Welcome to my stop on the Great Outdoors Blog Hop, featuring the Fur-ocious Friends collection from Island Batik! Be sure to read the entire post to enter two fabulous giveaways!
As summer winds down and temperatures cool off, it’s time to get outside and explore the great outdoors. We’ve had a busy week here at Dizzy Quilter. My family has relocated again! This time we are seeking a shorter commute and better quality of life. With the new neighborhood has come sidewalks. The dogs and I have been taking advantage of them, and the cooler weather. I’ll probably break down soon, and make my annual investment into daffodil bulbs.
This month’s project is made with the fabrics from the surprise bundle I received in my first Island Batik Ambassador box. They are available in stores now.
The collection is called Fur-ocious friends, and is made up of a rainbow of animal prints.
I designed an original quilt for this project – I wanted to use each print in the collection, and I wanted large pieces to showcase the details of the fabric.
This is the block I created. I did research with members of my guild, and we were not able to find it in any quilt block encyclopedias or reference guides. If you know a name for it, please let me know.
When I began this design, I started with the idea of using up a bundle of fat quarters. I may or may not have a bundle addiction.
Usually cutting fabric is a chore, but with these pieces it was just plain fun. The 2 1/2″ strips did not end up being used in the binding, as originally planned, as I was not able to locate them after moving. They will be put to good use at a later date.
Even trimming the flying geese units wasn’t so bad, as the trimmings were so pretty.
I used the sample batting provided to me by Hobbs in my second Ambassador box. It is a 100% cotton, and may be my new favorite cotton batting. The hand of my finished quilt is wonderful. I can’t wait to run it through the wash to get that comfy crinkle going.
Here is my finished quilt. I was a little pressed for time, so better photos will be taken soon. They will be posted on my Instagram feed, so if you don’t follow me there, now is your chance! I opted for no border on the quilt, for a more modern look.
I do plan on releasing this pattern for purchase later this year. I still have to write up the instructions and have it tested. (I’ll be posting a call for testers in late September – let me know if you are interested in trying it out.)
These fabrics are a lot of fun to play with. I enjoyed them so much, that I want you to have a chance to play, too. Before cutting my pieces, I set aside a 10″ square of each fabric in the collection. You can use the Rafflecopter Widget below to enter to win them.
Need more inspiration? Visit my fellow ambassadors as they work with the 2018 Spring/Summer fabric lines.
WEEK 1
Monday, August 6 – All A Flutter
Yellow Cat Quilts, Creative Blonde
Tuesday, August 7 – Birds N’ Bees
Ark Angel Creations, Patterns by Jen
Wednesday, August 8 – Canterbury Manor
Sally Manke, Powered by Quilting
Thursday, August 9 – Eclectic Garden
Desert Bloom Quilting, Sew Karen-ly Created
Friday, August 10 – Vintage Morris
MooseStash Quilting, Devoted Quilter
WEEK 2
Monday, August 13 – Safari
Sew Incredibly Crazy, SweetGrass Designs
Tuesday, August 14 – Spring Blossoms
Mary Mack Made Mine, If These Threads Could Talk
Wednesday, August 15 – Victoria and Albert
Bejeweled Quilts, Clever Chameleon
Thursday, August 16 – Wild Things
Freemotion by the River, Kauffman Designs
Friday, August 17 – Petting Zoo
Den Syende Himmel, Sarah Goer Quilts
WEEK 3
Monday, August 20 – Ocean Odyssey
Toby Lischko, Karen Overton
Tuesday, August 21 – British Rose
Busy Hands Quilts, Mania for Quilts
Wednesday, August 22 – Dear William
The Inquiring Quilter, MMM Quilts, Living Water Quilter
Thursday, August 23 – Dragonfly Dreams
Inchworm Fabrics, BeaQuilter
Friday, August 24 – Fur-ocious Friends
Quilting Affection Designs, Dizzy Quilter
WEEK 4
Monday, August 27 – Globetrotter
Pamela Quilts, Curliecue Creations
Tuesday, August 28 – Jungle Cruise
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting, Little Bunny Quilts
Wednesday, August 29 – Lavendula
Carole Lyles Shaw, Masterpiece Quilting
Thursday, August 30 – London Calling
Quilt in a Not-Shell, Lizard Creek Quilting
Friday, August 31 – Spirit Rhythm
Steph Jacobson, Whispers of Yore
WEEK 5
Monday, September 3 – Sweet Tweets
Kathleen McMusing, Adventurous Appliqué and Quilting
Tuesday, September 4 – Whatnot
heARTS Creations, Slice of Pi Quilts
Finally, don’t miss out on the giveaway being hosted by Island Batik!
