Since 2016 I have been truly blessed to be associated with an amazing company and special people in that company - Studio 180 Design!  I made the decision of becoming a Certified Studio 180 Design Instructor not really knowing what to expect.  Well, let me tell you.  That decision has been one of my very best decisions I have made since I quit my corporate job in hopes of starting my own business, focusing on quilt pattern designing and anything to do with quilts!  So, it is with such a pleasure and excitement that I'm writing this blog post, showcasing an outstanding new batik collection for Island Batik by Studio 180 Design team, called Exuberance!

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What attracted me to this collection was these wonderful, vivid colors, and wonderful movement on the designs!  I had to get my hands onto these fabrics and see them myself!  From my previous blog post you may recall I have been really busy (I mean, REALLY BUSY).  So I needed to choose a design that would nicely showcase these fabrics while making sure I could make the quilt REALLY FAST!  There was one design I recently made that was perfect for this purpose!

A week ago I finished teaching on a quilting cruise.  I had brought these precut fabrics with me in hopes to get an early start on making this quilt.  But...I should have known better, I didn't get much done.  I worked on it for half an hour on the wee hours of one evening.  And being so late at night (and having worked all day long), you guessed it, I ended up making some mistakes.  So I decided to set the project aside and wait until I would get home to get started.  So instead of sewing, I chose to concentrate on teaching, and yes, even relaxing a little bit while visiting this beautiful island, Perfect Day Coco Cay.
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Vendla's Play Date happens to be one of my favorite quilt patterns!  When I designed this quilt, I initially drew the block with a regular V Block surrounded by some rectangles on three of the sides.  While you certainly could make this quilt using this method that I initially came up with, it would mean there would be five different seams to each block. If I chose to do it that way, it would also mean I would need to be very careful with all of the points so I wouldn't lose them.
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And I wasn't too excited about that.  So, I decided to see if I could make this block with just two seams.  After playing for a little while with my favorite tool, the V Block tool, I developed a way to make this block (along with a block with a smaller center triangle) with only two seams!  Boy was I excited!

I used this method to make Vendla's Play Date (you can buy it here) with the beautiful Exuberance collection shown below.  Once you learn the technique, you can make this small quilt (42" x 53") super fast.  Don't you think it looks cute with these lovely new fabrics that are available at your local quilt store right now?  The quilt uses (17) 10" x 10" assorted precuts along with yardage for the background fabric.  There is very little matching, and the quilt comes together really fast.  It is a perfect pattern for making those last minute baby quilt gifts!  The more times you make it, the faster it gets as you get the new, floating V Block technique down!
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​So, you may ask how long did it take me to make this quilt.  What do you think?  Give me a guess?  Making the original quilt it took me just under two days (including quilting and binding it).  This was my second time making it.  And including the mistakes I made while cruising, and the resulting unstitching, I spend roughly a total of 14 hours, including quilting (with my longarm) and binding it from start to finish!  Now you understand why I say this is a super FAST quilt to make!

Again, to buy Vendla's Play Date, click here.  And get these wonderful fabrics now from your local quilt shop!

To get more eye candy and inspiration, make sure you visit all the participating blogs:

Deb Tucker started the Blog Hop on Sunday, followed by these designers:

• Monday, 3/27/23 Diana Man of Mugaboo Quilts
• Tuesday, 3/28/23 Tina Dillard of Quilting Affection Designs
• Wednesday, 3/29/23 Karen Overton The Quilt Rambler
• Thursday, 3/30/23 Phyllis Fay of Tucker University
• Friday, 3/31/23 Amy Costabile from Amy’s Quilt Room
• Saturday, 4/1/23 Raija Salomaa of Quilter’s Treasure Chest

​By the way, who knew going for a photo shoot can be dangerous.  It was a very windy day on Friday in Arkansas.  In fact, there were tornadoes raging in the other parts of this state.  Luckily, our part of the state was spared from tornadoes, but we had really strong winds.  A friend of mine and I arrived to Tanyard Creek amid strong winds to take some photos of some of my quilts.  As we set Vendla's Play Date quilt on the ground, we heard a very strange noise, and just around 10 yards from us we saw a tree shown on this pic fall down.  It scared the heck out of me!  Luckily we didn't get hurt, but it was a close call, a wayyy too close of a call!  As we left and started walking towards out cars, we saw some big tree branches blocking the trail.  Just half an hour earlier, as we had arrived, nothing was blocking the path....The moral of the story - you may think twice going in the middle of the trees on a windy day!

