Island Batik April Challenge - Drunkards Path

Meet Morocco, my drunkards path quilt for the Lumen Fabrics Island Batik Ambassador April challenge. It is named Morocco as it reminded me of the beautiful curving arches in the architecture of that country and the vibrant colors of the textiles sold in the markets there.

For my quilt, I used the Daisy May collection of fabrics on a solid black batik background. The quilting is done in a beautiful polyester gold thread, circling the blocks with arches and dragonflies.(of course)!

I do not typically do curved blocks. They don't like me and I don't like them. I have tried many different methods, rulers, classes, watched innumerable YouTube videos and I just cannot make them work. My curves are always perfect but the blocks always seem wonky and I always have to trim them down. This one was no exception (sighhhhhhhh...)

This time, I opted to use the CutRite rulers to cut my pieces. Donna Jordan (RIP) of Jordan Fabrics liked those particular rulers and made them look easy. She made several videos demonstrating their use in making quilts with curved blocks.  Their instructions say no need to pin as they are easy. Small slots in the ruler along the curves let you cut tiny slits that line up the two pieces as you sew. 

My original design had some small tear drops in the whiter fabrics interspersed in the quilt but the trimming made the fit bad and I just eliminated them which worked out fine. I decided to use a black background to showcase the lovely colors in the Daisy Mae collection.

Using the CutRite ruler, I cut all of my block components then headed to the sewing machine. I used Aurifil black in the bobbin and an Aurifil dark grey in the top so I could see where I was on the black.  I tightened up my stitch length to 1.8 as it seemed to work better to keep the curves smooth. I used a Schmetz Microtek Sharp needle (my favorite) in an 80/12 size.

With my trusty stilletto in hand, I tried the Cut Rite method but after ripping out for the 3rd time, decided to glue them. 

I used my favorite Acorn precision piecing glue which is heat set. It doesn't leave the fabric full of gluey stuff like a white glue or the glue pens. My Oliso iron was the pefect size for working on the curves. I glued the ends first, then the center then filled in with a few dots here and there.

I used a rigid seam guide on the base of my machine for more accuracy, set at a perfect scant quarter. I sewed all my blocks and pressed. My curves were absolutely perfect! Nice and smooth, ends matching nicely. This is where the wonky became apparent. Not sure where I went wrong, but a little trimming solved the problem. I just trimmed from 8 1/2" to 8". 

Once I trimmed the blocks, it was simply a matter of laying them out into rows and sewing them together.  Dottiann Chevalier quilted it for me using a fine weight polyester thread in gold to give it a little sheen. She did a cool pattern of swirling dragonflies! I used a black batting from Hobbs just in case there was a little bearding from the quilting process. The back is black with speckles of color that complement the Daisy May collection colors. 

So there it is!  My Drunkard's Path challenge quilt is complete. Let me see pictures of yours!  Post on Facebook or Instagram at Dragonfly Fiberart Patterns. :-)

Happy Sewing!

Sue

Be sure to check out the wonderful designs the other ambassadors created for the challenge. So many unique approaches and viewpoints. I like them all so much it is difficult to choose a favorite!

• Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
• Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
• Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
• Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs
• Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
• Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts
• Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
• Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
• Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
• Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
• Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
• Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
• Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
• Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
• Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
• Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
• Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
• Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
• Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
• Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations