8/31/2016

Projects from Island Batik Blog Hop



Today's projects from the Island Batik Blog Hop Ambassadors are wonderful. 
Desert Bloom Quilting has a great quilt with a definitely imaginative seaside theme. 
The introduction description on the blog is a must read. 
 
There is a drink recipe given that I am going to make this weekend for the small Labor Day Bar-b-Q we are hosting. And there is a giveaway from Desert Bloom Quilting as well as Island Batik.

Another great project is found at Adventurous Applique and Quilting.
I enjoyed learning a new technique for quilting on my domestic machine.
And what a great idea for embellishing the sealife on this quilt. You must go visit the blog.

 

Be sure to visit all of the blog/websites to see each of the projects created by these designers.

Monday Aug 15 – Rain Forest
Tuesday Aug 16 – Red Tide
Wednesday Aug 17 – Sand Dune
Thursday Aug 18 – Seashore
Friday Aug 19 – Surf Squirt
Monday Aug 22 – Tradewinds
Tuesday Aug 23 – Equinox
Wednesday Aug 24 – Sea Canyon
Thursday Aug 25 – Sea Foam
Friday Aug 26 – Spoolin’ Around
Monday Aug 29 – Tide Pools
Tuesday Aug 30 – Wind and Sea
Patchwork Breeze (You are here!)
Wednesday Aug 31 – Spring Zing
Thursday Sep 1 – Splash
Friday Sept 2 – Landscapes
Upcoming Quilty Happenings at Patchwork Breeze 
include the beginning of The Road Home Row Along
hosted by Seam To Be Sew
and
Be sure to visit my blog on September 7 for the tutorial 
on an easy technique to sew a tablerunner using 5-inch squares.
I'll give you a peek with this photo and tell you then about the inspiration for the technique as well as this quilt.





8/30/2016

End Nears for Island Batik Seaside Summer Blog Hop

Only 3 more days after today.

As the end of summer nears,
I am one of the Island Batik Ambassadors who is at the tail end of this summer blog hop. I hope you have been following along daily and entering for the giveaways. I, too, have a giveaway that I will tell you about at the end of this post. 

In the United States, Labor Day is observed on the first Monday of September.
It is a day to recognize the contributions of American workers of all industries to the U.S. economy. It is also the day that we usually take time to enjoy one last summer excursion or event. There may be picnics, watching a parade, or perhaps, if the weather is still warm, a trip to the lake, river or beach. 

My quilt was made with a selection of fabrics from the Wind and Sea collection.
The colors are lovely.

I designed the 1,2,3 Sew Easy pattern about 10 years ago 
to use with fat quarters from a fabric collection. And Island Batik fabrics all blend so well together that they all shine in this quilt.
The pattern is easy to cut and to sew. Any quilting design works well on it. 
I have updated the pattern and it can be purchased from PatternSpot.com HERE.

The quilt measures 42 inches square, just the right size for a patio table or card table. 
I wanted to make it reversible.  
(I want to thank Theresa and Jake of Sui Generis Home Furnishings 
for allowing me to take my photos at their lovely store.)

Not having enough of one fabric for the back, I pieced (in a pattern) two Island Batiks I bought from Hancock's of Paducah. They went well with those on the front. (It is so nice that one can mix and match the Island Batik fabric of different collections to create marvelous quilts.) 

Michelle Fialek quilted it using Glide "Cool Grey" thread, 
which blended so well with all the colors.



Time spent at the seaside (or river, lake, park or at home) 
should include some type of food. 
All the Ambassadors included a summer recipe in our posts. 
I enjoy eating something cool, refreshing and light in the summer. 
My favorite go-to dish is all of that and SO easy to make!

Watermelon Salad

3 cups chilled watermelon (3/4 inch cubes)
1 cup chilled seedless cucumbers (cubes 1/2 inch or less)
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons mint leaves, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons basil leaves, finely chopped 
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Serve in small bowls. 
Serves 4-6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You made it to the giveaway details!

