Winter Blues Blog Hop and Island Batik January Challenge - Flying X blocks, Let's Get Scrappy!

Welcome to day 2 of the Winter Blues Blog Hop!  I am sure enjoying seeing all the "Blues" because I love them so much.  The color blue does make me happy, even in these cold and dim winter days.  And I think that this time of year, you just have to spend extra time doing things that bring you joy! 

I'm combining my project with the January Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - which is a Scrap Quilt challenge.  (These fabrics were all provided to me through Island Batik in the boxes that have been sent to me as an ambassador over the last few years as well as the batting, thread and AccuQuilt Go! used for the cutting.)

The first thing I did was to pull out the AccuQuilt Go! and 8 inch Qube set.  I found a block that I liked in the Mix and Match block and pattern book and started looking through my scraps to find blue fabrics that I wanted to use.  I decided to make 12 blocks and used two different blues in each block, so 24 different blue fabrics went into this quilt.  There are fabrics going back to my very first ambassador box in this quilt! It didn't take long to turn all those scraps into pieces for my blocks...

I love the way these blocks came out!  If you aren't too sure if you really like scrappy quilts, try making one with a controlled color palette.  You just might change your mind! I used the same fabric (rice) for the background and the sashing to make my blocks look like they are floating on the quilt, and found a fun strip of raindrops for the cornerstones in one of my Stash Builder rolls. 

I love my finished quilt!  I decided I wanted to try something new with the quilting so I used my walking foot to quilt curved lines across the quilt.  It was really pretty fun and easy and I love the look of it!  The thread was the same pale blue Aurifil 50 wt that I used for the piecing. 

The batting is Hobbs Heirloom Cotton.  I love the soft loft of it, and how nicely it quilts!  The light quilting makes this quilt nice and soft!

I used Blueberry from the Island Batik foundations line for the border and Cheerios in Blueberry (my favorite color from island batik!) for the binding.  You can see the raindrop cornerstones in this picture as well!

Isn't this a pretty winter quilt?  It measures 40 x 50 inches - the blocks are 8 inches, sashing and cornerstones are 2 inches and the border is 4 inches.

I decided to hang it over my dining room window for now.  I really want to make a nice roman shade for this window, but I am really liking this quilt in that spot for the time being!

I hope you enjoyed my project!  Make sure you go visit the other bloggers who are posting today - so many great projects featuring "Winter Blues".  Thanks again to Carla for hosting this great hop!

Quilted Delights

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Farm Quilter

Homespun Hannah's Blog
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Quilting & Learning: What a Combo
Life in the Scrapatch
PamelaQuilts
Home Sewn By Us

And also thanks to Island Batik for providing the fabric, Accuquilt for the Go! cutting system, Hobbs Batting, and Aurifil Thread.  You can see all the 2020 Island Batik Ambassador blogs by clicking the tab at the top of my blog or by clicking here.  There will be lots of great projects coming up!

Reflections...

Do you love scrappy quilts?  I definitely do, and was excited to make this super bright version of my Reflections quilt for the Island Batik Fall Winter 2018 Catalog!  I was hoping to spot it in the pictures of their booth at quilt market, but I never did see it.  This quilt is made from 2 1/2 inch strips, and I've included instructions for multiple sizes.  This is the smaller version at 44 x 44.  I would love to make this in a queen size for my bed!

The fabrics in this quilt are Moroccan Bazaar and I named this project Marrakesh.  I love the happy colors!

I quilted it with hearts and chains and used lots of different colors of Aurifil thread!

The binding is an awesome lime green, and the backing is a fun tie-dye pattern. This quilt is currently out on Trunk Show duty, I always wish I had taken more pictures before I let them go!  If you would like to purchase my pattern for this quilt, it is available  in my Etsy shop.

Reflections Pattern available here...

Since we aren't having company, I don't have to do a big house cleaning, the shopping is done, so I guess I will go quilt!

Happy Galentine's Day!

