Chrysanthemum Quilt {Finished Quilt}

I am so excited today to show off my finished Chrysanthemum quilt!

This is my June Island Batik Ambassador project -- I used fabrics from the Primo line by Ebony Love for the piecing and solid white batik for the backing. I used stash builder strips cut in half for the binding.

For the quilting, I used a peach Aurifil 50 wt. thread in both the top and bobbin. I obviously used a crysanthemum motif for the free motion quilting!

I am pretty resolved that this year there won't be a QAL given that life has been crazy busy but that this pattern will likely be the QAL for 2021. It's just that much fun of a pattern!

I did just use the white solid batik as my backing this time around because it was basically the best choice I had on hand to back this quilt. I'm guessing if you've been like me the last few months, the name of the game in the sewing room is making due with whatever you have on hand without having to go shopping!

This will likely be a keeper quilt for me because I love it just that much!

Quilt Stats:

Name: Chrysanthemum throw quilt

Pattern: Chrysanthemum -- by me, will eventually be a real pattern

Fabrics: Primo by Ebony Love for Island Batik, white solid backing

Techniques: free motion quilting, HSTs, strip piecing

Quilting: Free motion chrysanthemum quilting

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 batting

Size: 75 inches square

Started: April 2020

Finished: July 2020

Future: TBD

Big big news -- I'm in a BOOK! {Best of Moda Bake Shop}

Today is a BIG BIG DAY! It is the release date of Best of Moda Bake Shop -- and I am one of the designers featured in the book!

The book has 15 (yes, 15!) different projects featuring the whole range of precut possibilities, including some seasonal quilts! Some of the patterns were featured in the past on the Moda Bake Shop website and some of the patterns are brand new for this book!

My Garden Plots pattern, which was originally featured on Moda Bake Shop in January 2018, is now a part of this book!

This version of the quilt was made with Robin Pickens' line, Painted Meadow. I used three large scale prints for the centers of each block and used a jelly roll for the rest of the piecing. This is actually a one block quilt!

The designers featured in the book are hosting a "get to know us" hop starting today and we will have a pillow parade hop featuring the blocks in our quilts starting on August 10th, so you have plenty of time to get a copy of the book for yourself!

Here's the introduction hop schedule and each Chef's Instagram link:

Wednesday, July 1: Lisa Calle (@vintagemodernquilts)

Friday, July 3: LeAnne Ballard (@everydaycelebrations)

Monday, July 6: Kristina Brinkerhoff (@centerstreetquilts)

Wednesday, July 8: Diane Brinton & Audrey Mann (@theclothparcel)

Friday, July 10: Jen Daly (@jendalyquilts)

Monday, July 13: Jessica Dayon (@jessicadayon) 

Wednesday, July 15: Lisa Jo Girodat (@neverlandstitches)

Friday, July 17: Julie Hirt (@juliehirt)

Monday, July 20: Sharla Krenzel (@thistlethicketstudio)

Wednesday, July 22: Lauren Terry (@brightsonwhite)

Friday, July 24: Jen Van Orman (@heritage.threads)

Monday, July 27: Susan Vaughan (@thefeltedpear)

Wednesday, July 29: Alison Vermilya (@littlebunnyalison) <--- That's me!

Friday, July 31: Christine Weld (@christine.weld)

Monday, August 3: Amanda Wilber (@piecedjustsew)

We hope that you follow along and join us! I'll be posting the pillow parade schedule at the end of July so stay tuned! I will also have an "official" blog post showing off my finished Garden Plots quilt as part of my posts on July 29th!

Chrysanthemum Quilt Top {June Island Batik Project}

This month's theme for the Island Batik Ambassadors is more of a lack of theme! This month we were given free rein to make whatever our quilters' hearts desired!

For my project, I decided to finish a secret sewing project that I had started way back in March! This is the first block that I finished:

One of the reasons this started as a secret sewing project is that I originally planned (and maybe still plan?) for this quilt design to be a quilt along project and potentially a mystery quilt along project. With 2020 being the crazy year it has been, I decided to just finish up this quilt and show it off. I still have plans for it to be a QAL but it might just be next year at this point.

