Tamarinis

Elementz - The Blog Hop

It's finally time!  The Elementz Blog Hop begins today!  Woot Woot!  Elementz is shipping to shops now - and I can share with you my quilts, as well as projects from my quilting friends.  So pour a cup of coffee  - or heck, a large glass of wine, if that's your preference, and jump right in.  I've got a bit of a long post, but...also...eye candy alert!!  There are some talented folks here, and you are sure to see something that inspires you to heat up the iron, sharpen the rotary cutter, thread the machine, and get to stitching!

But first, the fabric.  Drum roll please..........

Yep, it's bold.  It's bright.  It is inspired by nature (I know, not the usual color palate when you hear "inspired by nature").  It is my graphic interpretation of the elements of the earth.  Everything from earth to wind to rain to ice.  And the colors bring to mind tropics, vivid sunrises and sunsets, brilliant gardens and bright wings.  As much fun as it was to design, it was even MORE fun to stitch with!  And speaking of projects - let's take a look at the Elementz projects I created for this line.

This is Elementz Block of the Month, a 9 block (and a 9 month) quilt.  If paper piecing is your jam, then this is for you!  Each block is different, and while they LOOK intricate, they are surprisingly quick and easy to piece.  Ok, I'm not saying 15 minutes, but still....pretty quick.  And what energy!  I love the asymmetrical setting and the blocks spilling off the edge of the quilt.  Like it?  You can find it here.

So paper piecing isn't your thing?  No worries!  How about Triple Play?  Three quilts, two blocks, one pattern (ha ha - get it, 1, 2, 3 - Triple Play....).  It is super beginner friendly, and gives you plenty of options when working with the blocks and the layout.  Fun, right?  You can find it here. 

Love strip piecing?  Me too!  And these tropical, bright colors inspired Cyclone.  Not only is it a swirl of color, with tons of movement and a fun layout, but it is also strip pieced.  While templates are provided, using Creative Grids' 30 degree ruler makes it a super snap to complete.  Like it?  You can find it here.

 

Looking for a jelly roll friendly, quilt as you go project?  Yep, got that too!  This is Ins and Outs, a pattern that uses one jelly roll, plus backing and binding fabric, to stitch up a quilt as you go table runner (above), plus two placemats and four mug rugs - all with the fun dimensional woven strips.  Such a fun project!  You can find it here!

Want something a little different?  How about some guided improv?  Introducing Sound Waves.  I have to tell you - I had so much fun creating this.  Really.  So. Much. Fun.  Jelly roll friendly.  And absolutely NO templates.  No paper piecing.  Yep - you can get those lovely sharp points - super easy!  (FYI - I'm exploring this technique again and there are MORE projects coming using this super easy technique, so stay tuned!).  I love how it showcases the range of the fabric line, and if  you're looking for a color study project, this would be a great one.  You can explore lights to darks and how fabrics relate to one another AND have fun!  Like it? You can find it here.

 
And if these fun projects aren't enough, it just so happens that Elementz works wonderfully with my Aurifil Florida Oranges thread collection.  Yep - bright colors again!  And I worked up this fun little stash busting bracelet project using multiple threads for quilting, and different strips for a bright quilted cuff bracelet.  I love this project, because it gives me a chance to try out different quilting techniques and styles and as well as different color combinations, and gives me a fun addition to my wardrobe as well.  And talk about easy gifts - nothing better! You can find the project sheet on my website, here.

But the eye candy doesn't stop here.  Several of my designer friends jumped in to create awesome projects featuring my new Elementz line.  You can follow along and view their projects - I've listed the lineup below.  And don't forget to enter to win great prizes, including fabric (always awesome!) and some great patterns!  

Comment below to win a copy of my new Sound Waves pattern!  Winner will be chosen at random from those commenting during the blog hop (February 26th through March 3rd, 2018).

Visit the other participants to see great projects, and enter the Rafflecopter too!  Good luck, and thanks for visiting!

