July - An Island Batik Month

I had so much fun this month as an

Island Batik Ambassador.

I wanted to do a recap of the month

because the projects are some of my favorite to date.

The beginning of July brought the

Island Batik was super generous and provided the fabrics

from the new

Freedom fabrics collection designed by Kathy Engle

for my

Carpenter Star quilt.

I've always wanted to participate in the 

Quilts of Valor Foundation

and this was the month I finally did it.

That post can be found by clicking HERE.

One of the biggest challenges for July was a video challenge for Island Batik.

We receive 2 boxes a year and this was box number two.

Mid-July I was super excited to join other

talented Thermoweb designers

 for the

Summer Fun Sew Along.

I combined my Thermoweb designer gig with my Island Batik Ambassador gig

and

had so much fun 

 designing a quilt block inspired by so many childhood memories.

Later I made the Summer Fun Kitchen Towels with the sew along quilt blocks.

The post with all the pattern information is HERE and the towel post is HERE.

I saved my favorite July project for last:

The July Challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors was

Artsy Fartsy.

I went out to our pond and spent time just looking around and taking pictures.

That was my inspiration for

Patience - The Art

The real challenge was to make him look half in and out of the water of the pond.

Check out the fun pictures of my frog process HERE.

He was so fun to create and I didn't want him to get lost in the shuffle of vacations

 and 

crazy busy summer fun.

Bring on August!!

Summer Fun Kitchen Towels

I had a great time joining other

members of the Thermoweb Fabric Design Team

to make a series of 

Summer Fun Quilt Blocks.

All 4 free quilt block patterns are available over at Thermoweb.

Click HERE for the patterns.

Catching Fireflies

is my design.

It's a 6" finished quilt block.

 I used HeatNBond EZ Print Lite to print the patterns right on the fusible adhesive to create all of the quilt blocks. 

 Just print, fuse, cut, bond, and stitch.  It's that easy.

My fabrics are all Island Batik 
and 
the thread I used to stitch around the appliques is
Aurifil Thread:  50wt #2620.

Today I am over at Thermoweb

to share a tutorial

for

Summer Fun Kitchen Towels.

The smaller quilt blocks make it a cinch for this quick summer project that is perfect for gifts or your own home decor.  

Who can't use a new, super cute kitchen towel?

Click HERE to find my free pattern in a special blog post over at Thermoweb.

Craft a little summer today!!

Artsy Fartsy - Patience, The Art

The July Challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors is

Artsy Fartsy.

Today is my day to show

Patience - The Art

As Island Batik Ambassadors,

we are to get fancy with the Aurifil Artsy Fartsy Challenge!

Fabric is our canvas and Aurifil thread our paint!

The challenge is to

create a one of a kind art quilt or project with 3 different weights of Aurifil thread.

Well that sounded easy enough... NOT.

It's not that using different thread weights is hard, it's coming up with an artsy idea.

I went through magazines, books, and web pages

and still, I had no ideas.

I was even thinking about doing one of my favorite past projects again

only in a new size. But even that was a struggle. I was losing my patience.

Then it hit me, why not take some time, take the camera out in the yard

and see if anything (maybe flowers) inspired me.

I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed the afternoon in my own back yard.

Mostly the pictures were of flowers and bugs, but as

I sat on the dock at our pond, I noticed there were eyes everywhere watching me.

OK, maybe they weren't interested in me at all.

The frogs just sit and wait so "patiently".

These were the eyes that inspired my

Island Batik

Artsy Fartsy Challenge Quilt.

What a great model, right?  

Just sitting all day with his head out of the water waiting for something to come by.

So patient.

I sketched him out and used HeatnBond Lite Fusible Adhesive to applique the frog.

I used green, brown, and creme Island Batik fabrics I had from the Ambassador box for the frog's body and eyes.

Next, I chose the most perfect Island Batik fabrics for the background,

Forrest and Eucalyptus in the Batik Foundations Basics.

I used my new skill from the June ambassador challenge to add a soft improvised pieced curve to the top and bottom to make it look like the shore of the pond.

I sandwiched Hobbs Heirloom Natural Cotton Batting between the top and backing fabric

with SprayNBond Basting Adhesive.

Now, it was time to play with Aurifil thread.

I painted the frog with Aurifil 50 wt thread in 2 shades of green (#2882 and #2890),

 brown (#4012), cream (#2310), yellow (#2134), and black (#2692).

Once the frog had all its make-up on, I quilted the "water" with 

Aurifil 12 wt (#8730) in wavy lines.  I used 50 wt thread in the bobbin with the 12 wt on top

and I really like the heavier thread for quilting.

When I was out visiting the pond, there were flying bugs of all colors and sizes enjoying the pond, so I took that idea and added flying bugs to the corners of the quilt with Aurifil 28 wt thread in a red/orange color (#2395).  I used the machine to stitch the bugs and used a 50 wt thread in the bobbin.  I like to print my design on StitchnSew EZ Print Quilt Block Sheets and stitch right on the design. Then I just tear away the quilt block sheets.

The 28 wt thread is perfect for embroidery and is strong and shiny.

Patience - The Art

finished at 16" x 17 1/2"

I started this challenge with dread and I ended it with so many more ideas for thread.

I have more inspiration in my own backyard.

I need to spend a little more time there

and

learn to be more patient like a frog.

You can find the full list of Island Batik ambassadors posting for the 

Aurifil Artsy Fartsy Challenge

by clicking HERE.

I had a blast adding make-up to my frog with thread and can't wait to try it again.

Thank you Aurifil Thread!

Ok, one more picture - I'm in love...

Catching Fireflies - Summer Fun Sew Along

Oh, how I love summer.

So many fun things to do and enjoy the outdoors.

Today, we are celebrating

sweet summertime with a sew-along.

I'm so excited to join the 

talented Thermoweb designers

 for the

Summer Fun Sew Along.

Today I am sharing this quilt block:

There are 4 quilt blocks and the patterns are all free.

The fabrics I'm using are from

Island Batik

and the thread I used to stitch around the applique is

Aurifil thread:  50wt #2620

I'm using

 HeatNBond EZ Print Lite 

to print the patterns right on the fusible adhesive to create all of the quilt blocks. 

 Just print, fuse, cut, bond, and stitch.  It's that easy.

Head over to the Thermoweb Blog

to download the 4 FREE patterns

and

Quilt Along

 with us.

I'll have a project with all the blocks to share on July 28th over on the Thermoweb blog.

I've been having some summer fun.

Blog Hop Announcement - My Favorite Quilt Block

We took a little break, but it's time to start thinking about fall.

Today I am happy to announce a new stitching blog hop.

There are about 2 months to sew something and join in on the fun.  

It's another easy theme that should have you thinking of lots of things you could make.

Your favorite quilt block should be your inspiration.

Show it, explain why you love it, and make it a project.

What kind of project?

Anything you like.  

Make a tutorial for the block (or not), make a quilt (or not), make a pot holder, make a mug rug, just make us smile to see your favorite quilt block.

Interpret it any way you like.

The blog hop rules:  

sorry, there has to be a little organization...

Sew something that includes "your favorite quilt block".

It's up to you!  Inspire us.

Post your project on your assigned day.

Have a giveaway or don't have a giveaway. It's totally optional!

Visit everyone's blog on the list and leave a sweet comment.

Are you in?

Send me an email with the following information:
Your first name
Your email address
Your blog name

Your blog URL

Let's get to stitching.