Christmas in July -- Cookie Mats

Welcome to Christmas in July!  When Siobhan of CDM365 Studios asked me about participating in her Christmas in July blog hop, my first thought after "Yes!" was that I needed to pick a project.  I remembered back to Christmas 2021 when my son & I made a cookie mat to put Santa's cookies on--we put our cookies on the side of the fireplace, so we wanted something nice to be there for Santa.  I decided that making some new ones would be a fun project for us the weekend of July 4th.

I got out my box of Island Batik scraps and some of my AccuQuilt dies and we went to town!  I had set out some lighter scraps for backgrounds and let Fire Monkey (age 9) dictate which he wanted and what size.  We both started with the dinosaurs and added Santa-inspired hats.

Then we moved on to Snowmen.  Fire Monkey really got into it, he picked his fabrics, I added fusible web, then he ran the fabric through the Accuquilt cutter--he loves cranking the handle!  He wanted to fuse in the shapes in place on his background, so I let him use the iron for that, with me hovering nearby.  I hate stitching the fiddly little tiny circles for eyes, so we used fabric markers and drew on eyes instead.

This could be a fun holiday project with the kids of grandkids.  Finished size doesn't really matter, we ended up with 2 that are essentially mug rugs and 2 that are more like placemats, and one sort of in-between.  If you like the larger size, you could have kids make custom placemats for the holiday season.  It doesn't matter if you use these for Santa's cookies or your own!

We used Accuquilt to cut our shapes, but don't despair if you don't have one.  Trace cookie cutters for lots of fun shapes!  When I was pregnant with Fire Monkey, my friends hosted a baby shower and we made a mobile by tracing shapes from cookie cutters onto felt.  You can do the same thing with quilting cotton--fuse your fusible web to your fabric, then trace your cookie cutter shape and cut it out.  You can do that beforehand with younger kids or have older kids do it themselves.  Don't want to mess with tiny little decorations like we did?  Use fabric markers!  

Fire Monkey picking out fabric and Accuquilt dies

I used Hobbs Thermore batting because it's really thin and therefore good for placemats.  For three of our cookie mats, I layered the top, batting, and backing and just used the satin stitching around the applique shapes as my only quilting.  For the larger snowman mat, I did not stitch the appliques down but instead did a 1/2 inch crosshatch quilting, knowing that would keep all my applique shapes down.  I used scraps of leftover bindings for all of them, so this entire project was all scraps.  The 5th cookie mat, the one with the actual cookie in it, did not get finished in time, but I think I can have it done by the time Christmas actually rolls around!  😀

I hope you enjoyed these fun and fairly fast cookie mats.  Be sure to visit all the other bloggers helping to make it Christmas in July.

July 10th- Siobhan of  www.cdm365studios.com

July 11th- Joise of  www.hiddenstitches.com guest blogging on www.cdm365studios.com 

July 12th- Lissa of  www.lovinglylissa.com

July 13th- Jen of  www.dizzyquilter.com

July 14th- Swan of  www.swanamity.com/blog

July 17th- Emily of thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/

July 18th- Siobhan of  www.cdm365studios.com

 

Island Batik Upboxing #2

Twice a year, Island Batik Ambassadors receive shipments of their ambassador boxes.  This is always a very, very exciting day because the boxes are stuffed with gorgeous Island Batik fabrics and other quilting related goodies that are meant to be used in the next 6 months' worth of challenges.  

 
My July boxes (there were 2) weighed 28 pounds and were packed with fabric fun!  I made a video showcasing everything I received.  You can view it here.  If you have trouble with that link or just don't want to watch a video, here's an overview of what I got and when you'll see it in projects.  First, the industry partners.

Accuquilt sent their North Carolina Star die.  I'm particularly excited about this, because I live in North Carolina!  Each ambassador got the same die and you'll see our projects using the block or components from it in October.  I just finalized my design in EQ for this challenge and I am soooo in love with it!  I'm itching to get stitching!

Hobbs sent four (4!) different battings.  There is Thermore, a thin polyester batting, Heirloom Premium wool batting, 100% cotton batting with scrim, and cotton/wool blend from the Tuscany collection. 

Aurifil sent 5 spools of thread, each a different weight.  The red spool is wool thread in 12 weight (color Light Blue), the orange spool is 50 weight (color Peacock Blue), the wooden spool is 80 weight (color Mist), there is a spool of Aurifloss (color Shining Green) and a spool of monofilament thread. 

