August is a fabulous month: It’s the Island Batik Great Outdoors Blog Hop and I am sponsoring a Giveaway for my dear readers. [Fabrics used in the project and the items for the giveaway were all provided to me by Island Batik, Aurifil and Hobbs who are sponsors for the Island Batik 2018 Ambassadors.)
My Giveaway details are at the bottom of this post!
Throughout the month of August, my fellow Ambassadors have been featuring Island Batik’s newest lines of fabrics and many have great Giveaways going on! Be sure to visit all of the Ambassadors to enter their giveaways and if you see a fabric that you like, ask for it at your local quilt shop. Whether you are a modern, contemporary or traditional quilter, I’m sure you’ll see a fabric collection that you will want to add to your stash.
My Project: The Island Batik Great Outdoors
For some, that conjures up images of northern woods. But, here in Florida, that means head to the Beach…or at least head to one of our lovely destination locations like the Village of the Arts in Sarasota or St. Armand’s Circle. Both locations have locally owned shops and restaurants with delightful offerings for lunch or dinner. You might even catch a local singer crooning away in the evenings. Since we live in Florida, we have sunshine most days. Sunshine gives me my much needed Vitamin D and improves my mental state.
My Collection: Lavendula from Island Batik
My fabric line is called Lavendula. It’s a collection of mellow teals, purples and lavenders that put me in a very relaxed mood.
[divider]My Island Batik Great Outdoors Blog Hop Design
And, as I thought about the theme, I decided that could mean going on an adventure. I thought about how treasure maps in fun movies Like Pirates of the Caribbean or Tomb Raider might use an X to mark the spot where the treasure lay buried.
So X’s it was. And, because I’m a modern quilter, I decided to start making improvisational X’s using the technique I used to make the Patriotic X quilt in my book, Patriotic Modern Quilts, available online or at your local quilt shops. It’s also the same process for the Selvedge X quilt pattern that you can purchase here.
[divider]My Fabrics
The fabrics I used this month are from the Lavendula line–a group of luscious tropical colored prints in botanical and geometric designs. You can find these fabrics at your local quilt shops.
I chose these fabrics for the main backgrounds:
[divider]I used these fabrics for the X’s and as backgrounds for variety.
[divider]Making the Quilt
Here are some of the blocks on my design wall. They measure 8-1/2″ square unfinished. And, I wanted to see how the value differences were shaping up so I changed the photo to monochrome.
And, here’s the finished quilt! My modern take on The Island Batik Great Outdoors Blog Hop–X Marks the Spot. Professional custom long arm quilting by Carol Byrnes, a fellow member of the Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild. Remember, you can find instructions for making these X blocks in my book, Patriotic Modern Quilts, available online or at your local quilt shops. It’s also the same process for the Selvedge X quilt pattern that you can purchase here.
[divider]Island Batik Great Outdoors Giveaway!
One winner gets everything! How to enter:
Comment below on your favorite fabric featured on this post. US entries only please.
COMMENTS CLOSED–WINNERS ARE BEING CONTACTED BY EMAIL.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT PUT YOUR EMAIL IN YOUR ACTUAL COMMENT. The commenting system asks for it separately when you post your comment.
Comment by September 15th at 9 a.m. Eastern US. I will draw a random number for the winner and notify you by email. US entries only please.
And here are the prizes!
Baby Birds Purple is my favorite, but it was so hard to choose since they’re all great!
Interestingly, I’m not a big fan of birds. But these were fun to work with and if you cut them up into really small pieces, they get very abstract.
Dragonfly Snowcone is my favorite.
Definitely Dragonfly medium lagoon! These are such great fabrics. I was torn on voting for the dragonflies or the raindrops because I love them all so much. Thanks for the chance to win…Ann
Thanks and it’s hard for me to pick a favorite too.
I really like the Honeycomb Waterfall print.
Thanks for commenting. The fabric is such a beautiful teal/green.
Oh, Now I just love those fabrics, just yummy and love your quilt as well….
Thanks so much Barbara.
Dragonfly Snowcone is my favorite.
I like this one because it has nearly all of the colors from this line in it.
I really love the whole quilt, especially your use of the raindrops in oatmeal in the background. It is so very effective. Lenore
Thanks Lenore! I was trying for as much contrast as possible.
I like the floral dot amethyst best. It makes me happy.
And that’s the way all the fabric in our stash should make us feel. LOL!
Very pretty, I think this is my favorite collection so far in the blog hop . Honeycomb waterfall is my favorite of this collection.
Your modern quilt is beautiful!
Thank you so much Anita. Batiks can be modern (with some thought and planning).
Gorgeous fabrics and quilt designs Thanks for such a great display.
Baby birds purple!
Ahh the birds…..and I love purple and try to use it whenever I can.
My favorite is Honeycomb waterfall, but Raindrop in oatmeal is a close second!I love the colors in this collection.
The Raindrop is fun isn’t it!
oh wow i love your quilt. it is so happy and fun. thank you for sharing today. these fabrics are wonderful, they make it easy to make a gorgeous quilt. thank you for the wonderful give a way.
Hi Lori! Thanks for the appreciation–I’m glad it has a happy vibe. The whole line is really lovely to work with.
By the way, you don’t need to (and never should) put your email address in the actual comment on a blog to protect your privacy. I edited your comment to remove it. I have your email address because it is captured when you post your comment. Most blogs work that way, by the way.
my favorite is the honeycomb waterfall but, all of them are gorgeous.
Thanks Carolyn! They are all lovely.
the dragonfly in medium lagoon is my fav!!! Love your quilt!!!
While I love all of the fabrics in the post,”” Floral Dot Periwinkle is my favorite! I find the combination of beautiful. The transition from one tone to another is subtle yet appealing.
Dragonfly Purple…your quilt is seriously gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your talents with us.
Purple is one of my fave colors–I’m always surprised when people say they don’t like it. And thanks for the quilty love.
Honeycomb Waterfall is my favorite…they are all gorgeous!
Oh Carole can I say all of them. Lol I really like floral dot amethyst..
Lovely fabrics! The raindot in Oatmeal is my favorite~~so unusual!
Thanks Peggy. I like whole watery vibe in this line.
Mini Sprigs in Oatmeal! I love a good light with color in it. 🙂
I love the softness of the Honeycomb Waterfall. Love your modern quilt too!
Thanks so much!! It’s such an easy block to make and seems to work well with all kinds of fabric.
Dragonfly snowcone.
Great quilt! Just lovely. I really am drawn to the Dragonfly medium lagoon. Refreshing colors for a hot summer! Thanks for sharing such a great giveaway too!
You are welcome…and here in Florida, we need refreshing colors that aren’t…well…green!
I am liking this collection of fabric, the colorway is right up my alley!
I like this colorway as well. For me, it’s a calm, peaceful change from my typical high contrast, bright palette.
I love Dragonfly Snowcone! Just beautiful!
Love your quilt! I really love the Floral dot Amethyst fabric. Thank you for the chance.
The Dragonfly Purple and the Honeycomb Waterfall prints are my two favorites. The colors in the collection do inspire tranquility and a sense of peacefulness. The teals remind me of the Caribbean, one of my favorite places to travel. Your quilt is a beauty.
pick only 1?!?! well, I would start with the baby birds purple – despite the birds, lol. that dark purple is relatively rare and mixes SO well with many color combos and fabrics. being a huge fan of blue/green i would use many yards ofvtge honeycombwaterfall as well.
fun project, and great show of value checking!
Thanks Indigo. Value is so important in this block. It can be a challenge to use batiks because so many of them are “medium darks”. Careful attention and using the camera really is helpful.
I love what you did! One of my colleagues at a quilt store also disliked birds on quilts. Everyone has there own things – I love the colors in this line – the one I have has more spring & summer colors. Congrats on a gorgeous quilts.
Raindot in Oatmeal is my favorite from this group.
It’s a fun motif, isn’t it!
They are all beautiful. I just love this collection, but I think my very favorite is Honeycomb Magenta. Your quilt is so beautiful with those fabrics.
Thanks so much–glad you like it!
Oh such pretty fabric and lovely quilt ! I would pick first as my favorite the Honeycomb Waterfall! tks!
Prettiness abounds! I love the Berries and Marbles best!
Lavendula is so much fun to work with.
I love the “Baby bird purple” fabric. I also really like “Berries and Marbles” but sometimes have a hard time knowing how to use a fabric that changes color so drastically depending on where the cut is from. Thanks for participating in the blog hop and for the chance to win! Lovely quilt!
What a fun quilt. I guess if I had to pick a favorite it would be the Floral Dot Periwinkle. I am not really a purple fan, but this one does interest me.
I happen to love deep purple–and it isn’t the easiest color to work with. It can really take over!
The Dragonfly Medium Lagoon might be my favorite but the Raindrop comes in a close second. I’m a huge fan of bariks in general. Love your X quilt design.
Thanks Teri!! Being an Island Batik Ambassador gave me a great opportunity to work with batiks again. I haven’t used them much in the last 5 or 6 years.
I love your beautiful batik fabric! My favorite are the teal dragonflies. Question for Carole Lyles Shaw, are you doing any heritage searches? I have a lot of relatives named Lyle. We might be cousins!!
Hi Lisa! The Lyles side of the family is mainly from Howard County in Maryland. I haven’t done much genealogy–always meant to do that…..
I think that I like the baby birds purple the best. it’s such a rich purple
Yep, the purple is so rich and vibrant.
Loving Raindrops on oatmeal
Beautiful colors❣️And coordinating threads. The oatmeal is just scrumptious and a gorgeous neutral for the others in the collection.
dragonfly snowcone is my favorite. It does remind me ofthe snowcones i used to get as a kid!
I remember snowcones. People used to put up temporary stands in the neighborhood when I was a kid. I loved grape and orange the best. Hmmm….still 2 of my favorite fabric colors……
I love em ALL!! lol But most favorite is the Dragonfly Snowcone print …has all the colors in the collection too! 🙂 Your Quilt is Awesome!! & thank you for chance to win your Give-a-way 😀
I love the colors in your quilt! My favorite is that raindot in oatmeal. It makes a lovely background.
My favorite is Floral dot Amethyst, it made my heart sing.
Fabric should always bring us joy when we work with it.
Beautiful colours in this collection and my favourite is Baby Bird Purple and Dragonfly Purple is also so pretty!
Ahhh, yes….the purples are great.
Floral dot amethyst is my favorite. There were others that were close, though. Beautiful fabric!
Yes, this one seems to be quite popular. Amethyst is such a fun word too.
Lucky you for being able to create with the Lavendula collection! I love those colors and they calm me too! My favorite is the Baby Birds Purple fabric….the purple is so deep and rich. Carole, your X-Marks-The-Spot quilt is so fresh and modern (like all of your work) and it reminds me of a fun outdoor treasure hunt!
They are all beautiful, but I love dragonflies, so the dragonfly snowcone is my very favorite. Your giveaway is unbelievable! You are so generous!
I left a post, but it didn’t come up. 🙁 I’ll try again.
I think all the fabrics are beautiful, but I like dragonflies, so I’d have to say that my favorite one is the dragonfly snowcone. 🙂
Thanks for the very generous giveaway. Someone is going to be soooooo happy!
Floral Dot amethyst is my favorite ..But there all pretty…great job on the quilt I really liked it. …
Thanks–I am glad you liked the quilt. It comes together quite easily too.
Such an interesting quilt and the colors are so lovely. I love the honeycomb in turquoise but only slightly more than the rest. What a generous giveaway.
Honeycomb Magenta gets my vote! But a close second would be Dragonfly Snowcone. It’s so whimsical. The colors are some of my favorite!
Love, love, love the Baby Birds Purple!
I like all of them but maybe Dragonfly Purple a little bit more.
Beautiful fabric, my favorite is the Honeycomb waterfall.
Yes, I am enjoying using this collection. I was happy when I opened this package from Island Batik.
Dragonfly Snowcone is my favorite. Also, really like Baby Birds Purple and Honeycomb Waterfall, very pretty.
I love Berries and Marbles. Love your “X” quilt. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
My favourite would be the Honeycomb Waterfall. Hope I can enter the drawer as I do have a US postal address
Hi Jayne, If you are selected, I can mail to a US postal address. Good luck!
I like the Floral Dot Ameythyst (but they are all beautiful!).
I like the Floral Dot Amethyst (but they are all beautiful!)
Terrific modern quilt Carole! I love the spiky quilting your longarmer did too, and I especially love the line you got to work with, wow!
Baby birds purple , all dragonfly’s especially purple and I like all of them actually
Honeycomb Waterfall. Such a cool color.
My favorite is Dragonfly Purple! It has such a nice deep hue. And I love your X Marks the Spot quilt! Very cool!
Thank you for your inspiring blog post! I love stories about a person’s creative thought processes. Your finished quilt is beautiful and it certainly does reflect the sea and buried treasure! And the modern design is a great example of adventurous quilting! My favorite fabric from the collection is Dragonfly Medium Lagoon.
I ? the dragonfly Batik! Beautiful!
I love Honeycomb Waterfall! Reminds me of the near-shore color of Lake Michigan when all the conditions are perfectly aligned. What a beautiful collection!
I can’t pick just one! I love Berries and Marbles and Raindrops in Oatmeal!
Dragonfly Snowcone popped out for me because it reminds me of the dragonflies I see skittering across the pool to get a little water. All the fabrics are lovely and it was hard to choose just one.
Hi Deborah,
I’ll keep this comment in the list. It was the first one you submitted. I’ll mark the 2nd one as a duplicate. Thanks so much for participating!
DUPLICATE COMMENT.
I’m commenting again as I still don’t see my original post. Dragonfly Snowcone caught my attention because it reminds me if the dragonflies that skitter across the pool to get some water. It was difficult to pick just one fabric because they are all so pretty. Your quilt is lovely. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.
Hi,
I did approve the first one–maybe they are not showing up on your browser? I do see you in the list of comments.
Love the modern design for these fabrics! P.S. Your blog graphic is one of my favorites! ?
Thanks for the kind words about the blog graphics!
My fav is the Raindot in Oatmeal, though it was a difficult decision because they are all fabulously luscious. Thanks for the give away.
My favorite is the Dragonfly Snowcones, but Floral Dot Amethyst is a very close second! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous fabrics, Carole!
I like the thought progression to X marks the spot for buried treasure! Raindot in oatmeal is my favorite of these, all though floral dot in periwinkle is very pretty and they all are lovely.
Great interpretation of the outdoors theme, Carole! Your quilt is so beautiful 🙂 I love that you added a couple of blocks with darker backgrounds
Thanks Leanne. I wanted to give more contrast in the quilt and the dark background blocks helped a lot.
Dragonfly snowcone