Thursday, July 30, 2020

Christmas In July with AccuQuilt and Island Batik

This month we had a really fun assignment as Island Batik Ambassadors!  AccuQuilt sent each of us a GO! Me Fabric Cutter Starter Kit and asked us to make a quilt using only the two dies included in the kit (3 inch finished quarter square and half square triangles) and present the cutter and small quilt as a gift to someone that we thought would really enjoy using it!

The items in this post were provided for me to use through the Island Batik Ambassador program.

If you haven't seen the Go! Me cutting system yet, here are some of the really great things about it:

  • Ultraportable - allows quilters to take the GO! Me with them anywhere

  • New quilter gains confidence in their art form faster

  • Elevates workmanship of the quilter

  • Same cutting performance as the GO! - Fast, Accurate, Easy and Safe

  • Includes two GO! Dies, cutting mat and pattern book

  • A great gift for any quilter



Not to mention, that it is so totally stinking cute!  Plus there are tons of dies that you can use with this, from piecing to applique.  You can visit the AccuQuilt site to see more of what they have.  Plus the Go! Me is on sale right now...I don't know for how long, but it's a good price for the starter kit!

On to the challenge!

I was having a hard time deciding on who I would gift this to, so I decided to get started with the quilt while I was thinking.  There are a few nice patterns in the book that's included with the GO! Me starter kit, and there was a baby quilt that used this pinwheel block, so I decided to make a few of them and see where that led me.  I was so delighted to discover that the Island Batik Stashbuilder rolls are the perfect size for these dies!
I cut quarter square triangles from these and used Sprinkles from the foundations for the background.  I decided to offset the colums because I liked the movement this added to the design.  I added a half pinwheel to square my little quilt off and it was finished in no time.  I just love using the Accuquilt for triangles because there are no dog ears to have to trim off!  It really makes the sewing go quickly.

And in hardly any time I had this cute 24 x 27 inch quilt.  I had two of the gold strips from my rolls, so I used those for the binding.   I quilted it in a spiral pattern using Aurifil thread in a pale gray 50 wt.  Goes with everything!  The batting is a piece of the Hobbs Heirloom cotton with scrim - which has a lovely softness and drape for small quilts.  Of course I used a Schmetz needle for the piecing and quilting!  I like the size 10 chrome Professional for piecing and the size 12 for quilting.

By the time I finished the quilt I decided that I would like to surprise my friend Lora with this fun Christmas in July surprise!  I have known Lora for quite a while now, she took some of my classes several years ago when she was a very beginner and is now also working at Threads That Bind!  I arranged to meet her yesterday afternoon, and presented her with the quilt and the cutter.  She was so surprised!


Lora and I both want to say a big Thank You to AccuQuilt for their generosity in sponsoring this challenge!  As well as to Island Batik!  I also gave Lora the leftover fabric and a few Stashbuilder rolls to play with.  It was fun to think of getting another quilter addicted to the fun and ease of using the Go! cutter - I know she is going to love it as much as I do.  

Make sure you visit the rest of the Island Batik Ambassadors and see their Christmas in July posts!  We have all had such fun being able to gift these wonderful little Go! Me cutting systems, and it was really a great moment for me to get to share this with my friend, Lora.  It was a very fun Christmas in July, indeed!

4 comments:

Emily said...

Fun pinwheels! I hope Lora loves her cutter!

For the love of geese said...

Congrats Lora. I love pinwheels, your quilt turned out great.

Shirley said...

Lucky Lora, an introduction to die cutting and a PAMELA quilt! Lovely little Christmas in July quilt.

Kathleen said...

I am sure Lora will enjoy that cutter, not to mention her wonderful quilt you made.