Reading 1820 Blogs Daily!


  • batik
  • Page 1 of 12 ( posts )
May 5, 2026
First finish for May 2026........................... from Exuberant Color

 

It didn't take long to finish the binding on this batik Double 4 Patch quilt yesterday.

It has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it and was longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.

I used a lot of 16 patch blocks from the orphan block box as the border around the center.





I used a full width of the turquoise/brown print and a strip of stripe fabric leftover from another backing for the back of this quilt.

It is 63" x 70".








Here is a closer look at the batik backing fabrics and the batik binding.














I hang it sideways ...

read more
May 4, 2026
Working on the binding............... from Exuberant Color


The binding is 3/4 done so I should be able to finish it today.














I took a few more photos in the backyard gardens.  I think this is a Jonquil.  There are always lots of leaves and only a few blooms.  The previous owner planted them over 50 years ago.


This corner outside my dining room picture window has Hardy Geranium, Annabelle Hydrangea, Coral Bell, and Hosta.  Also to the left there are Stella d'Oro lilies, not in bloom yet.





Here is a closer look at the Hardy Geranium with lavender flowers.  Down in the lower part of ...

read more
May 3, 2026
A busy day............... from Exuberant Color


As I started sorting pieces I'm trying to decide how to divide them up for storage in the project box.  Also is a strip 3" or shorter a chunk instead of a strip?


While I was in the basement doing a load of laundry, I pressed the binding fabric for this quilt and cut the 7 strips needed.  Maybe I'll get it sewn onto the quilt today.




When I went out to get the mail, I noticed the Weigela bushes are in bloom.  There is a Redbud tree growing right next to it on the back side of ...

read more
May 2, 2026
Island Batik Fabric and I Quilted This! from Quilting & Learning

Hi and welcome

read more
April 29, 2026
Mindless sewing................... from Exuberant Color


As I was cleaning off the sewing table, I decided to sew some 9 patches from the 1.5" squares that aren't suitable for colorwash.




l knew I had some the same size (in a project box) that I sewed last year.  Now I see I have sewn 2 different kinds.  This batch with 5 dark squares has 44 blocks in it.  I will probably press the 8 new blocks and put them with the 44, back into the project box for now.

I had other tasks during the day, packing a box to ship and running a couple ...

read more
April 28, 2026
Sewing after the storms............ from Exuberant Color


Noisy storms passed through early in the day followed by very strong winds.  I had the machine unplugged.  We got .6" of rain before 2 p.m.  There was a little more rain in the evening so I'll check the rain gauge again this morning.

I got this little colorwash sewn in spite of the interruptions.


Here are the two for comparison.  The top one has a yellow center and the bottom one, white or cream background light fabrics.  Working with the 1.5" squares has its challenges since I'm seeing the whole square when designing it and ...

read more
April 27, 2026
Three hours of tweaking................... from Exuberant Color


I needed to cut a couple  more pink to lavender fabrics to fill in the last 2 spots on this new mini colorwash.  Then I started the serious tweaking, 3 hours of it.  At the left is after I put in the 2 pink pieces and then I started working on the light lavender area in the top center.  At the right is the final result.

Then I started working on the top right in the blue and turquoise area and the lower right side where green met brown.  I wasn't happy with the straight line between brown and ...

read more
April 26, 2026
Finished plus new................ from Exuberant Color


This 12.25" colorwash has been pressed and is up on the design wall for its portrait.  I'm happy with it, so now I need to quilt it and finish it.







I started to clean off my table but then decided to start designing another 12" one.  I cut a bunch of brown and rust (which aren't in the first one) and this one doesn't have any yellow in the center.  It needs some serious tweaking but it is a good start.  I need to do some more cutting too.

It's really hard to get a ...

read more
April 25, 2026
The shrinking colorwash................ from Exuberant Color


Since the squares were 1.5" cut size, they lose 1/3 of their size when sewing them together.












Now shrinking in the other direction.  This little colorwash took me over two hours to sew, going slowly, matching each seam.











The corners were matching well until I got to the next to last seam.  I will have to pick it off and try again.












The sewn piece is laying on the same mat that the pieces were on the last few days.  It was 18" of cut squares, and after sewing and pressing I expect this to be 12.5 ...

read more
April 24, 2026
Three variations...................... from Exuberant Color


I cut reds and a few yellow, gold squares yesterday.  At 9:30 last night I thought I was done for the night playing with the layout of this mini colorwash.












Then I started adding a few pieces and took this picture to see if I was done.  On the right side I didn't like the way green met the orange.











I changed out a few pieces and kept at it until I had this layout.  I think it is ready to sew but I'll look at it again this morning to be sure.  I actually did change ...

read more
April 23, 2026
Trial colorwash........................... from Exuberant Color


By doing a trial layout of the 1.5" squares I can judge whether I have enough of each color cut.  I knew there weren't enough in the red before I started.  This layout is 11 x 11 and I wanted 12 x 12.






