Quilters Playcation Pirate Treasure Map Quilt

For this year’s Quilter’s Playcation Adventure Sew Along, Cheryl Arkison has created 2 versions of an improv pieced Treasure Map. One version is on a bigger scale and more representational and the other, the one I chose, is smaller and more abstract. (Click the link to see what she’s been doing with her two quilts) My quilt is less abstract that Cheryl’s. It is a mix of both abstract and representational designs. And there are neither boat nor pirate fabrics in Cheryl’s. I just couldn’t resist when I found them in my stash!

Here are the components of the Treasure Map, in the order on my quilt, but not in the order Cheryl posted them:

• Ocean waves

• A palm tree

• Footprints in the sand

• A compass (I added a note in a bottle on the compass strip because it’s always good to let someone know where you are, just in case!)

• A cave (a bat cave in my quilt)

• A Jolly Roger flag

• A hidden trap in the trail

• X marks the spot (an arrow in my quilt because the cross bones of my Jolly Roger is an X)

• The actual hidden treasure

• A volcano

So were is the hidden treasure? I’ve actually given you two clues! Can you find it?

Or…are you ready for the big reveal?

There’s the treasure! Under an flap of vines!

Cheryl hasn’t revealed her treasure yet…That will happen the first Tuesday in December, 2023 on her YouTube channel. I jumped ahead because I wanted to get this quilt on the calendar I make every year.

I was feeling kind of done with curves! But this is a Cheryl Arkison project so the curves insisted on being included in the treasure chest! And they are definitely the correct design choice. I wasn’t sure what to use for the treasure. But then I saw some Mardi Gras necklaces in a drawer. There is glue between each of the beads so it was safe to cut it apart. It’s perfect…gold, not gold!

I posted the treasure chest strip on Instagram #qpadventuresewlong and #quiltersplaycation so Cheryl has seen it…and her comment was “Love it!” So happy she approves!

This has been so much fun! This quilt is now hanging in my hallway, opposite a castle full of Vikings. Hmmm. What does that say about me?

Where's the Pirate's Treasure?

There is just one more month to go in Cheryl Arkison’s Quilters Adventure Playcation Treasure Map. This has been a free monthly program of prompts and tutorials on Cheryl’s YouTube channel. It’s really the project that I’ve had the most fun working on this year.

I chose the small format abstract improv option so that I can hang it up in my hallway. This month’s prompt was “X marks the spot” but my abstract Jolly Roger flag’s crossed bones is an in-your-face X. So I opted to make a small red arrow.

Each strip is now pieced, but I’m waiting for the final November prompt to decide on the layout of the strips.

Top to bottom:

Ocean, palm tree, volcano, hidden trap, compass (and a message in a bottle that I added), Jolly Roger, location of the buried treasure. In the bottom row I added the schooner, an illegible note, a “bead” curtain at the pirates hangout, the pirates!! and finally the marker for the hidden treasure.

What will November be? A trail of dropped coins? A trunk with the treasure? Time will tell. Cheryl did tell us it’s bit more complicated design…Can’t wait!

More Blocks for the Treasure Map Quilt

I’ve taken off on a bit of an adventure of my own in the Quilters Playcation Adventure Sew Along hosted by Cheryl Arkison.

I’ve been worried for months that Cheryl might add a compass block. Makes sense to have a compass if you are hunting for buried treasure on an island. I’m thinking circles and tricky triangles placed around it. Doable? Yes, indeed. But I was dreading it. So, while Cheryl is taking August off from designing this monthly project, I decided to design a compass on my own. I chose a raw edge appliqué technique used by Carolyn Friedlander for her “Dino Patch” quilt that is in Cheryl Arkison’s book, You Inspire Me to Quilt.

I had used Caroline’s technique in 2015 to make patches of dog friends & family for one of my all-time favorite quilt projects! So I knew I could use it to design a compass block. And while I was doing that, I decided to also add a block with message-in-a-bottle…just in case a misadventure occurred while searching for the pirate’s treasure. At least maybe someone would find the bottle and get my side of the story about the treasure hunt!

Message in the bottle block

These two blocks were so much fun to make. And now have a third block in this online project that is my own creation. (The other one is the booby trap. The block design is my own but it is based on Cheryl’s prompt for that month).

Check out the hashtag #qpadventuresewalong2023 on Instagram if you want to see what other quilters have been doing!