Devoted Quilter: Beat the Heat Blog Hop

August 05, 2019

Beat the Heat Blog Hop - Blue Sparkler

Note, the fabric and batting for this project were given to me by Island Batik and their industry partner as part of the Island Batik ambassador program.

I'm excited to kick off the Island Batik ambassador Beat the Heat blog hop today! All month long the ambassadors will be showcasing new Island Batik fabric lines in fantastic projects, plus there will be giveaways galore 😊

One of the questions on the ambassador application is about your favourite colours. Last year I chose to leave it blank and just see what they decided to send me. I loved the fabrics I received (how could I not??), but I also drooled over the blue collections that were sent to other ambassadors, so this year I made sure to include the fact that I love blue. Boy, did they deliver! Just look at all the different, beautiful blues in the Blueberry Patch line that they sent me 💙😍💙

Blueberry Patch fabrics | DevotedQuilter.com

It took me a while to decide what to make for this blog hop, but then I realized that I could cross off two things on my to-make list with one quilt. Paul loves my Sparkler quilt design, but the original is a little too pink for his taste so he asked for a more masculine looking version. I figured all of these blues would certainly make for a more masculine Sparkler and Island Batik had sent me enough yardage of both a light and a dark to make the pattern work. (If you want to make your own version of Sparkler, the pattern is available in my Etsy shop. Click here to get your copy.)

I had to leave out a few of the prints in the Blueberry Patch line because they were too close in value to the light or the dark I was using as the main parts of the design. Don't feel sorry for them, though. I'll find a way to use them before too long, they're too pretty not to use!

I love how Paul's Blue Sparkler quilt turned out! In fact, he might have to fight me to get to use it.

I love that with this design there's so much to look at. There are the prominent dark blue sparklers, then there are all of the other sparklers, with their varying shades of blue and their different prints to enjoy. What stands out most to you?

I love the swirls and the ladybugs.

And these mushrooms are really cute.

I considered using Hobb's black batting because I knew there would be a lot of white fluffy bits on the darkest blue with white batting, but the black batting made those white feathery lines on the sashing print look slightly grey and I wanted them to stay white. Instead, I used Hobb's 100% cotton batting and removed all of the white fluffy bits after the quilt was finished.

Paul wanted the quilt to stay soft, so he specifically asked that I not do really small quilting. After I made a couple of suggestions, he decided he wanted the same sparkler motif I quilted on the original Sparkler quilt, this time using Aurifil 2780.

This design is fun and quick to quilt! I love how the Aurifil 2780 shows up on the solid navy back. It makes the sparklers kind of glow, doesn't it?

I used the darkest fabric for the binding, which frames the whole quilt nicely. My parents, Zach and I took the quilt to a nearby rocky beach for these pictures. It's one of my favourite places to visit and to take quilt pictures.

Don't forget you can get your copy of the Sparkler pattern from my Etsy shop 😊

I mentioned giveaways galore at the start of this post, didn't I? Island Batik is hosting a different giveaway each week of the hop, so be sure to enter each week. Plus, many of the ambassadors will be hosting their own giveaways on their blogs.

For my giveaway, I'll choose two winners who will both receive their choice of any 2 of my PDF patterns. To enter, leave a comment telling me your favourite colour. For extra entries, follow me on Instagram and Facebook, then leave a separate comment for each telling me you're following (along with your IG or FB name). I'll randomly choose the winners the morning of September 1st and contact them through email, so make sure I'll be able to reach you if you win.

I'd love it if you'd pin this for future reference and to help other quilters who might like it as well 😊