House Warming Present {IB Amabassador Goodies 2019}

As you may know, my husband and I recently bought a house and have spent the majority of January packing, moving, sorting, and unpacking. However, you might appreciate that the first package that arrived at the house wasn't anything for the house -- it was my first Island Batik Ambassador box for 2019!

Because we had so much to do, it sat in the living room for about 5 days before I had the time and space to open up the box!

Here are all of the fabric goodies I received:

From approximately left to right:
-half yard cuts of basics and blenders
-a five yard cut of neutral Sprinkles
-a strip pack of Flea Market and two 2 yard cuts of coordinates (which I will be using in my Daisy Chain quilt!)
-two stash builder roll bundles
-three 1 yard cuts of neutral solids
-a 2 yard cut of rayon and a rayon scarf
-five little spools of Aurifil
-surprise fabrics that I will use for my blog hop project in August (and it's beautiful!)

Hobbs batting also showered us with gifts:

-a black queen size 80/20 batting (I've never used a black batting before!)
-a crib size cotton batting
-a silk blend Tuscany collection throw batting
-a queen size cotton batting with scrim
-a queen size bleached 80/20 batting
-a Thermore batting for quilted clothing

There's also something special peaking out in the first picture. Can you tell what it is?

This year, Island Batik is also partnering with Accuquilt, who has provided me with an Accuquilt Go! cutter and dies to use! (I'm already in love with this machine!)

Now it's time for me to share the wealth! One lucky winner will win 10 - 5" strips from my collection of Stash Builder rolls in the colors of their choosing! That's equivalent to over 1.5 yards of fabric.

Comments for entries, up to three comments per person:
1. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite batik project that you've made. If you've never worked with batiks, tell me why not!
2. If you follow my blog or Honey, Bunny, and Doll Designs in some form or fashion (FB, Bloglovin, IG, etc.) leave a comment and tell me how you follow.
3. If you follow any of the other Island Batik Ambassadors in some form or fashion, leave me a comment and tell me who you follow.

Update 2/19/19 -- I have closed the giveaway and the winner is Lee!

Here is the line-up of Ambassadors for 2019, I'm SO EXCITED about some of the new ladies and gentlemen joining us this year!

Carolina Asmussen ~ Carolina Asmussen
Gene Black ~ Gene Black
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Connie K Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Anja Clyke ~ Anja Quilts
Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs
Becca Fenstermaker ~ Pretty Piney
Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter
Barbara Gaddy ~ Bejeweled Quilts by Barb
Dione Gardner-Stephen ~ Clever Chameleon
Sarah Goer ~ Sarah Goer Quilts
Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts
Lori Haase ~ Dakota City Quilter II
Joanne Hart ~ Unicornharts
Mania (Magdalini) Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts
Carla Henton ~ Creatin' in the Sticks
Stephanie Jacobson ~ Steph Jacobson Designs
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Joan Kawano ~ Moosestash Quilting
Kim Lapacek ~ Persimon Dreams
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Leanne Parsons ~ Devoted Quilter
Bea Lee ~ BeaQuilter
Toby Lischko ~ Gateway Quilts & Stuff
Bill Locke ~ Studio Bill Locke
Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack's Blog
Kathleen McCormick ~ Kathleen McMusing
Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs
Karen Neary ~ Sew Karen-ly Created
Lisa Nielsen ~ Lisa Lisa and the Quilt Jam
Jackie O’Brien ~ If These Threads Could Talk
Laura Piland ~ Slice of Pi Quilts
Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde
Vicki Schlimmer ~ Vicki's Crafts and Quilting
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Sherry Shish ~ Powered by Quilting
Anita Skjellanger ~ Quilt in a not-Shell
Laticia "Tish" Stemple ~ Tish's Adventures in Wonderland
Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy QuilterJennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Terri Vanden Bosch ~ Lizard Creek Quilts
Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts
Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts
Suzy Webster ~ Adventurous Applique and Quilting
(Debora) Anne Wiens ~ Seams like a Plan
Geraldine Wilkins ~ Living Water Quilter
Janet Yamamoto ~  Whispers of Yore

Daisy Chain QAL {Fabric Requirements}

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.

Welcome to the official kick-off of the Daisy Chain mystery QAL! Today I'll be talking about the fabric requirements of the quilt.

The great thing about this pattern is that it can be made with scraps or yardage; it can be made with many different fabrics or just a few -- the choice is up to you!

This quilt pattern will use a background fabric, a focal fabric, an accent fabric, and assorted fabrics (from scraps, precuts, or stash). For all quilts, you will want your accent fabric to contrast with your focal fabric. The quilts as designed do not have borders.

Update: Fabric requirements and cutting are now available only in the for-purchase pattern.