By Annie sent a kit to make a bag of my choice.  This is one of my favorite challenges every year!  I spend all year deciding which bag I want to make next and Annie sends me everything I need to make it--pattern, hardware, supplies, and naturally Island Batik fabric.  I am using fabric from a line called Limerick, which will be in stores in December. I chose the Out and About pattern, which is a small backpack absolutely loaded with pockets.  We will all showcase our bags in November, though truth be told, I'll have a hard time waiting that long to make mine!

And then there's the fabric!  First, I have a half yard bundle of English Lavender, an absolutely gorgeous collection of purples and blues.  I love this collection!  With it, I have 2 yards each of foundation fabrics Frosting and Eggplant.  English Lavender is a spring collection; pre-cuts are available now and yardage will be coming to quilts shops soon.  Spring collections will be featured in a September blog hop.

 

I received a 10" stack of Buds & Blooms, another spring collection, plus 2 yards each of the foundations Moonstone and Dandelion in Plum.  I love the colors in Buds & Blooms!  

I was sent two more pre-cuts, both gradations.  Gradations are from the always-available Foundations fabrics and include 20 fabrics of the same color family.  I got a strip pack of Glorious Greens and a 10" stack of Ravishing Reds.

A good neutral is frequently a must for a quilt, and I was sent a whopping 6 yards of Almond, one of the neutrals from Foundations.

Almond

Then there is a surprise bundle!  This is a half yard bundle of one of the collections that will be in shops around December, so I can't show it to you yet!  These collections will be highlighted in November. I didn't get a picture of it wrapped up.

And finally, a Foundations bundle of half yard cuts that coordinate with English Lavendar and my surprise collection.  All of these are from the always-available Foundations fabrics, of which there are three families: Solids, Blenders, and Basics.  Solids are what they sound like, Blenders have a pattern to them, and Basics are subtle batik dyed fabrics.  For solids, I was sent Green, Turquoise, Dark Gray, and Amethyst.  For Blenders I have Round Petal Floral in Lemonade, Small Pointed Floral in Turquoise, Wavy Dots in Bluebird, and Small Petal in Purple (my favorite!).  And in basics I have Purple, Teal, Jade, and Sky.

I just love all the beautiful fabrics and fun goodies!  I can't wait to show you what I make with all this bounty in the next 6 months!  Many thanks to Island Batik, Accuquilt, Aurifil, By Annie, and Hobbs!

Christmas in July blog hop

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Wait, that's not right.  But isn't it? Today is the start of the Christmas in July blog hop hosted by Siobhan of CDM365 Studios.  Sibobhan kicks us off with a fun and easy project you can do with kids.  We were clearly thinking along the same lines, as my project is also one that is great to do with kids!  Come back next Monday to see what I put together with my 9-year-old, Fire Monkey.

Here's the full schedule for the Christmas in July blog hop:

Christmas in July Blog Hop schedule:  

July 10th- Siobhan of  www.cdm365studios.com

July 11th- Joise of  www.hiddenstitches.com guest blogging on www.cdm365studios.com 

July 12th- Lissa of  www.lovinglylissa.com

July 13th- Jen of  www.dizzyquilter.com

July 14th- Swan of  www.swanamity.com/blog

July 17th- Emily of thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/

July 18th- Siobhan of  www.cdm365studios.com

Travel Essentials

I've recently gotten back into bag-making mode with more By Annie patterns.  I've got a few projects in mind, and even a few started, but the first one I finished is Travel Essentials.  This is designed as a hanging toiletries bag, and I completed mine in time to take it to a cabin in the mountains of Virginia that my dad rents every year, and we always join him for a long weekend.  I loved having Travel Essentials hanging from the towel rod in the bathroom.  Having a hanging strap that folds away into one of the pockets is quite clever, and the bag folds up fairly compactly, given how much it holds.

I have lost the selvage that I set aside that has the name of the fabric but I really, really like it.  The pattern calls for three fabrics but I really didn't have a fabric in my stash that I liked as a lining, so I did some calculations and determined that I had enough to use the same fabric for the inside and outside.  This has the added bonus that I think I'll actually see the inside more, so I can see more of the fabric I really love.  The binding fabric is a Kona solid.  

 

I love Annie's patterns, they are so thorough and the bags always come out so professional looking!  There are a lot of steps, but if you take them one by one, you get through it.  I'm happy with this finish!

