StitchWithColor

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Island Batik Ambassador - Accuquilt – Irish Chain May Blog Hop

The May 2025 Island Batik Challenge is a Blog Hop sponsored by AccuQuilt! We received the GO! Irish Chain die to cut our fabrics for the May Blog Hop challenge.

This challenge features the classic Irish chain block, and no matter the layout, it can come together in a fraction of the cutting time with our sponsored Accuquilt Irish Chain 10-inch Finished Die.

Thanks to AccuQuilt, making an Irish Chain quilt has never been easier or more fun. The die makes precise cuts that help you get perfect seams and beautiful blocks, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned quilter. Plus, the shapes can be used for so much more than just the Irish Chain, there’s plenty of room to play and experiment.

As you follow along with the blog hop and see all the stunning quilts the Ambassadors create, you're encouraged to stop by your local quilt shop and let them know how much you love all the new Island Batik fabrics and the new collections featured during the Irish Chain Blog Hop. Supporting local shops and sharing what inspires you helps keep our quilting community thriving!

In my January unboxing we had a “Surprise” fabric package. This fabric was intended for this May challenge.

The fabric that I was received is

Cutting my fabrics took a quick evening which I loved! Plus sewing the blocks was so easy and quick!

After I finished sewing my blocks using my favorite Schmetz Microtex 50 Sharp needles with Aurifil 50 weight white thread, I knew my quilt design need a bit more to it. So I decided to foundation paper piece trees for the blocks in between the chained blocks.

I pressed my blocks with my Oliso iron and assembled them. But they still needed something else. So I decided to add a little bling to the trees which gave the trees the sparkle they needed!

Once the quilt top was ready to be quilted with Hobbs Batting. I did very simple quilting, as I am not a long arm quilter, but I gave it my best! The quilt went through it's normal quilt inspection by Cooper, the head quilt inspector! He loved it so much that he didn't want to release the quilt!

And now for the result of my Island Batik - Accuquilt - Irish Chain Quilt...

Remember to enter this week's giveaway at Lumin Fabrics "Island Batik"!

Link to Island Batik Blog

You will also have a chance each week, and again in the with the final vote!

A very special thanks to all the sponsors of the Island Batik Ambassador program.

Make sure you are following along with the other 22 Island Batik Ambassadors for inspiration and tips!

Brenda Alburl - https://songbirddesigns.blog

Renee Atkinson - https://wordpress.com/posts/pinktulipquilting.studio

Susan Deshensky - www.ladybluequilts.com/blog

Tina Dillard - https://quiltingaffection.blogspot.com/

Brittany Fisher - www.bobbinwithbrittany.com

Kimberly Flannagan - https://www.kimberlysquilts.com/blog

Preeti Harris - https://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

Mania Hatziioannidi - www.maniaforquilts.com

Kim Jamieson-Hirst - https://www.chatterboxquilts.com/blog

Connie Kauffman - Kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com

Connie Kresin Campbell - https://conniekresin.com/

Emily Leachman - https://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/

Denise Looney - https://quiltery.com

Leah Malasky - www.quilteddelights.com

Susan Michaels - https://dragonflyfiberart.blogspot.com/

Lisa Pickering - https://lisasquiltingpassion.blog/

Sarah Pitcher - www.pitchersboutique.com/blog-1

Gail Sheppard - https://quiltinggail.com/

Carol Stanek - stitchwithcolor.blogspot.com

Solomae Stoycoff - https://cuddlecatquiltworks.com

Jennifer Thomas - https://curlicuecreations.com

Suzy Webster - www.websterquilt.com

Be sure you’re following me on Facebook and Instagram so you won’t miss out on what I’ll be creating next!

#luminfabrics #islandbatik #islandbatikambassador #loveislandbatik #irishchainbloghop #accuquilt #accuquiltgo #createwitholiso #olisoconnects #aurifl #aurifilthread #schmetzneedles #bernina #hobbsbatting #hobbsinside #followers #quiltersoffacebook #quiltersofinstagram

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Island Batik Ambassador "Drunkard Path Block" April Challenge

I hope you see birds flying away. That's what I was aiming for!

This is my finished quilt for the April Island Batik Ambassador Challenge.

We were to use the Drunkard Path blocks for this challenge.

The fabric I used for this quilt was Island Batik's 10" Squares of the ESSENSE Collection which is coming to quilt shops in September 2025.

I started cutting out the 10" squares using the AccuQuilt Go Me! It made the chore of cutting fabrics go so fast. I had all my "ready to sew" pieces done in an less than an hour and started sewing right away!

I worked on this project using Aurifil thread, pressing with my Oliso iron, until I had all the drunkard path blocks completed... These are 3" finished drunkard path blocks. I sewed 4 blocks together to get my birds making the finished bird blocks 6". Then the blocks went onto the design wall to be arranged in a pleasing (to me) pattern! This took some time arranging and rearranging the blocks and stepping back to review. I wasn't satisfied until I had all the blocks in an order from light to dark so it would look like the birds were flying away with the lightest blocks at top showing distance. Then all the blocks were sewn together and this is the quilt top before I quilted it.

I finished the quilt with purple backing fabric and binding. I echo quilted the rows of birds in a heavier variegated thread. Then there was the Cooper quilt inspection....

The quilt PASSED INSPECTION!!!

I hope you enjoy it too!

A very special thanks to all the sponsors of the Island Batik Ambassador program.