I would recommend using at least 3 different fabrics for your scrappy fabrics. You can easily use scraps, precuts, fat quarters, or stash fabrics. Each week I will have notes for those of you working from scraps, should the directions need adjusting.

As far as color choices and color theory goes, it's actually rather simple. Your background should clearly contrast with your focal fabric, accent fabric, and scrappy fabrics. Your focal fabric will be the dominant fabric of the quilt design and can be any size scale. Your accent fabric should contrast significantly with your focal fabric. Fabrics that coordinate with your focal and accent fabrics can be used as your assorted scrappy fabrics. Your focal and scrappy fabrics should have predominantly small-to-medium scale prints.

I have been working on two versions of the quilt that I'll be showing as examples. The first is a baby size version that has a cream background, an orange focal fabric, a brown accent fabric, and a variety of coordinating prints, as shown below. Notice how each one of the fabrics in the lower half of the quilt contrasts with both my background and my accent fabric.

The second quilt will be made from fabrics that I just received in my Spring 2019 Island Batik Ambassador shipment. These fabrics are from the new Flea Market line that should be in stores now or coming to stores very soon! My background will be Kona Oyster, the teal yardage will be my focal fabric, the multicolored print will be my accent fabric, and the remainder of the strip set will be my assorted scraps.

If the given quilt sizes are too small for your preference, feel free to add a border -- just remember to increase the amount of binding fabric for your quilt. I did add a border to my baby size version and it is quite lovely.

If the given quilt sizes are too large for your preference, my suggestion would be to follow the directions of the smaller sized quilt as we go along (ie. follow the throw directions instead of the twin). You can always go back and make a few extra blocks or add a border.

I'll try to add links of our featured bloggers as they post their fabric decisions, too.
-- Stephanie of Quilt'n Party is going to make a Halloween themed quilt
-- Christina of Christina's Handicrafts has a floral as her focal fabric and scraps for the remainder of her fabrics.
-- Kate of Life in Pieces has a beautiful black and red paisley as her focal fabric.
-- Gene Black is going bright and scrappy with an orange background and yellow focal fabric.
-- Gail of Quilting Gail pulled some beautiful French General fabrics.
-- Vasudha of Storied Quilts has a beautiful bright pull with a butterfly wing print.
-- Michelle of Creative Blonde also has a butterfly print featured in her quilt!
-- Pam of PamelaQuilts is also using her Island Batik stash for a baby quilt!
-- Jessica has a fun Kaffe Fassett print as her inspiration.

As a reminder, here is our schedule:

Fabric Requirements - February 4th <-- That's today!

Cutting - February 18th

Block Unit A- March 4th

Block Unit B - March 18th

Block Unit C - April 1st

Block Unit D - April 15th

Catch up week link up - April 29th

Top Construction Part 1 - May 6th

Top Construction Part 2, Layout - May 20th

Link up/giveaways/quilt parade starts: June 3rd

Link up/giveaways/quilt parade ends: June 17th

Sharing at Linky Tuesday!

Brutal Honesty {February 2019}

Well, the move is over and I'm still recovering. I am finally able to sew again, but it seems like things are moving at a glacial pace.

Sent out for quilting:
1. Drift Away Scrap Quilt -- At the long arm quilter, no rush to get back.

Completed tops:
2. Magnolia Mystery QAL -- I have batting, so this can be basted once the backing is pieced.
3. Breezy Blooms C2C Bee -- No progress
4. Double Delight -- Thinking about sending this to be long arm quilted.

Tops partially finished:
5. April Showers C2C Bee Quilt -- January UFO project -- Final border fabric has been ordered! It might not actually have been finished in January but I did make *some* progress on this quilt! Once the fabric arrives, I'll add the final border and figure out how it will be quilted.

6. Romantic Garden Quilt -- No progress
7. Monthly Wall Hangings -- No progress
8. Pineapple Stash Bee Blocks -- I ordered more white-on-white fabric to finish up the sashing at the same time that I ordered the final border fabric for my April Showers quilt.

9. Good Fortune Mystery Quilt -- I am in the middle of making the final HSTs for my green HST border. Here's how the quilt looks right now:

Just blocks and units:
10. Sew Kitschy Blocks -- No progress
11. Cubicle Quilts -- Pressed the two sewn bases I have -- one is for July, one is for August.
12. Happy Houses blocks -- No progress
13. Birthstone blocks -- No progress
14. Radiant Jewel Quilt -- No progress

Quilt alongs and long term projects:
15. Monthly Island Batik Ambassador projects -- January was our big blog hop month! I made a new version of our Dashing to the Chapel pattern (Etsy/Payhip) with the Bazaar line. Our theme for February is mini quilts and I'll be making a mini version of my Stars at Play quilt!

16. Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt -- The kick-off of the Daisy Chain QAL is MONDAY! We'll release the fabric requirements, share our fabric selections, talk about picking your own fabric selections, and adaptations to consider if you want to make your quilt more or less scrappy.

January was a slow sewing month because of our move, but I did get more done than I originally expected. My UFO for January was my April Showers Medallion, which only needed fabric for the final border and I did manage to get it ordered, but it has not arrived yet.

My UFO for February will be my Pineapple Quilt. At the same time I ordered my border fabric for my April Showers Medallion, I ordered some white-on-white fabric for this project. Both of these tops should be able to be finished and ready for quilting in short order once the fabric arrives.

If you or someone you love is interested in purchasing a quilt that you've seen on Little Bunny Quilts, please email me (littlebunnyquilts@gmail.com) because I am willing to part with many of the quilts I have made in the last two years. It is not cost-effective for me to list everything that I'm willing to sell on Etsy with their current listing fee structure. Click on the "Finished Quilts" tab above to see finished items.

Daisy Chain QAL {Featured Bloggers}

We are just a few days away from the kick-off of the Daisy Chain Mystery QAL!

On Monday, the first set of clues will be released: our fabric requirements as well as tips and tricks for picking your fabrics! The fabric requirements will be posted in their own blog post here on the blog but they will also be available to download for free from our PayHip site.

We also encourage you to join our Facebook group -- where we'll be sharing our fabric pulls, block progress, and have an open space for questions and comments! We hope that you'll join us whether or not you're planning to sew along!

I'd also like to highlight some of the wonderful bloggers who are joining in for the quilt along!

Christina @ Christina's Handicrafts

Gail @ Quilting Gail

Gene @ Gene Black

Jessica @ Desert Bloom Quilting

Kate @ Life in Pieces

Michelle @ Creative Blonde

Pamela @ PamelaQuilts

Stephanie @ Quilt'n Party

Vasudha @ Storied Quilts

A few of these bloggers are fellow Island Batik Ambassadors for 2019 and some are just lovely blog-land friends! They'll be sharing about their own Daisy Chain quilts on their blogs and I'll be highlighting their progress here as well.

Have I convinced you to jump into the fun yet? Don't forget to enter to win my Island Batik giveaway in this post -- the giveaway closes Sunday!

Schedule
Fabric Requirements - February 4th
Cutting - February 18th
Block Units- March 4th
Block Units - March 18th
Block Units - April 1st
Block Units - April 15th
Catch up week link up - April 29th
Top Construction Part 1 - May 6th
Top Construction Part 2 - May 20th
Link up/giveaways/quilt parade starts: June 3rd
Link up/giveaways/quilt parade ends: June 17th

Good Fortune {75%}

A little progress is better than no progress, right? I had big plans to start quilting a quilt on Saturday, but that got kicked to the wayside. I hemmed some curtains on Saturday (go me!) but that was the extent of my sewing.

Sunday afternoon I went back to work on Good Fortune. My first task was to get the spacer border added. I double checked my math and cut my background strips. These zipped on extremely quickly, other than the fact that one WOF was *just barely* too short for the sides, so all four border strips had to be pieced.

Next came the arduous task of making the chains of HSTs for the green sawtooth border. I realized that I didn't have quite enough HSTs for all four sides, but figured that I would rather get as far as I could get and then figure out exactly how many more green HSTs I would need.

First border added:

(I also realized how badly my ironing board needs recovered -- not the usual reason of the fabric being ripped to shreds, but because there's this rather large divot in the one end that made pressing the borders somewhat difficult.)

With the HSTs that I already had made, I was able to complete three of the four sides, and start the piecing of the fourth and final side. Much of the border wobbly-ness that I was slightly worried about after adding my spacer border as been evened out after adding the HST border.

So now I'm back to making HSTs. All are sewn and ready to be trimmed and pressed.

Bonnie's directions have a neutral border between the green HSTs and the blue QSTs, however my quilt top is currently the perfect size for adding the blue QST border with an even number of units. That would mean skipping the neutral border between the pieced border -or- adding a much wider pieced border to get the quilt width to the right size. 

I will need to make about a dozen more QST units, so I am leaning towards skipping this spacer border because I am almost out of background fabric. My quilt will then end up around 54", which is right about the same size as my finished ORL quilt. I've seen some other creative solutions on the Quiltville Facebook group that I might also consider.

What do you think? Check out Bonnie's finished version of the quilt here and give me all of your creative solutions.

Sharing at Oh Scrap, Linky Tuesday, and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Update 2/11/19:
Also sharing at Bonnie's final Good Fortune link up! I have made some progress on the quilt since I wrote this blog post, so hopefully I will be able to share my finished top by the end of this week!

-- A@LBQ