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Saturday, April 10, 2021

Island Batik - April Challenge

Me: How is it?
Paul (mildly irritated): What?
Me (irritated): Your breakfast...that I just brought you, my lord.
Paul: I am still alive, am I not?
Me (through gritted teeth): In that case, let me get you another serving.
Paul (calmly): It is good to have goals.
Me: If you want me to cook for you then you need to tell me that you LIKE my cooking.
Paul: I will...AFTER I finish eating it.


Let's ignore Paul for now. 



April 2021 is a free month which means that it is all up to me - any project, any size, any theme and any technique. 

First things first - start with a sketch/concept. When you translate a concept/idea into fabric, the end results are rarely what you expect. There have been times when what seemed brilliant as a concept fell flat in fabric :-( 





With the Autumn Sunset collection in mind, I started with a rough sketch.  But picking fabric pairs to achieve the right degree of contrast (within each block) and gradation (from the adjacent block) was a huge challenge.  

The Concept


I took many many pictures and converted each to grayscale to determine value gradation. Changes were made and often. I was happy with some choices and I settled with others.  It was time to start making the blocks.


Starting here


These look fine


But will they work together?


Going from concept/design to flimsy was a gut-wrenching journey. What if this does not turn out according to my vision?  What if something just stands out too much or something just fades into nothingness?

The light blocks

The medium and dark blocks


Setting aside all my anxieties, it was time to piece the top.  No more thinking and no overthinking.

Piecing the Top

Once the flimsy was completed, I placed it on the design wall, turned and walked away about 12 feet. 
When I turned to look at it, I knew that my gamble had worked!!!

Gasp!!!


No more hesitation now. Time to baste and quilt!!!


Basting


In the end it did work out according to my expectations :-) What do you think?


Suns in the Sun


Konark Quilt

I have named this quilt Konark, meaning the "angle of the sun". Konark is also the name of the temple dedicated to the Sun God in India. The town where the temple is located is also called Konark.

Konark Quilt finished at 60" by 84".


Autumn Glow



Burning Hot


Light Suns and Dark Suns


But I have more pictures to show...so please humor me.


Cascade of Suns


Walking Foot Quilting


Hot and Spicy :-)


I used Hobbs Cotton Batting. Thank you Hobbs.

I used Schmetz Microtex Needle 70/12 for piecing and Schmetz Needle 90/14 for quilting and binding. Love Schmetz.



I used Aurifil Thread 50wt for piecing and 40wt for quilting. 

Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:

But wait there is more... The odd cuts leftover from Dawn were fashioned into a zippered pouch.

These colors are so yummy


Love the Autumn Sunset collection


Hugs and Kisses inside :-)


Paul: Thank you for breakfast. It was yummy.
Me: Umm Hmmm.


Whether you like your eggs poached or scrambled, here is hoping your weekend is sunny side up :-) 

One last look - Sun in the Shadows


The next Island Batik Challenge is "Make it Modern" with a Blog Hop. I am working on it right now and I will be posting on May 3, 2021.  Sorry no sneak peeks. 
________________________________________________________________
According to Angela, April is light and bright blue.  Here are my fabric picks. 


I will be sharing with Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge linky party and all my favorite linky parties, see full list on the sidebar.
I have a new finish and an exciting announcement - all in the next blogpost!!! 

49 comments:

  1. Konark is beautiful! Quilting is perfect for it! Congratulations on experimenting!

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  2. Oh la la, another pure beauty! I looove your new quilt, and the design process. The steps are a good photo shot spot ;) I love your blue fabrics too.
    About the secret project, have fun making it modern ;)

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  3. Wow, Konark is simple and beautiful, making it simply beautiful! Really, it’s stunning. I hope it’s a keeper for you!!

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  4. Wow! Just wow! At first, seeing the individual blocks, I thought "meh", but once you started getting them together with the gradations...wow! Beautiful! And my hubby gives "compliments" regarding my cooking on the order of "adequate" after singing his made up little ditty about gruel. So you're ahead of me in that battle! (But it is always nice to know my hubby isn't the only difficult one out there!)

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  5. I love the quilt - such a nice almost "bronze" type of look to it - it glows if possible. and the quilting suits it completely!

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  6. I love your "sunny-side up" quilt!! It's lovely how the colors blend and radiate from the center. You crack me up with your conversations with Paul. I like your zippered pouches too. Preeti, where do you find the time to quilt? I'm envious of all of you with a long arm. I am finishing up a new quilt that I may send out to be quilted. I just can't complete anything otherwise. Thanks for sharing another lovely project.

