Island Batik April Challenge
The April Island Batik Challenge was to create a 36″ or larger quilt with a “Creative Border”. I like flying geese borders and that is where I was leaning but I took the opportunity to try something new, to me. I had this great Crazy Quilt die from AccuQuilt...
and still a great selection of fabrics from the Mesa Verde Collection. The collection was designed by Kathy Engle and is available now.
I started by cutting 10″ squares.
Stacked them on the die
chain pieced
Using 6 different Aurifil threads I tried out some decorative stitching on my machine.
Because I didn’t use a stabilizer I did have to do some squaring .
I decided to add sashing and I wish I had gone narrower (hind sight) but it was just too easy to load the yardage on the 2 1/2″ AccuQuilt strip die.
It does remind me of looking out the window to the ground in the fall.
For my creative border I decided to add Prairie Points, I can’t believe I have never tried them before. They were so much easier than I had convinced myself they would be.
The sun plays with the colors
For batting I used
Giveaway
If you have reached this point you deserve a gift. Where you live in the world will determine what I send you. In order to enter the giveaway leave a comment telling me what your favorite “Creative Border” is and what country you live in. If you do not wish to enter you can still leave a comment just exclude the county name and you will not be entered.
- US residents- A stack of 10″ squares from the Mesa Verde Collection. I’ll even run them through the Crazy Quilt die if you like.
- Non US residents-Your choice of one pdf pattern from my Etsy Shop.
Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm central time Friday April 24th. Winner will be notified by email and announced on April 27th.
Giveaway has ended.
Winners are Wehaf and Gene Black
Those prairie points are pretty! I need to use them on a quilt soon. Thanks for sharing your quilt on Wednesday Wait Loss.
Since this finish I have been thinking what other project I could them to. They weren’t as bad as I thought. thank you for the linkup.
I like to add a triple border: inner and outer with the same fabric, and ‘something interesting’ (like 2” squares, flying geese, etc) in between. I live in VA, USA. [lynnstck(at)yahoo.com]
I’m struggling with a border for a quilt now and will have to try the triple border to see how it looks. Thank you
Love this quilt and the prairie points are perfect! Sometimes I do wish I had some of the other strip dies…one day!
Thank you. I wish I had some of the narrower dies.
Ah, someone who loves batiks as much as I do. Your quilt is lovely. Right now I am using my batiks to make masks. On my blog.
Oh yes, I have almost cleaned out my larger scraps for masks. Once they are gone I will have to make the choice of charging for masks to order more fabric or put an end to my mask making days.
I love scalloped borders, but have not tried one yet. I have a UFO that calls for a prairie point border, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. I really like the border/sashing fabric you chose. It really works well with the blocks. USA
Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ve been questioning the sashing.
p.s. I’m in the USA.
I love the effect of the prairie points in your creative border. I’ve never been very creative with my borders. Was going to be fancy with scallops on one but it ended up being a donation quilt so it just had my usual narrow stop border and wide outer. I’m thinking maybe I’ll try scrappy prairie points on a small quilt soon.
They are for sure a small quilt border as I dont think I would like to tackle them on something very large.
I like the Prairie Points – they really add a nice feature.
They were so much easier than I had convinced myself.
I can’t tell you how much I’m in love with this! I’m Pinning for when I get motived to quilt, again! (Haha, I sew on the regular, but only “dabble” in quilting.)
I enjoyed making the blocks so much I wanted to repeat it with different fabric for the May or June challenge.
Love your quilt! I think you’ll like how I finished my challenge as well 😉 I like to do Piano Key borders, they are fun, too.
I cant wait to see what you did. The last piano key border I did was on a SAS years ago. It was a great way to finish using up scraps.
I love experimenting with borders. Sometimes a big piano key or a half log cabin works. Your colors are great.
Thank you Christi
I’ve never done any fancy borders, but I do like the look of herringbone and braided borders.
That is two I have never tried. Usually I just add flying geese to the border.
Flying geese are lovely! P.S. I mean to mention that I am in the U.S.
Thank you
I never did creative boarders. I love your stashing and how the prairie points repeats the fabrics from the inside the quilt. From the USA.
I’ve done creative borders but never Prairie Points, dont know why I sweated it.
Hi Denise! This is such a fun project. I was 100% certain you were going to use crazy quilt pieces themselves as the border. The fabrics are SO pretty, and putting them together with your decorative stitches really enhances them. Lastly, I adore prairie points – they are easy to make and they look so very, very cute. Hmm. What is my favorite creative border? I usually use just the regular boring one. I love the look of a four-patch in the corner with the two color stripes leading to them. I know – my favorite is the piano keys. Literally, in black and white it looks fabulous or in a multitude of colors is festive. Nice job on your project. ~smile~ Roseanne
Funny, I almost did use the crazy patches for a wonky border but I couldn’t visualize how to bind it. In May I will stepping out of my square binding comfort zone though. I like piano keys too though I’ve not used them in a long time. Do you want to be entered in the fabric giveaway?
Love this Denise. Prairie points are one of my favorite borders. But my most favorite is to take double wedding ring blocks and instead of joining to make a ring, join them with each going a different direction. Makes a great wobbly pieced border. I live in the USA and would love to win!
Would this make a scalloped border? Not sure why I have never made Prairie Points, they were so much easier than I led myself to believe. Thank you for stopping by.
I love the creative border with Prairie Points. The batiks are gorgeous.
Thank you, I see more in my future.
Wow, I love how this turned out! It looks like fields seen from an airplane window!!! Beautiful! And those prairie points are a fabulous touch. I have prarie points on my quilty bucket list but have not tackled them yet. Did you use a specific tutorial or method? My LQS is doing a challenge where you pick a technique on your bucket list and make a mini, then when they re-open they will have a “show” in the shop. I haven’t decided what to make but Prairie Points are on the list of possibilities.
They were so easy.I watched several YT videos before starting, some were very technical. Just cut the squares with the AccuQuilt, folded and eyed them for placement. Such a quick finish.
My favorite creative border is a randomly pieced border that echoes the fabrics in the blocks. I like the prairie points on your quilt. They really aren’t that hard to do but I wouldn’t do them on a very big quilt. I live in the US in the very Southern state of Alabama.
This was the perfect size to try something different, like you I wouldnt want to try it on a large quilt. Thank you for stopping by Gene.
Your prairie points sure made this quilt pop. I’ve never tried them. I do enjoy making a scalloped border for something fun.
A scalloped border is one I have not tried. As much as I’ve tried I just cant visualize binding it.