I have some prize winners to announce! First, I had many leftover 10" squares of Island Batik's powerful Positively Pink collection. Sandy is the lucky winner! I have sent an email and will get them in the mail as soon as I hear back.
I also have a copy of the pattern Arabella's Garden by Preeti Harris of Sew Preeti Quilts to give away. Kathy E. is the lucky winner. She should be hearing from Preeti soon. If you are disappointed that you didn't win, you can get a copy of Arabella's Garden in Preeti's Etsy shop. The pattern gives four different sizes and includes a coloring sheet for you to audition colors.
I've playing with a flower pattern for a while and all these shades of pink were perfect for it. The block comes from a book that I stumbled upon at my library (meaning the one where I work) called The Collector's Dictionary of Quilt Names & Patterns by Yvonne M. Khin. The book is from 1980. This block is called Magnolia Buds and is originally from the Kansas City Star. I liked the idea of a quilt full of flowers bringing comfort to someone fighting breast cancer.
Island Batik sent me a 10" stack of their Positively Pink line and I could choose 2 coordinating fabrics from their always-available Foundations collection. I chose Linen, a lovely warm neutral with yellow tones for the background and Raspberry for the flower bud centers, the sashing cornerstones, and the binding. I also used two Foundations I already had: Chameleon for the leaves and Bermuda for center of the leaves/stems. Aurifil send me a spool of a lovely pink thread, which I used for the
serpentine stitch quilting. Quilter's Perfect Klip sent two packages of
their clips. They are a little larger than the other clips on the
market and I love the pink color!
I have known many people diagnosed with breast cancer. A family
friend. An aunt. A college friend. A very close friend's mom. A
colleague. A teacher. Their stories are not mine to tell, so I won't
give details here, but I do what I can to spread the importance of self
tests, annual mammograms, and early detection. Early detection saves lives!
Like many women, I started getting annual mammograms at age 40. Before
Covid, my workplace brought the mobile mammography unit to campus twice a
year. It was great to be able to schedule in the middle of my workday,
walk across campus for the exam, and then go right back to work. No
time off, easy to fit into my workday. That's the kind of thing that
workplaces can do to make it easy for their staff to take this important
preventative measure. But even now that the mobile unit hasn't come
since Covid, I still make my annual appointment. Early detection is so
important.
I do not have a recipient in mind for this quilt. I find that quilts usually know who they are meant for. I'm sure a person or a cause will make themselves known to me. I'd be happy with an individual, a clinic or mobile mammography unit, or an organization that raises funds for breast cancer research and/or treatments. I'll hang on to it until the right recipient appears.
With careful cutting, I was able to make two blocks with just one 10" square. This means that I have a lot of Positively Pink squares left--18! There are many things you could do to make a quilt of hope for someone with those squares, so I'm offering a giveaway for those eighteen 10" squares. Enter via the rafflecopter; giveaway runs through the end of the Pinktober blog hop and I'll pick a winner on October 23rd.
I can't believe it's already October! Fall is my favorite time of year. October is a busy month at my house, both Fire Monkey and Husband have October birthdays and our anniversary is in October. Lots of celebrations!
October is also breast cancer awareness month, and I am thrilled to be participating in Island Batik's Pinktober blog hop, hosted by Brianna of Sew Cute & Quirky. Island Batik has created two beautiful collections honoring the fight against breast cancer, Positively Pink and Hope & Heart.
For most of the month, featured bloggers will be showcasing these collections and telling how breast cancer has affected them or their loved ones. My day is October 10th, so come back and see the Positively Pink quilt I made. Other sponsors of the hop are Aurifil and Quilter's Perfect Klip. Here is the full list of participants:
Speaking of Blog Hops, September's Tool Talk blog hop was a success! The winner of my giveaway of three beautiful blue Island Batik fabrics from the Prairie Blue collection is Maryellen! I've already contacted Maryellen and will get her prize in the mail.
Looking for another chance to win a prize? Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts is giving one of my readers a copy of her newest pattern, Arabella's Garden. Check out this post and leave me a comment there by October 7th to enter.
I am excited to introduce you to Arabella's Garden, a new pattern by my friend Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts. When I first saw this pattern in the Island Batik catalog for spring/summer 2022, I absolutely loved it. I practically begged Preeti to add me to her list of testers for the pattern!
Preeti used Island Batik's Bee Kind collection, which has blues, purples, yellows, and greens. I used very similar colors in my version. I kept the somewhat scrappy look of hers, but was very specific in what colors went where.
It's a great pattern and very easy to follow. I was able to cut most of it with my Accuquilt 8" cube but Preeti also gives traditional cutting directions. The pattern makes a quilt that is 64" x 88", with options for four different sizes. I chose to make mine square instead of rectangular, so my version is 64" square. It's a good lap size.