Wishing all of you a Happy Galentine's Day!  I really appreciate all the wonderful comments on my mug rug and the encouragement to keep sharing.  I feel very much loved and appreciated by all you lovely readers!

 (The fabrics for both of the projects below were provided by Island Batik)

I would love to see all of you to reach out and make something handmade to give away today!  Last year I wrote a tutorial for a Kisses and Hugs Mug Rug - just click the picture below to see the post.  It's an easy project, even for a beginner.

It doesn't take long to make a cute little mug rug, and you can make someone feel very loved!  There is nothing like a handmade gift.  I'll be pulling out those pinks and reds for a couple more projects today to share with someone who has encouraged me in my quilting jouney.

And if you you want more inspiration just check out the list of Island Batik Ambassadors below!  You will find plenty of inspiration from these talented ladies for more small projects that you can gift.

Alison at Little Bunny Quilts

Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy

Anita at Quilt in a not-Shell

Anna at Ark Angel Creations

Anne at Sweetgrass Designs

Barbara at Bejeweled Quilts

Bea at BeaQuilter

Carole at Carole Lyles Shaw

Connie at Freemotion by the River

Connie at Kauffman Designs

Dione at Clever Chameleon

Geraldine at Living Water Quilter

Jackie at If These Threads Could Talk

Janet at Whispers of Yore

Jeanette at Inchworm Fabrics

Jen at Patterns by Jen

Jennifer at Curlicue Creations

Jennifer at Dizzy Quilter

Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter

Jessica at Desert Bloom Quilting

Joan at Moosestash Quilting

Joyce at heARTs Creations

Karen at Sew Karen-ly Created

Karen at The Quilt Rambler

Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing

Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts 

Leanne at Devoted Quilter

Mania at Mania for Quilts

Maryellen at Mary Mack Made Mine

Michelle at Creative Blonde

Myra at Busy Hands Quilts

Nancy at Masterpiece Quilting

Pamela at PamelaQuilts

Sally at Sally Manke

Sandra at MMM Quilts

Sarah at Sarah Goer Quilts

Sharon at Yellow Cat Quilt Designs

Sherry at Powered by Quilting

Stephanie at Steph Jacobson

Suzy at Adventurous Applique and Quilting

Teri at Lizard Creek Quilts

Tina at Quilting Affection

Toby at Gateway Quilts & Stuff

Turid at Den Syende Himmel

Vicki at Vicki's Crafts & Quilting

Linking up with Connie for Linky Tuesday

I wish you all a happy day today - I hope you know that I appreciate you and consider you all to be my friends, too, even though we've never met!

Happy Galentine's Day!

Nope, not a typo!  I just learned about a fun holiday just for those special ladies in our lives - not Valentine's day, which is all about romance, but Galentine's day - which celebrates our gal pals.  The ladies who give us the wind beneath our wings, and would go to the ends of the earth for us, especially if it means brunch out at our favorite gathering place.  The friends that you can giggle with, and cry with when you need to.

I

My fellow Island Batik Ambassadors and I were challenged to come up with a quilted postcard or rug mug to celebrate the occasion.  In my box was a bundle of pink and red fat quarters that were perfect for the challenge.  All I needed was a great idea!  I thought of all kinds of variations of heart quilts, but wanted to do something a little different.  

So I came up with this Kisses and Hugs mug rug.  It was super easy to make!  

You need eight 2 1/2 inch squares of pink and red fabric, sixteen  1 1/2 inch squares of light pink and two 1 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch squares of light pink for the pieced top.  Using a sew and flip technique, sew a light pink square to two opposite corners of each red and pink square, then arrange the resulting squares into an x and an o layout.  Sew them all together, then add a light pink strip to the top and bottom to make a 6 1/2 inch x 8 12 inch rectangle.

Add backing and batting, then quilt as desired! Bind in whatever pink or red you prefer.G  I sewed the entire project using the red Aurifil 50 wt thread I received in my ambassador box.  (Works great for piecing as well as quilting!)

Now add the beverage of your choice and your BFF for a great bonding time!

Happy Galentine's day to you all!