Quilting Affection Designs: Island Batik Ambassador

The month of June's Challenge was called "Try it!" I wasn't sure what project I was going to do until Spring Market. Deb Tucker Studio 180 Design announced the newest tool, "Wedge Star," and I was going to learn how to use it at the Certified Instruction annual training event in June. Then I knew what I wanted to do right away for my challenge project.

So, I looked through my Island Batik collection of fabrics and found four different fabrics I needed to make for the Free pattern located on the back of the instructions of the new tool. All four fabrics colors are from the Island Batik Basic Collection. The colors I used in this project are Valentino, Plum, Mardigras, and Grey. All the fabrics except for the grey were purchased at "Annie's Quilt Shop" in Shelton Washington, while I was visiting my mom in February. I just fell in love with the fabric combination.

The Wedge Star™ Tool was designed to make traditional Kaleidoscope Blocks. You can make 22 different sizes, ranging from 3" finished to 24" finished. The Instructions comes with instructions on how to make three basic blocks.

Using the tool is very easy to cut out your wedge and Diamond Shapes. I like to use paper plates to organize my pieces and fabrics for my projects.

Once you have all your diamonds and small wedges cut out it is highly recommended to lay out your pieces so you can easily access them and keep organized as you piece the diamond and wedge shapes together.

Not only is the tool used for cutting out your shapes. It is also used for trimming down your oversized pieces. The process is very similar to your Rapid Fire® Lemoyne Star pieces.

Another block you can make is the Mixed Block Wedge Block where you sew Large Wedges and Diamond Wedges together. You finish up the block with adding triangles around the corners and trimming to size using your Tucker Trimmer® III Tool.

The Wedge Star™ Tool is a fun tool to use, and I love making the blocks with the great Island Batik Basic Fabrics. I hope you will give it a try sometime, you can purchase the tool from your local quilt shop or visit the Studio 180 Design website. I should note when making the projects that I use Auriful 50wt thread. I finished my quilt using Hobbs Heirloom Natural Cotton Batting.

Now it is time to start thinking about my next Island Batik Project for the July. Also, be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassador blogs list below.