Red Sparkle

Two weeks ago, my family went to the local minor league baseball game.  While there, we ran into the principal of Fire Monkey's school, Ms. L, who was there with her daughters.  Seeing Ms. L reminded me that I still hadn't posted two of last school year's teacher quilts, including the one for Ms. L!

If you don't know what I mean by Teacher Quilts, every year I make quilts for my son's teachers.  My son, called Fire Monkey on the blog, is currently 10 years old and just finished 4th grade.  He is in a dual language school, so he has two teachers each year, one for English (and social studies and health) and one for Spanish (and math and science).  I've also done quilts for the Specials teachers like Art, PE, & Music, knowing that those teachers often get overlooked.  Fire Monkey asks each teacher their favorite color at the start of the school year, I get busy sewing, and we gift them during the last week of school.

a peak at the backing

We were at an event at the school at the beginning of last year and got to talking to Ms. L, who is always at every school event.  I realized she hadn't yet gotten a quilt so we added her to the list for the 2023-24 school year.  Fire Monkey was able to find out a few weeks later that Ms. L's favorite color is red. Truth be told, I struggle with red quilts.  I think it's because I like scrappy, and there just aren't that many shades of red.  Too light and it's pink.  Too dark and it doesn't feel like red anymore either.

block as created for SAHRR 2024

I struggled with what to make and this was the last one/last pattern I decided on this year.  Finally I picked a block I designed for my SAHRR that I really liked.  I set it on point for visual interest.  I cut everything with my Accuquilt.

I used four fabrics, all from Island Batik.  The background is Milkshake, the light triangles are Shell, the main red is a red blender that I don't know the name of, and there's a bit of solid black.  I'm happy with how it turned out!

Island Batik Unboxing #2

One of the most exciting days of the year for an Island Batik Ambassador is the day our boxes arrive.  We get generous shipments twice a year.  I am excited to show you what I will be working with for the second half of 2024!

You can see my unboxing video here.  If you want more details or if you simply dislike videos, read on for descriptions of what was in my box.

 

First, I have half yard cuts of the full collection of Geometric Symphony.  This is one of the new collections that will be hitting stores around September.  Geometric Symphony was designed by Jerry Khiev and has bold geometric designs in magenta, purple, and gold. All the newest collections will be featured in a September blog hop.

Next I had a 10" stack of another of the upcoming collections, Floral Fun.  I love the greens and purples in this!  Floral Fun is a signature collection for Terri Vanden Bosch of Lizard Creek Quilting, designed by Kathy Engle.  I also received coordinating yardage from Island Batik's always-available Foundations: Whip Cream and Cheerio in Navy.

Speaking of the Foundations fabrics, I was sent a bundle of 12 half-yard cuts that coordinate with Geometric Symphony and my Surprise bundle that will be revealed in November.  These Foundations have 3 families: Basics (Shell, Oatmeal, Steel, and Twilight) , Blenders (Marble in Frog, Wavy Dots in Bluebird, Bubbles in Raspberry, and Small Petal in Purple), and Solids (Cobalt, Pink, Green, and Lime Green).

 

I also have two of the Gradations collections, which are Basics put together in color families.  I have a strip pack of Opulent Orange and a 10" stack of Precious Pinks.

 

Next were 2 packages of Stash Builder strips.  These are 5" by width of Fabric and area great for a variety of projects.  I enjoy that you can get a nice variety of colors in each package.

 

I also got fabrics to use as background.  There are 4 yards each of white, black, and dark gray solids, as well as 6 yards of Sprinkles.  I have had Sprinkles before and it's a great background, not quite bright white with little dots in it. 

Industry partner Aurifil sent 5 colorful spools of 40 weight thread.  These specifically coordinate with Geometric Symphony for use in the September challenge.

Hobbs Batting sent a wide variety of batting, including silk batting, Thermore thin polyester batting that I love for wall hangings, and their fabulous black batting that is great for quilts with dark backgrounds.

And finally, there was a kit to make the By Annie pattern of my choice.  I am making the Totally Trendy Totes pattern, which makes a tote bag in 3 sizes.  I have fabrics from the Flower Pot and Daisy May collections, plus the pattern and all the other supplies I need to make these fabulous totes!  It was the By Annie challenge in 2020 that taught me that I really can make bags when I use Annie's patterns, and now it's one of my favorite challenges all year.

I'm so excited to play with all these beautiful fabrics!  Stay tuned for the second half of 2024 to see them in action!