I don't know anything much better and more inspiring than being asked by one of your dear friends to participate in a blog hop showcasing a beautiful Island Batik Collection!  My friend Heidi has a beautiful Signature Collection called Chickadee that is now available at your local quilt stores and I was asked to design a precut friendly quilt showcasing these beautiful fabrics!  This collection has a range of rich colors from deep red to lime, from lovely blues to interesting oranges!

So, despite my plate being more than full, I couldn't resist in being part of this blog hop and design a quilt to go with it.

So, where did I begin?  Naturally, since the time was of extra value, I decided to turn into my favorite tool, which is a V Block tool by Studio 180 design.  I had recently come up with a cool method for another tool, and decided to apply similar concept to the V Block tool, keeping in mind that I was supposed to work with precuts (10" x 10" pieces of fabric).  I drafted a couple of block on my Electric Quilt 8 software program and started playing with the layout.

I loved what was happening in front of my eyes, and I was curious to see what would take place if I started to fill in the shapes with the beautiful fabrics from the Chickadee collection.  And, it didn't disappoint me!  Those fabrics looked like they were specifically made for this quilt!  After double and triple checking that this design really works with 10" x 10" squares, I was ready to cut into fabrics and to see how my newly created technique would work.

Well, guess what?  It turns out that there are many benefits using this technique!  The center points on the V Block triangle always come out perfect!  The technique saves time and fabric, as usually this shape you would have to sew four seams to a block, and now you only have two seams to sew!  One thing to keep in mind though - my new technique (floating V Blocks) differs a lot by how to use this amazing tool.  So, if you decide to give this technique a try, pay attention to the instructions!  Once you understand the technique, you will have truly a lot of fun making this quilt, and maybe designing many of your own!

What I also was amazed is how fast this quilt comes together: From the start (cutting the fabric) to finish (having quilted and binded this quilt) it only took me less than two days to make it!  Now, what could be better than to make a fun quilt that looks like you had spent much longer time on creating it, and to gift it to a deserving bundle of joy!  So, let's welcome Vendla's Play Date!

Vendla's Play Date is named after my 7th great grandparents, Vendla and Eric Mellsten.  They were born in the early 18th century in Finland.  They made their home in Inkoo, which is a Swedish speaking town in Southern Finland, about 45 minute ride west from Helsinki.  I have never been to Inkoo, but I have a trip planned to go to Finland this spring, and one of my hopes is to visit many ancestral towns in Finland that have come into light during this past year.  It is truly fun to discover where you come from!

If you would like to buy Vendla's Play Date pattern, I'm offering an introductory price of $8.00 until the end of February!  You can buy it by clicking here.

Don't forget to visit your local quilt store and to add some of this beautiful fabric into your fabric collection!  And, make sure to visit all the amazing designers who are participating in this blog hop.  Here are the blog addresses for all the blog posts:

The Whimsical Workshop
Needle in a Hayes Stack
Devoted Quilter
Studio R Quilts
Quilters' Treasure Chest
Katie Mae Quilter
Textile Time Travels
​Slice of Pi Quilts
Masterpiece Quilting
Utah Quilt Apppraiser
Tama​rinis
​Faith and Fabric​
Melissa Marginet

It is an honor to be asked to be a part of a Blog Hop showcasing a beautiful, new fabric collection for Island Batik!  Deb Tucker and her excellent team at Studio 180 Design came up with an outstanding collection of stunning fabrics with vibrant colors ranging from lovely oranges to luscious caramels and anything in between!   