I analyzed where the problems were and moved the left and bottom rows out.  Then I started playing with a rearrangement.  I will cut reds today and figure out what else I need.

I spent over an hour outside yesterday breaking off all of the dead coneflower stalks and other stalks that were littering the ...

read more
April 22, 2026
One decision made................ from Exuberant Color


After a little prodding by a friend I realized I didn't want to find separator strips like I used on the original quilt I made 10 years ago.  Last night I sewed the three sections together.  After trimming the side points it will be about 46" x 62".  I'm thinking about adding a border, but we shall see how long that takes.


 I also cut 1.5" purple squares yesterday and added them to the few that were cut previously.  

It was warm enough to open all of the windows yesterday and low humidity.  We had a 1 ...

read more
April 21, 2026
Not much inspiration............ from Exuberant Color


I put this medallion piece back up on the design wall and tried a few pieces for continuing borders, trying to figure out if it needs medium or dark or bright fabric.  I have a box full of 4" Broken Dishes blocks that might get used for a border.

I also have the other Maria Derse tall triangles quit top in progress that needs a decision on the insert strip fabric.  I think this one will come down and that one will go up on the wall.


I cut 20+ more green fabrics in 1.5" squares but I see ...

read more
April 20, 2026
Slow day................ from Exuberant Color


I didn't have anything lined up to sew, so I sorted the 1.5" batik squares by color and value so I could check on my inventory.  Red, orange and yellow filled one tray.




Another tray was all blue and turquoise, and it looks like it is mostly turquoise.






This assortment was pulled from one box of batik scraps to do more cutting today.







Here are the remaining squares waiting to be sorted.  It looks like I need to cut some more purple and green.

It was chilly and breezy yesterday so I spent the day inside relaxing.  The ...

read more
April 19, 2026
Doing some cutting.................. from Exuberant Color


A lot of small pieces of batik fabric are now cut into 2" squares.  Most of these are from previous cutting sessions but new ones were added.





I also added to the 1.5" squares.  I made a lot of 9 patches from this collection over a year ago.  I mostly used the ones that aren't good for colorwash.  I will continue with some cutting while I make decisions on some other projects in progress.

We got 3/4" of rain from the storm Friday night.  My rain gauge collections for the month total 4.25".  Now we have ...

read more
April 18, 2026
Finish # 2 for April 2026................. from Exuberant Color


This quilt wasn't even on the radar for this year.  When I discovered the drawer with 2.5" and 4.5" strips (cut many years ago), I started sorting them and realized I had almost enough in these 2 colors for a quilt.  I think I cut a few new strips to get to a nice number of blocks.






The backing is one of my favorite purple batiks, and I must have gotten it on sale because I had 5 yards of it.  The binding is a purple batik irregular stripe.  It has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it ...

read more
April 17, 2026
Purple/green Double 4 Patch................. from Exuberant Color


While in the basement doing laundry I trimmed the purple and green batik Double 4 Patch quilt.  I searched for a binding and cut the 7 strips I needed.








I chose the binding that looked best with the backing fabric since there were many shades of purple on the front and fewer in this batik fabric.








Machine finishing the binding was my choice for this quilt.  I have 19 needle positions on my Pfaff so I moved the needle 2 to the right and I lead the folded edge of the binding through the center opening of the presser foot ...

read more
April 15, 2026
Sewing and garden..................... from Exuberant Color


I made the third block (not pressed) and added it to the other two for a table runner top.



I changed to 60 weight 2 ply thread and put the single hole plate on my machine to make a couple of the tiny bowties.  I didn't turn on the iron yesterday.








I will need to cut some more pieces to make some more blocks.  I was happy they really came out to the right size.  Sometimes with tiny pieces the blocks come out a bit smaller than they are supposed to.








After 3 days near or above 80, everything ...

read more
April 13, 2026
Some die cutting............... from Exuberant Color


I took my pile of small batik scraps and cut some pieces for the 2" bowtie blocks.  I have pieces laying out for one block but I haven't sewn any yet.  I need to change to a lighter weight thread on my machine.




I have always been intrigued with this traditional block and the die was 57% off and free shipping so I bought it. It is a 12" block so the largest pieces will work nicely with larger prints.

I sewed a sample block but haven't pressed it yet so I'll have more to show tomorrow ...

read more
March 16, 2026
Sunday sewing............... from Exuberant Color


Some of the pieced scraps from the orange basket got made into four 5.5" crazy pieced blocks.








They will go into this box of 5.5" batik squares.  I counted over 300 plain squares and about 30 pieced blocks.





I got a bunch of blocks made for the 'other 16 patch' quilt project made with Marcia Derse fabric and tried 2 layouts.  The blocks are horizontal in this layout.  I need to cut 6 or 8 more fabrics depending on which layout I choose.








I rotated the photo for a vertical block layout.  I will probably leave some future ...

read more
  • batik
  • Page 1 of 12 ( 222 posts )