Kauffman Designs

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Magnetic Invisible Quilt Hangers

Over the years I've used a variety of ways to hang my quilts. Most ways to hang quilts do a fairly good job although I have had one reoccurring problem. I have two places in my home that can get some breeze from open doors or even from people walking by. Hanging quilts here has always been an issue.

Other problems with hanging quilts can be how far apart to put nails, do rods show, do the nails support the whole quilt, etc.

I want to share with you my all time favorite way to hang quilts. You need to check out the Magnetic Invisible Quilt Hangers.

These quilt hangers have a metal plate that adheres to the wall with removable adhesive strips. Since these are removable, they do not damage your walls. A powerful magnet snaps onto the metal plate. The magnet is white and leaves no residue on your quilt. The only thing you have to do is get your own metal rod (steel) to put through your hanging sleeve. The rod and quilt will snap tightly to the magnet and hang securely. The quilt hangs tightly with no worry of it falling because of weight or wind.

At the present time I have this quilt hanging using two of the magnetic hangers. This quilt is 41" x 65" and it holds it securely. It could hold a much larger and heavier quilt. Another thing I like about these hangers is that you don't see any rods or other means of support. Your quilt seems to be floating very close to the wall.

These hangers can be used to hang all kinds of fiber arts as well as wooden signs, curtains, banners, etc.

You can see these hangers at many large quilt shows I recently saw them at the AQS Grand Rapids Quilt Show, or check out their website, or look at their videos on Facebook at Magnificent Quilting Company. Also check for them at your favorite Quilt Shop.

These hangers are great - I hope you give them a try!

Monday, May 18, 2026

New Funky Friends

Over the years as an Island Batik Ambassador I've made over half a dozen different Funky Friends. The patterns are great and I've enjoyed making them. I decided to buy two more patterns to make for gifts. I bought Ellie Elephant and Lamkins Lamb.

I had some different minky fabrics I wanted to make them with. They turned out cute and cuddly - but I don't care for sewing with the minky like fabric with the way it makes so much fuzz.....

Monday, May 11, 2026

Looking Back and Looking Forward

It's been awhile since I've posted. There have been a lot of changes for me. I've been an Island Batik Ambassador for the past 12 years. I was fortunate to be accepted into the program when it began and it has been an amazing experience. At the end of the year, after a lot of thought I decided it was time to resign from the program for various reasons.

Surprisingly this year the Island Batik Ambassador program has gone on hold or been discontinued. What was once just Island Batik has now become Lumin Fabrics with three new fabric companies along with Island Batik. The new companies are White Owl, Ecco Cotton and Tide & Loom. It is now a very large company and has even moved to a new and larger location. They are very busy getting this all started, so the Ambassador program has taken a back seat at least at this time.

I'm sorry to see the Ambassador program not continuing. It was a very rewarding program. I was hoping to keep seeing all the creativity from the Ambassadors each month.

I've thought a lot about what I loved about being an Island Batik Ambassador, and things I've learned. Here are just a few of the things I've learned:

*It's inspiring to surround yourself with other creative persons. I didn't count, but there have been many different persons involved as Ambassadors over the years. Each month there was a new challenge and it was always amazing to see how creatively all the Ambassadors interpreted the challenges and what amazing projects they came up with. I miss this community and the continual inspiration already.

*I learned to start and FINISH a project each month. Having to make a project and post it each month was incentive and helped to create this drive in me. Often I would still be working on several projects, but at least one would get completed and posted. I do NOT like unfinished projects and now try to always finish anything I start.

I now am making my own monthly challenges to keep me inspired. So far this is going well and I already have more than a years worth of challenges I want to do. I've already made many projects that I will be posting soon.

*It is inspiring for me to actually see fabrics to create designs. The Island Batik Ambassador program was exactly what I needed. The fabrics they sent were beautiful and new on the market or even fabrics before they hit the market. This was a great help in designing and also in getting projects published. Batiks have been and will always be my favorite fabrics to work with.