My name is Raija Salomaa, I'm the owner and the creative mind behind Quilters' Treasure Chest.  I have been a Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design now for 7 years.  I love designing, teaching, giving lectures at guilds, and cruising while teaching!  My go-to Studio 180 Design tool is the V Block tool.  Many of my patterns use this tool as it creates a fun unit that always adds something wonderful to the quilt design.

The theme for this blog hop was table runners.  That suited me well as I have been super busy lately and wouldn't have been able to participate if I had needed to create a regular-size quilt.  So, with that in mind (and after getting a reminder email from Studio 180 as I had been on a cruise when I got this invitation, and then totally forgot all about it) I decided to use the same design concept on the table runner as my lovely Gives Me Butterflies pattern uses.  

Announcing the Quick Quilt Pattern Bundle!  (click link here)
This bundle features 20 incredibly talented quilt designers. Yup - 20!! 

If you love fabric as much as I do… let’s say it’s highly collectable. Then you are going to find this collection of patterns soooo helpful. 

No more guessing if what you have on hand is going to work.  Every pattern is stash friendly. 
Whether that is little bits, larger fat quarters or leftover pieces in between.  

The Quick Quilt Pattern Bundle is only available for a few days, so you’ll want to grab your copy today.  

Like right now. (click here for the link)

This bundle is all about taking the guesswork out of - can I make a quick quilt that’s cute??

There are times when we just want to sew and finish something quick - and of course that’s cute too and uses our stash.

Everything is put together in one bundle letting you take the time to find the pattern instead of the fabric. 
I have a collection of these… as you may as well. 

The Quick Quilts Bundle features patterns that are all quilter experience friendly. 
No matter how long or short you’ve been sewing or how big or small your stash is, this pattern bundle is perfect to dig into and get sewing and finishing something quick!

You’ll not only be inspired by the variety of patterns and designers included, but you’ll be happy to dig through your stash and save money (not buying new fabric) and get it to the machine. 

The Quick Quilt Pattern Bundle includes 20 patterns from the same number of different designers for only $19.  You are correct - you will get one pattern each from 20 different amazing designers.  But hurry - this deal will not last.  It will be available only until the 9th of October, 2022. 
To purchase the pattern bundle, click here now!





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One of the most rewarding aspects of being a part of the quilting community is to get to admire some striking fabrics!  It is as if I'm reliving my childhood, being a kid in a candy store (I'm probably the person that would be in the Guinness Book of World Records of who has eaten the most candy in their lifetime, lol.  Luckily, 5 years ago I was finally able to put a stop to it).  What I love about fabric, though, is that, unlike candy, it doesn't add unwanted inches to your waistline and there are no negative health effects!  I can admire fabrics as much as I want to, and even touch and buy the ones that are calling my name, yet my health won't be put into jeopardy even if I overindulge in many of the fabrics that have caught my eye.  Now that is a great deal!

When it comes to color, I can remember being a 4 years old child and needing a winter jacket.  My parents took me to the city and off to a store we went.  My eye caught this beautiful winter jacket that was very purple.  It was truly love at first sight!  I recall my mom doubting that I would enjoy that color long-term, fearing that after just a couple of uses I would refuse to wear it again (purple wasn't a color that was very popular in those days, and we wouldn't have had the money to buy a replacement jacket).  Well, since I kept insisting that it was the exact jacket and the color I wanted my parents finally gave in. Purple has been my favorite color ever since!  

When Heidi Pridemore from Whimsical Workshop asked if I wanted to design a block for her Island Batik Signature Collection, seeing the fabrics and those beautiful purples, there was no way I would have been able to decline her offer!  Just see them yourself!  Aren't they just lovely!

I started to play with my EQ8 (an Electric Quilt program for designing quilts) and came up with something that I liked.  I emailed Heidi with the pic of the block I had come up with, and she in turned agreed to send me the fabrics needed to make it.  

