Welcome to my stop on the Island Batik blog-hop showcasing Island Batik Winter 2019 fabric collection. The fabric I was sent is called Season’s Splendor, designed by Kathy Engle for Island Batik. If the bright red, green and gold do not make you think of Christmas, the trees and the snowflakes most certainly will.
The fabric, batting, thread and needles for this project were provided by Island Batik, Hobbs batting, Aurifil threads and Schmetz needles respectively as part of the Island Batik Ambassador program.
The blog hop theme is home decor. I was initially stumped because I don’t decorate my home for seasons. I find that too much work – to change things around for each season. What I have today was made about three years ago, and they will get replaced when they wear out and I make new ones.
However, we put up a large Christmas tree every year and I know it really needs a new tree skirt. This collection was just perfect for my project. The reds and greens are vivid and bright. I picked the Christmas-themed prints for this project – trees, snow flakes, ornaments. I used my tutorial for the Spiral Nova and made the top.
For the spiral nova, I used eight different fabrics. I wanted a dramatic red-green effect and so I grouped the reds together and the greens together.
After strip sets are sewn, I re-cut the strips at an angle to make the 45 degree diamonds. See my instructions in the tutorial. Lining up the 45 degree line and the straight line on the ruler always gives a more accurate cut.
I layered the batting, the backing and the top right side down and sewed all round the edges leaving a small opening for reversing. The standard quilt birthing process. Yes, they are all batting scraps from my previous projects. The are all Hobb’s cotton batting. I did not sew the batting strips together. Just cut them, matched them and laid them on a table. The backing fabric I used a lovely deep green checkered batik from the same collection.
If you look at this picture and think I’m crazy, you are probably right. I was planning to use the walking foot and quilt concentric circles all around. However, my walking foot was misbehaving and I did not have time to figure out the problem and fix it. I had to find a way to pin it to my frame and quilt it. Can’t do concentric circles but I quilted a spiral all-over design in the background and a wavy design in each of the diamonds of the star.
This is where we put up the tree. There is a small alcove next to the stairs in the foyer. I think it fits perfectly!
Now on to my next project. When we had a large group over for Christmas last year, I noticed that some people wanted to move around in and out of small groups seated around in the living room. I thought that a couple of light movable seating would be useful. I had a cheap and cheerful “cube” ottoman from a decade ago. It did not fit the decor any more and was hiding in my closet. I made a cover for it that worked with my current decor.
I didn’t want this to look like Christmas! I cut large rectangles of just the reds and golds, and using a technique similar to my other tutorial, Bisection Quilt I cut out irregular-sized rectangles joined by one-inch strips of black. Of course, I used Island Batik solid black.
This piece is about 75″ X 15″ to cover the four sides and the top of the cube. I used a piece of black Hobb’s 80/20 batting and a thin muslin for the back.
After quilting, I cut out a section for the top and sewed a cylinder like sleeve for the sides. Here it is tested for size. I then sewed the top section. I’ve never done something like this before. I watched some upholstery DIY videos and tried it out.
I’m kinda surprised how well this turned out. The seams fall in the right places and design and colors blend well in my loving room.
I got two packets of Aurifil thread with my IB box this year. One called Tuscany Orange and one called Dolomite Green. I used some of these colors to quilt both projects. I also used the mauve thread for the dark reds. I finally opened the packet of Schmetz microtex needles. It was such a joy to quilting and piece using these needles.
There are three giveaways here.
1. The Rafflecopter below is for an Island Batik giveaway. You earn an entry for each comment at each of the blogs in the blog hop this week – ends May 15th.
2. The second is from me – a bundle of 10 fat-eights of green and red-green prints from this collection. This will go to someone who leaves a comment on this blog – ends May 21st.
3. The third is also from me – a bundle of 10 fat-eights of red and gold prints from this collection. This giveaway is for someone who follows me on Instagram (@storiedquilts314) and leaves a comment on my Instagram post for this blog hop – ends May 21st.
My giveaways are for US addresses only. Currently, the US postal service is not accepting any packages for international mail and I don’t know when it will resume.
In addition, please visit the other ambassadors in the blog hop this week. They may also be having a giveaway.
Blog hop for this week:
May 11
Pamela Boatwright – Pamela Quilts
Michelle Roberts – Creative Blonde
May 12
Leah Malasky – Quilted Delights
Sandra Walker – mmm quilts
May 13
Gail Sheppard – Quilting Gail
Maryellen McAuliffe – Mary Mack’s Blog
May 14
Vasudha Govindan – Storied Quilts
Carla Henton – Creatin’ in the Sticks
May 15
Island Batik Round-up Week 2 plus Giveaway
The tree skirt is amazing. I love your swirl tutorial. Well done on your projects.
I really like your tree skirt. I’ve been looking for a new pattern for one and this is beautiful. I especially like the way it was cut diagonally.
Love your cube re-do! It turned out great! The tree skirt is gorgeous, too.
Tree skirt is beautiful, love the arrangement of the colors.
I love the way the trees swirl around in that tree skirt – fantastic work! The cube is cool too; I should try that with our cube ottomans, they need recovering.
I am not much for seasonal decorating either. But I really love your ottoman cover. It has a nice artsy feel – reminiscent of Mondrian.
Both your projects are awesome! I love especially the tree skirt!!
