Island Batik Ambassador Program - September Challenge

For this month, our challenge was to use a technique that is near and dear to my heart: paper piecing. We were allowed to use foundation paper piecing or English paper piecing, and I chose foundation paper piecing.

This month I was lucky enough to work with Ornate Gems by Kathy Engle.

I'll be honest- I had a heck of a time settling on a pattern for this challenge. I love foundation paper piecing so much, and the choices are so endless! I was a bit overwhelmed and actually had a few false starts before I finally settled on using the Mini Series patterns by Alison Glass and Giucy Giuce- but with a twist. I enlarged the blocks to better show off the beautiful fabric. So my blocks for this project were 7.5" rather than the 4" blocks I used for the Mini Series Sew Along. 

And then, disaster struck. 

While opening a jar of salsa, I felt a POP in my wrist and hand, and was almost knocked over by the pain. After lots of bad words and a visit with an orthopedist, I learned that I had injured a tendon pretty badly. The good news was that I didn't need surgery. The bad news was that my  pinky finger, ring finger, and wrist on my dominant side would have to remain immobilized for a while. No sewing!

Thankfully, after lots of rest and ice, the pain began to ease up and I snuck into my sewing room. The first time I tried to sew, it was a no-go because it made the pain worse. But I tried again a few days later and it felt okay. I asked my doctor if there was any reason not to sew, and he said it was fine! So I was able to finish up my quilt top. 

It's not exactly the vision I had in my head, but I'm still pretty happy with it. I had to modify my original plan to have more paper pieced blocks, and now the quilting will have to wait as well.

Here is a close-up of the paper pieced portion:

I used Schmetz microtex needles and Aurifil thread for this project, and plan to quilt it with Hobbs batting once I am healed up enough to do that.

Please be sure to check out the projects by all of this year's Island Batik Ambassadors:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia

Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Make sure to follow Island Batik on Facebook and Instagram, so that you always stay updated on the beautiful quilts and home decor items from the talented Island Batik Ambassadors and Designers:

Facebook: Island Batik

Instagram: @island_batik

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