The Great Outdoors Blog Hop and Giveaway

Rotation with Dizzy Quilter

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.

Fur-ocious friends dizzy quilter

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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 QuiltsCreative Blonde

Tuesday, August 7 – Birds N’ Bees
Ark Angel CreationsPatterns by Jen

Wednesday, August 8 – Canterbury Manor
Sally MankePowered by Quilting

Thursday, August 9 – Eclectic Garden
Desert Bloom QuiltingSew Karen-ly Created

Friday, August 10 – Vintage Morris
MooseStash QuiltingDevoted Quilter

WEEK 2

Monday, August 13 – Safari
Sew Incredibly CrazySweetGrass Designs

Tuesday, August 14 – Spring Blossoms
Mary Mack Made MineIf These Threads Could Talk

Wednesday, August 15 – Victoria and Albert
Bejeweled QuiltsClever Chameleon

Thursday, August 16 – Wild Things
Freemotion by the RiverKauffman Designs

Friday, August 17 – Petting Zoo
Den Syende HimmelSarah Goer Quilts

WEEK 3

Monday, August 20 – Ocean Odyssey
Toby LischkoKaren Overton

Tuesday, August 21 – British Rose
Busy Hands QuiltsMania for Quilts

Wednesday, August 22 – Dear William
The Inquiring QuilterMMM QuiltsLiving Water Quilter

Thursday, August 23 – Dragonfly Dreams
Inchworm FabricsBeaQuilter

Friday, August 24 – Fur-ocious Friends
Quilting Affection DesignsDizzy Quilter

WEEK 4

Monday, August 27 – Globetrotter
Pamela QuiltsCurliecue Creations

Tuesday, August 28 – Jungle Cruise
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting, Little Bunny Quilts

Wednesday, August 29 – Lavendula
Carole Lyles ShawMasterpiece Quilting

Thursday, August 30 – London Calling
Quilt in a Not-ShellLizard Creek Quilting

Friday, August 31 – Spirit Rhythm
Steph JacobsonWhispers of Yore

WEEK 5

Monday, September 3 – Sweet Tweets
Kathleen McMusingAdventurous Appliqué and Quilting

Tuesday, September 4 – Whatnot
heARTS CreationsSlice of Pi Quilts

Finally, don’t miss out on the giveaway being hosted by Island Batik!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

91 thoughts on “The Great Outdoors Blog Hop and Giveaway

  1. 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//

    1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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!

  5. 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.

  6. Big, bright, and beautiful! Your quilt is just luscious! Hope you and your fur babies love your new neighborhood!

  7. 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 🙂

    1. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Beautiful quilt. I am always impressed with what you ambassador’s come up with EVERY month!! Thanks for sharing!

  10. 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??

  11. 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

    1. 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.

  12. Beautiful quilt! I enjoy hand stitching outside in the Fall or Winter. Living in Florida makes it too hot in the Spring and Summer.

  13. 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.

    1. Thanks! The commute is so much better here, and we can walk to all kinds of shops and restaurants now.

      1. Jen, That’s fabulous! And I’m so excited that I won the 10″ squares, feeling so fortunate!!!

  14. 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.

  15. 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!

  16. Your quilt is so bright and beautiful–love it! I like to hand stitch my bindings while sitting out on our deck.

  17. 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!

    1. I guess I forgot to mention it. I named the pattern Rotation. I enjoy hand stitching outdoors.

  18. I enjoy stitching outside during the spring and fall when the weather is pretty and comfortable. It’s relaxing.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. 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!

  22. Love the colors and movement of your quilt. I like hand stitching outside if the light and temperature are reasonable.

  23. 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.

  24. 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.

  25. 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.

  26. 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.

  27. Beautiful quilt! I can’t wait for the pattern release. I don’t stitch outside – too afraid of getting the fabric dirty. Thanks!

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

  30. 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.

  31. Love the way you coupled the busy fabrics with the quiet ones! Opposites work perfectly in this design!

  32. Your quilt is Fabulous💚💚💚
    Yes, I enjoy stitching outdoors. I’ve been known to take quilting to the beach…😉

  33. 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.

  34. 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

  35. 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.

  36. 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.

  37. Your quilt is absolutely gorgeous! I love doing hand stitching outdoors. Thanks for the inspiration!

  38. 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.

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