A couple of months passed, and I hadn't yet started to make this block due to some other competing matters.  All of the sudden it was March, and I had been trying to help a person with a DNA connection to find her father.  Despite spending way too much time on the computer trying to find answers for her, I sadly wasn't able to solve this mystery.  All we knew that she was related to me from my mom's side.  Trying to help her, however, reignited my interest in finding my roots.  From my mom's side we have had quite a bit of information as several family trees have been compiled over the years by those who have had a keen interest and knowledge in our ancestors.  Yet sadly, with nothing else bu the DNA results to go by, I wasn't able to find our relative's dad as we had no idea how she was connected to us. 

I had always lacked information about my relatives from my dad's side.  Well, I should take that back as a year prior I had helped my cousin to research our dads' dad's (our grandfather had passed away during the war when my dad was only 5 years ago) side of the family for my uncle's 80th birthday.  But I never had been successful in tracking down my ancestors from my dad's mother's side.  All I knew that the family had moved to Kitee from Hame area of Finland around the turn of the century (~1900). 

In the evening of Pi day (3.14.22) I decided to spend some time clicking on Geni website in an effort to find my grandmother and her relatives (earlier tries had been unsuccessful).  To my surprise, someone must had entered her information there since my last search and I was about to stumble onto information that I had never been privy to.  That night changed my life!  I was able to trace my family history much further than most people are able to do.  I was literally blown away, gasping for air.  However, I knew that not all the information on this site is accurate, so despite my huge initial excitement I knew I had to take the information with a grain of salt. 

With a lot of research and help from various people (most of whom were total strangers to me), some things I was able to verify, while others not so much.  But what became apparent, however, is that I have a very unexpected ancestry, and I can't wait for the day when I have the time to sort everything out and verify the information on hand beyond the shadow of the doubt!

So what does this discovery have to do with this blog hop you may wonder?   Well, I wanted to "celebrate" my discoveries and make some changes to the quilt block I had designed to remind me of this special night, and the "secrets" that had been unearthed.  I decided to give this block (=mini quilt) a name that was fitting for the occasion.  I'm happy to introduce Coat of Arms to you!  I think it represents my discovery of my family heritage really well, with "diamonds" on the corners, with striking, "royal" colors throughout this quilt!  I can't even begin to tell how thrilled I'm of this quilt!  And what could be better than having a meaningful quilt with beautiful fabrics hanging on your wall, reminding you of something special!
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One of my all-time favorite Studio 180 Design tools is the V Block tool.  So it is no wonder that this quilt uses it.  My initial thought was to design this quilt so that one could learn to use many of the fantastic tools by Studio 180 Design without an overwhelming huge task of making a big quilt.  The other tools needed to make this quilt are: Square Squared, Corner Pop II, and Tucker Trimmer I.  If you haven't yet given a try to use these amazing tools, you must, as they will change your quilting life for the better!  How do I know that - well, they have completely changed my quilting life, and I'm now a proud Certified Instructor for these tools.  If you would like me to come and teach a class at your store/guild, I would be thrilled to do so!

​To see all the other beautiful creations made from this fabulous collection, make sure to visit all of the other designers' blogs.  Here are the names of all the designers and their respective blogs:

Blog Address Links
Heidi Pridemore    https://heidipridemore.blogspot.com/2022/09/blog-post.html
Leanne Parsons      https://www.devotedquilter.com/2022/09/storm-free-12-block-pattern.html
Tiffany Hayes         https://needleinahayesstack.blogspot.com/2022/09/woodcut-blossoms_01776719211.html
Tammy Silvers      https://tamarinis.typepad.com/tamarinis/2022/05/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-the-prickly-star-block.html
Laura Piland         https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/2022/07/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-free-woodcut.html
Kris Driessen       https://scrapdash.com/nightshade-quilt-pattern/
Jen Frost              https://faithandfabricdesign.com/2022/09/woodcut-blossoms-fabric.html  
Laureen McMurry Smith  https://tourmalinethymequilts.com/woodcut-blossoms/
Raija Salomaa      https://www.quilterstreasurechest.com/blog---raijas-bits-and-pieces   
Rebecca Lidstrom    https://www.studiorquilts.com/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop
Laura Lindsay Strickland https://orangeblossomquilt.com/blog/f/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop
Lissa LaGreca        https://lovinglylissa.com/2022/09/09/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop/
Katie Mae Quilts    https://katiemaequilts.com/blog/woodcut-blossoms
Sandra Starley        https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/2022/09/woodcut-blossoms-blog-hop-free-patterns.html

Woodcut Blossoms is now available at a quilt store near you!  And, if you are interested in making my quilt, Coat of Arms, you are welcome to get a limited time complimentary pattern by signing up on my Newsletter below.  But please hurry, the complimentary copy is only available through 10/31/2022.