I wrote the quilt pattern originally in three sizes -- a 9 block version, a 16 block version, and a 25 block version -- and this is the 16 block version. I used Ebony Love's Primo line for Island Batik and used multiple prints for each color of the quilt.

This is a large throw and I am currently in the process of quilting it. That *might* not get done before the end of the month tomorrow, so I figured showing off a finished top was a better choice than showing you a quilt that is only 1/3rd of the way quilted. I'll also at some point write a post about how I designed this quilt and tempt you with some alternate colorways in case we do a QAL either later this summer or next spring with this design.

But for now -- happy Monday! 

Daisy Chain Baby -- Part II {Finished Quilt}

I realized this week that I had to get this quilt finished -- and quick -- because little lady is likely to arrive any day! So this week I did got a step or two of finishing done every day until I sewed the last stitch yesterday -- washing and pressing the backing, getting the quilt layered and basted, quilting and trimming, and finally binding!

Here is little lady's quilt!

As mentioned previously, this quilt is the Daisy Chain pattern that was our quilt along pattern in 2019 (that will eventually be available as a stand alone pattern) in the baby size with a 2.5" border on all four sides. The fabrics used are from the Painted Meadow line by Robin Pickens which were scraps left over from another quilt that I will finally get to show you in July!

For the quilting, I used a meander with interspersed flowers -- just like the original verison of this quilt that I made!

The backing is an adorable flannel with lady bugs and butterflies. The binding is the same pink floral that I used for the star blocks.

This quilt was delivered yesterday to little lady's parents in case she arrives this weekend!

Quilt Stats:

Name: Daisy Chain baby quilt

Pattern: Daisy Chain by HBD Quilts

Fabrics: scraps of Painted Meadow by Robin Pickens, white solid, flannel backing

Techniques: free motion quilting, strip piecing, scrap quilting

Quilting: Free motion meander with flowers

Batting: Hobbs 80/20 batting

Size: 40" square

Started: April 2020

Finished: June 2020

Future: Baby Quilt, already given as gift

Update 8/11/2020 -- This pattern is now available in our Etsy and Payhip shops. Please visit one of those sites to purchase the full pattern.

Updates and News {A Feeble Attempt To Catch Up}

Hello, remember me? A once regular blogger who unintentially took four weeks off from blogging? Whoops.

As I may have mentioned, I have been working from home full time since mid-March and will be continuing to do that for about another month. Despite being home all the time (and I do seriously mean all the time) the sewing has gone to a snail's pace with the exception of a few masks here and there and my June Island Batik project. 

Here's a sneak peak of that project:

Normally I am a "posting progress as I go" kind of person, but this time, I am waiting to show off this quilt until the top is complete (hopefully early next week) and show it off all at once because it will be our next quilt along project. Yes! Finally! The last six months have been a wild whirlwind and eventually we'll get started on our QAL for 2020.

Speaking of quilt alongs, I am also happy to share that Honey, Bunny, and Doll is once again a sponsor of this year's Meadow Mist Designs mystery quilt along! This year's quilt is called the Morewood Mystery! 

We at Honey, Bunny, and Doll would also like to give our customers a huge thank you for all of the support you've given us in 2020. So far in 2020, our Etsy shop has done over 400 sales thanks to your support, most of which were fabric sales. Normally the bulk of our sales are patterns, but we switched into fabric shop mode to fulfill the call when many of your local quilt shops had to temporarily close for coronavirus safety reasons. Thank you for choosing us!

Continuing in Etsy news, our Etsy shop is currently on "maternity leave"! My sister Amanda (who manages our Etsy and Payhip shops) is expecting a baby very soon so we have put the shop in "vacation mode" until we can ship orders again. If you'd like to know when our Etsy shop reopens, you can sign up to get an email on our Etsy page or follow us on Facebook. In the meantime, all of our PDF patterns are still available in our Payhip shop.

Hopefully next week, there will be real quilting happening around these parts again!