Island Batik Storm at Sea Blog Hop

The items used to make the cushion in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hey Guys,

Today is my stop on the Island Batik Storm at Sea Blog Hop, For this challenge we recieved a brand new Fabric Collection, I recieved Passion Petals designed by Kathy Engle for Carol Moellers, its a gorgeous selection of blues, pinks and purples, the colours are gorgeous and mix beautifully together! Its shipping to stores now (Nov 2021)

One of the requirements was to include the Storm at Sea block in our project which is my first time making this block. As im pretty bad at math, i decided to design the block on my computer and turn it into a foundation paperpiecing pattern., this way i can make it any size. There are so many gorgeous designs to be made with this block and after playing around with colour placement for a while i decided i wanted my block to look like jewels, I think the fabrics captures them perfectly.

I added a 2″ border all the way around, the same solid white colour as the background and stitched in the ditch to create the cushion flange. I pieced and quilted using Aurifil 50wt 2024, Hobbs Batting 100% cotton batting and a Schmetz Microtex Chrome Needle.

Heres a closer look at the collection…

I love how my Cushion turned out, Its already on the sofa!

My Fellow Ambassadors have been making some amazing projects, ill be sharing them in my stories here and can also be seen on Island Batik here, and click here to meet all the amazing Ambassadors.

Thankyou so much for reading

Until Next time….

Happy Sewing! x

Jo xx

Island Batik October Challenge

The items used to make the quilt in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

Hi Guys,

Welcome to my Island Batik October challenge post, This month we got to work with some cool new thread collections from Aurifil Thread all of which are highlighting some of the endangered species on our planet. The collection i recieved is the African Wild Dog, which i know very little about but they have awesome ears! They can be found in southern Africa and the current population is 1400, they can also run upto 44MPH matching a greyhound. The set consists of 3 40wt spools all yellow in colour (2105,2115,1135)

The brief this month was to design a project inspired the the animal, I used my favourite design program, Quilt Assistant to create this supersized geometric Foundation paperpieced pattern.

For this project i also used Hobbs Cotton batting and Schmetz Microtex chrome needles.

Do also check out my fellow ambassadors, they have made some truly amazing quilts! They are so talented! you can find them all here

Thankyou so much for reading

Until next time….

Happy Sewing! x

Jo xx

Island Batik September Challenge

The items used to make this bag were given to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hi Guys,

Welcome to my September Island Batik Ambassador post, For this challenge we had choose and make a By Annie Bag, I chose the Double Zip Gear bag 2.0. We recieved the whole kit which included everything we need to make this bag.

The fabrics i chose….

The Bag design itself is great, its got multiple pockets, 2 inside, 2 outside and a double top zip allowing you to open the bag very wide, The pattern comes in 3 sizes, small, Meduim and large, i made the Meduim size.

I struggled with the bulk on this when sewing together using my modern sewing machine, but luckily i have a vintage singer 201 which would literally sew through a brick so that helped me out loads!

For this project i also used Aurifil 50wt Thread in colour 2024 and using a Schmetz Micotex Chrome needle.

This bag turned out really pretty, im gifting it to my Mom, if you have been following me for a while, you will know my mom gets lots of handmade gifts xx

Thankyou so much for reading

Until Next time…

Happy Sewing! x

Jo xx

Island Batik “Try a Tool” Blog Hop with Studio 180 Design.

The items used to make this quilt were given to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hi Guys,

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik “Try a Tool” Blog Hop with Studio 180 Design. For this months challenge we had to make a quilt using the new ruler we recieved in our second Ambassador boxes, and a brand new fabric collection, mine being Sun Kissed Soleil designed by Kathy Engle for Jackie Kunkel. This super fun and vibrant collection ships to stores this month! The ruler i used is the Wing Clipper, its makes the perfect Flying Geese unit in multiple sizes ranging from 1″ to 10″. Deb Tuckers rulers are so fun and one of the things i love is that there is hardly any fabric waste.

For ths project i used the largest block unit which measures 10″ x 5″ finished, This size really showcases the fabrics and you can see all the gorgeous prints from the collection.

I made 72 blocks in total and my quilt finishes at 60″ x 60″. I pieced and quilted using Aurifil 50wt thread in colour 2024, Hobbs 100% Cotton batting and a Schmetz Micro-tex sharp chrome needle 80/12.

Please do check out my fellow Ambassadors, This Blog Hop has been so fun and so many beautiful quilts have been made! Check out the list and dates here xx

Island Batik are also doing a Giveaway this week, Enter here for chance to win some of these gorgeous fabrics!

Thankyou so much for reading!

