Modern Batik Sampler Quilt and a Giveaway

As most of you know, I usually head to Key West for a couple of months during the Winter.  This year we are staying home in PA.  Of course, it has to be the coldest Winter ever, or so it seems to me.  When it is 3 degrees, I just don't want to go outside, but when you need groceries, there is no other choice.  It gives me a new appreciation for those of you that live in climates where the  temps hit -30 degrees.

I always look for the silver lining.  Staying home has given me lots of time for working on my last project as an Island Batik Ambassador.  I've been admiring Modern interpretations of traditional quilt blocks that I've seen on social media (Instagram) as well as improvisational blocks.  They really intrigue me.  For this final project, my fabric collection is called "Blue Moon".

It's quite a coincidence that the theme for this month's project is The Four Seasons and that I was given this icy blue palette of colors.
I love blue and I'm so happy to see this color return.  This collection plus white was my playground for these blocks. I started with this block:

Then:

Then:

And:

And a bunch more:

And a few more:

I really enjoyed making these blocks and searching for ideas.  But the most fun part for me was rearranging, adding and subtracting to create the final quilt.  It's this puzzle aspect of quilting that appeals to me the most. This is the next to last step in my process of putting all of these blocks together. You can see I had to add some fill ins.

I decided to spend a day conquering the tension issues I have had as a newbie with my longarm.  Oh boy, do  I love YouTube.  I watched many videos with instruction ranging from how to oil it, how to load the backing and the quilt, how to baste it and how to thread it.  I reached out to other IB Ambassadors asking them about quilting with IB batiks and I have to thank them.  Those with longarms encouraged me to do it.  And then voila! it worked.

All of the Island Batik Ambassadors are participating in a blog hop to celebrate the culmination of a year's worth of projects.  Today Jennifer at The Inquiring Quilter is also sharing her amazing quilt that she created from the Blue Moon collection.  It's so interesting to see what the two of us have created using the same fabrics.

To celebrate the blog hop there are 2 giveaways, one hosted by me  and one hosted by Island Batik.
I have been trying (key word trying) to do a bit of studio organizing and  came  across some of my swag from Quilt Market and other odds and ends.

My giveaway is limited to continental US addresses.  You can have several opportunities to enter:
1.  Leave a comment here with your email address
2.  Like me on Facebook or leave a comment if you already have.
3.  Follow me or leave a comment on Instagram and for every friend you tag, you'll get another chance
I'll pick a winner on Weds, Jan 17th by noon, EST.

Island Batik is also hosting a giveaway on Rafflecopter.  Here's the LINK.

Don't forget to check out the other blogs in the blog hop.  You'll have the opportunity to see all of the collections just arriving at your local quilt shops.
Tomorrow:
Carol Steely - Fun Threads
AlisonVermilya - Little Bunny Quilts   (Alison has shared the links for the entire blog hop!)
Tina Dillard - Quilt Affection
Jean-Sophie Wood -  Sophie Junction

And how did I spend last night's chilly temps while writing this post?

With my puppy on my lap and a warm fire.
Stay warm my friends, enjoy the hop and I hope you win some goodies.