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!