Monday, May 15, 2023

Tool Craze with Studio 180* and Island Batik

Midsummer Meteors

Welcome to the Summer Twilight day on the Tool Craze blog hop!  I'm so excited to share this pretty collection by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis for Island Batik.  There's a list below of a few shops that ordered Summer Twilight, and you can always check at Islandbatik.com for shops that carry the gorgeous collections.  Aqua and Teal, black, purple, green, fuchsia and hot pink play well together.  There are tulips, large multi-petal blooms, leaves, feathers and a great dotted tjap that looks like a clamshell design.  That was the inspiration for the quilting pattern, but more on that later.  
Meet Midsummer Meteors, my design for this hop. 


I also received a neutral and 2 yards of Blackberry, which I'll save for another project.  I used some of the 6 yard piece of neutrals that Island Batik provided in the box, and Wisteria from my shop.

The Ambassadors were asked to use the Studio 180* tool that was sent in the first box for 2023 with the 1/2 yard surprise bundle.  We were asked to use as many fabrics as we could and use the tool in multiple sizes, with at least 30 units, with the quilt being any size.  Okay, I met most of the requirements.  But I went big and used ALL the fabrics.  I couldn't think of a way to use multiple sizes of equilateral triangles but actually, maybe I did use multiple sizes within the design.  Some were cut at 4" and some at 6 1/2".  I used multiple Technique Sheet designs, as well.  Can you see the Checkerboard, Framed, Capped, Quad or Striped units?  Doing the math, I made 170 triangles, plus 20 side units, and of the 170 triangles, 60 had various pieces totaling 150 smaller pieces.  280 pieces in this top, plus borders.

I was provided the Star 60 tool.  It's designed to make 60* stars, or 6 pointed stars in 17 sizes from 1" to 9", but you can go larger using a combination of the Star 60 and your other longer rulers. You can use the triangles to make hexagons and there are also directions to make the ends straight, to square your units.  Watch the video where Deb Tucker explains this tool, and some of the uses.  

After watching the video for the tool, and for the technique sheets, I got to work on EQ8 to see if I could figure out what I wanted to do.  First, there are a number of squares that use the 6 point star, and some of them would have worked, but I wanted something different.  I looked through the One Patch quilt suggestions, and they had one that was triangles, similar to the 1000 Pyramids designs.  That sparked my interest, so I played with a few ideas using the colors in the collection.  I also played with background colors.  My only issue was I didn't know how to draw the different Technique Sheet designs within each triangle.  More on that later, also.  I tried a navy background, but thought it was too dark.
EQ8 draft
 This was the start.  The triangles could be adjusted to the size and angle, so I played with 8" tall, and decided to use 6" tall.  The quilt could be made fairly quickly and would finish about 80" square with the borders.  I printed this out, and then used a pen to draw possible Technique Sheet designs within the units, and to add more fabric choices.  After I looked at all the white space, I decided to add the units that look like smaller stars.  Those end up being 12" tall, but the large ones are 24".  I also changed the color combinations as I cut each star.  The background fabric is Snow, a pale creamy white with a little hint of grey. Each triangle is sized perfectly with the Star 60 tool.  If you're not familiar with Tucker tools, they make oversized units that are then trimmed down to perfection.  I've used many of the tools for previous projects, and love them!  It's so easy to get better at piecing when the units are close to perfect.  You can see some of the lines on this tool on the pink fabric.  They line up with the triangle sections, and there are lines for vertical and horizontal, plus trim lines to get the bottom edge correct.  Any lost points in piecing are my fault, not the tool's, lol  

I add pink Highlighter tape to certain lines when needed, so it's easy to find the mark.  I could have used it on the 6" V line, but since I was cutting 4", 6" and the diamonds for some of the centers, I didn't want to keep moving the tape, although it is repositionable.  

I added a new Schmetz Chrome size 12 needle to my Janome 9450, and wound about 5 bobbins with Aurifil 50wt, because I use a large cone, just for piecing.  I also used my Prairie Spirit Alpaca pressing mat to help get the units flat.  These 3 products are always in use here.  They make my pieces accurate, which leads to a better top.  But first, the oops.  Lost at bobbin chicken when adding the borders.  3 more stitches would have been nice, but I had more bobbins wound, so no time lost.  Don't worry, I cleaned out the bobbin case after the next bobbin change.  

Oops again.
Making the checkerboard units, I didn't pay attention to how to join the pieced diamond units.  Had to redo 4 out of 6, and then do another one more time because I knew I could do better at the center match point.  In the above photo, the bottom one is correct.  Below is one of the oops. 


