First project of 2022

Isn’t it fantastic? If you like yellow, or orange you should really check out the new Basics Gradations from Island Batik. This month Ambassadors were challenged to make a lap size or larger quilt using the Gradations samplings they received.

I loved this challenge and the fabrics included in my sampling bundle. My thoughts were all over the place on what to make.

On the right of the bundle below it begins with a very nice orange and steps down moving left to a very pale yellow. Then it continues on to the left of the pale yellow to include a salmon and very rich pinks. It reminds me of looking into a fall bond fire.

The Basics Gradations yardage is available at your local quilt shops. They are not sold as fat quarter bundles. The fabrics that make up Opulent Orange are as follows: Amber, Banana, Bumblebee, Butter, Cantaloupe, Carrot, Cheddar, Cornmeal, Daffodil, Flame, Goldfish, Honey, Lemonade, Oatmeal, Parchment, Pumpkin, Scarlet, Sunny, Tangerine and Taxi. They can be found here.

Some of the products featured on this site were provided to me free of charge by Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Aurifil , AccuQuilt, ByAnnie and Schmetz Needles.

First I cut my fat quarters into 2.5″ strips using the AccuQuilt strip die then placed them randomly in front of me and began sewing the strips together. After I had 19 strips sewn together I then joined it to form a tube. Sorry, I did not take photos of this, I was so deep in thought that it didn’t occur to me until the next photo.

After pressing very well I cut the tubes into 1″, 1.5″, 2″, 2.5″ and 3″ strips then back down to 1″ and placed them on the work table following the cutting order.

Began unstitching the seams. First row, the first seam was ripped, second row the second seam was ripped and continued until all tubes were strips again.

Stitching my rows with Schmetz Needles.

And this is what I ended up using 19 of the 20 shades from the fq bundle.

Then I was kinda lost again and wasn’t sure about a border. There has to be a border to stabilize all of these seams for loading on the longarm. The first thought was Moonstone from the Basics Collection. It was really too pink and blue. MaryMackMadeMine suggested an orange border. Yep, I can do that so pulled Pumpkin also from the Basics Collection.

Pumpkin is an exact match to one of the oranges in Opulent Orange.

I’ve been saving this Tuscany Cotton Wool Blend from Hobbs since last fall. I love love love this batting because it really defines the quilting and this design calls for something to add to the movement.

Rulers are not my strength so I just free handed lines from corner to corner following the movement of the quilt.

For piecing I used Aurifil 50wt thread and quilted using Aurifil 40wt 3 ply for longarms. Purchased both from MaryMackMadeMine, who sells Aurifil in her Etsy shop along with Island Batik fabric. She ships super fast!

If this wasn’t enough already, there was 8″ left of each fat quarter that I am using for another quilt.

Island Batik Ambassadors