Geese in the Garden with Island Batik

Flying Geese.  Such a classic unit in quilting.  June's Island Batik challenge celebrates this quilting staple by requiring that our projects contain and focus on flying geese.  

The additional element to the challenge is that we had to use one of the pre-cuts from our January ambassador boxes.  I had a 10" stack of Sunshine Garden by Kathy Engle (a signature collection for Terri of Lizard Creek Quilting) that I was dying to use. I love the colors in Sunshine Garden, so bright and sunny.  I loved the idea of a garden, and as I thought about it, I decided that Geese In The Garden made sense as a concept and a title.

I knew that I would use my Accuquilt Go! Cube to make my flying geese, as that is my favorite method.  I have three different flower dies for my Accuquilt, so that would give me flowers for my garden.  Geese are, of course, birds, but I also have a bird die, so that added more life to my garden.  And then when I was looking for birds in EQ to get a basic feel for what I was imagining, I saw butterflies in EQ.  The butterfly die was the first non-geometric die I bought when I first got my Accuquilt!  So this garden was really coming together, and I hadn't sewn anything yet.

I made the geese first, using the greens and blues in Sunshine Garden as the big triangle/geese, and the basic Rice as the background.  Lately I've been playing with using more than one background fabric in a quilt, so I tried that in EQ and liked it, so the applique blocks have a different basic, Sky, as the background.  The difference turned out to be more subtle than I intended, but I still like the look.

 

There are a total of 88 Flying Geese units in this quilt. I used all 20 fabrics from the Sunshine Garden line, plus the Sky & Rice used in the background, and solid Lime Green for the binding.  I did all the stitching with a Schmetz non-stick needle--they are great when there is fusible web in a project, they don't gum up at all.  

I used a variety of Aurifil threads for the applique and I used color 2770 Very Light Delft for the organic wavy line quilting. The batting is Hobbs Poly-Down batting, which is a nice, light polyester batting.  

 

One of Fire Monkey's good friends just got a new baby sister and this will be gifted to Baby Poppy.  Had I known her name, I could have made one of the flowers a Poppy!  But alas, I had the top done before she was born. It finished at 42" square, a good size for a baby to grow into -- it's important to me that baby quilts be usable for many years, not just in baby stage.  Fire Monkey wanted to demonstrate that you don't have to be a baby to enjoy this quilt!

Sunshine Garden has already begun appearing in quilt shops.  Here are a few shops that carry these beautiful, summery fabrics:

• Sew What Fabrics/Batiks Etc * Virginia
• My Very Own Quilt Shop * Minnesota
• Ben's Five and Dime * Iowa
• Boutique 4 Quilters * Florida
• Hunters Quilt Mart * Missouri
• Olive Juice Quilts * Wisconsin
• Mill End Store * Oregon

Materials used in this project were given to me by Island Batik, Aurifil, Hobbs, Accuquilt, and Schmetz.

 

 

Earth Stars

As the school year wraps up, that means it is time to finish up the teacher quilts in time to gift on the last day of school.  This year I am making four teacher quilts for Fire Monkey's teachers: his two classroom teachers (dual language school, so one English and one Spanish teacher) and the two before-school teachers, both who have been there since he was in Kindergarten. I finished the first three back in March with Island Batik's It's All Up to You challenge, which left only Ms. O's quilt to finish.

According to Fire Monkey, Ms. O's favorite color is Brown.  And Green.  Earth Colors.  Well, I'm not really an Earth Colors gal, but I was determined to give Ms. O a quilt she will like.  I went through all my Island Batik scraps and pulled out everything green or brown, and I was pretty broad with what I considered in the brown family.  I found more than I expected.  

I chose a pattern that I had made before, also in Island Batik fabrics but tropical colors.  The pattern is Star Blossoms from the book Scrap-Basket Beauties by Kim Brackett. It is designed for 2 1/2" strips and works great as a scrappy quilt.  I was able to cut the whole thing with my Accuquilt Go! cutter.  I used the basic Wicker for the background and Seaweed print in bright green for the star centers, and the rest were scraps and leftovers.  The binding is Walnut.  I call this one Earth Stars.  

Tropical Stars, August 2019

I'm relieved to have all the quilts done.  I'm almost done with labels, and then I'll be ready to gift!  I do really enjoy making them each year, and am glad Fire Monkey is not sick of me doing this yet!