Your tree skirt is
gorgeous! And the
cube looks great,
wonderful refurb.
Carla from Utah
I bet your tree looks stunning in your foyer every year and the skirt is an added bonus. Thanks for sharing.
Your tree skirt is lovely and great job on the cube!
your skirt and Ottoman cover are wonderful. i love how the trees go around the skirt. this will be wonderful at Christmas time. could be used with a plant in the middle also. and your ottoman cover is a fabulous idea. it could be changed out for seasons, etc. thank you for sharing and inspiring. quilting dash lady at Comcast dot net
Super pretty projects! The tree skirt has me thinking I certainly need one. The cube is just brilliant!
I love how you created the dramatic effect of the reds and greens on the tree skirt! It is so modern and eye-catching…I’ll bet you’re “‘almost” looking forward to Christmas time to use it! The ottoman cover is just perfect too and an awesome way to dress up a small seating piece. This Island Batik collection was perfect for you and you used it so well!
duchick at gmail dot com
The tree skirt is beautiful, I need to make a new tree skirt and yours is giving me ideas.
Beautiful tree skirt and clever idea to cover the ottoman.
slrdowney at hotmail dot com
Love your tree skirt!
Amazing tree skirt. Very well done!
Love your projects! That tree skirt is so striking with the way you used those fabrics!
Hi Vasudha! Your tree skirt is just stunning. I just LOVE how you arranged the fabrics. Perfection. And that shot from above, showing us where the tree stands is so lovely. I am taking great inspiration from both of your projects. I have an ottoman that needs to be recovered . . . too much work. But creating a cover for it that can match our current decor is just brilliant. I am going to PIN both of these ideas so when I get around to working on them, I can remember who to give proper credit. Thank you!! ~smile~ Roseanne
P.S. Thanks for linking up this week. ~smile~ Roseanne
Great projects, love the recovered cube.
Clever seating idea and I love the tree skirt!
I love the way you spiraled the color in your tree skirt. it will be beautiful this winter. And such a clever idea to cover your ottoman. I don’t often think about making home decor so I have really got lots of ideas from this blog hop. Thanks for sharing!
What beautiful tree skirt. I love the upcycled ottoman. Thank you for the giveaway and for sharing what you made in this blog hop.
Love the tree skirt! Love the cube! The tree skirt looks fantastic at the bottom of your stairs, it will be lovely at Christmas time! And the cube! Such a great idea, and I love how it all came together!
I really like the tree skirt. Also a good idea for the ottoman cover! The fabrics compliment your designs.
Your house it going to look great at Christmas – very stylish!
I am way down below the Equator in New Zealand, I am way too far from your postal area!!! We have similar postal hiccups here, the mail and courier deliveries are so slow, Your ottoman is superb, and the skirt, how brave to cut the divider, and a wonderful view from above. This is perfect for your winter Christmas.
Makes me think of Rubik’s Cube. I love it.
I absolutely love your tree skirt! I will have to make one. Thanks!
The view of that beautiful tree skirt from the top of your stairs is stunning! I love your cube too. It makes me think of Prairie School architecture. Thanks for sharing your beautiful creations, and thanks for the generous giveaway!
Your projects are inspiring! Love the tree skirt. Thank you.
That cube is so clever. You did a great job making something that doesn’t shout “Christmas” but will fit in beautifully at the holidays.
I love your cube for seating, something like this would work great for outside seating.
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Hi Vasudha, what a lovely ottoman and Christmas tree skirt. I really love the fabrics that you used. Thanks so much for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks.
I love your beautiful tree skirt! Your cube is great.
I love that cube! Both the colors and how you did it. Very cool!
What a great finish! And that photo of it at the bottom of the stair case… I think my feet tingled! That is a great photo!
I love that tree skirt and the picture looking down the stairs is so perfect. The ottoman cover is awesome too and just right for extra guests!
Really like the tree skirt. Thanks for sharing.
Both your projects are beautiful–i think you were very brave to tackle that ottoman!!
barbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)
Your tree skirt is beautiful, but that ottoman cover sure made me smile! 😉 Carol
Your projects are wonderful. The tree skirt is on my list as I have wanted to make a new one for some time.
I love your projects! The tree skirt is perfect in that spot! I’ll have to look up that pattern some time.
Beautiful projects!
Hello. I read your post a few days ago, but didn’t have time to leave a comment. I love all of your projects ~ so creative. And your staircase photo is amazing!
Have a fabulous day!
This is a great finish. I quilted my first odd shape during this hop too which leaves me curious about your clamps on the frame. What are they? Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down. BTW, I still love the photo with the staircase.
Like you, I don’t decorate for the seasons with the exception of Christmas, and this year I’m going all out by adding three Christmas quilts to my decor. But of course, I need a tree skirt, and your version here fits the bill. Thanks for introducing me to Spiral Nova!
This post is double genius. I love how you have upcycled your ottoman, just beautiful. But the tree skirt? That’s just another level of brilliance altogether. I have been meaning to make one of these for years and have never quite fallen in love enough with an idea to commit. I think that all just changed!! Thanks for sharing at the Chameleon’s Colour & Interest Party.
Beautiful tree skirt, I love your bargello effect! The cube is cute, and pretty!
Your creativity and projects are awesome. Thanks for sharing so openly with all of us, especially with this lock down due to co vid 19.