Saturday, January 30, 2021

Place Mat Challenge

 This month is the start of the 2021 year for the Island Batik Ambassadors.  The challenge for January was to make a set of placemats.  The Ambassadors came up with some fantastic and creative place mats you will want to see.

Also this month the Ambassadors have been posting their unboxing videos of all the fabric and supplies we will be working with the next 6 months.

Here are the Ambassadors and their blogs- be sure and check them out!

Megan Best ~
Bestquilter
Pamela Boatright ~
Pamelaquilts
Elizabeth DeCroos ~
Epida Studio
Jennifer Eubank ~ Archipelago Quilting
Jennifer Fulton ~
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Joanne Hart ~
Mania Hatziioannidi ~
Emily Leachman ~
Denise Looney ~
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~
Claudia Porter ~
Gail Renna ~
Brianna Roberts ~
Michelle Roberts ~
Gail Sheppard ~
Andi Stanfield ~
Jennifer Thomas ~
Janet Yamamoto ~


Thursday, January 21, 2021

Jan 2021 Island Batik boxes

Today is the day I can finally show you what came in the first Island Batik Boxes for the 2021 Island Batik Ambassador program.  Island Batik and the sponsors Hobbs Batting and Aurifil Thread, Accuquilt Go! and Schmetz Needles all supply the Ambassadors with product to make projects for the year.  

The boxes came a few days after Christmas- it was like Christmas all over again!

Below is a video of what was in the boxes.  Be sure to look at the photos that are listed after the video to get a better view of things.


Island Batik sent such lovely fabrics to work with -

The collection called Farm Fresh by Kathy Engle in a 10" stack package, along with a light and a dark coordinating fabric.  This is a Winter collection that will be in shops in May.


Solids in white, gray and black.  Yardage in a neutral called Milk Shake (don't you just love their names!)


Stash builder roll bundles.  This time a more neutral package and a red and black blend.


Painted Blossom Collection designed by Kathy Engle for Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs along with yardage in a light and dark print.  This is a Fall collection in stores in February and will be used in my February project.


Vincent's Garden collection designed by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton of the Quilt Rambler in a 2 1/2" strip package and a light and dark print in yardage. This is a Fall 2020 collection and in stores this February.


They always send a great selection Foundation fabrics -some of their Basics and Blenders.  These are a rainbow of colors.  The Foundation/Blender/Solid fabrics are always available so you never run out of them for a project!


Island Batik has a lovely collection of Rayon fabrics.  The one they sent me has dragonflies on it.


And here is the Surprise Bundle!  This fabric is not out yet- so I can't show it to you now.  They also sent a light and dark coordinating print to go with it that I can't show.  I'll be making something from these fabrics in a blog later this year- stay tuned!


Schmetz Needles sent a package to each Ambassador with 3 packages of Professional Grade Chrome Needles for Quilting and Microtex needles in two sizes


Aurifil Threads sent several spools of thread in colors that will go well with the fabrics.  These came in two different weights and one spool was a green variegated that will be interesting to try out.



Hobbs Batting sent a wonderful selection of battings:  Poly Down, Heirloom 80/20 Black, Heirloom Natural Cotton, and Premium Cotton.



Sponsor Accuquilt Go! sent the Snail's Trail Die along with cutting mats to use with it.


It looks like a fun year with all these goodies to work with!
2021 is looking good already!






Thursday, January 14, 2021

January Island Batik Challenge


I have to start this blog by saying how proud I am to be an island Batik Ambassador again for this coming year.  This will be my 8th year as an Ambassador.  I've been involved in the program since it started and it's been an amazing and challenging opportunity.  I'm excited to begin sharing the activities that will be happening this year with  you.

Today I want to share with you the Island Batik Challenge for this January - The Placemat Challenge.


With the Ambassador program I receive fabrics and supplies from Island Batik and their sponsors twice a year.  The first boxes arrived a few days after Christmas.  It is always exciting and amazing what products we receive and what we will be using to make projects for the year.  I made a video of what came and it will be on my blog on Jan 21- you will want to see everything I received!

For this Place Mat challenge I selected the 2 1/2" strip  package of Vincent's Garden.  This collection is by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton of the Quilt Rambler.  This is a Fall release collection that will be shipping to stores in February.  The strip packs are available now.

Aren't these beautiful colors!  It's fun to use bright, sunny fabrics during the gray days of winter!
The 2 1/2" strip packs are my favorite precut.  I also received a light and dark coordinating fabric in yardage to work with.  I used the light green for the backing of the placemats.


I love my Island Batik fabrics and I hate to waste any fabric if at all possible.  This pattern ended up using all but the tiniest bit of scraps.  The strip packs come with two bundles of strips.  I pulled out one of the fabric strip bundles and selected 16 strips and kept them in the same order as they were in the package.  Many people aren't confident in color selections, so using the fabrics as they are presented in their packaging is an easy and worry free solution to great color combinations. 

Here is one of the place mats.  I love how bright and cheerful it is.


I started with a center 2 1/2" square block.  The other strips were cut half to make 1 1/4" strips ( a great way to have less waste!).  I decided to have one side with the orange and yellows in the order of the packaging and the other side in the blues and greens as in the packaging.  When each side reached the bright yellow strip, then I started sewing the strips on  in the reverse order.  The strips are sewn together like a Courthouse Step block- but with added strips to either side to make it rectangle instead of a square.


I trimmed the top and bottom and cut off the ends on either side.



The place mat tops were finished.  I made a hot pad from the triangle ends, so the only wasted fabric were the little ends that were trimmed from the top and bottom- that's pretty amazing!  The place mats didn't use the whole length of each strip, so I wouldn't call them wasted.  They are put back in the package for another project.

Here's the hot pad.


Island Batik and sponsors Aurifil Thread and Hobbs Cotton Batting, and Schmetz Chrome Microtex Needles were provided thru the Ambassador program and used for this project.  You'll be hearing more about these great products in future posts.


I made two place mats and a hot  pad from sixteen 2 1/2" strips.  You could  make two more matching place mats and hot pad from the other half of the package of strips.  You could also make other color combinations with any strip package.


Or- just think of all the 2 1/2" leftover strips you might have in your fabric collections!  You might be surprised and delighted to find a great way to use them in these placemats!

The place mats are 18" x 12".


I hope these inspire you to be creative with color and try out some new place mats for the new year!











 

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

2021 Island Batik Ambassadors Announced

Say hello to our 2021 Island Batik Brand Ambassadors! This group of 24 talented creatives will bring you inspiration, tutorials, and humor in the coming year.
From left to right:
Megan Best ~
Bestquilter
Pamela Boatright ~
Pamelaquilts
Elizabeth DeCroos ~
Epida Studio
Jennifer Eubank ~ Archipelago Quilting
Jennifer Fulton ~
The Inquiring Quilter
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Joanne Hart ~
Unicorn Harts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~
Mania for quilts
Connie Kauffman
~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~
The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~
For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~
Mary Mack Made Mine
Claudia Porter ~
Create with Claudia
Gail Renna ~
Quilt Haven Threads
Brianna Roberts ~
Sew Cute And Quirky
Michelle Roberts ~
Creative Blonde
Gail Sheppard ~
Quilting Gail
Andi Stanfield ~
True Blue Quilts
Jennifer Thomas ~
CurliCue Creations
Suzy Webster
~ Websterquilt
Janet Yamamoto ~
Whispers of Yore
Image may contain: 24 people, eyeglasses, text that says '2021 ISLAND BATIK BRAND AMBASSADORS FSOOA'