I love your quilt but no I don’t stitch outside. Too windy, too dusty for me.
Thank you!
Your quilt is beautiful!
I enjoy stitching outdoors, but most often the weather doesn’t cooperate.
Thanks!
I’m an indoor stitcher. Loving these fabrics and your quilt
Thanks so much!
Love the new fabric. I keep looking at the images, seeking out the various animal representations. Mostly I see reptile skins…lol. What I like is how bright the line is. Any quilt made with that fabric has to bring a smile. Your pattern is cute. My thinking cap is on for a name — “Geese surround” or “Boxed in” come to mind. I’m amazed you can get this done with the moving! I hope your new home is blessed with happiness and calm. Enjoy the outdoors! No sewing outside for me.
Mary / https://Stitchinggrandma.wordpress.com//
The photos aren’t the greatest, are they? There are snake skins, turtle shells, cheetah, leopard, and giraffe. And one with a floral/fern print.
Most of the work was completed well before the move.
I love taking my sewing with me to the beach. I love stitch and people watch.
Me, too!
I love your quilt–very beautiful.
No, I don’t like to stitch outdoors. For some reason, insects love me and come to pester me when I go outside. Thank you so much for your giveaway.
Thanks, and good luck!
Wow. Your quilt is colorfully beautiful. the colors are so saturated. I love doing most things outdoors when the weather cooperates but sewing in front of an open window wifh a nice breeze serves as my outdoor stitching.
Thanks! I can’t wait for breezy fall weather where I can have the windows open all day.
I love the block you created. It does remind me of one that you often see called Flying Geese, but it is nicely different. I love the way you can see the fabrics, which was not an easy task! Keep me on the list for testers – if timing is good happy to help!
Thanks! I will definitely put you on my list.
Your quilt is beautiful. I love how you used the triangles to showcase the larger prints. This is such a fun and happy quilt. Thank you for sharing and inspiring today. No I dont sew outside. I tried it numerous times at different times of day and year and I always just get too sweaty. Dont like that on the quilt I am making.
Thank you! Yeah, sweaty sewing isn’t much fun.
Big, bright, and beautiful! Your quilt is just luscious! Hope you and your fur babies love your new neighborhood!
Thanks so much! We are all loving it here.
Your quilt is lovely – love those batiks! I don’t stitch outdoors but I would love to try it!
Thank you! You should give it a try – it can be so peaceful.
I love your wuilt, but I have never sewn outside. I will have to give it a try.
Thanks!
I’m sure you’ll find the strips when you unpack and it will be fun to see the pops of color on another finish. It’s a bright and fun quilt!
Thanks! Yeah, the strips definitely will not go to waste.
Your quilt is Awesome!! Love the Pattern & fabrics!! Wow!! Happy New Home too!! Enjoy settling in, and can’t wait to see your Studio!! 🙂 No..don’t stitch outside…maybe next year tho…we plan to fix up the porch nice & screen it in! 😀 Then bet we spend lots of time out there… Thank you too, for chance to win your Give-a-way 🙂
Thank you! A screened porch sounds great. I’m itching to sit and stitch in the new backyard, but we seem to entered mosquito season.