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  7. The sunny quilt is really gorgeous! I like how the yellow goes from background in the center to the stars in the outer blocks. It's so happy! :)

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  8. You call the quilt Konark. I call it FABULOUS!!! Well done, Preeti.

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  9. A hot and spicy dish, quilt. Love the stars.

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  10. Such a beautiful quilt, full of sunshine, just as you intended! Well done INDEED.

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  11. Beautiful quilt. Your vision worked!

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  12. Konark is a 'lightbulb moment' in fabric :-)

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  13. Amazingly brilliant! You've done it again Pretti!

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  14. Hi Preeti! Love this. These fabrics are fabulous. Perfect name for the colorway - it sums up Autumn and Sunset perfectly. Oh, and the zippered bag is fab, too. Great job! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  15. Absolutely glowing and gorgeous! Beautiful stitching and execution! Congratulations.

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  16. Love all the photos (Especially the one on the steps)! I don’t usually like yellows and browns, but you really showed these fabrics off to great advantage — what a wonderful fabric ambassador you are, Preeti 😁

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  17. It is a glowing quilt. The simple design makes it stronger. Great arrangement of values.

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  18. It's wonderful. As I said on IG (and others have noted), it just glows. You're knocking them out of the park. Perhaps Paul should make his own breakfast for a few days? Hehe
    Pat

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  19. What a beautiful autumn quilt! Remindes me of the colors of harvest & sunny days under orange and red leaves. And the pictures on the stairs is so fun. Enjoy your finish! xo

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  20. So pretty!!! I love the photo where it's laying on the steps, giving it some depth.

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  21. I love, love, love the Konark quilt! And thank you for the lesson behind the name. Beautiful. Have a great day!

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  22. Beautiful quilt! So warm and happy! And the name is perfect.

    I haven’t forgotten about sending you the elephant pattern. Things are returning to normal here, so should be able to get it out as soon as my Manila envelopes arrive from Amazon.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  23. LOVE LOVE LOVE Konark...I have a bunch of pink stars I started and now...ummmm...I'm thinking...but then I just dug out some great fabric to make MORE of your International Sisters and then...it's the BLUE month...oh what to DO????

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  24. Your gamble paid off!! It's amazing. Well done.

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  25. I know a lot of people have said that it's glowing, but I have to say it too, because this quilt just glows. All kinds of happiness and joy shining out. Just stunning-- and very much "sunny-side up!"

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  26. Love your stars, what a great mix of colors!!

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  27. Your design shows off the rich batiks so well!

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  28. I love the way you used the gradation of colors! It's gorgeous!

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  29. Your Konark quilt came out fantastic! I love the serpentine quilting lines, like sizzling rays from the sun, and that photo of the quilt cascading down the stairs is wonderful, too.

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  30. I love it!!! I like how the colors radiate from the inside out... sort of like beauty... and Paul... Oh Paul... If you want to keep eating.... Dude!! ha ha ha!! just kidding!!

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  31. The ombre sunshine colors make such a beautiful statement! Love this!

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  32. What a wonderful use for the warm batiks. For such a simple block it makes a huge impact with your color choices. Great job. Does Paul cook much?

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  33. Even though they are stars, using those golden and brown batiks makes them appear as sunflowers. Perfect.

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  34. That is really lovely fabric. Nice quilt.

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  35. Beautiful fabrics help make for a beautiful quilt!

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  36. Yellow is one of my favorite colors and this quilt is stunning. Love the color transition you chose. Konark's colors and quilting radiate warmth. Love.

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  37. Konark is really gorgeous!! Seeing your process was interesting too

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  38. Hi Preeti
    I would love to follow you. I’m a fellow blogger for ScrapHappy and Kate’s friend 😍

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  39. Hi Preeti, Konark is just so lovely - it's worthy of the name :-)

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  40. So happy your idea worked out, you have made another beautiful quilt. I am happy Paul appreciated his breakfast too :-)

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  41. The color gradations and the simple block design fit so well together! Wonderful!

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  42. Gosh that sure did work out! Lovely design and oh so perfect for that fabric collection. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  43. Preeti, Konark just glows! I love those floating stars and the way you laid them out from darks to lights. Beautiful finish!

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  44. What a beauty. Love the fabrics that you chose . It looked so pretty cascading down the steps. Happy quilting.

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  45. I think the block arrangement really makes this one. Worth all the fussing with grey scales to get the finished effect. Beautiful!

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  46. Beautiful.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  47. Wow, your quilt is just gorgeous! Love the pouch from the scraps too.

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