Until next time…

Happy Sewing! x

Jo xx

Island Batik July Challenge

The fabric, thread and batting used to make this stocking were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador 2021 program.

Hey Guys,

Welcome to my Island Batik July post, This months challenge is “Never too Early” For this project we had to make something Christmas, I chose a oversized stocking, you cant tell how big this is in these photo’s, i must get another shot holding them when the rain stops!

I used a selection of pink fabrics and my Accuquilt Go 2 1/2″ strip cutter along with the Go Cube to cut my strips and squares, it makes the cutting out so much quicker!

I added a little applique tree detail to each side which i fused onto Heat N Bond lite and then onto the stocking and straight stitched down 1/8″ from the edge (so once washed a couple of times, the edges will fray).

Fot the piecing and quilting i used Hobbs 80/20 Batting, Schmetz Microtex Chrome needles and Aurifil 50wt thread in colour 2024

I bound the top edge and added a little pom pom trim.

Its been another really fun make! i think im going to put this away and gift it to mom with her presents inside on christmas day xx

Thankyou so much for reading

Until next time…

Happy Sewing! x

Jo xx

Island Batik June Challenge

The items used to make this quilt were supplied to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador 2021 program.

Hey Guys!

Welcome to my June Island Batik Ambassador challenge! This month we got to try out a new BOB die from Accuquilt. The one i recieved was the Arkansas Traveller, its a really pretty block that finished at 12″ square. The BOB die boards are great, you can cut all the fabric you need for each block in one hit! They are really easy to use and they even cut off the little dog ears too which makes them super easy to line up for more accurate sewing.

The brief this month was to create a quilt using the new die we recieved but to also include another die aswell. The other block i used was the Ohio Star block. I used a selection of low volume and solids for the background and a selections of pinks with a few tiny pops of yellow and green to create a modern looking, fun, girly quilt.

For the piecing and quiting, i used my go to Aurifil 50wt thread in colour 2024 and Schmetz Microtex Chrome Needles.

For the batting i used Hobbs 80/20 Bleached, a great choice for lighter coloured quilted.

The name of this challenge is called “Spread Love and Joy” with Accuquilt and one of the requirements was to gift our finished quilt. Im gifting this one to my Mom, She kinda already claimed it whilst it was in construction and has been super excited to see the finished article. It will take pride of place on her sofa and will be a snuggle quilt xx

Thankyou so much for reading x

Until Next time…

Happy Sewing!

Jo x

Island Batik Quilt Modern Blog Hop

The items used to make the quilt in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hey Guys,

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik Quilt Modern Blog Hop! For this challenge our brief was to make a modern quilt using a brand new fabric collection! The fabric i recieved is called Forecast designed by Ebony Love of Lovebug Studios, a super fun collection of weather inspired prints in colour and low volume including suns, rain, thunder and clouds. The fab collection is shipping to stores this month.

I absolutely love modern quilts so this was a super fun challenge for me! i decided to start with improv crosses, making one cross in each of the fabrics from the collection, with the idea of adding negative space with the low volume prints of the line.

Once i was happy with my placement and design i stitched each block together into 8 rows of 5, and finished with matchstick quilting which i think looks so great on a modern quilt. For the stitching and quilting i used Aurifil 50wt thread in colour 2024 and Schmetz micro tex chrome needles, For the batting i used Hobbs 100% Hierloom Cotton and backed the quilt with Forecast – Ligntning Teal.

Its been aother super fun challenge with a super fun fabric collection! and i cannot wait to see what my fellow Ambassadors make, please see the schedule below to see who is posting on what days and be sure to enter each weekly giveaway here.

Week 1:

May 3:

Preeti Harris Farm Fresh

Denise Looney Farm Fresh

Brianna Roberts Farm Fresh

May 4:

Joanne Hart Forecast

Leah Malasky Forecast

May 5:

Pamela Boatright Glacier Bay

Jane Hauprich Glacier Bay

May 6:

Andi Stanfield Harvest Blue

Suzy Webster Harvest Blue

Week 2:

May 10:

Jennifer Thomas Holly Holiday

Claudia Porter Holly Holiday

May 11:

Megan Best Jewel Quest

Maryellen McAuliffe Jewel Quest

Jennifer Eubank Jewel Quest

May 12:

Gail Sheppard Napa Valley

Emily Leachman Napa Valley

May 13:

Gail Renna Plum Pudding

Michelle Roberts Plum Pudding

Week 3:

May 17:

Sally Manke Poetic License

Elizabeth DeCroos Poetic License

May 18:

Connie Kauffman Pumpkin Delight

Jennifer Fulton Pumpkin Delight

May 19:

Janet Yamamoto Smokey Mountain

Mania Hatziioannidi Smokey Mountain

Thankyou so much for reading! Until next time…

Happy Sewing!

