Forget me Not is a modern interpretation of an Irish Chain Quilt. Designed in EQ8 and made with Island Batik Fabrics, Forget Me Not was published in Quilters World Spring 2026 Issue.
The issue focuses on "Modern Quilts with Classic Roots" and I am thrilled to be a part of it.
Published
Modern Irish Chain
Made using the fabrics from the Original Aurora Collection (by Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design), Forget Me Not finished at 76" by 100". The background is Glaze (Island Batik Neutral).
Forget Me Not uses one block, strip-pieced that creates a lovely secondary design when the blocks come together.
Basting
I am loving the gentle progression of blues and secondary designs in purple and green.
Fading Blues
The batting is Hobbs Cotton/Polyester Blend. I quilted using my Walking Foot, following the grid in my favorite squiggly stitch. Why do I use it all the time, you ask. Because it is so forgiving. When the seams are not perfectly matched the squiggle brings them together.
Crushing on You
Spring & Picnic Ready
A large quilt, Forget Me Not needed two people to model it.
Two Model Job
Here they are. They are my friend's kids and they were properly compensated for their efforts.
My quilt models
Love you both!
And one last look, with my favorite model. He is speaking! Seriously, this is a silent role. My quilts do the talking.
Thank you, Paul!
But wait, there is more. Some scraps left over from strip-piecing were too large to throw away. They were promptly made into a small baby quilt. I have named him Sky.
Sky, 33" by 36"
At 33" by 36", Sky will most likely go to Premie Baby Quilts donation for the Inova Hospital in Fairfax.
No Scrap Left Behind
Cute and bright giraffes on the back should fascinate some little guy!
In other news, I have completed my Green Blocks for February's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
All scraps are Island Batik.
Sharing with Angela's Linky Party and all the others. See full list on the sidebar.
These are strange times. I can't believe I have been saying that since 2020 or even longer. Each other is all we have. I am grateful for and to this community. Lots of Love & Squishy Hugs.
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:
