Please, welcome a new member of Island Batik Ambassador family – Sharon Riley, who also happens to be a Certified Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 Design Instructor! Sharon made her first quilt about 10 years ago and got hooked. Over time, she began spreading her love of quilting with others and creating her own patterns, which you might have seen in such publications as Love of Quilting, Easy Quilts, Quilty, Quilting Quickly, Winter Festival of Quilts, and Quilting Quickly! In 2019, she formed her business, Sew Riley Designs, and continues to share her passion of quilting with her followers!

For Sharon, quilting is a “jobbie”: “I enjoy the freedom and individuality that quilting offers and love the opportunity to teach and help others to grow in their love of quilting”. As a Certified Instructor for Deb Tucker, Sharon has the platform of her Facebook page to share her quilting tips along with Tucker Time with The Quilt Rambler. She also teaches at a local quilt shop and does trunk shows with local guilds.

Quilt, made for the 2020 August Island Batik Log Cabin Blog Hop. Sharon used Island Batik Ancient Etchings fabric by Jackie Kunkel, Aurifil thread, needles by Schmetz Needles, batting by Hobbs and Studio 180 Design tools. To learn more about the quilt, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/SewRileyDesigns/posts/1029170877470071.

Sharon is unlikely to use the same colorway over and over again in her projects: “When making class samples or quilts that will be featured in trunk shows, I try to never repeat my colorways. Instead, I focus on bringing in color combinations that are not what people usually think about. I love pushing the color envelope with my quilts”.

Quilt, made for the 2020 March Island Batik Ambassador challenge, One Die Wonder. Sharon used Island Batik fabric, AccuQuilt GO! cutter and die, a needle by Schmetz Needles and Aurifil thread. To read more about the quilt, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/SewRileyDesigns/photos/a.931831117204048/1066801250373700

Sharon’s favorite techniques include creating secondary patterns with the blocks, so the quilt looks far more complicated than it actually is, using a mixture of shapes to create an illusion of curves without all the work and paper piecing.

Table Set, made for the 2020 Island Batik Ultimate Home Decor Blog Hop. Sharon used the fabric from Island Batik Winter Forest collection by Kathy Engle,  Aurifil thread, batting by Hobbs and a needle by SCHMETZ needles. To read more about the set, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/islandbatik/posts/3998530063522957

Make sure to follow Sharon on Facebook for great quilting ideas and inspiration:

Facebook: Sew Riley Designs

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