Sea Cookie Sparkle

Welcome to my day on the Tool Craze Blog Hop!  As part of our January boxes, each Island Batik ambassador was sent one of the newest Island Batik collections as well as specialty tool from Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design.  I was sent the beautiful Sea Cookies collection by Kate Colleran of Kate Colleran Designs.  I love the sand dollars, starfish, and other doodles in these fabrics, as well as the bright colors! 

 There were multiple elements to the challenge prompt:

• Use as many of the different prints as possible from your designated collection
• Make at least 30 units using your designated Studio 180 Design tool
• Must contain at least 2 different sizes of units from said tool
• If you have other Studio 180 Design tools, combine them with your assigned tool
  

 

I'm happy to say that I was able to meet all of these challenge elements!  All 20 fabrics from Sea Cookies are in here, each in at least 2 but no more than 3 blocks.  I was sent a coordinating light and dark from Island Batik's always available collection: Celery & Pinecone.  I did use Celery in a few blocks because I felt I need another light for contrast.  I wanted something other than black, white, or gray as the background, but I didn't love the dark green Pinecone as a background for this.  Instead, I substituted Merlot, a different Foundation fabric, as I felt the dark purple would complement the colors in Sea Cookies without being overpowering.  

My tool from Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design was the Corner Pop III tool.  This tool has you "pop" or remove a triangle from the corner, but in a 3 to 1 ratio, meaning it's a long skinny triangle. I admit, I was a little stumped by this unit, so I browsed their Blockbusters.  Blockbusters are blocks made with 1 or more of Deb's tools; they come out with a new free block every month, going back to 2016.  I got great inspiration from all those blocks, but only two featured the Corner Pop III tool.  I ended up combining elements of one of those with elements of another block that caught my eye, and adding some of my own elements to make a new block.  This new block also uses the Diamond Rects tool, the very first Studio 180 tool I owned, meeting another aspect of the challenge.  Here is my test block, made with Island Batik fabrics but not yet cutting into Sea Cookies.

 

test block

Each block involves 8 cuts from the Corner Pop III tool.  (Corner Pop III makes cuts instead of units.)  With 16 blocks, that's 128 cuts with the tool!  I sped waaay past that 30 cuts minimum!  Here are the 16 completed blocks on my design wall at this point.

 

Problem is, all my cuts were the same size, so I needed to think of something to get a second size in.  I decide to do a smaller cut with the tool to get some neat accent diamonds in the middle when the blocks were sewn together.  I only did this second smaller cut with center blocks that would meet together in the center.  This lighter purple is Lavender, also from Island Batik Foundations Basics.  Because of the diamonds from the smaller Corner Pop III cuts and the Diamond Rects tool, I am calling this Sea Cookie Sparkle.

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Studio 180 Design, Aurifil, Hobbs, and Schmetz.   

 

The blue fabric with pink dot flowers is my favorite in the line

Once the top was done, I layered with Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly batting.  Since there is a wide difference between the dark and light fabrics in this top, I decided to quilt it with Aurifil's monofilament in Smoke, thinking that would be least obtrusive.  I did the piecing with Aurifil 2600 Dove Gray.  I used a Schmetz microtex needle for the piecing and the quilting.  There are a few places in the block where a lot of seams come together at the same point and the Schmetz needle had no trouble sewing through the bulk. 

You can really see the sand dollars in this one!

 

 

Two other Island Batik Ambassadors were also give Sea Cookies to play with.  Be sure to visit them both to see what they made with these beautiful fabrics and their Studio 180 Tool.

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

 

Sea Cookies is shipping to stores soon!  Here are some of the shops that have ordered Sea Cookies in the United States:

• Accent Sewing Inc   Murrells Inlet, SC
• Appletree Fabrics   Auburn, MA
• Betty's Quiltery   Rapid City, SD
• Bird in Hand Fabric   Bird in Hand, PA
• Bismarck Sewing & Quilting   Bismark, MD
• Boutique 4 Quilters    West Melbourne, FL
• Cinnamon's   Jacksonville, FL
• D & D Sewing    Plaistow, NH
• Divine Threads   Manlius, NY
• Fab Fabrics   St. George, UT
• Fiberworx   McQueeney, TX
• Gruber's    Isanti, MN
• Handcock's of Paducah   Paducah, KY
• Mulqueen Sewing & Fabric Centers   Mesa, AZ
• Nine Patch Fabrics   Chantilly, VA
• People, Places, & Quilts   Summerville, SC
• Quilted Threads   Henniker, NH
• Quilters Quest   Woodridge, IL
• Sew Jersey   East Hanover, NJ
• Sew With Me   Lake Elmo, MN