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Wednesday, December 7, 2022

December Challenge and Blog Hop

I firmly believe that anyone who has a voice can sing. Whether their singing is pleasant to hear or not is another story altogether.  Similarly, I can make a quilt with any group of colors. Will that grouping be aesthetically appealing? That depends on the design.


December Challenge!





Four times a year when the challenge is combined with a blog hop, we the Island Batik ambassadors are required to use one of the new fabric collections, assigned to us. Further we are directed to use as many fabrics (from the collection) as possible.

I was assigned the Chickadee Fabric Collection for the December Challenge. Chickadee is a Signature Collection designed by Kathy Engle for Heidi Pridemore of The Whimsical Workshop.


I like every fabric in this collection!

The challenge - Use as many fabrics as possible from your assigned Summer’22 collection to create a striking Lone Star quilt! 


I waited for inspiration but in vain. 

I could pick the blues and greens for a cool Lone Star. I might consider reds and greens for a seasonally appropriate Christmas version. But it was tricky to come up with a cohesive design using blues, aquas, greens, reds and oranges (even if I did not use all the fabrics). 

I turned to EQ8 and mocked several different options. 

Two fabrics at a time


All the fabrics at the same time


I even followed an EQ8 tutorial for a modern twist on the traditional Lone Star.

Exploding

But none of these options appealed to me. I decided not to use all fabrics. I chose blues, aquas, and reds.


This might work

The blue, aqua and red combination was singing.  But it did not have the wow factor. What if I could step away from "use as many fabrics as possible" directive? 


Oh wow!!!

The song was loud and clear. It had the harmony that I was seeking. 
This is a song that I can listen to again and again. This was it!

There were just two problems.
1. It uses only four fabrics from the collection. 
2. It was not lap size, which was another requirement of the challenge.. 

A pieced border using all the reds and the remaining blues was the answer.

Final Design

Once the design was finalized, things moved quickly.

Strip Sets

I used the 2.5" strip die and the Accuquilt Go Cutter to cut the 2.5" strips. I used Aurifil Thread
(50 wt) to piece the strips. I used 70/12 Microtex Schmetz needle for piecing. The neutral in the above picture is Fondant.


The first pieced diamonds


On the design wall


I used the remaining blues and aquas plus all the reds to make a pieced border. I used two neutrals - Fondant in the Star and Rice in the background. 

The batting is Thermore by Hobbs. I used 40wt Aurifil Thread and 90/14 Schmetz Needle for quilting. The binding is Fondant. I cut the binding strips the same time as the strips for the star, using the Accuquilt 2.5" strip die. 

And here is the finished quilt. I have named her Selma. Selma finished at 45" square and uses 12 out of the 20 fabrics from the Chickadee collection.


Hello Selma!

It was a windy day and shooting decent pictures was also a challenge. 


Quilting Texture

The finished quilt certainly has a Quilt of Valor vibe to it.  
Well, if we can celebrate Christmas in July then, Independence Day in December isn't unthinkable at all.


Independence Day in December!


Even after the quilt was completed my thought process continued. Trying to twist and turn the diamonds into a modern layout. I have a few ideas humming in my head. Will see if a song comes together.  I will let you know :-)

Labelled


Red, White and Beautiful :-)


Paul has injured his wrist and is unable to perform his modeling role. He claims it is domestic abuse (insert eye roll here).  Here is a short convo between us, for all the fans of Paul-Preeti banter.

Me: Yogurt in America tastes nothing like the yogurt in India.
Paul: Well, of course, it is a completely different culture.

Is there a giveaway? Absolutely, there are several. Here is mine, a mystery, with a bit of explanation.

I applied to become an Island Batik ambassador because I love batiks. I was accepted to the program and I made a commitment to use only Island Batik fabrics. 

