The December Island Batik challenge is 3D. We are challenged to bring 3D in some form into our project. It could be a real 3D project like a bag, stuffed toy or an ornament, or a 3D illusion like my quilt.
The fabric for this project was provided by Island Batik as part of the 2019 Island Batik ambassador program.
I want to thank Island Batik and their affiliates – AccuQuilt, Hobbs Batting and Aurifil, for giving me the opportunity to serve as an Island Batik ambassador in 2019. Besides the fabulous fabric, tools, batting and thread I receive from them, the monthly challenges has helped me grow immensely as a quilter, designer and an artist. More exciting things are in store for 2020.
I wish I had some in-process pictures to show how I cut the pieces and made this quilt. As usual, I forgot to take pictures but I hope the schematic below gives you an idea. This is the traditional baby block or tumbling block pattern without the Y-seam. Using dark fabrics on one side, medium on the other and a bright or light fabric on top enhances the 3D effect.
This quilt mainly consist of three shapes labelled A, B and C in this picture. A is a 60 degree parallelogram, B is an equilateral triangle and C is half of an equilateral triangle. I used the Sidekick ruler by Jaybird quilts. I have other 60 degree rulers but this is by far my favorite and makes it super easy to make 3D illusion quilts. I cut a 5.5″ strip of each fabric and used the ruler to cut the shapes. I’ve marked the shapes on the ruler in the picture below to show what parts of the ruler I used for each shape. It looks like I had to flip and rotate the ruler to get the different shapes but it is a lot easier that in appears.
This quilt will go to a baby boy expected in January – my friend, Menaka’s first grand child. The binding is not done. I usually sew on the label and then the binding. Waiting for the baby to make an appearance and the parents to decide on a name. I want this quilt to be loved and used a lot. I pre-washed all the fabric with Retayne to hold the color. When I re-washed in warm water, the batik did not run any color. I used a Hobb’s batting called poly-down. It is 100% polyester and has a soft downy feel.
Quilting: I filled the white background area with loose wavy lines. I outlined the blocks and used a few straight lines for the “vertical” section of the blocks. For the “horizontal” section, I cross-crossed around the diamond shape to make it look different from the vertical sections.
That is a cool quilt! and I have that ruler!! The baby will love it!!
The Sidekick ruler really is very versatile isn’t it? I’ve begun to realize it after the November challenge! Great job; I have another two IB 3D quilts to get done before the 31 if all goes to plan…
Hi Vasudha! When I saw the little thumbnail photo I said to myself that is Vasudha’s work. Great choice for a 3D challenge, and I love this for a baby quilt. That Sidekick ruler looks really handy – thanks for outlining the shapes on the ruler itself. Your quilting looks wonderful as well. Thanks so much for linking up on TGIFF (and perhaps TIA for Tuesday). ~smile~ Roseanne
Great quilt for the 3D challenge. I am sure this will be well loved and glad the batiks did not run!
Hi Vasudha, great blocks for the 3D challenge. Isn’t it amazing how the placement of squares and triangles can affect the look of the block? Thanks so much for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks!
Very cool design. Thanks for showing how you constructed the block using the special ruler.
What a great quilt. I’ve never made one and didn’t realize the blocks that are used. I love my Jaybird rulers. Well done.