Bountiful Table Toppers

The challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors this September was Bountiful Table Toppers.  Each Ambassador could create a table topper out of their stash of beautiful Island Batik Fabrics.

This was a busy month for me and I didn't get started on this project until last week.  I decided on a table  mat from a larger project I'd already designed.   I decided to use three fabrics from Island Batik Tradewinds.  I love the smokey blue/green/teal with the almost black fabrics.

As I was deciding on which project, I realized that this table topper could easily be quilted with the Westalee/Sew Steady templates!  I've mentioned in an earlier email about the Westalee quilting foot that allows you to sew and use templates on your domestic machine.  What a time saver this is!  No marking and lovely accurate quilting - they are a dream!

These are the three templates I used for the project:  The 2" circle, 12" arc and 4" arc.  The circle and 4" arc come in the sample packet and the 12" arc came with the foot.  I stitched in the ditch with clear around all the shapes and did the other quilting with black thread in the top and bobbin.  The project measures 14 1/4" x 14 1/4".

Here are a couple photos of the quilt being quilted:

Photos of the final project - front and back so that you can see all the quilting.

Table mats and runners are quick and easy- great for gift giving.  Plenty of time to make a few!

Camp Auction Quilt

I've been working on a quilt for our local church camp.  They are having a Festival Oct 1 at Camp Alexander Mack in Milford IN on Oct 1.  It is a fun day with lots of activities, food booths and a live and silent auction.  Everyone is invited for a fun day.  The quilt I made for the auction is called Camp Fire Memories.

I seldom remember to take photos of quilts in progress, but here are a couple of this one.

The above photo shows the process (and mess) of fabric selections.

Here the flames are somewhat decided (notice I took out the gray and silver fabrics), and the browns for the logs are being decided.

Ready for quilting!

Camp Fire Memories Quilt

by Connie Kauffman

Camp Mack Festival Oct 1 Milford Indiana

Live auction 10:30 am

Westalee Ruler Foot for Machine Quilting - Domestic Machines

I am so excited to share with you the Westalee Design Ruler Foot for Domestic Machines.  This is a foot that fits on a domestic machine and allows you to use rulers for machine quilting.  I have been looking for a foot like this for a long time, and I have to tell you it is WONDERFUL!

This foot is a true 1/2" foot that gives you 1/4" stitching from the needle to the template. on all sides.  It works just like you see on a long arm machine.  The foot is available for low shank or high shank domestic machines.

Sew Steady is a wonderful company that will be able to help you make sure you have the correct foot for your machine.  All you have to do is give them the name of the machine you have and they will be able to tell you if you need a low shank or high shank foot.  You can also go to the Westalee Design website and they have diagrams and info on which foot you will need for each machine.

          *just a note of clarification - Westalee Design products are designed and made in Australia,.  They are partnered with Sew Steady to bring these great tools to the USA.

The foot attaches to your machine just like your other feet.  I have a Bernina machine and I did need to purchase a small adaptor shank to put the foot on, and now it attaches like all my other feet.  Sew Steady can let you know if you need an adaptor shank- not all machines need this.

My Bernina machine took a low shank foot (almost all Bernina's take a low Shank foot), and this foot also fits on my Gem Gold Machine from Janome because it is also a low shank machine.

I encourage you to go to both the Westalee Design Website and the Sew Steady Website and read all their information and how to order your own ruler foot. You can also start looking at their great variety of templates.  They have many wonderful videos on how to use the templates- these are very helpful.  You can also find their videos on U Tube. 

I'll be sharing about many of their templates in future posts - stay tuned!

Seaside Summer Blog Hop Winner

I hope everyone enjoyed the Island Batik Seaside Summer Blog Hop.  The winner from my blog was chosen by Random.org.  The winner is:  Allison!  Your fabrics are on the way.