Monday, November 1, 2021

Island Batik November Challenge & Blog Hop

Welcome to Day One of the Island Batik's November 2021 Blog Hop - Storm at Sea.


The November Challenge for Island Batik required that we make a Storm at Sea quilt, lap size or larger, using the Summer 2021 Fabric bundle. I received the collection Bellingham Bay - designed by Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design.

Bellingham Bay

Those of you who know me know that these are not my favorite colors. I find them dark and depressing.  Guess this was an added dimension to the challenge.  

I turned to EQ8 to mock-up the color combinations to come up with a suitable design. After a few iterations, I chose this one and tried to replicate it. 



I used regular piecing to make the square in square blocks and used freezer paper piecing to make the diamonds.

Practice Blocks

Choosing Fabrics

Choosing Fabrics


Work in Progress

Coming together

Almost there


I received in my Island Batik Box a Cotton Wool blend batting measuring 60" square and it was the perfect size for this quilt.

Hobbs Batting - Cotton Wool Blend


A skinny grey border was added to protect the delicate points. A dark green binding completed the picture.

The quilt finished at 58" square and I took lots of pictures. Here are a few of them.

Finished!!!

Detail


Almost Perfect Points :-)

Challenge Met

Beautiful Day

Contrast Backdrop


Since it was a beautiful fall day, I tried to capture the bright foliage and the warmth of the autumn sun.
 
Bright Foliage Backdrop


Quilting Detail


I was surprised when Paul asked for the completed quilt.

Me: You like this?
Paul: Absolutely.
Me: Why?
Paul: It reminds me of one of my  games - The Invisible Sun.
Me: You just named the quilt.
Paul: So may I have it?
Me: Yes, you may.

I am so glad that Paul likes it.  To be honest (and humble), I like it too.  It is not my usual color palette (cheerful, playful, energizing, bright and happy) but it conveys peacefulness and an introspective vibe. 


The Invisible Sun


One thing is certain - If it wasn't for the Island Batik challenge I would not have worked with this palette and would not have discovered the potential of these colors to create an almost meditative quality.  What do you think?

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.


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







The full list of Ambassadors’ names, collections they will be using in their projects, and their post dates are as follows:

November 1:

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail 

Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

November 2:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

November 3:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese

Megan Best, Bestquilter

November 4:

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

November 5:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

November 8:

Mania Hatzioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter

November 9:

Joanne Hart, Unicorn Harts

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting

November 10:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

Janet Yamamoto, Whispers of Yore

November 11:

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

November 12:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

November 15:

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

November 16:

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde

November 17:

Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt 

November 18:

End of Blog Hop and Total Round-Up

To celebrate the start of Storm at Sea Blog Hop, Island Batik is giving away a 2.5″ Strip Pack and a 10″ Stack of Bellingham Bay – a gorgeous premiere Original Island Batik collection, designed by Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design!

46 comments:

  1. I wouldn't have chosen this palette either, Pretti, but you have made a beautiful quilt with it. I agree it's restful and calming, and not at all stormy. Congratulations!

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  2. Oh wow, it is just gorgeous! I also love your photos with such lovely fall backgrounds. It's fun when you discover something that works for you when you didn't really expect it. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. It’s beautiful and those colors are so rich. Nicely done.

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  4. It's beautiful and a very calming palette, quite the opposite of mine, if I ever finish it. We all need a little calm in our lives. Very nice.

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  5. It's beautiful, Preeti! I love it, and I agree that it feels meditative and sedate in the best ways. So glad Paul likes it so you will be keeping it around. And it looks stunning against that backdrop of fall foliage!

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  6. it is a pretty quilt but I think it would be hard to make a quilt with colors not of your choosing and a pattern that you didn't pick out yourself - you did a great job though!

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  7. Spectacular quilting on an eye catching quilt! It's no wonder that Paul wanted it. Thanks for sharing.
    Connie

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  8. Beautiful quilt, Pretti! Storm at Sea is my favorite pattern. I love the movement. Your color palette was a surprise for me. I think of Caribbean colors or Atlantic seas off New England. Your palette completely works! I can’t wait to see the results of the other Island Batik collections.

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  9. Gorgeous quilt! I love storm at sea but those fabrics were a bit of a challenge but you slayed it. I am so glad Paul loves it and named. It really is fun to see it in a different color palette.

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  10. While these aren't my favorite colors, Preeti, I do LOVE this quilt!! The way you used them made it beautiful! Storm at Sea is one of my favorite patterns!

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  11. Preeti, I feel the same way about darker greens. They are definitely not among my fabric choices nor are they happy to work with. You've done a fabulous job of putting them together to create a very meditative and moody quilt...one that Paul loves and gives off that slow-down, wait-for-the-storm-to-pass feeling. WEll done!

