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Pieced to Perfection Blog Hop

Whos ready to see some amazing FPP and EPP projects? This month its:


Click the image above to join the blog hop raffle!


That means its time to blog hop, join in on some fun, check out new fabric bundles and possibly win some goodies along the way; so be sure to follow @Island_Batik on instagram and check back with all the ambassadors as we post our projects.


I was lucky enough to work with the Buds and Blooms collection this month. This fabric is bright and bold and full of fall colors, fall leafs and florals. The yellows are bright and bold and the oranges are saturated and deep. The plum color is probably my favorite as its so rich and perfect for depth.

At first glance, and as I mentioned in my unboxing video, this fabric reminded me of a sunset. However, lets not forget the sunset I did last month. So, since I didn't want to repeat the design idea from last month, and was feeling a little stuck on ideas. I started to do my usual pinterest hunt. I search and search ... and searched some more. I even designed an entire quilt, but ended up scratching the entire thing, because as my husband and I were having a chat one night our German Shepherd dog, Lily, was running around and wanting to play. I realized how much joy, happiness, excitement, and energy she has. It really reminded me of the fabric. If I could pick colors for Lily it would be bright and bold colors, like these yellows and plum/pinks. She is a ball of energy and I love when she runs around and gets the zoomies.






















Our Lily is always under my feet, watching or guarding the stairs while I work and she is always near me to give cuddles, on her terms of course. She has helped me heal and has given me something to get up for (even in the middle of the night.)


Alright back to the design. I love my Lily baby and felt this collection would shine as a German Shepherd FPP. So naturally, I sat down and designed a FPP pattern of a GS dog and got to work.

I spent about an hour printing, cutting and glueing all the pieces of papers together.


I prepared my fabric with my color cordinating numbers. I had several fabrics for each number so I placed them all under the one number. The numbers I am referring to are the color indication numbers that are printed on the paper pattern pieces.


I chose the solid Grey as my background which was perfect for this fall themed collection. I also used the white and black for the teeth, eyes and parts of the mouth.


I then began to piece my pattern together. Helpful Pro Tip: use a basting stitch in your seam allowance to hold large pieces of fabric in place which will then make trimming and sewing easier later on.


The top was pieced and sewn together in a little over a days worth of work time. I work faster then most because by the time I am done designing the pattern I have it pretty much memorized.


Pro Tip number 2: press your seams open, after you sew each section together. This helps with those bulky or thicker seams. When you press them open the thickness is reduced.


Once all my sections were ready to be sewn together I always lay them out to be sure I 1. have them all and 2. that they all are sewn in the correct colors. I can catch any mistakes at this point and change them if need be.


Then I follow the directions to sew all the sections together. You can see above I have the sections some what sewn together in bigger chunks, then I sew those bigger chunks together. The fun part about FPP is when everything starts to go from fabric on paper to fabric in a design/image.


... and now the top is done. I did come up with a few different design ideas as well. You could sew this as a traditional design GS dog but you could also do:

















You could even do solid colors and get a brilliant design as well.


Now on to the boring part of FPP, pulling the paper off the back!


Never fun for me, but it does usually mean I am one step closer to having this project done. This usually take me about an hour or two depending on the size of the project. Pro Tip 3: let your kids help remove the paper as they love to rip stuff and have little fingers that can help remove those small pieces.


I then used Hobbs cotton batting and the Island Batik Chalk fabric as my batting and backing.






















The cotton batting worked wonderfully as I free motion quilted and the chalk fabric was a perfect nuetral for the colorful Buds and Blooms collection. Once everything was sandwhiched I then got started free motion quilting this beautiful quilt. I decided on some feathers in the background and some added texture to the GS dog. I used my Aurifil pink (2415) thread for the dog as it blended well with the colorful fabrics, and the darker grey (5004) thread for my background.


Once I was done with the free motion quilting I then sat down and hand sewed the binding on. This is the best feeling ever, as it usually means you are almost done! I love how this aurifil thread just slides through the batik fabric so well.


I had a perfect sunny day as I stepped out in to the backyard to get a few photos of the quilt. I did also get some help from my Lily girl. I hope you enjoy her happy, smiling adorable face.





I always love showing the back so you can see this beautiful thread, chalk fabric and how both the pink and dark grey thread blend so well in this fabric.


Well, thats it for me this week. Be sure to check your local quilt shops and ask if they have the Buds and Blooms fabric in stock or any gorgeous Island Batik fabric. Grab a handful and make this dog FPP pattern yourself (pattern will be in the shop soon).


Be sure to check out all the blogs on the blog hop and cath up with the hop over on instagram. I will be sharing as these weeks go on so be sure to check my stories on IG as well.


Boatright, Pamela: www.Pamelaquilts.com

Deshensky, Susan: www.ladybluequilts.com

Hatziioannidi, Mania: www.maniaforquilts.com

McAuliffe, Maryellen: https://www.marymackmademine.com/


Thanks everyone for checking out my quilt this week! I am so happy with it and can not wait to see what everyone else creates this month. Let me know if you all want more pro tips in the future,


Stay safe, stay healthy and be kind.

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