My giveaway is some of the Island Batik fabrics I have been using in projects this year. I have cut 30 5-inch squares for one lucky person. (I will only be able to send these to an address in the USA. But if you live outside the USA I will send you a PDF of the 1,2,3 Sew Easy pattern.) Just leave a comment on this post telling what your favorite summer treat is. 
Enter through the Rafflecopter below. Make sure I have a way to contact you if you are Rafflecopter's random selection. I will announce the winner on September 5.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
On September 7 check out the tutorial I will post on an easy technique to sew a tablerunner using 5-inch squares.

Thank you for visiting. 
Visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors' posts listed below and be sure to enter their giveaways, too.  


Monday Aug 15 – Rain Forest
Tuesday Aug 16 – Red Tide
Wednesday Aug 17 – Sand Dune
Thursday Aug 18 – Seashore
Friday Aug 19 – Surf Squirt
Monday Aug 22 – Tradewinds
Tuesday Aug 23 – Equinox
Wednesday Aug 24 – Sea Canyon
Thursday Aug 25 – Sea Foam
Friday Aug 26 – Spoolin’ Around
Monday Aug 29 – Tide Pools
Tuesday Aug 30 – Wind and Sea
Patchwork Breeze (You are here!)
Wednesday Aug 31 – Spring Zing
Thursday Sep 1 – Splash
Friday Sept 2 – Landscapes
For Quilts Sake 




8/22/2016

Threads That Bind Community Sewing Group

The Threads That Bind Community Sewing Group met today. 
This is a group that a few of the ladies from the church organized
and anyone in the community is welcome to come sew with us. 
We meet the 4th Monday of the month with the goal of making some quilts to give to various organizations within the community. We are still in the quilt construction stage and have only a few finished quilts at the present time. 
Three ladies came today. We accomplished a few things. 
I machine quilted a baby quilt and a toddler quilt that we sewed last month. 
I used my walking foot and stitched 1/4" away from the seams and then went diagonally on the baby quilt.

I still have to quilt diagonally on the toddler quilt. 

Diane and Charity worked on cutting and sewing 8-1/2" blocks from 5 fabrics to make a large disappearing 9 patch quilt. 


I finished a few of the blocks at home and laid them out on the floor, just to see. 

This quilt will be about 66" square when completed. 

Do you make quilts for causes? 
Have you found a great pattern that is easy for most people to sew? 







2 Blocks for the Bee-Mate

My August blocks for the Mid-Century Modern Bee are in the mail for Mary S. 
She chose the Woven Blocks Pattern for us to make. 

The pattern is a free download from Robert Kaufman that can be found HERE
I think she will have a great quilt when all the blocks are assembled. 
The pattern was easy to sew and great to use up scraps. 
I see so much color potential in it that I'm going to try to make up one block 
each day with scraps just to see what comes of it. 

8/18/2016

Island Batik Seaside Summer Blog Hop

WELCOME to the


Here is the schedule for this blog hop. 
Hope you enjoy seeing all the projects we Ambassadors have made with our Island Batik fabrics. 

We also have some special things for you. 
We'll have something to giveaway. 
You'll see a seaside recipe on each Ambassador's post. 
And from some posts, you will find a Rafflecopter Giveaway entry. 

Have some late summer fun. 

Monday Aug 15 
(Rain Forest Collection)

Tuesday Aug 16
(Red Tide Collection)

Wednesday Aug 17
(Sand Dune Collection)

Thursday Aug 18
(Sand Dune Collection)

 Friday Aug 19
(Surf Squirt Collection)

Monday Aug 22
(Tradewinds Collection)

Tuesday Aug 23
(Equinox Collection)

Wednesday Aug 24
(Sea Canyon Collection)

Thursday Aug 25
(Sea Foam Collection)

Friday Aug 26
(Spoolin' AroundCollection)

Monday Aug 29
(Tide PoolsCollection)

Tuesday Aug 30
(Wind and Sea Collection)

Wednesday Aug 31
(Spring Zing Collection)

Thursday Sep 1
(Splash Collection)

Friday Sept 2
(Landscapes Collection)

8/17/2016

Island Batik Blog Hop Started

The Island Batik Seaside Summer Blog Hop has begun. 

