Tag: batik

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A Vintage Inspired Quilt – Looking back, Moving forward

The Island Batik Ambassador Challenge for April is “Looking Back: Vintage Quilts Inspiring New Creations”.

And I am having a ball. The only trouble with looking back as you’re moving forward, is that you can get tripped up…… and end up down a rabbit hole……..

Looking back logo

So, where to begin?

I can’t possibly tell you everything I have explored under the topic “Vintage Inspired Quilts” lately, but it is fair to say that I wasn’t really sure where to start with this challenge. “Vintage” is a category of quilt that I thought I didn’t like very much. When I think vintage quilt, I immediately think “muted, dull, brown”. Which doesn’t agree with me, nor with my idea of batik quilts.

Do you see what I did there?! I said “I thought I didn’t like vintage quilts”. Past tense. I’m doing that a lot lately, with all the Island Batik challenges. It is doing me much good to be gently stretched!

It turns out that there are some very cool vintage inspired quilt creations out there. Even some Australian flavoured ones. Let me tell you about one I have long admired, and then, about my newest quilt infatuation……

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Beary Colourful BOM: Thumbs Up Orange Bear

Beary Colourful Orange Bear appliqué by Clever Chameleon

I am positively excited that it is time to meet the Beary Colourful Orange Bear!

Beary Colourful BOM at Clever ChameleonApril 1st. But no fools here…. just us coloured bears! And it is time to welcome another teddy to our growing family…. the Orange Bear of Positive Attitude. Also known as Thumbs Up Bear!

The fourth bear in the Beary Colourful Quilt BOM series is cheerful like his yellow cousin, but it is his enthusiasm that sets him apart. Know anyone who thinks that “Everything is AWESOME, I want to experience it all!!”? Orange bear is just like them. Positively positive!

Hopefully you will give the new bear the two thumbs up!

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How to make a sewing machine dust cover

Sweet Sixteen dust cover

Island Batik’s “Try a New Technique” month has given me the push I needed to finally make my machine a dust cover!

As an Island Batik Ambassador, my challenge for March was to choose some of the beautiful fabrics they sent to me in February and create something using a technique I hadn’t tried before. So, I decided to give “invisible machine appliqué” a whirl. But in order to try out such an appliqué technique, I needed something to appliqué onto. So I made a dust cover for my Sweet Sixteen sit-down longarm machine. You can read more about that decision process here.

Island Batik Try a Technique Month

Have you got the same or a similar machine you’d like to make a dust cover for? Or another, oddly shaped machine that needs a cover? Here’s a run down on how I made mine. Hopefully it will give you a few ideas.

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Invisible Machine Appliqué: The Experiment

Invisible Machine Appliqué Experiment

March is “Try a New Technique” Month

The current Island Batik Ambassadors are each trying a new technique of their own choosing this month. So for my project, I have decided to have a go at “invisible machine appliqué”. No, not appliqué done on invisible machines, silly! 🙂 Appliqué done by machine in a way that the machine stitches are “invisible”. To try to emulate the look of hand appliqué, but faster. My intention is to make myself a dust cover for my Sweet 16 quilting machine, and to decorate said cover with some simple invisible machine appliqué. I have started my machine cover, but have paused it to do some experimenting. I am playing with the invisible machine appliqué technique to develop a process that works for me. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far……

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Colour Inspiration Tuesday – Blue Moon Fabrics

Blue Moon colour scheme from Clever Chameleon

March is “Try a New Technique” Month for the Island Batik Ambassador team, and I’m feeling inspired!

Try a new technique?!! You’ll never likely have to ask me twice!! I have loooooong lists of quilty things I want to try “one day”…. patterns to make, gadgets to play with, embellishments and paints and markers and machines and .attachments and ……. and …… and……. and that doesn’t include the countless really cool things I have seen and forgotten along the way. “Try a New Technique” is practically my quilting motto!

Finishing a project I’ve started while trying a new technique…… now that’s a slightly different story…..  but this month I am going to nail that one too. 🙂

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