Jo xx

Island Batik April Challenge

The items used to make this cushion were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador 2021 program.

Hey Guys

Welcome to my April Island Batik Ambassador challenge. This month was all up to us, we had no brief to follow and could make anything we wanted. I decided to make a cushion using my “Pick me please” flower Foundation paperpiecing pattern, I am loving sewing this pattern at the moment, its goes together so quickly and its super cute too! The hardest part was choosing the fabric to use!

For the majority of this cushion, I used the Painted Blossoms collection by Kathy Engle, I had some left over from my project in February and i absolutely love it. The colours are right up my street! so soft and girly. For the background i used Almond from the neutrals collection and for the back i used Coconut also from the neutrals collection.

The patterns itself finishes at 10″ x 14″ so i added borders to the sides and top to fit an 18″ cushion pad, I then added and extra 2.5″ border all around for the flanged edge. Adding the border made it so easy to sew, stitching in the ditch all the way around with no need to mark and measure. This is my very first flanged edge cushion and i love how it looks, I think this is going to happen to lots of my cushions going forward.

Also used to make this cushion were Hobbs Fusible cotton batting, Aurifil 50wt Thread and Schmetz Micro Tex needles, Some of the wonderful industry partners supporting this program.

Thankyou so much for reading, Have a lovely weekend!

Until next time….

Happy Sewing! x

Jo x

Island Batik March Challenge

The items used to make the quilt in this post were supplied to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hi Guys,

Welcome to my Island Batik Ambassador March Post. This month was all about sewing with scraps, one of my favourite ways to sew! i like to keep most of my scraps and only throw away the tiniest of pieces, i literally keep anything 1.5″ or bigger. I sew with pink alot as its my favourite colour to sew so i had quite a few scraps and also a huge bag of white scraps too.

I decided to sew improv, its a great way to use odd bits/shapes of fabrics and it always looks cool! I kept sewing the pieces together until they made a 10″ square, i repeated this until i had 28 squares in total, using a mixture of pinks and whites.

Once i had all my squares sewn together i pin basted my layers. For the batting i used Hobbs 100% cotton.

I quilted using the matchstick method with Schmetz microtex chrome needles and Aurifil 50wt 2024. This thread was also used for the piecing.

My finished quilt measures 38″ x 66″ and its a beach blanket for one (for me) This is my second beach blanket to date and i plan to make one each for the whole family (hopefully before a next holiday).

I really enjoyed this challenge and im so happy with my new blanket!

Thankyou so much reading!

Until next time….

Happy Sewing!

Jo xx

Island Batik February 2021 Challenge

The items used to make the quilt in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their 2021 Ambassador program.

Hey Guys,

Welcome to my Island Batik Ambassador February challenge blog post! This month is “Create for a Cause” We had to make a quilt for a charity using a brand new fabric collection, The fabric i used is Painted blossoms, designed by Kathy Engle for Seams like a dream quilt designs, its shipping to stores this month! Its such a gorgeous collection, and it makes me think of Spring and Romance, so many beautiful things could be made with this collection x

One of the items we have received each year is a pack of Hobbs Batting in the 80/20 black, i still havent used it yet as most of the quilts i make have a light background and i thought the black would really pop against all these gorgeous colours and because i really really wanted to try it out! verdict… i love it!

So i decided to create a big star using the fabric from this collection with a black background, I also added an applique heart into the centre.

I pieced the quilt together using Aurifil 50wt in colour 2630 which is a dark grey and quilted using Aurifil 50wt in colour 2425 which is a lovely soft pink, again i wanted this pop against the black of the quilt. For all the sewing i used Schmetz microtex chrome quilting needles.

Heres the finished quilt….

The charity i have chosen to give my quilt to is Linus UK.

“Project Linus UK is a volunteer organisation. We aim to provide a sense of security and comfort to sick and traumatised babies, children and teenagers through the provision of new home made patchwork quilts and knitted blankets, and give volunteers across the UK the opportunity to contribute to their local community.

Our volunteer Area Co-ordinators and their Assistants deliver around 3,500 quilts and blankets to sick, disabled or disadvantaged children across the UK each month. We cannot reach out to every distressed child but we can help to provide them with tangible evidence that someone cares, along with the physical reassurance that comes with being snuggled up in a quilt.”

Do also check out my fellow ambassadors to see what gorgeous new collections they have used and which charities they have chosen, you can find them here with links to their blogs and social media. Also Island Batik are running weekly giveaways all though this blog hop, you can enter here for a chance to win this weeks prize.

Thankyou so much for reading

Until next time..

Happy Sewing! xx

Jo x