I tried once to sew outdoors, but could not get comfortable. Too much “breeze” would move the blocks from the stack, etc. You have to have just the right spot, I guess.
sometimes I like to do my paper piecing if it isn’t breezy
I have never tried stitching outdoors–might be interesting!
bjkaup(at)(abbnebraska)(dot)(com)
Love batiks! Sometimes hand stitching outside, but with a short cool season, not much!
Beautiful quilt. I am always impressed with what you ambassador’s come up with EVERY month!! Thanks for sharing!
Your quilt is so beautiful! Love the bright colors and combination of colors – and your block!! I live in the south, and we “wear” our weather here, so stitching outdoors would not be fun, unless it’s a nice fall or spring day!!! Maybe handstitching??
I did some time in Florida and Texas. I know about wearing your weather.
I posted a comment but it seems to have disappeared! At any rate, I love your quilt the colors of the fabrics and pattern work so well together. As for stitching outdoors…we “wear” our weather here in the south, so that is not something I would enjoy unless it’s maybe hand stitching on a nice fall or spring day!!! LOL
Thank you! I have “moderated comments” on, so I have to approve them before they post. Today was a teaching day for me, so I wasn’t as responsive as usual.
I would rather sew indoors. These bright batiks are wonderful.
I really only do my crafting and stitching indoors. Very pretty quilt!
Outdoors is to buggy, but has great light.
Beautiful quilt! I enjoy hand stitching outside in the Fall or Winter. Living in Florida makes it too hot in the Spring and Summer.
two many bugs outside for me
Love this quilt! No sewing outside, too many allergy issues. I like to play with my dogs or plants when I’m outside. No deck setup either. Congratulations on the move, so glad you found and got something quickly! That NYC Commute does take effort.
Thanks! The commute is so much better here, and we can walk to all kinds of shops and restaurants now.
Jen, That’s fabulous! And I’m so excited that I won the 10″ squares, feeling so fortunate!!!
Woo! Hoo! You have been BUSY!
Yess I do… much better light,and I can throw the ball for my dog…lol too things I enjoy doing…..happyness04431@yahoo.com
I love quilting outdoors… if it isn’t too hot! It seems that we are cooped up indoors all winter so it’s nice to enjoy the fresh air on our front deck, with a cup of tea and quilt.
Just catching up on the blog hop. Love the colors in this collection! I also love how you combined them, by first separating out the yellows. So pretty!
What a happy quilt! I have never done machine stitching outside! Would be nice i think!
Your quilt is so bright and beautiful–love it! I like to hand stitch my bindings while sitting out on our deck.
Oh, such a pretty quilt! What will you name it? I’ve often thought of what it would be like to take my sewing machine out on the deck in the evening, but it would be quite a task to take it downstairs. I do enjoy hand stitching on the porch, though! The dogs will sit near me and I can watch the neighborhood kids play….it’s very enjoyable!
I guess I forgot to mention it. I named the pattern Rotation. I enjoy hand stitching outdoors.
I enjoy stitching outside during the spring and fall when the weather is pretty and comfortable. It’s relaxing.
I’ll stitch anywhere I can. Stitching outdoors is enjoyable..
What a beautiful quilt. I love the bright colors. I don’t care to stitch outdoors because the sun is too bright and I have to wear sunglasses. Then it is difficult to see the stitches. Yet, I use a very bright light in my sewing area…seems like a contradiction but the sewing light and the sunlight are different.
I don’t enjoy quilting outdoors. The sun n the desert is too bright and hot in the summer, which is when I have the most time to quilt.
I do like to stitch outdoors. I was raised in Southern Cal, and love the sunshine. Now I live in the Pacific NW, and can’t get enough summer, so I like to do anything I can outdoors. It will be raining soon enough, and for months on end. So I stitch outside if I get a chance. Great question. And great quilt!
Love the colors and movement of your quilt. I like hand stitching outside if the light and temperature are reasonable.
Lovely choice of fabrics in the batiks range. Outdoors, no, never, but the room do most of my sewing in has windows on 3 sides, so wonderful daylight and sunshine all the time. And in winter, the fire keeps it warm and cosy.
