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Meet Nilsa. She is my newest finish and a pattern is available now.

At 60" by 83", Nilsa can be a Mercyful Quilt. The pattern can also be used to make a Quilt of Valor.

Nilsa, 60" by 83"

I used the Island Batik collection - Blushing Garden to make Nilsa. 

Have you seen Blushing Garden? It is a beautiful collection with my favorite colors - red, pink and gold. Even a bit of teal to brighten things up. They are beautiful and sunny!

The September Island Batik Challenge and Blog Hop is called Pieced to Perfection. We were required to make a paper-pieced project at least lap sized, using as many different fabrics as possible from our assigned collection.

I received Chromatic. It is an original collection designed by Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Designs.

Chromatic Bundle

Chromatic Fabrics

Bromeliad Garden

I chose "The Palm" block from EQ8 Block Library (under Old favorites). 

The on-point layout uses 24 blocks. I used 21 (out of the 22) fabrics from the Chromatic collection. I used three fabrics ...

Marrying someone from halfway across the globe has its perks.  There is always something new to learn. Recently Paul introduced me to the Addams Family.  I fell in love with Wednesday and she is the inspiration for my May project! 

Wednesday Mock-Up in EQ8

It was a heavy lift. The net was bursting with a huge catch. 

It took a lot of effort to haul it out of the river.

Ooh it is heavy...

The fish wriggled and pulled against the net and Paul struggled. 

Paul struggled

And finally managed!

Such a proud angler Paul is!!! Now, you may think that catching all these fish on the banks of Potomac is a load of bull. But honestly, it is a fishy story :-D

The one that got away...

Well, here is the true back ...

Designing for the May/June 2023 Issue of Quiltmaker Magazine, I chose the fabric line Celebrate. Designed by Kathy Engle, this fabric line will be available in stores in May 2023.

Imagine my surprise when the magazine was published in March 2023.  It is Island Batik's guidance to release patterns as close to the fabric availability as possible. If the fabric is not available (at the time of pattern release or shortly thereafter), then it feels like a tease or even a torture, especially when the fabric is this gorgeous!!!

For this reason, I have been slow/reluctant to ...

Mardi Gras Magic was published in McCall’s Quilting March/April 2023.   

Mardi Gras Magic

My favorite picture

Island Batik Fabrics - Inspired by Nature

Bright Yellows, Shimmering Greens

If I could be doing anything quilty, it would be improv piecing.  It is like taking a journey. "Come hither ye fabric scraps; together we will travel and see where we end up." 

Here is the Island Batik Challenge for March. It reads 

"March brings a free month for you to determine your own project of any size, using any theme and any technique!! This is an opportunity for you to express your creativity without guidelines. Have fun!"

And I did have fun. See how the bits and pieces grew.

Starting Point

And then there were two

Growing

Coming Together ...

I have a new finish to share. Meet Paroma.  Although the quilt was completed in August 2022
(hence the lush green backdrop), I had to sit tight till now. 

Paroma. 56" by 68"

Paroma is a Fat quarter friendly quilt published in Quilt Patterns - Fun Fat Quarter Quilts for Spring (anniescatalog.com)  With 22 FQ projects for just under $10, this is a steal.

In process

20 FQs make 20 stars and yield enough fabric to make a scrappy happy border.  Paroma finished at 56" by 68" and it just sparkles ...

The Hindi/Urdu word Nihal means happy and satisfied in every way.  Imagine a traveler coming from hot and dusty desert, with a parched throat.  They would become "Nihal" after they had a drink of cool and refreshing water. Happy and satisfied in every way!

Meet Nihal. 

Location Courtesy - Kids Play Structure in Mari's Backyard

To make Nihal, I used a pack of 10" squares - Cheers, designed by Carl and Linda Sullivan of Colourwerx. Cheers is from the Island Batik Spring 2022 Collection.  I also used Island Batik Solid light grey fabric for accent and binding. 

Nihal is published ...

I firmly believe that anyone who has a voice can sing. Whether their singing is pleasant to hear or not is another story altogether.  Similarly, I can make a quilt with any group of colors. Will that grouping be aesthetically appealing? That depends on the design.

December Challenge!

Four times a year when the challenge is combined with a blog hop, we the Island Batik ambassadors are required to use one of the new fabric collections, assigned to us. Further we are directed to use as many fabrics (from the collection) as possible.

I was assigned the Chickadee Fabric Collection ...

She wanted to be surprised, but when we chatted today on Messenger, she said she could stand it any longer, especially since she knew I finished it, so I had to hold up her quilt so she could see it. Now I can show it to everyone.

She sent me dozens of pictures of what she liked, many with water and various shades of blue. This delightful young woman is a teacher who lives in a coastal city. She loves helping people who struggle, but is also aware of her need to find a quiet place now and then. She ...

Hello friends! If you had a hard time finding TGIFF with me this week, I apologize. My web serving was affected by the hurricane in Florida and I had to temporarily host through Instagram (which is a little unorthodox for TGIFF). It's Friday morning my time and the web service is back up so I'm sharing my project here now. I hope you'll link up your finishes below for TGIFF.

I *finally* finished a quilt this week that has been in the works for quite a while. It was quilted by @threadedquilting back in January 2020 and ...

1. Topsy Turvy is now available as a stand alone pattern in my Etsy Store.

Topsy Turvy in Honeycomb Fabrics

I first made Topsy Turvy using the scraps left over from the Island Batik "Make it Modern" Blog Hop and Challenge.  Many refinements later, making it suitable for 2.5" precut strips, writing and rewriting and then correcting the pattern, Topsy Turvy is now available as a standalone pattern.   

Here are a few more pictures.

Basting and Ironing

Now I'm working on a pile of leftover floral prints, oldies but enough to make a bunch of HST with contrasting values. Not sure what will come of it, maybe just an empty ...

I am thrilled to announce the generous sponsors for the Positivity 2022 Quilt Along to make Mercyful Quilts. There is a lot of information here, so you may want to bookmark this page.

If you are new to the Positivity QAL or have not heard of Mercyful Quilts, you may have some questions. Well, I have answers :-)

It was about one year ago, when I first doodled the idea that became Synergy. I first made Synergy in Rainbow Fabrics on a Light Gray background, provided by Island Batiks.

The second version was in Tantalizing Teals on a Yellow background. 

Since then, I have been playing in EQ8, with different Island Batik collections.

In Lace & Grace (Fall 2021 Collection)

In Playful Purples (Island Batik Foundations)

In Interurban (Fall 2021)

But I am so looking forward to the different versions that are cooking in the following studios of North America.

1. Mari of Academic Quilter - Thursday, April 21, 2022 ...

 The Island Batik challenge for January 2022 reads as follows: 

Island Batik has developed ten colorways of gradations with 20 steps in each. There are so many quilt projects that make use of gradations in color and value. Your challenge is to create a project that demonstrates this step by step change in color value!

I love this challenge. I absolutely do. I love creating quilts with gradations, where color (or value) gradually changes from one to the other. I made a Gradations quilt in Konark, even though it wasn't a requirement. Cross Currents was based on the same ...

My life has become as busy as a new mom with a baby. I do get some “free” time, but I use it to try to keep up with housework, animal chores, and yard work. I can’t go far, or if I do I must use the indoor cameras to know when my husband is awake. He is nearing the final stage of Alzheimer’s Disease.

I’d had a few days of so much frustration that I had a short temper. I didn’t like myself much. One morning I woke earlier than normal and used the extra ...