Emily Leachman of The Darling Dogwood joined Island Batik Ambassador family in 2019 and we were happy to see her apply for the 2020 season! A librarian by day and a quilter by night, Emily lives in a house full of quilts in Charlotte, NC with her husband, son, and dog.

Emily started quilting in college at a local craft center and quickly fell in love with fabric and quilting. That was over 20 years ago and her love of making beautiful quilts that bring comfort to family, friends, and strangers has only grown. She especially loves making quilts for children and babies.

Quilt, made for the 2019 September Island Batik Ambassador challenge, Child’s Play. Emily used Island Batik fabric, die and cutter by AccuQuilt, Aurifil thread and batting by Hobbs. For more information about the quilt, please visit: https://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/2019/09/scraptastic-spider-quilt-childs-play.html.

Unlike many quilters, who stick to either modern or traditional style in their work, Emily likes to think of her style as “fun”: “I don’t consider myself a modern quilter in terms of aesthetic and traditional isn’t really accurate for me either”.

Octopus’ Garden quilt, made for the 2019 Island Batik A Piece Of Blog Hop. Emily used the fabric from Island Batik Black Pearl collection by Kathy Engle, die and cutter by AccuQuilt, Aurifil thread and batting by Hobbs. For more information about the quilt, please visit: https://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/2019/11/octopuss-garden-part-of-a-piece-of-blog.html.

Emily describes the process of choosing a color scheme that would work for her quilt as a “combination of gut instinct and long term contemplation”: “I spend a lot of time planning quilts in my head and thinking about different colors, but it’s seeing them together that is the make or break moment.”

Mountain Cabin quilt, made for the 2020 Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop. Emily used the fabric from Island Batik Catching Dreams collection, designed for Whirligig Designs by Kathy Engle, cutter by AccuQuilt, Aurifil thread, a needle by Schmetz Needles and batting by Hobbs. For more information about the quilt, please visit: https://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/2020/02/mountain-cabin-island-batik-log-cabin.html.

When asked what techniques she enjoys the most, Emily came up with a few: “Plain old machine piecing is probably my favorite. Machine appliqué has really grown on me in recent years. I enjoy hand embroidery. And I love trying new techniques, even if I don’t end up liking them enough to go back to them again.”

Fishy Tails quilt, made for the 2019 December Island Batik Ambassador 3D Challenge. Emily used the fabric from Batik Foundations and Island Batik Black Pearl collection by Kathy Engle, cutter and die by AccuQuilt, Aurifil thread, and a needle by Schmetz Needles. For more information about the quilt, please visit: https://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/2019/12/fishy-tails.html.

Make sure to follow Emily on social media and subscribe to her blog for great quilting ideas and inspiration:

Facebook: The Darling Dogwood

Website: The Darling Dogwood

2020 Island Batik Ambassadors: https://islandbatik.com/2020-ambassadors