3D Blowing in the wind..with Island Batik...

Here we are....the 30th of December-2019..what a whirlwind of activites this past year has been!!! And I have enjoyed every minute of being an Island Batik Ambassador during that time...but have decided to let the experience go so that I can make time for other new and exciting things to come!!

But let's leave that for another time...and move on to my last monthly challenge--make something 3D with Island Batik fabrics!!

The weather is cold and frightful with a strong north wind today--so the thought of taking photos outside--just went out the window--as I took this photo out my studio window!!

My concept for this  3D design challenge started long ago when I was at Spring Market in Kansas City.  I was browsing in The Fat Quarter Gypsy's booth and fell in love with their Windsock Pop-Ups. She offered me a pattern in return for mention in the blog post. You have to go check out her designs--they are amazing.

The pattern comes in booklet form with step by step photographs that were easy to follow. Some of the steps may seem a little tricky--but just follow the pattern--and it will work perfectly!! Finally cutting the spring loose was my favorite step!!

I started with strips leftover from Electric Desert by Jackie Kunkel for Island Batik. See what else I made with these gorgeous fabrics HERE.

As  you can see by comparing above photo with pattern cover, I don't always follow directions well!! I chose to put a traditonal sawtooth star in the pop-up portion of my windsock. I used the 6" Qube from AccuQuilt to cut out the star pieces.

Sooooo pretty--I can't wait to hang it out on my patio next summer!!

I chose the enclosed seams option for the tails--and by using a different fabric on the back--such a wonderful riot of color I should get when it blows in the wind. And yes, I did actually lay on the floor to get this shot!!!

I just had to figure out a way to get a blowing in the wind photo....so here the windsock is...hanging in my open studio door!!! It took a few shots to get this lovely swirl of tails, but oh so worth the cold!! Good thing nobody drove by on the road and saw this crazy quilting lady taking photos in an open doorway with her pj's on!! But now you know the behind the scenes!!

So it is....I close the door on this time as an Island Batik Ambassador. But have no fear, I still have plenty of batik fabrics and ideas left!! Plus, I still plan on designing patterns with their amazing fabrics!! Thank you to Island Batik for this AMAZING opportunity--I am forever grateful!! To the other sponsors--Aurifil, AccuQuilt and Hobbs Batting--thank you!! And to The Fat Quarter Gypsy for this super cute project!!!

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
Ashley Smith

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  John 3 : 8

Farmhouse Runner....Island Batik way....

October is here, along with a new challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors. Make a holiday runner that includes applique. Well, I have had an idea running around my brain this summer so this is the perfect opportunity to bring the idea to life.

I started with fabrics from the Foundations line--Custard and Smoke. The strips were torn along the lengthwise grain of fabric. Because of the tightly woven nature of batik fabric--tearing the strips is easy and quick!!

To keep my seam allowance accurate and straight, I used the seam guide for my 97D foot on the Bernina 790.

Now for the applique. What I thought was going to be a simple addition of letters to the runner, ended up taking me MULTIPLE tries!! But I persisted, because I was going for a specific farmhouse look for this runner. Most of the tries were user error on my part. I was torn between matching the letters to the stripe or making them from the solid black batik.

Using a ruler to align the  black solid batik letters across the runner end worked so well!!

Time for the quilting. Aurifil #2315 was the perfect match to Custard.

I chose my go-to design. Walking foot soft wavy lines that overlap!! I should come up with a name for it!!

I wanted this runner to have more of a farmhouse feel than a quilty feel--so a faced binding was just the right choice. Having never tried this technique before, I searched Pinterest and used the tutorial I found HERE.

I am just over the moon excited about the finished runner!!! It came out better than I had even hoped for--so there might be a winter one made too!!

Just a little glimps into my dining room corner. I love how Island Batik fabrics from the Foundations line blend so well with their other lines. Read about the little table topper on the chair HERE.

Since I enjoyed this project so much, I thought others might too. So I wrote up a little pattern leaflet. The leaflet is available in my shop. Use the code GATHER to get the leaflet free until 11-21-2019.

"What greater blessing to give thanks for at a family gathering than the family and the gathering."
--Robert Breault

"For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills." Psalm 107 : 9

Thanks to Island Batik and Aurifil for suppling the products for this project.

Just Wanna Quilt podcast guest...

Well now, this is something to be checked off the quilting bucket list!!

Earlier this summer I was contacted about being interviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Townsed Gard for her podcast, Just Wanna Quilt. Before I could talk myself out of it--I said yes and scheduled it!!

Just Wanna Quilt is ranked number 3 in the top craft podcasts on Itunes.

Read these words from their website--"Just Wanna Quilt started as a podcast and a research project at Tulane Law School.  Learn about the quilting world, and talk a little bit about copyright and other intellectual property issues too.  We've interviewed about 300 people - from the regular quilter to the famous, industry people, scholars, quilt historians, inventors, and lawyers.  Give it a listen."

So if you want to hear me say um too many times, talk about AccuQuilt, Electric Quilt, Island Batik and other random things--FIND IT HERE!!!

Keep doing the hard things until the hard things become the easy things!!!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."  Psalm 28 : 7

Beat the Heat with Electirc Desert from Island Batik....

Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik Spring Collections of 2019 blog hop. You won't want to miss any of the other Ambassador stops--check them out HERE. Electric Desert should be arriving in your quilt shops soon--if you don't see them, make sure and ask for them!!!

Electric Desert designed by Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works for Island Batik

Just look at this stack of glorious color!!! So many possibilities--a summer sunset, zinnias in the garden or anything else in your imagination!!

The colors that jumped out at me were the turquoise ones. I have loved turquoise jewlery since I was a little girl when I purchased my first ring at the county fair. I was fasinated by the fact that the stone was mined in the desert, as I had never seen a desert growing up in the farm country of Minnesota.

So I set about to bring that memory to life in this quilt using a pattern I designed Come Into View which you can find HERE.

The motifs Jackie designed in this collection just bring the desert to life--the cracked earth, several differnt cacti, and various blooms work together seamlessly!!

Come into View is a super easy strip pieced pattern, so the blocks come together quickly!!

Following the pressing directions--makes this cute little four patch on the back!! Plus all the seams nest together--so no big bumps at the intersections!! Your quilter will thank you for that!!!

Now--I still live in farm country--so finding a desert near me is pretty much impossible--so I settled for these horses--they kinda have a desert vibe!! And isn't living in a rural area just so cool--this is actually a pasture IN the small town near my home.

So here it is--my turquoise stones surrounded and buried in the desert mountains!!

This amazing vintage car is just across the road from the horses--you can see their fence through the windows!!

Now for the fun part--GIVEAWAYS!! Island Batik is having a different giveaway each week of the hop--this week they are giving away a precut 10" stack--of--wait for it!! Electric Desert!! So head over to their blog and enter HERE!!

But wait!!! There is more--I have these 9 half yard cuts of fabric left--disclaimer--there is about a 4 1/2" square cut out of each one--a spool of Aurifil and a copy of my pattern Come Into View.

To enter--sign up for my newsletter--sign up should be below or on the blog sidebar. Then let me know in the comments your favorite gemstone and if it might spark a quilt design for you!! Giveaway will be open until August 30.

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If you would like to keep up with more goings on in my studio you can follow me at Lizard Creek Quilting on Facebook or Instagram.

Thank you to Island Batik, Aurifil and Hobbs batting--when I quilt it-- for suppling the products used in this project.

Tree of Presents....blog hop...Christmas Collection...

Welcome back to the blog hop for Nancy Scott of Masterpiece Quilting for her Christmas Collection 2018 book. Purchase your copy of HERE.

Petal Pushers fabric collection by Island Batik

And once again--I am going a bit outside the Christmas box here.

The Tree of Presents wall hanging set my brain into motion--and that can be dangerous!!

Foundations fabric collection by Island Batik

So since I have more ideas than time--I recolored this design with fabrics from Island Batik, added the text, and finally some ribbon curls!!!

How fun would it be to have a Birthday banner to personalize, one for the summer holidays or one just something to remind you that every day is a gift?!?

Little Sir, Little Miss by Bella Nonna for Island Batik

Treat every moment as a gift, that is why it is called the present.  --Deepak Chopra

Again--get your copy of this super versatile pattern in Nancy's book HERE!!

To stay up to date on what I am making next--follow me at Lizard Creek Quilting on Facebook and Instagram!!

Balance.....Aurfil and Island Batik.....

...The challenge for July is sponsored by Aurifil--use 3 different weights of thread along with fabric supplied by Island Batik to make an art type quilt. I have an inspiration for this project--but no actual plan--this one grew as I went along. So how about a few ways I used the threads first!!

Aurfil 40 wt thread was used to machine embroider this collection of sea shells. The design is one that is built in my Bernina 790.  I haven't used the embroidery attachment for two years--oh was it fun again!!! The thicker thread gave such great dimension to the design. 50 wt is what I usually piece with--so just imagine that the 40 wt is a smidge thicker.

After some free motion quilting and decorative stitching--again with 40 wt Aurifil I added some simple hand stitches with Aurifil wool floss. Amazing texture was achieved with both thread weights.

Here I used a 40 wt to free motion quilt the background word along with a line of single letters that spell out the same word I quilted. 28 wt thread was used to edge paint these shapes. The thicker thread makes it so that less lines of stitching are needed to fill up the space around the edge of each shape.

Showing more of the edge painting, free motion quilting and decortive stitches. I also used the Aurifil wool floss to hand sew the binding down with a running stitch. LOVE this!!!!

Now for the inspiration...Balance...a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions--"try to keep a balance between work and relaxation".
To try keep our life in balance we took a trip to Carlsbad, CA this winter--nice to get some sunshine while the weather was frightfully cold in Iowa.

While driving on the Costal Highway we stopped in a cute little town--Del Mar--where we walked along the beach until it started raining!!

The vast amount of rocks on this beach were in colors that I don't normally see--who knew there was such beautiful turquoise colored rocks?!?! What fun I had collecting and making the tower just right!!

My treasures from that trip--a couple of shells, a piece of sea glass and a heart shaped turquiose colored rock that was on the top of the rock tower--I really wanted to take the large one on the bottom, but didn't want to overweight our luggage!! All to remind me to keep BALANCE in my life!!

Balance...my July art quilt!!!

"Balance is a feeling derived from being whole and complete; it's a sense of harmony. It is essential to maintaining quality in life and work."                                 --Joshua Osenga