My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on a cruise in the Caribbean. One of my favorite tours was on the island of St Kitts which is known for its batiks made on the island since the seventies. Caribelle Batiks is located in the historic Romney Manor, “Once home to Sam Jefferson II, the great great great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson (3rd President of U.S.A.) the great house was renamed Romney Manor following its acquisition in the early 17th century by the Earl of Romney”. You can visit the website here: Caribelle Batiks
The grounds of the Romney Manor are quite lovely, with a 350 year old sprawling tree that spans over a half acre as a focal point. Colorful island flowers and plants complete the magical garden.
Within the Manor, rooms filled with expertly dyed batiks of all colors and patterns are made into scarfs, garments, bags, pillow covers, napkins, tablecloths, wall hangings, etc. Just about anything you can imagine is made from the expertly designed and dyed batiks. I purchased a bag of scraps and a large table cloth.
With the bag of scraps I wanted to make something special and representative of our trip to the Caribbean. Once home, I looked through the scraps for inspiration. The colors reminded me of the turquoise water and waves, the amazing sky and picturesque sunsets, and the ships and boats.
I researched quilt blocks of sailboat patterns and when I found just the right one, I started to cut and sew. My mini quilt came together quickly, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had used just about every inch of the scraps except for the yellow/ purple pieces that just didn’t fit the color palette. 
I added white sashing and a turquoise border with a tiny border made from the bits and pieces left from the nine sailboat blocks. 
I free motion quilted the little wall-hanging with designs that resembled waves and sails, and used my favorite sew-by-machine binding method to finish it.
It presently hangs on our living room wall, a sweet reminder of the wonderful trip we took together. It was a fun and exciting trip that I enjoyed more than anything. I look forward to more adventures together with my husband in the years to come. Meanwhile a quilting and a sewing I will go as I love that too!
Attracted to the complex design of the Bargello quilt pattern, I did some research to find out how to put this seemingly complex quilt together. I learned that the original Bargello design is a type of needlepoint embroidery consisting of upright flat stitches laid in a mathematical pattern to create motifs. The name originates from a series of chairs found in the Bargello palace in Florence, which have a “flame stitch” pattern. (Wikipedia).
This pattern as been adopted by modern quilters to replicate the “flame”. It is accomplished by cutting and sewing strips together in a particular order. The size, width, color, and the variety of different shades and hues of the strip sets make for a multitude of pattern designs.
You can learn the fundamentals from Craftsy. Angela Walters has a great 3 minute presentation on making a 
I free motion quilted my quilt using this easy pattern. I quilted in columns from top to bottom. First I quilted the center wavy line then I quilted a line to the right and to the left, adding a circle at each indentation. For the inner border I quilted “e’s) and a simpler wavy line with loops for the outer border.
Visit my previous blog posts to see how I make a binding with a flange and attach it to the quilt by machine instead of by hand. I will never hand sew a binding again! I love this method!
I made this quilt as a gift for my oldest granddaughter and gave it to her on her 19th birthday. My daughter, pieced this simple rail fence top together when she was in high school, but never finished it. It got passed to me and I’ve held on to it for years.
Now that I’ve taken up the art of quilting, finishing this quilt as a gift for my granddaughter was high on my list of projects. It didn’t take long to find a suitable fabric from our quilting guild stash for the backing. It looks like it came from the same era, the 90’s!
I tried a new free motion quilt pattern, a meandering loopy design with occasional flowers. It worked out very nicely, although, it took about 8 hours to quilt.
I used my tried-and -true binding method, which is stitched on by machine. It looks so pretty with the tiny contrasting flange edge. I probably will never hand sew another binding, since this looks so wonderful. It is stronger and also practically invisible.
You use 1 1/4 in strips for the binding, and 1 1/2 in strips for the flange. The strips are sewn together, seam pressed, and then folded in half. The flange fabric faces up and is sewn to the back side of the quilt. When you fold it over to the front, the binding fabric covers the edge and just a tiny edge of the flange fabric extends out. You can machine stitch in the ditch, and it turns out wonderfully!
My featured fabric is from 
After I cut all the pieces, I made the snowball blocks and the rectangle blocks.
I shuffled the blocks around until I was happy with the final arrangement.
My dog, Heidi, gave her approval after the top was finally pieced.
This is the biggest piece that I have ever free-motion quilted, so I didn’t want to try anything to0 complicated. I decided to do an overall pattern of “ripples”. I guess that would describe it. My quilting is not perfect, but it certainly improved after I achieved a good rhythm. While I didn’t keep track of all the hours I put in to make it, I did keep track of the free motion quilting work. It took 8 hours! Don’t worry, I did it over several days, but even so, my neck and shoulders felt it.
I chose colors that were bright and bold, with the thought that a particular child would love it. Most of the donated fabric is very dated, and not in a cool retro way. So my selection had to be very precise for what I had in mind.
It turned out crazy cool, even if I do say so myself! I had fun stitching-in-the- ditch with my new machine that has a walking foot and free motion quilting settings. I must say it was really a fun quilt to put together from start to finish.
Thank you for following my blog and leaving such encouraging comments. I hope all of you have a new year filled with love, peace, and understanding.
What Pattern did you use? I used Patterns by Gertie for Butterick _ 5953. It is a fitted vintage inspired wrap dress with front bands, and a slightly shaped right front. The left front crosses underneath the right and ties to the side seam. There is a button closure on the right front side. The sleeves can be long or just above the elbow. There is also a godet in the back.
What fabric did you use? Why did you choose it? I used a solid turquoise linen fabric, and a coordinating tone on tone cotton fabric. I used the cotton fabric for the row of buttons on the side front, the front bands, and the godet in the back. I loved the color of view B on the pattern envelope so I used that for my inspiration, and the shorter sleeves on view A which are a better fit for my lifestyle and climate. 
Would you recommend the pattern? Would you change anything next time? I recommend the pattern because it is an easy construction with good step by step instructions. The added details: covered buttons, front bands, and godet make it look more couture. It does have a low-cut neckline, that can be somewhat revealing. I used a bit of fashion tape to keep the dress from gaping open too much. I got a thumbs up from my hubby, so you might see me in it! The only thing I would change is an adjustment to the depth of the neckline if I were to make it again. I don’t think I will though, one dress like this is enough.
Any interesting details? The pattern called for 1 inch buttons. I purchased 7/8 inch buttons that you cover. I used the same fabric for the buttons, front bands, and godet. It looks really pretty and totally unique.
What do you think of your finished garment? I’m very pleased with the fit and style, and I love all of the unique details such as the covered buttons and the godet in the back. I chose it because it is different than what I usually sew for myself. It was fun to make, and the result was exceptional! 
First worn? I modeled it for pictures while my daughter was visiting us. She snapped the photos in our backyard in front of our colorful maple tree, that just happens to be crimson red this time of year.
I’m thrilled to share this unique and easy to make reversible dress with you! This is Lekala pattern 4545. 