Absolutely! I love doing handwork outside. On quilt retreats especially I’ll take a hand sewing project so that I can sit outside and sew.
I usually don’t Sew outside but I do take my crochet along Live the quilt
Fun fabrics! I love the scale of the blocks.
I love to stitch outside. I save hand stitching until it is a pleasant day outside. I have also been known to set up my sewing machine on the deck. Pure bliss. Thanks for sharing your wonderful design.
I propose the name ‘Dizzy Geese’ for the block. I have not done hand sewing since… decades, I think…! so I can’t remember the last time I did any sewing outdoors. I am hoping when I get my new glasses to pick up hand sewing though, if my hands allow it. I love these blocks. I don’t normally like animal prints, because it makes me think of an animal being killed for their pelt, but by using rainbow colours, Island Batiks has gotten past that association for me and let me just enjoy the pattern.
Lovely quilt, great block. Well done on getting this finished on top of your move – impressive!
Really cute
Beautiful quilt! I can’t wait for the pattern release. I don’t stitch outside – too afraid of getting the fabric dirty. Thanks!
The quilt is so lively and colorful! So pretty! I like it outside for the light but don’t enjoy sewing outdoors because little bits tend to blow away or drop on the ground when I’m sewing.
I love that batting! Used it in my challenge project too, and it washes up wonderfully, as do the batiks, and are so soft and cuddly. Great quilt! The block looks familiar but can’t bring anything to mind, just Dutchman’s Puzzle. Your quilt is wonderful Jen.
When I was a teenager, my next door neighbor and I sat outside in the shade, making fabric yo-yo’s. My grandmother lived in the country and we had grown bored with nothing to do. It was fun to cut out the circles from a cardboard pattern, and just had a race to see how many we could make.
Love the way you coupled the busy fabrics with the quiet ones! Opposites work perfectly in this design!
I love your quilt; It really shows the various fabrics.
I don’t stitch outdoors, too windy.
Your quilt is Fabulous💚💚💚
Yes, I enjoy stitching outdoors. I’ve been known to take quilting to the beach…😉
I like to sit on the porch and bind. We have a rocker or a glider, so depending on the angle of the sun, it’s a great place to sit and stitch.
I don’t think I could concentrate if I tried sewing outdoors
Hi Jen! I am very happy I don’t have to sew outside. It’s WAY too hot and humid this summer, and I really enjoy my sewing room. Outdoors is all there for bugs and dirt and stuff – and people who enjoy it. HAHA! I hope the move went well – I was thinking of you and wondering how Oscar did. It looks like he is enjoying the sidewalks! Happy Monday, friend! ~smile~ Roseanne
I sew in the breezeway on my machine and do some hand sewing outside. Great pattern.
Ooh! Such a lovely quilt! I would love to sew in a screened in porch.
Your quilt is lovely and looks so comfy. I have never stitched outdoors, perhaps I’ll give it a try with some small hand stitching project.
I love this pattern. It seems traditional, but I can’t place a name on it, either. I think it would make a wonderful American Hero quilt in scrappy red/white/blue, with a little gold thrown in for good measure. I’d be interested in pattern testing it. Your batik blocks are fabulous, and these are some of my favorite new batiks.
I don’t stitch outdoors–too hard to deal with wind, bugs & glare issues!
Your quilt is absolutely gorgeous! I love doing hand stitching outdoors. Thanks for the inspiration!
Living in Florida it’s really too hot to sew outdoors. Love this fabric line.
I love stitching outside. The sunshine and fresh air are wonderful.
There are such fun colors in this!
I LOVE stitching outside. My dad rents a cabin the mountains of Virginia every year and my favorite thing to do is sit on the porch, watch the birds, and sew.
That sounds wonderful. I like the birds, too.
Yes, I enjoy stitching outdoors.
Your quilt is beautiful, Jen! Your block reminds me of the Dutchman’s puzzle block, but that has two geese facing each direction 🙂
I thought it was Dutchman’s puzzle, too, until I looked it up.