*It is easier to design with a limited pallet. One of the challenges of being an Ambassador was we were often sent a whole collection of a fabric line- often 20 fabrics to work with. They wanted us to use as many fabrics as we could in our project. This was a great way to promote their fabric lines, but it was often a challenge to include that many fabrics in one project. Working with a complete fabric line was AMAZING and I loved it, even though it was often challenging. While the projects were lovely to view, I doubt many persons really want to purchase up to 20 fabrics to make a project unless they can be made with precuts.

While this was fun and a challenge, I enjoy now working with more limited pallets. I have a lovely fabric stash that I can draw from and pick as many fabrics as needed. And of course there is my scrap stash that is always available! Island Batik was so generous with their fabrics that I couldn't use them all in the monthly challenges, so you will still be seeing many projects with them in the future.

Keep watching my posts as I will be showing projects that I create from my own monthly challenges!

Monday, December 29, 2025

2025 Year End Review

This ends my 12th year as an Island Batik Ambassador. What an experience this has been! I was an Ambassador when the program started and have loved every year since. Island Batik is a fantastic company and makes the most beautiful batiks. Their Ambassador program is fantastic. It has been a joy to work with all the creative challenges and it has been great to get to know all the other talented designers in the program.

That said, this is my last year as an Ambassador. It has been such a joy for me, but life enters in and this seems like the appropriate time to close this challenge. I wanted to end the year by showing all the projects I made this year with the monthly Ambassador Challenges.

The February Challenge was called Runner Up. The Sponsor for this challenge was the Deb Tucker's Studio 180. I named this table runner (14 1/2" x 34") Sparklers.

The March Challenge was It's All Up to You. We could make what ever we wanted this month. I picked the pattern Fab Farm by Elizabeth Hartman 38" x 39".

The April Challenge was to make a Drunkard's Path quilt. The one I created is 58" x 58".

The May Challenge was the Irish Chain Blog Hop. I made two quilts for this. A large one and a miniature to match. The mini one is 15 1/2" x 15 1/2".

June was the Funky Friends Challenge. We got to pick a pattern from the Funky Friend Factory and I picked the Daisy Dress Up Dolls. The pattern is for two different dolls so of course I had to make them both!

July was the Hot Stuff Challenge with Oliso. Oliso sent each Ambassador an Iron Carry Bag along with an Oliso M3 Pro iron. We were instructed to decorate the iron cover.

September was the Threaded Chaos Challenge. The sponsor for this challenge was Aurifil Thread. My project is 42" x 53".

September was the Sew Stylish By Annie Challenge. This year I picked the pattern called Two Big Totes.

November Challenge was Timeless Traditions. We were instructed to pick 5 traditional patterns from a list and make a project. My Pumpkin Patchwork is 25" x 29".

The last challenge of the year was another It's All Up to You Challenge. We could make what ever we wanted. I decided to make three stained glass quilts.

You can go back in my blog to see more info on each project.

Island Batik is now under the company name . Lumin Fabrics has 3 subdivisions - Island Batik, and . I hope you check out each of these and see what great fabrics they are offering.

Friday, December 12, 2025

It's All Up to You Challenge

The December Island Batik Ambassadors Challenge is called It's All Up to You. This is a fun challenge where we are able to create a project of our own choosing. Using any of the supplies sent thru the Ambassador program opens up a lot of possible projects!

This year I decided to work on some stained glass wall quilts that I had been wanting to try. Here are my three completed wall quilts made from free online stained glass designs (not quilt patterns).

The first quilt measures 18" x 26", the second is 15" x 26" and the third is 13" x 13". I haven't named any of these, so any suggestions would be great!

Batik fabrics are just wonderful for doing stained glass images, and they really pop against the black background. It is really fun to pick out the fabrics.

Here are a couple photos of the first quilt. It was quite a process. You can see the pattern under the fabric. I had this over a light box.

It got more exciting to add the colors.

I planned to try a couple different things with these quilts. All the quilts are raw edge applique, fused with Lite Steam A Seam 2. In the first quilt and third quilt I quilted in the ditch around each shape in black Aurifil thread with a cotton Hobbs batting and Schmetz needles. It lays very nice. If you quilt this way, you need to be very sure your applique pieces are securely fused.

In the second quilt I quilted around the edge of each applique piece in coordinating Aurifil thread. This technique secures each piece very well. I used a thin Hobbs Thermore batting. This quilt has a little more "poof" than using a flatter cotton batting.