Please visit my fellow 2025 Ambassadors to see what projects they’re working on!

Brenda Alburl - https://songbirddesigns.blog

Sarah Pitcher - www.pitchersboutique.com/blog-1

Gail Sheppard - https://quiltinggail.com/

Carol Stanek - stitchwithcolor.blogspot.com

Solomae Stoycoff - https://cuddlecatquiltworks.com

Jennifer Thomas - https://curlicuecreations.com

Suzy Webster - www.websterquilt.com

Be sure you’re following me on Facebook and Instagram so you won’t miss out on what I’ll be creating next!

#luminfabrics #islandbatik #islandbatikambassador #loveislandbatik #createwitholiso #olisoconnects #aurifl #aurifilthread #schmetzneedles #accuquilt #bernina #hobbsbatting #hobbsinside #followers #quiltersoffacebook #quiltersofinstagram

Monday, March 24, 2025

Island Batik "It's All Up To You" March Challenge

This month the Island Batik Ambassadors were allowed to make a project of their choice, using Island Batiks fabrics. We could do the project in any size using any technique.

As many of you may know I’m also a BeColourful Authorized Teacher do trunk shows and workshops with quilt guilds and quilt shops, plus I’m required to attend a master class every year with Jacqueline de Jonge, the pattern designer of BeColourful quilt patterns. I am currently working on the “Catch Me” pattern for my upcoming master class I will be in the beginning of June. This pattern has been consuming the majority of my sewing time and so this month Island Batik challenge project is small! The next few months will be super challenging!

For the March Island Batik challenge I choose Island Batik’s JUBILANT batik 2 ½ strip set. This collection I thought would be perfect as stained glass. I created my own foundation paper pattern to create my project.

The full fabric collection

Here's the finished table topper

Here's a close up of the individual block

This table topper was made with Island Batik Jubilant strip set (1/2 pack) and solid black batik, foundation paper pieced with Aurifil 50 wt thread, sewn with Schmetz 70/10 Microtex needles, pressed with my Oliso Mini Pro Iron, and quilted on my Bernina using Hobbs fusible batting. The table topper measures approximately 18 x 21 inches.

A very special thanks to all the sponsors of the Island Batik Ambassador program.

Please visit my fellow 2025 Ambassadors to see what projects they’re working on!

Brenda Alburl - https://songbirddesigns.blog

Sarah Pitcher - www.pitchersboutique.com/blog-1

Gail Sheppard - https://quiltinggail.com/

Carol Stanek - stitchwithcolor.blogspot.com

Solomae Stoycoff - https://cuddlecatquiltworks.com

Jennifer Thomas - https://curlicuecreations.com

Suzy Webster - www.websterquilt.com

Be sure you’re following me on Facebook and Instagram so you won’t miss out on what I’ll be creating next!

#luminfabrics #islandbatik #islandbatikambassador #loveislandbatik #createwitholiso #olisoconnects #aurifl #aurifilthread #schmetzneedles #bernina #hobbsbatting #hobbsinside #followers #quiltersoffacebook #quiltersofinstagram

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Island Batik Ambassador RUNNER UP BLOG HOP and GIVEAWAY!

Hi everyone,

This is the Island Batik Ambassador's first project challenge of 2025 and the first Blog Hop using a Studio 180 tool! My challenge was to create a table runner using the Studio 180 Wing Clipper. The fabric bundle that was given to me to use was "FALL FLAIR" designed by Jerry Khiev for The Inquiring Quilter. Here's a photo of the fabric bundle and coordinating fabrics I received for this challenge. Fall Flair will be shipping to quilt shops in February and there is a link at the bottom on how to find the fabric and enter our weekly raffles which end on each Friday in February.

In less than 2 weeks I designed my runner in Electric Quilt, which took awhile to come up with a design I liked. I choose to use the neutral fabric for all my geese and use all the assorted bundle of fall colors to make the wings on my geese.

Here are some photos of the process sewing and making the flying geese with Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design Wing Clipper. I decided to make geese that finished at 2" x 4" from the instructions that come with the Wing Clipper. I cut all the fabrics accordingly and started sewing the smaller squares onto the larger squares using my favorite Schmetz Microtex Needes.

I finger press my seams as I work through all the steps of sewing the geese, then I take the finished geese and give them a good pressing with my new Oliso iron before using the Wing Clipper trim tool.

Here's my steps to the assembly...

And now for the reveal....

The fabric that our Ambassadors will be using in their Runner Up creations just started shipping to your local quilt shops! Find out which stores carry Island Batik near you by using our Store Locator; just enter your zip code, and your local shop will pop up on the map – it’s incredibly convenient and helpful!

Every Friday, we’ll compile round-ups of the projects and host a giveaway of two Fat Quarter bundles from the new Island Batik collections highlighted during that week! Make sure to explore all the amazing creations on the Ambassadors’ blogs and join in on their additional giveaways for even more chances to win.

Below is the complete list of Ambassadors, the collections they’ll feature in their projects, and their scheduled post dates:

WEEK 1

February 4:

February 5:

Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany

February 6:

November 7:

We will post the first two projects of the Island Batik Runner Up Blog Hop next Tuesday, but the first week’s giveaway is live right now! Follow the simple Rafflecopter prompts below for a chance to win one of the two fabulous Fat Quarter bundles of collections by our very own Jerry Khiev – Botanical Dreams or Fall Flair.

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway