March 31, 2018

Island Batik Ambassador {Try a Technique}

Our March task as Island Batik Ambassadors was... 



"Sometimes it can be hard to step out of our comfort zone. But that’s how we grow! This month, we challenge you to try something new (to you) - a quilty technique or method you’ve never tried before. Maybe you just heard about it, or perhaps you’ve been thinking about it for a while and haven’t worked up the nerve (or been able to set aside the time). This is your chance! We can’t wait to see what you try and hear about what you’ve learned!"

Trying some new is difficult. Trying something new on a deadline is even more difficult! I like try a lot of new things but most of my trials end up in piles and may or may not ever see the light of day again. One of the things I like most about the Island Batik Ambassador program so far is that I feel completely free to create. There are some guidelines and a theme, but aside from that, the sky is the limit.

After going through my box of Island Batik fabric, I decided to use some of the very colorful fabrics from the Fall 2017 Mountain's Majesty collection.


I also decided to use my AccuQuilt Go! 9-inch Wedge die since I have had it for well over a year but hadn't even opened the package yet.

Curves and I are not friends, but I was determined to use fabric wedges to create arcs then piece those arcs into background fabric. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's okay. I didn't really have any idea what I was doing, either!

I decided to work in sections. For the first sections I pieced LOTS of fabric strips together then cut the wedges. (I like how it looks like way more work and piecing that what it really is.)


If my first sections doesn't look square, that's because it's not. Due to bad quilt math and trying to piece large (and very stretchy) pieced arcs into more large (and very stretchy) pieces of fabric, it's a bit wonky. But I forged ahead!


After some quilt math help from a friend, the other 3 sections are quite a bit better. I used scraps and offcuts from the previous section to make wedges for the next section. I enjoyed the process of making this, and I feel like it's the first artistic-type quilt I've made.

While I would like to present you with a picture of my beautiful completed quilt, it's still on the longarm. When I longarm my quilts, I almost always do an edge-to-edge pantograph. It's easy, and I really like the effect of all-over quilting. Since I was on a roll trying new things, I decided to "custom" quilt it with free-motion quilting.


I know I'll only get better at free-motion quilting with practice, but it would have been much easier to have quilted it with a panto! There is definitely some quilting that I like and definitely some that needs some work. Overall, I learned a lot doing this project and can't wait to finish it!

1 comment:

  1. Great job! I love the pieced wedges - they do look like more work than they were - a great effect. Free motion on anything takes time and we continue to develop our skills each time we try. A longarm will never be in my future, but I love watching others learn in this process. Congrats on a wonderful learning experience and quilt!

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