Friday, April 1, 2022

Island Batik March Challenge with Aurifil

 Hi, and thanks for stopping by!  The March challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors was to use the Italian Colorbuilder thread box we received from Aurifil and make a small quilt that represents something from that area.  



In 2020, Aurifil curated the boxes within color families and named for a particular region in Italy.  You can see the rest of the Ambassador posts in the links below.  I chose the pinks of Sardinia, a small island off the coast, at the toe of the boot.  

Photos from Aurifil.

Sardinia is known for beautiful pink sand beaches, among other gorgeous Italian architecture.  I used Google to find some photos of the region, and printed out a few.  Then I went to my Island Batik fabric supply to find something that worked with the threads, and that I could use to represent parts of the photo.  I found a photo from Getty Images (licensed) that I used for my inspiration.  

I picked the Marbles and fussy cut a section that would work for the changes in hues in the water.  The deeper French Rose is a Basics, and the others are from other collections.  
 

After sketching lines to represent the shapes with a wash-out marker, I cut a piece of Heat and Bond Lite to use as a base, and layered the cut fabric pieces on that.  Once I was happy with the placement, I fused them down, and added Elmer's washable glue behind any piece that didn't have Heat and Bond behind it. The cape in the distance is over the water and sky, so that needed glue, as well as part of the bottom inner cave, and the edge of the upper section of cave.  I felt this was an easy way to get the shapes to be stable so I could do some stitching.  I layered that on a piece of Hobb's Thermore batting, a thin polyester that would support and provide enough stability for stitching.  I didn't add a backing at this time.  I wasn't sure if I was just going to add details with thread, or also quilt it.  I opted to just use the thread, so the backing was added when that was done.  

Some close-ups. 




I ended up using a number of thread colors in addition to the 3 pinks.  The Sky fabric had little flowers that I thought looked like clouds, so I just added a bit of thread to make some of the sky darker.  I added wine thread to accent and add depth to the upper section of the cave, and light pink and a pale cream to lighten the beach/sand section.  Teal went in the water to add some accent, and the pinks were used in the cave.  I did some really small stitching with green to mimic the trees on the distant island/cape.  I think it came out cute!  I've done a few thread painting projects and think this was my best effort so far.  It takes practice and time, so I was happy to play.  All of this was done on my Janome Horizon 9450, with the free motion foot and dropping the feed dogs.  I used Machingers gloves to hold the project while I worked, and as usual, a Schmetz Chrome 12 size needle.   


I finished it with a knife edge binding.  It measures about 12 1/2" by 16".  Thanks for reading!

Visit all the Island Batik Ambassadors for inspiration.




4 comments:

Jennifer Schifano Thomas said...

Really pretty, Maryellen. I could picture myself in that cave looking out on the water. Have a great day!

Sally said...

Looks GREAT ME! Love this month's challenge!

Darlene S said...

Really beautiful. Makes me want to pack my bathing suit, jump on a plane and enjoy this stunning view and water.

Kathleen said...

What a fun little quilt! Love the details you added with the thread...it really is a perfect representation of what you were thinking!