Island Batik Row by Row Challenge

The February 2022 challenge for Island Batik Ambassadors was called “Row by Row”. We were challenged to make a quilt based on rows with a new fabric collection.

This challenge is also part of a blog hop, so be sure to check out the Island Batik website, as well as the other projects to see how to win fabric.

The fabric, batting and thread was given to me as part of the Island Ambassador program.

I received a half yard bundle of the beautiful collection Mountain Gems by Kathy Engle. I love the blue and green colours. Along with that I received two different shades from the Brilliant Blues collection.

What is a row quilt?

A row quilt is based on rows and there are many different variations. I decided to make a simple sampler quilt with some traditional quilt blocks.

If you want to make a similar row quilt, it can be easily customized with whatever blocks you like.

Choosing fabric

First, I chose five pairs of fabric. I wanted a light green and dark blue in each pair.

Since the yardage that I had to use was blue, I decided to use green as the background in the blocks.

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Making the blocks

All of these blocks are variations of a nine patch block.

They all finish at 6″ square. That means each of the squares in the blocks will finish at 2″ square.

I chose that size because seven blocks will make the rows 42″ long. This means that the strips above and below the rows can be cut width of fabric, and I didn’t have to piece them.

Nine patch

Simple Rail Fence

Friendship Star

Shoo Fly

Churn Dash

Assembling the rows

To each block, I added a 1-1/2” strip of blue to one side.

Then I joined the blocks into rows, alternating the strips to move the blocks up and down. Alternating the direction of the blocks gives a bit of motion to them.

A 3” strip onto the top and bottom finished off the row. Some rows have lighter blue and some rows have darker blue.

Since the blocks are 6”, the small strips finish at 1” and the large strips finish at 2-1/2”, the total width of the rows will finish at 12”.

Finishing the quilt top

For the quilt top, I alternated light blue rows and dark blue rows.

I played around with the blocks to decide on the final layout. I didn’t want the bright green fabrics too close to each other.

Quilting

It is quilted with wavy horizontal lines, which mimics the motion in the blocks.

Wavy lines are a nice way to finish quilts, especially on a domestic machine. It takes away some of the stress of trying to have perfectly straight lines if you plan to make them wavy on purpose.

I used Hobbs Poly-Down batting, so it has a bit puffier look.

With the polyester batting, I prefer light quilting to work with its characteristics rather than trying to flatten it.

I had blue thread left over from my Aurifil challenge last year as an Island Batik Ambassador. It matched perfectly.

The blues in the Aurifil Whale Shark color builders collection coordinate with this fabric collection perfectly.

This quilt is just the right size to cuddle with on a couch.

Thanks to Island Batik, Aurifil and Hobbs Batting for the supplies for this project.

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Be sure to check out all the other Island Batik ambassador projects:

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