All the fabrics in my version are Island Batik. I used scraps and stash builder rolls. The background is solid white. The pattern includes a coloring sheet so you can play around with color placement.
If you love the look of Arabella's Garden as much as I did, the pattern is now available in Preeti's etsy shop. Standard price is $14 but she's listing it with 30% off through October 6th. Thanks, Preeti, for letting me show off your fabulous design! Preeti is very generously giving me a copy of her pattern to give away! Leave any comment for an entry. If you need a prompt, Preeti has asked what is your major complain with quilt patterns? Contest closes October 7th and I will draw a winner October 8th.
Welcome to my stop on Island Batik's Tool Talk blog hop, featuring Island Batik's newest fabric collections and Studio 180 Design tools by Deb Tucker. I was sent the Prairie Blue collection by Kathy Engle and the Split Rects tool.
The challenge required using at least 30 units made with our Studio 180 tool. My final design actually has 60 split rects units! I also used the Wing Clipper tool, which I was sent last year. The Wing Clipper makes flying geese units and there are 40 of those in this quilt! So my Studio 180 Design tools certainly got a workout.
Here is a part of a single block, can you see the flying geese and half square rectangle/split rects units?
The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design, Prairie Spirit Alpaca, Schmetz, Aurifil, & Hobbs.
more split rect and flying geese units for the outside part of the block
My finished blocks are 20" square, so quite large. I ended up setting them on point and adding some 4-patch units to connect the blocks to each other. While I used Island Batik's solid white for the background in the blocks themselves, I used the Prickly Pear Cacti fabric from Prairie Blue for the sashing between blocks and the setting triangles.
After washing, the finished quilt measures at 58" square. (Photos are from before washing.) I used fifteen of the beautiful blue fabrics in the Prairie Blue collection. I pieced and quilted with Aurifil thread 2770 Very Light Delft and a Schmetz microtex chrome needle, fresh at the start of this project. I really felt the prairie connection while using Prairie Blue fabrics and my new pressing mat from Prairie Spirit Alpacas--it's like they were meant for each other! I also used Hobbs bleached 80/20 batting, great for quilts with a very light background.
Inspired by all the beautiful blues and the collection name, I named this Prairie Meadow. It makes me think of beautiful blue skies shining over the prairie. Prairie Blue should be shipping to quilt shops this month, so be sure to look for it if you need a little or a lot of blue for your next project.
special thanks to my friend Cheryl for being my quilt holder!
Island Batik is hosting weekly giveaways throughout September to celebrate the Tool Talk blog hop, be sure to look for the new giveaway every Friday on their blog. I am also hosting a small giveaway.
I have an uncut half yard of Longhorn Star and 1/3 yard each of Cacti Mix & Canyon Mountains, which together will make a nice start on a prairie-themed project. Leave me a comment to enter the giveaway, which runs until the end of September. Any comment will work but if you need a prompt, tell me your favorite shade of blue a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to visit my fellow Island Batik Ambassador Andi Stanfield at True Blue Quilts and see what she made what Prairie Blue!
Over the weekend, I went to visit a friend and former colleague who had a baby over the summer. I was able to finally take Totally Triangles to its adorable new owner. Baby Girl has an older brother, aged 2 1/2 years. When I give a baby quilt to a new arrival with an older sibling, I like to make something small for the older child as well. I know young Michael loves cars and trucks, so I made him a pillow.
I cut the cars with my Accuquilt Go--the Cute Car is a super fun die. I loved the roads I made as the borders for my Row by Row back in February, so I added a border of roads as well. I am pleased to say that Michael loved it! When he realized that the outer border was a road, he immediately went looking for his small trucks and had them drive on the road. He also wanted to put his pillow on the couch and made me move the throw pillow next to me to make room for the car pillow. I call that success!
For most of the month of September, Island Batik and their ambassadors will be showing off all their newest fabric collections. These fabrics will begin shipping to quilt shops this month, so keep your eyes out! For the hop, Island Batik has partnered with Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design to showcase their fabulous tools. Each ambassador was sent of Deb's tools plus a complete fabric collection (usually 20 fabrics) and tasked to make at least 30 units with their tool. All of Deb's tools make multiple sizes, so you could see miniature blocks or huge ones.
I was sent the collection Prairie Blue. As you might suspect from the name, it's a stunning collection of a variety of shades of blue. There are cacti, long horned cattle, blue bonnets, and other things that you might associate with the Prairie. Come back on September 20th to see what I made with these beautiful blues.
Island Batik hosts a giveaway every week on their blog; check back every Friday for a new one. For this week, you can win either the Baroque or Bee Kind collections. I got to pick the farbics for my October challenge and I chose fabrics from Bee Kind; don't miss your chance to enter to win these beautiful fabrics! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out all the ambassadors' projects all month long! Many will host their own giveaways, too!