I do plan to write a pattern for this top, so if you're interested, give me some time, and I'll share it when it's done.  It was actually fun, and fairly quickly pieced.  I contacted EQ8, and they offered information on creating the pieced triangle shapes.  Diane was super friendly and helpful.  I'll figure it out and get the pattern ready. 

Here are more photos of the top.  I used Hobb's Heirloom Cotton batting for a soft drape, and used a cream sateen wide back for the backside.  I added borders and binding in Wisteria, one of the Playful Purples Foundations. I have this for sale in my Etsy shop, if you need it. 

Quilted on my Handi-Quilter Amara with Pro-Stitcher using Clam Shell Feather Edge to Edge by mycreativestitches.net and Aurifil Forty-3 in 2026 Chalk, a pale creamy white that perfectly matched the Snow background. 

Framed units with the matching smaller side triangles, alternating with single color triangles. 

Striped and Checkerboard units. 

Capped units.

Quad Units. 

Heather is checking out my son who is holding the quilt.  His dog was there, too, lol. 

Some Shops that carry Summer Twilight.
Around The Block-WYCheyenneWY
B&F Variety-SDGregorySD
Backdoor QuiltsBillingsMT
Quilter's Quarters-AZCottonwoodAZ
Bill Ellsworth TextilesPrescott ValleyAZ
Cate's Sew Modern-CTMadisonCT
Fabric Shoppe-CACamarilloCA
Foust Textiles-NCKing's MtnNC
Gruber'sIsantiMN
Island Batik is giving away bundles of fabric.  Here's the link.  


WEEK 3 Schedule.  

May 15

Victoria Johnson, Forever Quilting for You

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

May 16

Renee Atkinson, Pink Tulip Quilting

Sarah Pitcher, Pitcher’s Boutique

May 17

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt

Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

May 18

End of Blog Hop + Final Round Up

You can find more information including the previous weeks posts on the Island Batik blog page, and many of the ambassadors have additional give-aways.  I do, too!  Please comment below if you've used any of the Studio 180 tools.  Keep in mind I'm happy to order anything for you, if you can't find it in your favorite shop.  Just send me a message, and we'll discuss the next steps.  I'll pick a random comment to send some of the scraps of Summer Twilight to you.  Free shipping to US, but if you're in Canada, and will help offset the cost difference in shipping, I'll send you a very full flat rate envelope, after May 25.

Thanks so much for getting to the end of my long post.  I hope you are inspired by my project and the ones by Tori and Leah with this collection, and different tools, and enjoy the hop!  

Maryellen 


13 comments:

Jennifer Schifano Thomas said...

Wow Maryellen! I love all the pieced sections in the stars. This is going to be a really fun pattern. You made good use of the tool. I want this one now, too. Have a fabulous day!

Joyce Carter said...

Very beautiful Maryellen. I really love the big stars with the different designs.

@lutzcats said...

I enjoy the precision of Studio 180 rulers, and the results are great! As you have demonstrated with this beautiful design and luscious batiks.

Lee said...

I love star quilts - yours is awesome and love those batik fabrics! I have never used Studio 180 rulers , so this hop is good for me to how they get put to use!

Sharon Aurora said...

Wow, that looks like it took a lot of work even with the tool. It turned out beautifully. I use my Wing Clipper tool and I love it.

Barb said...

Beautiful quilt! I made a quilt which required cutting your own templates in a modern style--definitely needed a design wall to make it--challenging but fun!!

Solomae said...

Great blog post and a gorgeous quilt!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Maryellen, this is awesome!! I love those huge stars with the little ones mixed in! That motif by the Christies is one of my faves! Fantastic. I see Heather had to photo bomb too! Don't you love it??!!

Lori Smanski said...

oh but this is gorgeous. those fabrics look like so much fun to play with. thanks for sharing and inspiring. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

Sally said...

Just lovely ME! This is one of my favorites you've created. :-)

Anonymous said...

You certainly achieved the meteor shower effect, this is stunning. Nice to know oops happens to other people!

Kate Marie said...

Your long blog post is so informative and encouraging, don't change a thing! I love the pattern and I love the effect you achieved. Beautiful.

Donna Kuykendall said...

ME, I love the batiks in this collection. I have always been intimated by star patterns, especially the Lemoyne Star. Thanks for the excellent directions.
Donna Belle
JuneBugQuilts