As an avid batik lover I have a stash of great batiks from other manufacturers, from my pre-ambassador days. I decided to share my stash as giveaways for this challenge. This giveaway includes two mystery scrap packs of batiks that can be yours, if you do the following:

1. Follow me on Instagram @sewpreetiquilts.
2. Leave a comment on this blogpost, telling me your favorite color combinations.
3. Provide your email. If I do not have your email, you will not be entered into the drawing.

As these are mystery prizes, I won't be showing pictures of the scraps to honor my commitment to Island Batik. However, if you are the winner, I will reach out to you to ask for your favorite colors, before creating the scrap pack just for you.

I will announce the winners on 12/14/22. 
Giveaway Update - Lori and Maya are the lucky winners. Emails have been sent.

I will be sharing this post with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar. This is the last challenge and blog hop for the year 2022. I encourage you to visit the Island Batik Blog for gorgeous giveaways. 


Bye Selma!


Please visit other Island Batik ambassadors blogs. See full schedule below. Not only they have spectacular quilts to show off, they may also have giveaways of their own ;-)


WEEK 1

December 5

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

December 6

Megan Best, Bestquilter

Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

December 7

Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts (You are here)

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

December 8

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

December 9

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

WEEK 2

December 12

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

December 13

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter

December 14

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

December 15

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

December 16

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

WEEK 3

December 19

Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts

December 20

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

December 21

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

December 22

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

December 23

End of Blog Hop + Final Round Up

61 comments:

  1. i totally understand your choice to use a limited color group for your star, its gorgeous!!! my favorite color has to be green, but lately i've been using either ALL the colors [think applique english cottage garden,], or browns and blue and green. then again, i'm making plans for a red quilt, never done that before...... thank you for the giveaway. s5821140@gmail.com

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  2. I love the quilt. I am a blue and any color person. Blue and green, blue and yellow, you get the idea. I adore batiks. Jmikebalou (at) aol (dot) com

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  3. I made a batik lone star a couple of years ago, and it was so satisfying. There is such richness to be had in those fabrics. I love your choice of blues. It shows them off so perfectly. Blue is my favorite color, but especially when it is in the company of some greens. Somehow that combination is just so serene.

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  4. And that blue/green comment is from momsib at gmail dot com. And I can’t believe I’m just now finding you on Instagram!

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  5. You truly embraced a quilt of valor feel to your Lone Star and I love the simplicity in your quilting. It gave beautiful movement to your quilt. My favorite color scheme is blues. Always so relaxing and they seem to go with everything.

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    1. kathrie@yahoo.com is the e-mail for this comment.

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  6. SEW glad that you were able to find a way to make the challenge work for you, Preeti! It's always interesting to see your process. LOVE the final result! Thanks for a chance at winning a prize, too.

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  7. Lone star quilts and batiks just go together. I love a purple and red combo. Nanaandpapa1 - at - yahoo.com

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  8. Selma is beautiful in red, white, and blue. Sometimes it is tough to use all the colors and fabrics in a cohesive design. Have a great day!

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  9. Nicely done again Preeti! My favorite combo is purples and blues. I follow you on IG.

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  10. Fun to see all the possibilities color combinations and designs you tried in EQ! I actually really liked the version with all the colors, but love your final version with its cool blue star and pops of red in the border. I truly do love a rainbow quilt, so if I won your giveaway, all colors would be welcome! I do follow you on Instagram, too. diannbottrell@gmail.com

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  11. Always fun to read your process as you make your quilt, Preeti, and the finish is always amazing!

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  12. I love your choice! I'm always drawn to jewel tones with a dark background so the fun colors pop but your finished version is stunning!

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  13. I like your quilt and agree with the harmony of the colors. Love how the red gives it a little sparkle. My favorite color combination is the rainbow. 24Tangent@gmail.com

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  14. My favorite colors are blues and aquas.

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  15. Good job as usual Preeti! I already follow you on Instagram. My favorite color combination is always changing as I like all colors. One minute it is red and brown, another time it is aqua and purple. Sometimes it is yellow with black and white.

