It’s September and time for another Island Batik Ambassador challenge and it’s my turn to share the project I made for the Adventurous Appliqué Blog Hop.
Playful Sunflowers
This month it’s the Adventurous Appliqué Blog Hop and Ambassadors were asked to create a project using the latest Summer 2024 fabric collections and using a specific edge finish for the appliqué pieces.
The fabric collection I worked with was Playful Posies by Kathy Engle. I loved all the wonderful rich colours in this collection and they worked so well with the design I created. You’ll find this collection now in your local quilt shop that stocks Island Batik fabrics.
Playful Posies by Kathy Engle
The appliqué edge finish we were to use was inspired by 4th and 6th Designs in their Full Bloom BOM project that they did several years ago. I had never seen this before so I had to do some investigating before I could work on my project.
The technique they used was raw edge appliqué and then they did a very organic finish to the appliqué pieces using either a straight stitch and going back and forth or by free motion quilting. Of course, I chose free motion quilting and changed up the look of the stitch just a bit. 😉
Unlike the appliqué technique that 4th and 6th Designs used, I chose to use fusible web to fuse my appliqué pieces to the background. My Oliso iron was very helpful in fusing all these appliqués to the background, ensuring that all edges were totally fused. I could then finish the appliqué edges using Aurifil thread which was provided to us.
This was a very fun technique to try but, I have to warn you, it uses up a lot of thread! All that back and forth stitching! One thing I appreciated when I was free motion quilting was that I didn’t have to fuss over having my stitches the same length. There was so much back and forth sewing that you really couldn’t see the stitch length - definitely a plus!
I chose to sandwich the quilt first before stitching the appliqué edges and adding additional quilting but I think I would do this differently next time and finish the appliqué edges first and then sandwich the quilt. I double batted this project using 100% wool batting over 80/20 batting from Hobbs Batting which gave a lot of texture to the quilt.
I enjoyed using this appliqué edge finishing technique on my Playful Sunflowers project and think it gave the project a fun, organic look.
Detail of back of Playful Sunflowers
I think Salem likes Playful Sunflowers too!
To see more details on this project including how I finished the appliqué edges, watch the video below.
Thanks to Island Batik for the fabric I used in this project, to Oliso for the TG1600 Pro Plus iron that worked so well to get everything pressed flat and fused well, to Hobbs Batting for the 100% wool and 80/20 batting that I used in the project, and to Schmetz needles and Aurifil thread for the thread I used to finish the appliqué edges.
Be sure to check out what other Ambassadors are creating this month – there’s a wide variety of projects that you’ll want to see.
Did you know that you can get Island Batik fabrics and precuts at the Missouri Star Quilt Company? Use my affiliate code to get 20% off your order of over $50.00 (it will automatically kick in when your cart exceeds $50.00). Terms and conditions apply.
Be sure to check out my Chatterbox Quilt’s Facebook page to see what else is happening in the studio.
Also, be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors’ blogs to see what they’re creating. You can find them at:
Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Megan Best ~ BestQuilter
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts
Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
Be sure you’re following me on Facebook and Instagram so you won’t miss out on what I’ll be creating next month with Island Batik fabrics!
Note: The products featured in this blogpost were given to me by Island Batik and their sponsors. Thank you!
#islandbatik #islandbatikambassador #loveislandbatik #createwitholiso #hobbsbattinginside #hobbsquiltbatting #adventurousappliquechallenge #aurifil #aurifilthread