Each Island Batik Ambassador has a project made from an Island Batik fabric collection. 
Visit the scheduled posts each weekday through Sept. 2 to see the projects.
There are giveaways and some great summer recipes to share with you. 

I'm going to give you a small peek at my project and invite you back on August 30 to get the details on how to make the project.

You can begin your excursion at the Island Batik Blog HERE

Have fun!

8/14/2016

Quilt Week Classes

The 4 days I spent at AQS Quilt Week in Grand Rapids were great. 
I pre-registered in May for classes each day. 
I wanted to take advantage of having such a wealth of quilt teachers in one place at one time.
I enjoyed each class, learning something new from every instructor. 

I was able to take time between classes and from 4-6PM 
to view the quilts on display and see what types of things the vendors had to sell (another post, another day).
I didn't think there were as many quilt entries as in the first few years. 
After reading a few articles lately about the changes occurring in the quilting industry I wondered if this was reflective of that change.

Each day began with an 8:30 AM class which ended at 11:30AM. 
I left Nancy Clark McNally's class, Compass Fire Star
having sewn up one of the 9 blocks for the quilt using Island Batik fabrics.
I find that it is not unusual to finish only one block when in an instructional class like these. 

Nancy has developed templates that made the construction of the block very simple. 
I look forward to making the rest of the blocks very soon. 

After lunch and a quick trip to the vendors, 
my next class was Triangles and Strip Piecing with Linda J. Hahn.
We used Triangles on a Roll paper to make HST (half square triangles)
to use with 4 patches we made with ruler and strips. 
I have used various methods including other papers to make HST. 
These papers worked well. I would say it is just individual preference as to method.
What I did learn was how to look at quilt blocks, patterns or designs 
and break them down into units. 
Most can be triangles and squares, sometimes rectangles are included. 
I have learned to do this over the years, but it was good to have 
the perspective of another quilter to remind me. 

The next day I began with a painting class by Esterita Austin
We learned her technique of painting on silicon parchment paper, 
fusing with Misty Fuse to organza and discussing the many ways to 
incorporate this into our quilting as well as other art. 

I was happy with my first project attempt of this Luminous Painted Illusions technique.

My afternoon class was Whimsical Applique with Nancy Clark McNally.

Nancy and I found we both save fabric scraps for making quilts. 
After sewing scrap strips together and adding fusing on the back, 
we used the many Accuquilt dies she brought. 
We could cut anything for any projects. 
I cut these letters for a banner in the mudroom.
I think a decorative stitch in dark blue thread 
on the edges of the letters will show them off. 

The following day I again joined Esterita Austin for another class using her painting technique. 
A few of us were in the previous class and she said 
we were going to do something a bit different from the rest of the class. 
Taking a photo of a flower, we traced it to make a pattern.
I think my second attempt turned out very well. 

With 20 minutes left in class I whipped up this mum-like flower and was off to lunch. 

That afternoon Charlotte Angotti had us ripping fabrics and passing along pieces to create a fabric stash. Let me say we were a wild bunch of fabric rippers. (It gave me an idea for a guild meeting!)

She displayed a number of her quilts, showing us how light and dark values played the biggest part in their simple construction. She showed how some basic shapes cut with some simple templates can be used to create stunning quilts all based on placement using lights and darks.  

Quilt Week classes ended on Saturday with Kathleen Andrews 
showing us how to build cubes for an easy optical illusion. 

It definitely was easier than I imagined. 
A design wall is a must, cut triangles from 3 shades of a color and a background! 
Our HST blocks had to be precise or the cubes would not appear defined. 

The progress I made that morning was a start. (Square cube units are not sewn together.)

This was a busy week. I left refreshed and ready to start some projects-- right after I complete the quilt projects for 
the Mid-Century Modern Bee swap for August
and

with my post date August 30, 2016
and

with my post date September 27, 2016.

I will post more about the Quilt Show and some other quilting topics in the coming days. 
Please stop by again.