Cabin uses a combination of traditional log cabin blocks and courthouse steps variations.  It finishes at 50" square.  I pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread using Schmetz needles.  The batting is Hobbs silk batting, which is nice and light.  And this was my first time using my new Oliso iron!  I did most of the cutting in strips, but I did use my Studio 180 Designs Wing Clipper tool for the tiny flying geese for the turquoise stars in the outer border.  

tiny geese!

Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Schmetz, Hobbs, Aurifil, Studio 180 Design, and Oliso.

binding ready to go

For the background, I used Oatmeal from the always-available Foundations collection.  It's a nice kind of mellow yellowish color, and I really think it glows with the Fairy Floss.  Oatmeal plus cabins makes me think of Goldilocks!

Courthouse Steps

 

log cabin

There are twenty different fabrics (SKUs) in the Fairy Floss collection.  I used fifteen in the quilt top and a sixteenth for the binding.  That means I have 4 half yards that are untouched.  I have plans for one of them, but I am offering a giveaway of the remaining three.  That's a yard and a half of beautiful Island Batik fabric, and I'll probably add some scraps of some of the other Fairy Floss fabrics as well.  To enter the giveaway, leave me a comment.  You can comment on anything you like, but if you need a prompt, tell me your favorite log cabin block variation.  For a second entry, visit me on facebook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Two other Island Batik ambassadors are playing with Fairy Floss today. Be sure to visit them and see what they made!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Pamela @ Pamela Quilts

Island Batik Log Cabin blog hop

It's time for the first Island Batik blog hop of 2024!  All month long, Island Batik ambassadors will be showing off the newest fabric collections.  And what better way to show of fabric than that classic block, the log cabin?  Log Cabin blocks are great because there are so many ways to use them, and so many variations!

I was sent the beautiful Fairy Floss collection by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.  You don't have to wait long to see what I made with the gorgeous collection of purple, green, and turquoise: my day is tomorrow!

Each week, Island Batik will have a new fabric giveaway that you can find on their blog.  Many of the ambassadors will do their own giveaways as well.  Here is the full schedule for the Log Cabin blog hop:

February 6:

• Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts
• Sarah Pitcher, Pitcher’s Boutique LLC
• Megan Best, Best Quilter

February 7:

• Pamela Boatright, Pamelaquilts
• Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs
• Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

February 8:

• Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
• Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

February 12:

• Carol Stanek, Stitch with Color
• Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

February 13:

• Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany
• Renee Atkinson, Pink Tulip Quilting

February 14:

• Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
• Victoria Johnson, Forever Quilting for You

February 15:

• Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilt Studio
• Connie Kresin Campbell, Freemotion by the River

February 19:

• Lana Russel, LanaQuilts
• Julia Schweri, Inflorescence Designs

February 20:

• Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
• Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

February 21:

• Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
• Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

February 22:

• Denise Looney, A Quiltery
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst, Chatterbox Quilts

February 26:

• Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts
• Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

Round Robin #3: Triangles

Welcome back to the Stay at Home Round Robin!  This week it's my turn to provide the prompt, and I chose triangles.  Before we talk about how I incorporated triangles into this round, let's take a look at where I left off last week:
 

I mentioned in my starting post that I did more planning ahead this year than I have in previous years.  This will be one of this year's teacher quilts and I aim for those to finish close to 60" square.  After last week's round, the quilt is 36" square.  If I make 12" blocks for the remainder of rounds and use those as sort of a sampler or a large border, the quilt will finish at 60" square--right on the money! 

 

My next step was to deign a block with triangles.  I did most of my cutting for the entire quilt with my Accuquilt 8" cube, and one of the companion sets has a triangle in a square block, so I made sure to add those in my block.  And of course there is the classic quilter's unit of the half square triangle!  Any form of triangles that you want will work for this round.

I made four of my triangle-heavy blocks.  And here is what it looks like now:

Be sure to link up this week!  It's ok if you are behind and need to link up with a previous round.  Every week you link up, you will be entered into the drawing for prizes at the end of the Stay at Home Round Robin.  Here is a list of the sponsors and prizes!  To win, we need to know who you are and where you are (which country) so please add your name & location to any comment so that you get credit for linking up.

PRIZES & SPONSORS

• Island Batik: 3 fat quarter bundles
• Hobbs batting: Wool Batt
• Quiltery: For the Love of Geese: A pattern of winner’s choice
• Aurifil Thread:
• Prairie Spirit Alpacas 12″ x 18″ Alpaca /Wool pressing mat
• Oliso:  Pro Plus Auto Lift Iron
• Fat Quarter Shop $25 gift certificate and 2 charm packs of winner’s choice
• Zipper Valley: $20 gift certificate
• and MORE!!!!

LINK UP

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I can't wait to see what you do with triangles!  Be sure to check out all the hosts and see their interpretations of triangles for this round:

• January 15th: SAHRR starts!  Link your Center Block with Gail of @ Quilting Gail
• January 22nd: 1^st Round: Signature Blocks * Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts
• January 29th: 2^nd Round: Two Colors * Anja @ Anja Quilts
• February 5th: 3^rd Round: Triangles * Emily @ The Darling Dogwood (That's me!)
  
• February 12th: 4^th Round:  Brenda @ Songbird Designs
• February 19th: : 5^th Round: Gail @ Quilting Gail 
• February 26th: 6^th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
• March 18th: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Island Batik Unboxing

I am honored to have been selected as an Island Batik Ambassador for the sixth year!  Island Batik has given me a lot of opportunities and being involved in the ambassador program has pushed my creativity and skill in ways that I could not have dreamed when I fist applied for 2019.  

The best days of the year for an Island Batik ambassador are the days that the boxes of goodies arrive!  This year's box weighed 35 pounds!  It was stuffed with gorgeous Island Batik fabric and other items that quilters need from industry sponsors Hobbs, Oliso, Schmetz, and Studio 180 Designs.  Check out my unboxing video!

If you want a closer look at those gorgeous fabrics, here are some additional photos.  I also couldn't always find the stickers with the names of the Foundations fabrics when I filmed the video, so that is documented here.

First, there is a half yard bundle of Fairy Floss, with 2 yards each of Foundations Boysenberry and Oatmeal.  Fairy Floss is a beautiful collection by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.

My other Fall collection is Breezy by Kate Colleran.  I got a 10" stack with coordinating yardage of Mint and Marble in Blackberry.

My main Winter collection is a surprise; you'll have to wait until May to see what is in the package!  The precuts from Winter collections are available now, though, and I got a strip pack of Fire & Ice with coordinating yardage of Cornsilk and Dandelion in Black.  

 

There are also 3 packs of Stash Builder strips.  These are 5" x WOF, so very versatile!  There's almost 3 yards of fabric in each pack!

We all need great background fabric!  I have 4 yards each of solid white, black, and gray.  There is also an unbelievable 6  yards of Moo Milk, one of the neutrals.

I also have 12 half-yard cuts of always-available Foundations fabrics.  These are in 3 categories: Solids (Red, Turquoise, Lime Green, and Amethyst)  Basics (Honeydew, Malibu, Mint, Vibes) and Blenders (Bubbles in Raspberry, Bubble Hole in Leaf, Foulard in Waterfall, Bubbles in Cherry)

And two more pre-cuts, this time from Gradations.  Island Batik recently expanded their basics and has assembled color gradations in pre-cuts.  I was sent a strip pack of Precious Pinks and a 10" stack of Brilliant Blues.

Then finally, there were items from Island Batik's industry partners.  Schmetz sent 3 packets of needles.  Studio 180 Designs sent me their Tucker Trimmer tool and a Quilter's Magic Wand.  Hobbs sent two throw size (60") batts; one is a silk batting, the other is wool.  And last but certainly not least, Oliso is a new sponsor and they sent me a pretty yellow iron!  I'm so excited to use this iron that feels like magic because you don't have to lift it! Aurifil will be sending thread later, and there will be a challenge featuring Funky Friends Factory stuffed toy patterns.

Thanks to Island Batik and all their partners for all the goodies!  I can't wait to show you all the projects I'll be making with these gorgeous fabrics over the next 6 months!