November’s theme for Island Batik ambassadors is TOOL TIME!
no…. not Tim the tool-man Taylor! but a quilting tool!!
I wrecked my brain and also asked about what is a considered a tool. My favorite “tool” is really the GO! cutter and all the dies and we have recently highlighted Accuquilt, but I can’t help myself! I love Accuquilt and have tons of dies!!
BUT it’s really not the tool I decided to highlight!
It’s instead my embroidery machine!
It’s a Brother PR620 6 needle machine and I LOVE IT! (sorry it’s a blurry picture)
and of course it’s great at combining embroidery files and Accuquilt! in fact Accuquilt has lots of embroidery files on their website! and several are FREE!
but that was after I had picked first this strip set from Island Batik called “Islander”
and matching yardage
I found a pattern in a book I had and then I had to decide which die to use, and after looking at the batiks I decided on the birds.
I didn’t use all the strips in the Island set but this was my plan so far.
I cut out the bird pieces and embroidered 21 bird blocks with this file on a white blender that was also part of our IB box. I didn’t realize that all the wings are embroidered and don’t use fabric at all, so now I have 21 wings leftover 😉
I planned it carefully with what kind of bird it should be and if it should turn left or right and also the embroidery files are different, there’s different options for each bird so I added that in the mix too.
I love the end result!
It measures 56″ x 64″
I quilted curves on the blocks
and bubbles on the inner border and feathers on the outer border
The backing I pieced together from scraps!
What’s your favorite tool?
I’ll be giving away this purple owl pincushion and a pack of 5″ strips (there’s 3 rolls and there’s several strips in each roll)
Just comment below, maybe mention what your favorite tool is!?
Do you love Accuquilt as much as I do? do you have an embroidery machine?
I do enjoy using both my Go cutter and my embroidery machine.
great minds think alike Gene! I want to incorporate embroidery more into my quilts, it’s a lot of fun!
Your birds are really sweet. My favorite tool is is a new one. I just got a wool pressing may and I love it! My blocks are so nice and flat when I open them.
I don’t have one of those, but I know what they are…
Almost wants to make me relearn all the embroidery stuff I have! Cute quilt and of course great fabric!
re-learn? you never un-learn it… go for it!
Love your quilt, so fun and even more fun making it.
Thanks it was!
Absolutely adorable. Love how it turned out.
thanks! it was fun to make
This is so beautiful, Bea! I love the birds! I have that die on my accuquilt wishlist. I am so envious of your die collection!
My favorite all-the-time tool is probably the 1/4″ foot for my sewing machine. I also love wonder clips, my spinning mat for trimming blocks, and of course my accuquilt go!
My favorite tool? I guess it would be my collection of rulers. I’m so jealous of your sewing room!! I’d LOVE to have an Accuquilt and great dies… not to mention a long arm! Oh, maybe one day….
I’ve very Blessed that I have an awesome room, tools and time and space for my hobby! If you are looking for a long arm, look for a used or refurbished one!
Your quilt is adorable. I love the Accuquilt Go and have enjoyed mine so much. I’m intrigued by your embroidery, for sure, but I have no time right now. Your pincushion is super sweet.
the embroidery is SEW much fun, you set it and forget it for a while while it does it’s thing! do you have an embroidery machine?
Hi my favourite tools are my Accuquilt GO and dies, my Bonnie Hunter’s Bonus Buddy ruler, and strong tape and an old store card, combine these with my trusty Janome and I can continue to sew independently on my machine. I lost most of my sight sight just over three years ago and now sew by feel both by hand and machine.
I can feel the die edges for fabric placement (I bought my Go and all the available Qubes and a few other dies before my sight loss was diagnosed and I had cut out tumblers using a fat quarter pack of 30 fat quarters of Cocoon by Valori Wells- that Collection had 24 different fabrics so six of the fabrics were repeated). Then I got my diagnosis and was too busy learning the basics of living blind (cooking, cleaning, walking to the shops without getting run over). Then I needed to learn new techniques for machine sewing and to assess if my hand sewing was good enough to pass my quality control (I don’t want people looking at my work and saying “Well she tried her best. Not bad for a blind woman”) After several practice pieces from “found” fabric (old clothes and old bed linen) and cheaper fabric I finally got the tumblers sewn into a top in May this year and it is awaiting quilting.
I’m still finding ways to do new things
wow! that’s amazing?! did you tell Accuquilt this?
I’ve mentioned it in comments on their Facebook page
Your quilt with the birds is so sweet! My favorite tool that I have is a 6 x 24 inch ruler with a built in rotary cutter. It makes cutting strips so easy and quick.
My favorite tool is my beaded stiletto. A local person makes them and I use it all the time for appliqué
I have one of those too, but rarely use it, I think I just forget I have it.
I love rulers; all kinds!! Thanks. Bea. That is a lovely quilt
thanks it was fun to make!
Love this quilt and what you did with this. I am always intrigued by the embrodiery files/machines but right now I think that is not a tool I will add. Getting a ocmputer on my longarm is where I am headed, even if it is a small long arm, I know I am going to love it!! Exclude me from the drawing, as an ambassdaor I have plenty of fabric right now!!
You could still get an owl if you want? yeah I’m really “thinking” about a computer for my long arm too!
I love your quilt. It’s so pretty with those colors. My favorite tool is my sewing nippers that belonged to my mother, but I don’t know how I would be able to represent that in a quilt.
make a quilt and show how you used it? good luck
Hello, I love your birds they would look cute on a birdhouse quilt I am working on. My favorite tool right now is a new rotary cutter that has the turned handle instead of straight, it works great for anyone who has arthritis in their hands, so much easier to hold onto. Thank you for the drawing.
cool! I’ve seen that but didn’t like it, maybe I didn’t try it enough. good luck
It works great if you can’t hold onto things with your thumbs, most of the pressure is in the palm of your hand.
I love your birds! This quilt is beautiful. My favorite tool, besides my Rotary Cutter, is my pair of Olfa applique scissors. They are sharp down to the very tip, which makes clipping thread ends easy.
I love good sharp scissors too! good luck
What a great idea to combine embroidery files with quilting! I have an embroidery machine, also, but have only used it on a quilt to add a name. You’ve given me new ideas!
My favorite sewing tools are my Kai scissors. I have 3 pair in different sizes and they are so perfect!
duchick at gmail dot com
gotta love good scissors! yeah doing embroidery on quilts is fun!!
Thank you for drawing my name. I can’t wait for it to get here. Love the Owl pincushion. and the fabric is a bonus prize as far as I’m concerned. Thank you again. Cyndy
I love my bias tape makers. I NEED my seam ripper.
ha ha yeah two different tools