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  16. These fabrics are gorgeous and I really love the ones you choose for your quilt. It has a very calming effect. So beautiful. Thank you for a chance at your giveaway. My favorite color combo is pink and green.

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  17. wow I love these fabrics. I am partial to chickens. Your quilt it gorgeous. Thanks for sharing and inspiring. Paul is funny about the culture joke (giggles)
    1. following on Instagram
    2. my favorite colors are: Blues and Purples
    3. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  18. I loved several of your EQ samples, but your final version definitely does sing. Beautiful.

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  19. I think you succeeded in this challenge!!! it is lovely!!! and I like the way you made it lap sized!!! Very nice!!!

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  20. This quilt definitely sings to me, Preeti!! Great job and I love the border! Paul's yogurt joke is priceless! I surely hope his wrist heals quickly and completely!

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  21. Hi Preeti! I think my favorite color combination is blue and white - but I love all colors. cmberry@lsu.edu

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  22. Wind is a pain but looks like you snapped at the right moment. Great quilt and photos.

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  23. Wow, that was quite a challenge for you. You did great. My favorite color combo changes from time to time, but right now I think it's black and purples. shades000 (at) gmail.com

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  24. I'm so glad you narrowed down the color/fabric palette, Preeti! Too many colors (like too many people) don't always party together well! My color combinations change like the wind, but often times I lean towards gold and burgundy as it coordinates with my home decor.

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  25. Hi Preeti! How appropriate that it was a windy day for your photo shoot. While it may not have been your intention, this has a certain patriotic vibe but also a holiday vibe, too. I can see this star lighting up a cold, clear icy night and leading the way to where you want to go. We're all saying, poor Paul. Hopefully, it won't keep him from his duties for too long! I am a fan of the Paul-Preeti banter, and even more of groan-able humor. I have to confess that I was never a fan of batiks. GASP. I know, right?! That is until I was given some IB scraps. They totally changed my mind and I love working with them today. All batiks are not created equal, I've found. That is so generous of you to give away your non-IB stash. I hope they find a loving home and are quickly used! {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

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  26. I love your final color combo, the red in the border really helps it out. The colors remind me of our flag and that we need to stick together as a nation. I follow you on IG, and I don't really have a favorite color, I do a lot of scrap quilts where everything goes in them, so any color would work for me if drawn. cindy.keence@sbcglobal.net

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  27. Beautiful quilt...it turned out great. My favorite color combination right now is purple and green! I can be found at nancydotsumneratcomcastdotnet.

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  28. My favorite color combination is red, aqua, and white.
    cecilialyoung @gmail.com

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  29. My favorite color combination, lately, is dark blues, and purples and aqua. I follow you on Instagram, and my email is diantha.howard@gmail.com

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  30. Beautiful quilt! But seeing the first photo of the colors grouped together, I instantly thought of a Lone Star quilt (well, the top) I made years ago. I did it rainbow-y (you can see it near the bottom of my "parade of tops" page on my blog), but I like your more controlled version, too. Please keep my name out of the drawing. Lord knows I don't need any more fabric! (But your generosity is wonderful.) Also, thanks for the banter. You and Pa are adorable!

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  31. Hi Preeti, what a great quilt! I think that maybe the modern version of the quilt that you showed above has possibilities - like a shooting star. I love pinks and purples. I'm now following you on Instagram (I'm surprised that I wasn't!)

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  32. Good call on the colors for your quilt Pretti! My favorite colors are blues & bluish greys. I'm a subscriber and my email is mm srygley at g mail. Com.

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  33. I love to see your design process. I follow you on Instagram. And my favorite color combination is anything with turquoise. My email is mblittle5 at Verizon dot com

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  34. My favorite color combinations are purple, green, and orange. Charlotta58@gmail.com. Love your designs.

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  35. Beautiful Lone Star quilt! My current favorite color combination is red and white (it changes on a regular basis!)

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  36. Your quilt is stunning!! Thank you for the lovely giveaway! I follow on intragram. One of my favorite color combos is navy and coral!