As you can see, Aurifil has a color to match every fabric!

Many thanks to Island Batik/Lumin fabrics, and sponsors Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread, Schmetz Needles for supplying products for these projects thru the Island Batik Ambassador program.

Be sure and check out what the other Ambassadors are creating this month.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Tina Dillard – Quilting Affection Designs

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Kimberly Flannagan – Kimberlys Quilts

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Kim Jamieson-Hirst- Chatterbox Quilts

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color

Solomae Stoycoff – Cuddle Cat Quiltworks

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Timeless Traditions Island Batik Ambassador Blog Hop

The November Island Batik Ambassadors Blog Hop is called Timeless Traditions.

To start the challenge for this month the fabrics I could use were sent in the July Ambassador box. They were wrapped as a Surprise bundle as the fabrics were not in the stores yet.

I received the fabric collection called Radiant Wings by Kathy Engle

The Ambassadors were given a list of Traditional quilt blocks and we had to choose 5 blocks to use in our project this month. I picked the following blocks: half square triangle, nine patch, Ohio Star, Friendship Star and flying geese.

This project was a challenge in many ways. First off, I was in a time crunch and was sure I couldn't get a lap quilt finished so I opted to make a wall quilt. After deciding on the 5 traditional blocks, it was a challenge to find a design that used them all together.

Here is my finished project - Pumpkin Patchwork 25" x 29".

As I was looking around for ideas the first thing I decided on was the border with flying geese and Ohio Star blocks. That used two of the required blocks. It is very unusual to pick out the border first, but that's what I did for this project!

Next I had to decide what to do for the center of the quilt. I liked the pattern by Lori Holt called Autumn Quilt Seeds. She has 9 different pumpkin patterns with quilt designs in the center of each pumpkin. I played around with one of the pumpkin blocks to get the remaining traditional blocks in it - Nine Patch, Half Square Triangles and a variation of the Friendship Star block. I am happy with the final design.

Radiant Wings has 20 fabrics in the collection and I used 14 of them. I also included a few pieces of lime green, brown and bright yellow from other collections.

I used Hobbs Tuscany Collection Cotton Blend batting for the first time and I loved it.

Aurifil Threads had colors that went really well for the quilting.

Schmetz needles are my go to in sewing all things and work very well in piecing and quilting batiks.

The little Oliso M3Pro iron is great for working with smaller paper piecing blocks.

Many thanks to Island Batik/Lumin Fabrics, Aurifil Thread, Hobbs Batting, Schmetz Needles and Oliso Irons for providing products to make this project thru the Island Batik Ambassador Program.

Be sure to visit Lumin Fabrics to enter the drawing for some fabulous fabrics and follow along with all the Ambassadors in this blog hop.

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Timeless Traditions Island Batik Ambassadors Blog Hop

Lumin Fabrics/Island Batik welcomes you to the Timeless Traditions Blog Hop.

Below you can see the post from Island Batik.

This event honors the blocks that have shaped quilting through the years, reimagined by our talented Ambassadors using new Island Batik collections now arriving in quilt shops.

For this challenge, each Ambassador was asked to use at least five different traditional quilt blocks in their project, in any combination, layout, or size. It’s a chance to revisit the classics and give them a fresh, personal twist. Throughout the hop, you’ll see how each designer has interpreted the theme Timeless Traditions in their own unique way, from bold, modern takes to quilts that feel like cherished heirlooms.

As you follow along, we encourage you to visit your local quilt shop to explore the new Island Batik collections featured during the Timeless Traditions Blog Hop. Supporting local shops helps keep the quilting community strong, connected, and full of inspiration.

Each Friday, we’ll wrap up the week with a round-up of featured projects and a giveaway! Two lucky winners will each receive a Fat Quarter bundle from the new Island Batik collections showcased that week. Be sure to visit all the Ambassadors’ blogs to see their beautiful quilts and watch for even more giveaways along the way!

Below is the full line-up of the Ambassadors, the collections they’ll feature, and their post dates. Mark your calendar and get ready to be inspired!

WEEK 1

November 3:

Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilt Studio