It is not every day that you get an email from Studio 180 Design team and are invited to provide mockups of designs using their brand-new batik collection for Island Batik.  But this actually happened to me on a quiet January 2021 day.  When I saw the digital images of this new Tranquility collection, I was in love!  Was it because this collection reminded me so much of my home country of Finland which has an abundance of beautiful nature, or was it the beautiful soothing colors and texture of the collection that whisked me away to dreamland?  Maybe it was a bit of both.  This collection beautifully captures the treasures of nature, from beautiful river rocks to ripples of water often seen after a playful throw of rock has been tossed into the lake.  

While working with these beautiful images one mockup stood out above all the others.  And that was a design named Gives Me Butterflies.  How fitting it was to use these beautiful, nature-inspired fabrics to create a quilt that also features nature.  Butterflies are such an important part of the beauty that surrounds us, so mixing these lovely fabrics with this pattern was like a match made in heaven!

The above four fabrics emerged as winners when I was playing with my EQ8 software in the quest to come up with the best possible mockup.  I think the mockup that spoke to me the most was soft and feminine, and it really represented the name of the collection quite well. Or what are your thoughts?

The soft neutral and pink make a wonderful background for the butterflies to spread their wings.  The darker two fabrics nicely represent the butterflies.  The pattern uses a V Block tool by Studio 180 Design to easily and accurately make all those butterflies.  Ready to make your own quilt using these beautiful fabrics and this fun pattern?  Visit your local quilt store to get started.  The pattern is also available on my website.

This post is part of a Blog Hop.  Make sure you visit all the other designer's Blogs and take part of the giveaway!  Here is the schedule and links to other participants:
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• Monday July 11th, Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Design
• Tuesday July 12th, Tina Dillard of Quilting Affections Designs
• Wednesday July 13th, Raija Salomaa of Quilter’s Treasure Chest That is me - so glad you found me!
• Thursday July 14th, Diana Mann of Murgaboo Quilts
• Friday July 15th, Studio 180 Design wrap up and giveaway

​Happy quilting!

My friend, Tammy Silvers, a fellow Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design, is behind these amazing fabrics that are just reaching your favorite quilt stores!   There are so many wonderful opportunities to use these luscious fabrics.  Whether you are needing a quilt in a hurry, are needing to make a major masterpiece, or do a small project such as a bag, these fabrics are perfect for the task!

Lately, I have been working on patterns that take more than a day to make.  So, when I was invited to participate in providing a digital rendering of a quilt using these fabrics, I decided to use one of my easier patterns called Let It Be.  We all need to treat ourselves every once in a while with a project that doesn't require a huge commitment and is just quick and easy to make.  Selecting the right fabrics to go with a simple pattern will make even the easiest quilt look fantastic.  And I believe it to be the case here with Let It Be.  Let It Be comes in three sizes and is truly the pattern to go to if you are needing a quilt in a hurry or just want to take a break from making a quilt needing a lot of patience and accuracy!

If you are interested in this pattern, you can buy it as a downloadable pattern or as a printed pattern.

Many other designers are participating in Savannah Blog Hop as well, so make sure to visit their Blog posts as well!  You can find links to their posts below:

Happy Quilting and until next time, 
​Raija

The hard work that goes into designing, writing, and getting a pattern ready to be published is rewarded when you see the pattern arrive from the printers.  I have had two recent releases - Magic Potion and JouJou and both have received a really warm welcome.  