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  37. Lovely quilt! Such drama. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  38. Nice quilt. I like blue and white, red and white.

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  39. Isn't that just like you to go your own way. Nicely done. My favorite color is rainbow, the brighter, the better. I follow you on IG and love the banter between you and Paul. I hope his wrist heals soon.
    Pat

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  40. Preeti-thank you for your blog and all the quilts you make that give me so many ideas. I love fall/autumn/halloween colors - October is my favorite month! Barb - rickhayden@comcast.net

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  41. love the blues star and the border sets it off perfectly. I am a follower on insta. I favour blues, but if I was honest I just love colour in general. Always enjoy reading the banter conversations... I hope Pauls wrist heals well soon and he can get back to regular duties! bubz.rugz@gmail.com

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  42. Amazing how "meh" turned to "mahvelous" just by limiting the colors. Thanks for the lesson in Color Management, once again!

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  43. I love your Lonestar version, Preeti. Thanks

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  44. I love your quilt! I like any of the batik colorways! I do tend to like the greens, blues and earth tones. It's so generous of you to offer your scraps!
    nikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com

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  45. haha - a different culture! :)
    love the chickadee fabrics - especially red/oranges and greens.
    Your quilt is lovely - as always!

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  46. I love Selma! Those are my favorite colors. I’m using teal and cream for the Masala Block bed runner I’m working on. I’ll send you a picture as soon as I finish it (today with fingers crossed!).

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  47. I love these Batik blog hops! So many great and creative ideas. I love bright colours, probably why I love batiks so much.

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  48. I love striking combinations! My favorite color is rainbow! I really love color! My email is Chiskag@gmail.com

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  49. That fabric collection is so bright and happy. The limited color palette quilt you created is awesome. I love aqua/red/green/blue ... well - all the colors it would seem.

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  50. It was the right call to limit the colours on this quilt. Beautiful result! My favourite colours to quilt with are earthy tones mixed with oranges and reds. I just finished a quilt in yellows and oranges mixed with greys and blacks and it was dynamic. Just added you to Insta (blacknwhitemama) and my email is: tracy (dot) stanborough (at) gmail (dot) com

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  51. Selma sings indeed! Your quilt is beautiful. I enjoyed the yogurt conversation too. :) My favorite colors are blue, green, and purple. Thanks for generously sharing your stash!

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  52. Thanks for taking us with you on your design process. I am actually surprised how well the fabrics from the collection play together in the "all in" lone star version. Though your design is much more you! xo

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  53. Very pretty quilt! I have been enjoying seeing all the different final products so far. My favorite color combinations are any bright colors with black. I don't have instagram, so can't follow you that way right now.

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  54. Wow, this is another very beautiful quilt! I love the vibrant reds, lovely effect with the blue star. Batiks are beautiful, I just love all colors.
    Thank you for sharing your process, and linking up ;)

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  55. This is gorgeous. I love the border you added, just perfect. It is fun to see all the choices you had and the one you selected.

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  56. Oh, what a fun question! I love plums with gold and navy. I love red with blues and red with orange and plum. I love limes and blues and stoney grays. etalmage@earthlink.net

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  57. Love your blue Lone Star! Sometimes all the colors just don't sing in a design, you made a good compromise.

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  58. Since r/w/b is one of my go to combinations, you know I love your quilt! I liked seeing your process of getting to that point. Thank you for the chance to win batiks from the past. I don't care about color or any other thing, I just love batiks! I use them with all kinds of fabric, and I even like to appliqué with them. I'm planning two projects right now, so I'll be happy with anything! Island Batiks are certainly beauties, and I do like the collection you had.

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  59. I love bright color combinations especially. The pastels are nice but brights just make me happy. And I do a lot of red/white/blue as well. Batiks are particularly great to sew. Your star quilt turned out beautifully.

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  60. Your Lone Star turned out great, Preeti, and if Paul's wrist was damaged in a domestic abuse incident, tell him I said to stop provoking you. ;-)

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