March brings a free month for you to determine your own project of any size, using any theme and any technique!! This is an opportunity for you to express your creativity without guidelines. Have fun!
Here is my response.
Dreaming of Daylilies
Designed in EQ8, and made with Poetic Bouquet collection, it is a combination of Irish Chain blocks and appliqued Daisy blocks.
This is a lovely collection with beautiful gradations in purples and aquas. I wanted to show off these value gradations in the design.
EQ8 Mock-up
Value Gradations
The petals are lightest in the center getting darker towards the tips. This design gives an illusion of a circle in the flower that echoes the circle in the center.
Aqua Daisy, Purple Center
Bloom
Blossom
Shimmer
Shine
I used Egg White and Glaze for the background. The batting is Thermore by Hobbs. The Binding is Rice.
I used Schmetz Microtex 80/12 needles for both piecing and quilting. Dreaming of Daylilies finished at 52" square.
Thank you, Paul!
Paul holds more than just quilts. He also holds my heart and his support is the world to me.
The leftover pieced strips (from making the petals) were used to make this baby quilt, I named Lilyput :-)
Lilyput, 40" square
Pieced strips were inserted between solid white background rectangles to make 10" finished blocks. Lilyput finished at 40" square. The binding is Aqua (Island Batik Blender).
Here are a few more pictures:
Solid White Background
Turquoise Binding
Go soothe a baby!
In other news, I have completed the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Blocks for March.
Yellow for March RSC
Island Batik Scraps
I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Angela's and Yvonne's Favorite Finish for March. See full list on the sidebar. Wishing you warmth and a measure of calm in these troubled times.
The red and green together is evocative of Christmas, but this collection has vibes of Spring with floral reds and leafy greens. Christmas made me think of Christ and Christ made me think of Fish.
EQ8 Mock-Up
Me: What does that Jesus in Fish symbol signify? Paul: Jesus was the fisher of men. Me: That sounds painful. No fish wants to be fished or hooked. I thought it is because He multiplied fish to feed people. Paul: That could be too. Me: Wasn't He the shepherd? Guiding humanity? Paul: That He was. Jesus was many things. Me: That I agree.
This fabric collection can be many things too - bright Spring vibes or Christmas vibes. Many possibilities.
Starting
Making
The flimsy was just under 60" square. So I used the 60" square Hobbs Silk Blend Batting.
Silk Blend Batting from Hobbs Tuscany Collection
I quilted in one direction using my walking foot. I used Turquoise Variegated Thread to mimic water.
Quilting Detail
I used 12 out of the 20 fabrics in the collection. The background is Island Batik Solid White, as is the binding. I used Dark Green backing and here are some close-up pictures.
Wavy Stitch Quilting
Labelled
I enjoyed making this quilt. Why am I calling it Miracle Fish?
Well, if fish can climb a tree, that is miraculous!
Fish climb a tree
Paul and I went to a children's playground one early morning to take these pictures. The playground furniture provided several fun settings for the photoshoot. The cloudy sky provided the diffused lighting.
Playfully Yours
Matching Tulips!
Cloudy Skies, low temperatures and high winds make for a bitterly cold season. How I wish for a Miracle? Sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.
The Sunlit Garden blog Hop continues through March 9, 2025. Here's the list so you can visit all the blogs this week:
Island Batik's February Challenge and BlogHop requires the ambassadors to use their assigned Fall 2024 collection (I got Radiant Burst) and the Studio 180 Design Tool (I got Wing Clipper) to make a Table Runner or a Bed Runner.
Sounds simple? Yes. But wait there is more.
1. We must make at least 12 units.
2. Use as many fabrics (from the 20 in the collection) as possible.
NOW, we have a challenge :-)
Well, here is my response.
Glowing Front
And I used leftover blocks from Mirabelle to make the backing, so it is two-sided.
Moody Back
Double-Sided Runner
But let me start from the beginning.
Designed by Jerry Khiev, Radiant Burst should be available in stores now (February 2025). It is a beautiful collection with reds, pinks, mauves, teal greens and purple.
It was time to start designing. I turned to EQ8. Lots of designs were made and considered. Most were discarded for various reasons. Here are a few of them.
Discard #1
Discard #1 - February means Valentine's Day which equals Hearts. It uses all 20 fabrics and has more than12 flying goose units. But there was nothing new or fresh about it.
Discard #2
Discard #2 - Once again, I managed to use all 20 fabrics and 12+ units but this Starry Design was only a slight improvement on Discard #1.
Discard #3
Discard #3 - It looks fine. Certainly screams Flying Geese, even if it did not use all 20 fabrics. I can do better, I thought.
Discard #4
Discard #4 - This used all 20 fabrics, even though the design seems dated. I could work with partial seams since it was only five blocks, but there was another problem. The Flying Geese are made in sets of four but the design uses only one flying goose unit in each color, leaving me with 60 units. Oh no!
Discard #5
Discard $5 - I really like this one. It has a modern vibe to it. It uses all 20 fabrics. There was the same problem as Discard #4 of dealing with 60 leftover Flying Geese units. But there was a technical issue as well. It qualifies as Migrating Geese and can be made without the Wing Clipper Tool. I set it aside for future considerations.
And then I landed here!
The Chosen One
This was perfect. It has a modern vibe to it and looks like Crystal Pendants. It uses 20 fabrics and has 12+ units. The way I designed it, I would have only two leftover units.
There was only one more consideration - background color. Won't radiant crystals look good on a black background? I tried a few more options. Thank goodness for EQ8.
May be
Oh Yes!!!
At such times, I really need to discuss with a fellow quilter. I have reached out to Emily and Connie in the past. This time it was Mari, who endorsed the Yellow Background. "It would be perfect for Spring", she said.
I was all set. Full speed ahead. I used the Island Batik Basic Bumblebee for the background.
Perfectly Trimmed Flying Geese
Honestly, the design took longer than the actual sewing and quilting.
Basting
I used Schmetz Microtex 80/12 Needle for both piecing and quilting.
I used my trusted squiggly stitch to quilt the runner. The Hobbs 100% Cotton Batting shows off the quilting beautifully.
Glowing Crystals :-)
Crystal Pendants Runner finished at 16" by 51" and I absolutely love how the bright yellow background shows off the beautiful collection. But taking pictures was tricky.
Falling Runner and Shadow of the Phone :-D
Fabulous Finish
Sunny Vibes
Reversible!
Trying another angle for pictures.
The next two pictures are taken at my friend Manveen's beautiful home with excellent diffused lighting.
Fit for Royalty!
Thank you Manveen
One last picture!
Labelled
Visit Island Batik Blog for weekly giveaways and 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. I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.
Here is the complete list of Ambassadors, the collections they’ll feature in their projects, and their scheduled post dates:
