This month the ambassadors picked whatever project they wanted to dive into with their Island Batik Fabrics. We get so many in our Ambassador box, there’s lots of room to play!

I used the leftover fabrics from the Prairie Dreams Collection. This was my bundle from the February Challenge, but I had focused on the blues and tans. This was my opportunity to let the purples and greens shine!

The pattern I selected was a Fat Quarter pattern from Open Gate Quilts called “Moroccan Tiles.” It called for 20 fat quarters, so I doubled down on my half yard cuts.

Since each Fat Quarter made 2 star blocks, I got a row of 4 from each half yard. The rows with each color combination give a structured path for your eye to travel with this otherwise busier design.

This was my first large quilt on my new Loft frame that I got with the Handiquilter Moxie. At 79 inches across, 94 inches down, I’m ready to up that 8-foot frame to a 10-foot!

The quilting design is a boxy swirl. I initially picked this because my machine was moving stiffly on the frame, and my swirls struggled to stay round. As I loosened up the screws and nestled the machine’s wheels into the tracks, it now glides much more freely, but I’m glad I got to take advantage of the parallel lines while I could! I put just shy of 500,000 stitches into this dense quilting!

Supply List:

• Fabric – Prairie Dreams by Island Batik, Eggshell by Island Batik, and Evergreen by Island Batik
• Pattern – Moroccan Tiles by Open Gate Quilts. Finishes at 74×90. I added an inner border, which made my final quilt 79×95 inches.
• Piecing Thread – Aurifil Make 50wt thread in Antique Gold
• Piecing Needle – Schmetz 75/11 Quilting Needles
• Batting – Hobbs Batting in Heirloom Cotton. This is a thinner batting, suited well for summer quilts as well as dark fabric.
• Quilting Thread – Glide 40wt in Brittany Blue (yes, I initially bought it for the name!)

It’s been an absolute joy to work with this dreamy collection. Check your local quilt shop for this fabric! I’ve made a list of the current shops below by state and territory, and feel free to ask any shop not on the list to add the collection to their next order!

Don’t miss out on the other amazing works in this challenge from the other 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
• Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost
• 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