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  12. It's a lovely quilt, even if it isn't your favorite colors. I do agree that it has a calming vibe to it. It turned out beautiful, and perfect for fall!

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  13. I think your quilt is very nice - the lighter colors keep it from being "depressing". It has such a nice look to it.

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  14. It is not my typical go-to palette, either, but your quilt is beautiful. I guess that is why Island Batik has several different bloggers showing quilts made with their fabric lines. :)

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  15. Your quilt turned out lovely! In spite of you not loving the fabrics! :-)

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  16. Well done! It is a harder challenge to work outside of our colour zone, but you created a wonderful quilt for someone else to enjoy!
    I too would have chosen one of the other colour packages to work if if I could chose :)

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  17. I think your quilt came out beautiful. The colors are tranquil and the size of your block are much bigger that I have seen before. I bet it went together pretty fast. Job well done.

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  18. It is not my favorite group of colors either and I think you made them work together well - they really are somewhat calming and meditative. Congrats! xo

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  19. I think the way you used the lighter colors in the fabric collections mixed in with the darker ones makes this beautiful quilt anything but dark and depressing, Preeti! It's soothing and tranquil, and I love that Paul wanted it!

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  20. Hi Pretti! The SAS pattern is one of my favorite yet-to-be-made quilt patterns. The Bellingham Bay collection looks so earthy and those greens remind me exactly of sea glass. So, to wrap up these thoughts (finally) you picked the perfect pattern using the perfect fabrics. LOVE! While they're not your colors per se, just think of what Lake Michigan looked like with all the high winds recently. You can see a picture on Thursday in my Loves post or you can take my word for it that they match Bellingham Bay. Even the dark browns. Not depressing but real life! And you know I'm a bright fabric palette fan, too, usually. Lovely job and I'm so glad that Paul has claimed it. {{Hugs}} a bunch. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  21. Wow, it did turn out beautifully! Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how certain colors will interact and the moods they will convey. This is a great example that beautiful things can come from fabrics you may not expect!

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  22. Meditative - that is a lovely way of describing the feeling of this group of colors. It’s so pretty!!! And how sweet that your husband loves it so much!

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  23. Ah, I love this story ending. Paul knows what he likes. Meditative, yes. And the aqua is like a misty jewel in the greens—perhaps just like the atmosphere of western Washington on a foggy morning. The quilt looks especially beautiful in that last photo among the yellow trees. Yay for you rising to the challenge!

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  24. It is a beautiful quilt and the colours are lovely. Also love the way you quilted it.

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  25. another home run! as you know i love the subdued colors and use them alot in my work. It always brings a sense of comfort and peace while working with it. Barbara

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  26. Paul's new quilt is SEW beautiful!! You did a magnificent job with the fabrics provided, Preeti. Here's hoping Paul will share with you! :o))

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  27. Perhaps it is a cloud across the sun, or a little fog like we are having here this morning, and not a full blown storm. Very nice.

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  28. Gorgeous! These are my colors, I call them PNW fog. Home. I will order them 🙃

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  29. Beautiful quilt Preeti, I am happy both you and Paul like the colours.

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  30. It turned out great. I'm not a fan of this colour scheme either, but the prints are wonderful. Well done.

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  31. Storm at Sea has always been on my list yet I've never made one. Yours is a delight. Congrats, Preeti.

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  32. You did a stellar job of making a calm storm-at-sea, Preeti!!! Love the purple in there. It's nice that Paul sees the merits in it!!!

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  33. I'm so happy you went with this, even though the subdued fabric palette wasn't to your liking... and it looks amazing! I too love the purple, the dark value amongst the other fabrics keeps the eye moving so that the quilt seems to twinkle.

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  34. I think this is beautiful. I find it curious that sometimes when I look at it, the quilt design seems to curve. If I don't look too long, I feel like you used some curved piecing. Then when I study it, I see the basic squares, triangles and rectangles. Anyway, it is a very cool effect. Well done!

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  35. I think it is beautiful and restful. If it didn't have the blues at the center of the square in a square, and then the plum to play off of that, it might be glum, but I think it has a lightness to it now. wordygirl at earthlink dot net

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  36. I love the colors. Good job working with colors you're not really fond of. That's a wonderful finish.

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  37. You have designed and stitched a beautiful quilt from those fabrics. It is hard to come up with something when you are not a fan of the colours in the fabrics. I am always amazed how quickly you whip up your lovely quilts!

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  38. It's beautiful, nothing depressing about it! I love those colors:)

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  39. You did a great work, Preeti, your quilt is beautiful.

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  40. While not my palette either, it is a stunning quilt in its own calm way! How can calm and stunning be in the same sentence?? Paul has great taste!

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  41. While purple is my favorite color, I would never have said this was a dark and depressing collection. The deep greens, light jade, and cool blues are meditative and inviting. Your quilt reflects the beauty of this collection. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

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