Thursday, March 26, 2026

Freedom Rings Blog Hop - Liberty Rings Pattern

Welcome to my day during the Studio 180 Design Freedom Rings Blog Hop! This week, a couple of my fellow Certified Instructors and I are sharing some great projects made from Studio 180 Designs newest fabric collection, Freedom Rings by Island Batik for Lumin Fabrics. 

The Deb Tucker Studio 180 Design team has created another fantastic fabric collection. This collection celebrates the colors of the United States in honor of this year's Semiquincentennial. It features a stunning array of reds, whites, and blues, along with some of the most beautiful golds I've seen in a while.  This collection is now arriving in your local quilt shops. If they don’t have it yet, please ask for it.

I have created a new quilt pattern that shows the colors of the Freedom Rings collection. Liberty Rings is a simple quilt that fuses traditional quilt blocks with modern design elements. Let me share the fabrics, components, and tools needed to bring this beautiful quilt to life within this collection.

I chose six fabrics from the collection, including three shades of blue, as well as white, red, and gold, to enhance the quilt top's design. Additionally, I selected a bright white fabric to add brightness and create highlights throughout the quilt.

The Star Block was created using the Studio 180 Design Wing Clipper, which enables the construction of flying geese units in various sizes, along with the Four Patch Square Up tool. To make this block stand out, I chose a white background, light blue for the center star, and gold and dark blue for the outer star and four patches, allowing the blocks to connect seamlessly.

The Lemoyne Star block utilizes white and off-white fabric for the background. The star itself features a two-color design using light blue and red. I really love how this block showcases the color combination. It's easy to create with the Studio 180 Design Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star tool, and it's trimmed with the Tucker Trimmer III to ensure a perfect block.

This simple two-block quilt pattern is available in various sizes: Lap 61” x 73”, Twin 76” x 88”, and Queen 90” x 102”, perfect for your couch or bed.  

You can order this pattern from my website in either digital PDF format or as a physical copy. Additionally, my pattern is available for purchase at Amy's Quilt Room in Uniontown, PA. If you're a shop interested in carrying my patterns, please visit my wholesale page for more information. 

Don't forget to explore the additional blog post about this beautiful collection, along with new and remake project ideas featured in this week's Freedom Rings Blog Hop.

March 26th - Tina Dillard, Quilting Affection Designs - Liberty Rings 

Friday, December 12, 2025

Island Batik Ambassador December - It's All Up To You Challenge


For the final challenge of 2025, the Island Batik Ambassadors had complete freedom to create anything they wanted using Island Batik fabrics. It could be any size, theme, or technique.


I checked my stash of Island Batik Fabrics and discovered I had an Island Batik Fossil Finesse Layer Cake, which consists of 10" squares. I absolutely love the teals, blues, and purples in this collection. With this fabric in hand, I began to consider what I could create.

 

One of my goals for the upcoming year is to make more patterns from the Deb Tucker Studio 180 Design for samples to showcase at Trunk Shows. As a pattern designer, I rarely get to create quilts using Studio 180 Design patterns. Therefore, I want to make a sample. I decided to work on a Studio 180 Design pattern using 10" squares. 


 

I decided to create the Love Links quilt pattern, available in eight sizes, ranging from Wall to King/Queen. This pattern requires the Wing Clipper tool to make interlocking chevrons. I chose to make the 26" x 28" size, which uses 10 of the 10" squares from my Layer Cake. Additionally, I used my favorite solid fabric for the background: White. I love keeping this fabric in my stash.





The flying geese were quick and easy to create with the Studio 180 Design Wing Clipper tool.


After all the geese were made, it was time to lay out the Flying Geese and fill in the pieces to create rows. This quilt is quick and easy to make. I fell in love with this pattern, especially how the interlocking chevrons seem to float throughout the quilt.


After completing the Love Links quilt top, I realized I had a significant number of leftover 10-inch squares. Inspired by this, I decided to create another sample. Studio 180 Design was releasing a new pattern called "Twinkle," which I found pretty cute. This pattern creates the illusion of floating stars across the quilt top and is available in eight sizes. It requires the Wing Clipper tool and can be constructed from 10-inch squares or fat quarters, along with background and border yardage. Note the border fabric came from Batiks Etcetera


I enjoyed making this quilt; it was pretty simple. This quilt makes an excellent choice for a quick baby gift or any occasion.  






I quilted both quilts on my BERNINA 700 Embroidery Machine. For batting, I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Bleached Cotton, and the backing was made with Island Batik Jade from the Tantalizing Teals Blenders collection. Quilting in the hoop is an excellent way to quickly finish small quilts like this one.



Both quilts look stunning, made from 10" squares of Island Batik Fossil Finesse fabric. It's incredible what you can create with just one stack of these squares and a background! I had a great time making both of these quilts and can't wait to tackle another pattern from Studio 180 Design.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Island Batik Lumin Fabrics for having me as an ambassador this year. I had a wonderful time and can’t wait to showcase more of my patterns using Lumin Fabrics in the near future. I would also like to express my gratitude to all our sponsors this year. They did an excellent job providing us with the supplies we needed to complete all our projects for each challenge.




Wednesday, November 19, 2025

IB Timeless Traditions Blog Hop - Indian Summer Sampler




This month, the Island Batik Ambassadors have been highlighting traditional quilt blocks in the Timeless Traditions Blog Hop. We were challenged to create quilts that are lap size or larger, incorporating at least five of the following traditional quilt blocks:

  • Four Patch Quilt Block
  • Nine Patch Quilt Block
  • Half Square Triangle Block
  • Quarter Square Triangle Block
  • Friendship Star Block
  • Flying Geese Quilt Block
  • Variable Star Quilt Block
  • Ohio Star Quilt Block
  • Nine Patch Chain Quilt Block
  • Pinwheel Mosaic
We had the freedom to use any combination of block sizes for our project. As I started designing my quilt, my goal was to incorporate as many blocks as possible into a sampler quilt. I managed to include 8 of the 10 available blocks. When I opened my EQ8 project, I found that the blocks defaulted nicely, which made the design process enjoyable and straightforward.


Island Batik provided me with the new Starry Seas Collection, a signature collection by Jerry Khiev for Jennifer Fulton of Inquiring Quilter. This collection reminded me of Indian Summer fabrics, which inspired me to name my sampler quilt "Indian Summer.


I received half-yard cuts of fabric to create this quilt, along with a Neutral foundation called Mocha that complemented the collection beautifully. 


Additionally, I was given 2 yards of each Sea Urchins-Orange Cheddar and Spiral-Blue Midnight Blue fabric for the project. 

Four Patch Square Up

Tucker Trimmer

For this project, I used my Studio 180 Design Wing Clipper® I, Four Patch Square Up®, and Tucker Trimmer® I to construct the units and blocks in this quilt.


The block sizes I used in the quilt ranged from 6" to 18" finished sizes. The piecing of the units and blocks was a fun and exciting process as I put this together.  I loved how the fabrics were pulling everything together.


After I finished, I pulled the quilt together with a single thin background border to make the units stand out. Now it was time to have it quilted.


I sent my quilt to one of my local quilters, Georgie Culley of The Quilting House Pine Hill Studio. She did a fantastic job using the edge-to-edge design called Stargazing. 


I used leftover fabric from the collection to piece the backing and bound the quilt in the Blue Fabrics. I really love how the back of this quilt turned out.






Here are some close-up images of the blocks and quilting in this quilt. Keep an eye on this one; I have some ideas for a pattern soon.

Playtime


Thank you for visiting my blog! If you love my Timeless Traditions "Indian Summer Sampler," be sure to check out and follow the other Island Batik Ambassador quilts featured in this Blog Hop.

WEEK 1

November 3: 

Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilt Studio

November 4: 
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts
November 5: 
Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany
Denise Looney, Quiltery
November 6: 
Renee Atkinson, Pink Tulip Quilting
Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
WEEK 2

November 10: 

Kimberly Flannagan, Kimberly’s Quilts

Solomae Stoycoff, Cuddle Cat Quiltworks

November 11: 

Connie Kresin Campbell, Freemotion by the River

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

November 12: 

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

November 13: 

Carol Stanek, Stitch with Color

Sarah Pitcher, Pitcher’s Boutique

WEEK 3
November 17: 

Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

November 18: 

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

November 19: 

Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Tina Dillard, Quilting Affection Designs (HERE)

November 20: 

Kim Jamieson-Hirst, Chatterbox Quilts

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Be sure to visit Lumin Fabrics Facebook and Instagram pages to enter the drawing for some fabulous fabrics.


Friday, October 17, 2025

Sew Stylish Challenge with ByAnnie



Welcome to October and another exciting Island Batik Ambassador Challenge! This month, our theme is "Sew Stylish." The Island Batik Ambassadors have been tasked with creating bags from ByAnnie.com using the vibrant colors of Island Batik fabrics by Lumin Fabrics.

For my project, I chose the ByAnnie Two Little Totes pattern to create. ByAnnie, our sponsor this month, generously sent us all the supplies to make this pattern. This pattern allows you to make two different sizes: Small or Medium. I chose the Medium Size.

As for the Island Batik Fabrics, I chose three pretty fabrics from the Frosted Foliage fabric collection by Tiffany Hayes of Needle in a Hayes Stack.

This is not my first byAnnie bag. I just love making these bags; they are so much fun and easy to make with the help of Annie's Add-On Tutorials. She walks you through the steps.


To get started, I created fabric sandwiches using Soft and Stable foam stabilizers. I used my BERNINA 790 Pro with a walking foot to quilt straight lines for my bag. This is so much fun and relaxing.





The next step was to begin preparing the necessary pieces for the bag. I used my Oliso Iron to attach the interfacing to the stabilizer sleeve for the bag base.

After completing all the prep work, it was time to assemble the bag. Annie makes this process straightforward with her easy-to-follow patterns and video tutorials. I highly recommend utilizing those videos!

The final step was to sew on the bag zipper. I used to have trouble with zippers and making them look good, but this time, I took my time, and it turned out perfectly. Annie’s tips in the videos were incredibly helpful!





I’m absolutely in love with my new tote bag. It’s the perfect size—Chloe thought so too when I put her in the bag! I think I might need to make the "Two Big Totes" bag next, so I can carry all my quilting projects.

Be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassador ByAnnie projects.