Magic Potion is a layer cake friendly, but you could easily use your own stash for it as well.  The tools of the trade are Corner Pop and Corner Pop II by Studio 180 Design.  These tools make this quilt come to life with ease and precision!  Magic Potion comes in three sizes - Lap, Twin, and Queen.  This is truly a very impressive quilt to make that is sure to wow others!

JouJou is a super fun quilt to make.  The tools used to make this quilt are Corner Pop II and Square Squared by Studio 180 Design.  This quilt uses light and dark fabrics along with six accent fabrics that make this quilt pop!  JouJou comes in three different sizes: Baby, Lap, and Twin.  The layout is the same for each three sizes as only the measurement of the block changes between the three sizes.  This quilt is getting people really excited - get your own pattern to impress your loved ones!  A few kits are available for this on all sizes - contact me via e-mail at raija@quilterstreasurechest.com if you are interested in making the quilt in the exact fabrics as the cover quilt as the kits are not listed on my website as of now!
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I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful Blog Hop to celebrate the new Island Batik Signature Collection by Kathy Engle for Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.  This is day four of this blog hop.  Make sure to visit all the other designers who have joined Tammy to celebrate the debut of this wonderful, new fabric line (see all the participants at the end of this post).

Don't you just love these wonderfully rich fabrics!  And yes, I'm partial to purples and pinks!

I played with a couple of my existing designs and my favorite renditions were produced using my popular pattern, Colors of the Wind.  If you like these renditions, you can buy Colors of the Wind pattern here. 

Which one is your favorite one?

If you have fallen in love with these beautiful batiks you can find them now at your local quilt store.  Here are the SKUs for them:

Let me know how you have enjoyed the blog hop thus far.  Below you can find all the other designers' blog posts and their wonderful renditions so you can get many ideas how to use these fabulous fabrics:  

Sept 27:        Tammy Silvers - Tamarinis 
                      Jen Frost - Faith and Fabric
                      Geeky Bobbin  
Sept 28:         Leanne Parsons - Devoted Quilter
                      Laura Strickland - Orange Blossom Quilt Design
                      Sara Flynn - Offbeat Quilts
                      Pamela Boatright - Pamela Quilts
Sept 29:         Swan Sheridan - Swan Amity Studios
                      Lisa Ruble - Love to Color My World
                      Claudia Porter - Create with Claudia
Sept 30:        Laura Piland - Slice of Pi Quilts
                      Raija Salomaa - Quilter's Treasure Chest (me!)
                      Kathryn LeBlanc - Dragonfly's Quilting Design Studio
Oct 1:            Kate Colleran - Kate Colleran Designs
                     Sherry Shish - Powered By Quilting
                     Becca Fenstermaker - Pretty Piney Quilts

Magic Potion came along while I was playing on my EQ8 (Electric Quilt 8) software program.  I didn't have anything specific in my mind - just wanted to have fun and play.  As I designed my first block and populated the quilt layout page with it I knew I was up to something special.  In the end, the quilt comprises of four different blocks to give a cohesive composition that I just adore!

For a pattern designer, the design is just the beginning   The next part is figuring out exactly how to make the quilt, what sizes the pattern will come with (this comes with Lap (above), Twin and Queen sizes) and then to write up the actual pattern.

I'm fortunate to be working with some fantastic fabric companies.  Soon after I had made my lap size test quilt I got a design call from Timeless Treasures for their upcoming Tonga Potion fabric collection.  I thought the fabrics in that collection would really play well with this design and I proceeded to pull these digital fabrics into my EQ8.  The above rendition is a Twin size quilt using Tonga Potion collection.  Isn't it adorable!

​A week ago I received the fabrics for this collection, and I have been working all week to getting the quilt made.  This quilt takes advantage of using Studio 180 Design's Corner Pop and Corner Pop II tools.  While making the blocks this time around I figured out a special way to use these tools so that each unit comes out perfect!  Because of that, I'm updating the instructions to reflect this new method of using these tools.  Stay tuned - the pattern will come out later on in September!  This is a pattern you don't want to miss out!