Blog Hop Lineup:

2/26: Island Batik  http://www.islandbatik.com/news/

2/26: Aurifil   https://auribuzz.wordpress.com/

2/26: Tammy Silvers  Tamarinis www.tamarinis.typepad.com

2/26: Jessica VanDenbrugh Sew Many Creations https://thestraightstitch.wordpress.com/

2/27: Penni Domikis Cabin in the Woods Quilters https://cabininthewoodsquilters.com/elemenz-blog-hop-tamarinis/

2/27: Swan Sheridan Swan Amity Studio www.swanamity.com/blog

2/28: Toni Smith Quiltoni http://www.quiltoni.com/tonis-blog.html/

2/28: Kate Colleran Seams Like A Dream Quilts seamslikeadream.com/blog

3/1: Kris Poor Poorhouse Quilt Designs http://poorhousequiltdesign.com/quilting-at-the-poorhouse/

3/1: Joanne Hillestad Fat Quarter Gypsy http://www.thefatquartergypsy.com/Lex-Luther-Blog.html

3/1:  Connie Kaufmann   Kauffman Designs  kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com

3/2: Vicki Hansen Cranberry Pie Designs cranberrypiedesigns.com/blog

3/2: Stephanie Jacobson http://stephjacobson.blogspot.com/

3/3: Turid Bakken https://densyendehimmel.blogspot.no

3/3: Pauline McArthur Funky Friends Factory http://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com/blog/

3/3: Terri Vanden Bosch   Lizard Creek Quilting   https://meanderingsalonglizardcreek.blogspot.com/

 

Thanks for sharing the quilting passion with me. Happy stitching!

If you are interested in having me teach at your shop or guild, please contact me!

Like what you see here, and want to hear more from Tamarinis? Like me on Facebook, follow me on Instagram, and sign up for my newsletter at www.tamarinis.com!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bright Hearts - Batik Style

Confession time - I LOVE brights.  No really - I know you are shocked (cough cough) by this, but I truly love brights.  So I am over the moon about my new Elementz fabric collection for Island Batik.  It is chock full of lovely, shade wearing brights!  And next week you get to see the entire collection in all it's glory AND what other designers did with the fabrics as well.  Woot woot!

But I wanted to give you a peek at a project that didn't make it to the blog hop - mainly because I am still working on the instructions (but that's another story......).  It is, however, done in my Elementz fabrics - in the pinks from the collection.  Now, I have to admit, of all the bright colors, pink is not my go-to.  So this wasn't intentional....but when I started pulling from the group to stitch up this project, look what I discovered I had created (I know, I know - you would think this is all intentional....goes to show!).

Pinks!  Lots of pinks!  A beautiful, bubble gum, sugary sweetness assortment of pinks.  Perfect for my Primitive Stitch Sampler.  This project is also a two-for!  Awesome colors and felted wool appliqué.  I have a secret weakness for appliqué in wool.  The dimension and texture it adds to projects is phenomenal.  And, as shown in the first close up picture, I was able to use some of my favorite thread, Aurifil, to do the hand stitching AND the machine quilting.  

I did 8 different hand stitches around the wool hearts in six strands of the Aurifil cotton floss (awesome, smooth, rich), and then did some straight line machine quilting in the Aurifil's varigated wool thread.  I love how it creates some sparkle and movement in those simple straight lines!  Hint: when working with the wool thread, I use a 50wt matching thread in my bobbin, use a slightly larger needle (90/14) and loosen the thread tension just a bit.  Lengthen your stitch length just a bit to take full advantage of the texture and varigation of color, and stitch at a slow, steady pace - and you'll have no problems at all!  More to come on this pattern soon (promise!).

In the meantime, and a teaser to the blog hop next week - how do you know when you have a go-to color palate?  When your new fabric line matches PERFECTLY with your old thread collection.

Isn't that amazing?  The fabric is, of course, the new Elementz line.  The thread collection is my Florida Oranges collection from Aurifil that I introduced a few years ago.  Don't despair - you can still get it!  But how awesome is that?  All those bright, wonderful colors just play so well together.  And you can see a peek of how great the 40wt threads look when quilting on those bright colors.  

And there's a bonus project download available next week during the blog hop - using, of course, the Elementz fabrics and bright threads.  So come back and visit!

Thanks for sharing the quilting passion with me. Happy stitching!

If you are interested in having me teach at your shop or guild, please contact me!

Like what you see here, and want to hear more from Tamarinis? Like me on Facebook, follow me on Instagram, and sign up for my newsletter at www.tamarinis.com!