A Piece of.... for Island Batik

Blog Hop November 2019 - A Piece of…for Island Batik

The Island Batik Ambassador Event for November is a Blog Hop titled “A PIECE OF…” I lost count of the number of pieces back before borders and binding were added. It was at 441 then so it certainly fits the theme. After pondering a zillion different ideas for this month’s project, the book, SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES by Lorraine Torrence, was what gave me inspiration for this project. All twenty fabrics from Island Batiks summer 2019 line, Tropical Escape designed by Kathy Engle, were used.

Materials for this project have been provided to me by Island Batik and it’s industry partners, Hobbs Batting, Aurafil Thread in my roll as 2019 Island Batik Ambassador.

(A) Book is based on one block design that is then cut to showcase different areas in the quilt. (B) Using an enlarged line drawing of quilt block, colored pencils were used to capture where each fabric will be used. (C) Illustration from book to show construction steps for each block. As you can see, there are LOTS of pieces for each block. (D) Each fabric from the collection is labeled with painters tape to correspond to the block design.

Organization is the key to this project as stitching begins. Each of the nine blocks in this quilt has 49 pieces or a total of 441 in all nine blocks. Additional green painters tape is used to label each of the fourteen rows that make up a single block.

Progress and decisions (A) The first block of 49 pieces is completed. (B) With the completion of all nine blocks, it’s time to decide if they will be left whole in final quilt 9 (as pictured here) or to cut them for a true “shifting perspectives” quilt. (C) Auditioning border colors if blocks remain whole. (D) Make sure to visit the Island Batik A Piece of Blog Hop for information on all ambassador’s quilts and giveaways.

Really! I spend more time contemplating the design than actually constructing a project! (A) After photographing one original block, I made nine colored copies. These paper copies were then cut to show how shifting the design would look. This was the option I ultimately decided on. (B) The first step was to cut an even measurement all all four sides of the center block (C) This photo show the amount and location of cut away fabric to create the design shift. (D) Fortunately, the correct amount was cut from the correct side of each block with no errors! They are ready to piece together.

My motto, “I paid for the entire yard, use every inch,” indicates my desire not to waste fabric. That also holds true when the fabric has already been stitched. Here’s how I will use those “scraps” that were cut away in the last step. (A) All nine patches stitched together and pressed. (B) Auditioning first narrow orange border and planning outer border. Current count on pieces in quilt after first border addition is 515. (C) YIPPEE! With a bit of cutting and stitching, the top outer border matching nicely to blocks. (D) HAPPINESS! Scraps were used and design matches.

Ready to quilt and more design decisions to make. (A) Hobbs 100% Wool batting is selected for its ability to emphasize the piecing and stitching. (B) Annabelle, my Handi-Quilter Amara is equipped with a ProStitcher. This design is perfect for a sunrise design. (C) Blocks are stitched with both a sunrise (top right in each block) and sunset (bottom left in each block) design (D) Sunrise and sunset quilting designs are complemented by rows of diagonal stitching which hops over the orange border and into the pieced border.

Despite difficulties and issues with multiple seams in the border this binding will also have lots and lots of seams. Continuing the diagonal design all the way to the edge is an important design point. (A) More diagonal piecing is added to already pieced binding to keep the diagonal line flowing to the edge . (B) Busiest corner stitched, turned and machine stitched in place (C) Bottom right corner photographed from front of quilt. (D) Bottom right corner photographed from back of quilt. Hand stitching is NOT my favorite so most bindings are finished with machine stitched edges.

Combining the blog hop title “A Piece of….” and the title of the book used “Shifting Perspectives” works perfect for this quilt. Here’s the finished “Shifting Pieces”.

Here’s a few added images of Shifting Pieces.

Giveaway

Blog Hop time is the perfect time for a giveaway. The winner of four Island Batik fat quarters from my stash, follow the steps below.

• Click on the BLOG link at the top of the page.

• Select the project with your favorite Island Batik fabric.

• Leave the name or date of the project with your favorite fabrics in the comments section below.

• Include your Facebook name or email address so that I can contact you if you are selected.

• Winner will be selected with a random number generator on December 1.

• Open to residents of the USA only.

This Weeks Blog Hop Participants - Be sure to visit their blogs, too!

Monday, November 18:
Denise Looney
Geraldine Wilkins

Tuesday, November 19:
Jackie O’Brien
Sally Manke

Wednesday, November 20:
Jennifer Thomas
Leah Malasky