Announcement, Announcement, Announcement...

I wanted to get this post up earlier, but had some distractions going on here today.  So better late than never, I wanted to make the official announcement that I am one of the 2019 Island Batik Ambassadors!

I was so excited to hear the news earlier this month, and even more excited to see not one, but two shipping notices for packages headed my way!  I made an unboxing video, and I have to apologize for the really weird lighting.  It was a super rainy day so I had to use my dining room and the lighting was definitely not the best.  So sorry.  Anyway - enjoy my glee at opening up two very fun boxes!  Oh, and you can tell I made this earlier this month because I talk about a couple of projects that are now completed :)

I can't wait to start my new projects using all of these wonderful fabrics!  And what an awesome surprise to receive the Ready Set GO! cutting system from Accuquilt - I've already put it to use in making my first project for Project Quilting and I know I am going to be using this a lot this year.  So much wonderful batting from Hobbs, and thread from Aurifil as well - what a great way to start out 2019!  I am definitely feeling spoiled and very thankful!

In all there are 50 Island Batik Ambassadors for 2019, and we are located all around the world!  There are some new, and many from last year, so you can look forward to lots of awesome projects this year.  You can see the list of Ambassadors on the tab at the top of my page, and check out the announcement on the Island Batik Blog.

I'm working at putting together a giveaway to not only celebrate being a 2019 Island Batik Ambassador, but also to belatedly celebrate my 1000th blog post since that happened in December
 - I'm not quite ready yet, but I am scheduling that for Friday - I hope you'll join in!  In the meantime, here's a look at what I woke up to this morning.  Winter decided to come to visit!

Who is going to be the lucky winner?

Time to announce the winner of my giveaway for the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats to Deb F - I've e-mailed you about sending you your prize!

I'm sure you will have as much fun with French Blue as I did!

Now it's time for me to kick back in my chair and enjoy a movie with my husband - but make sure you come back on Monday for a big announcement and another giveaway - have a great weekend.

Friday Fun...

Today I took a day to relax, since tomorrow I work all day at the quilt shop and I've been working hard all week!  I had so much fun making Jen's Color challenge block for January that I decided to get ahead of the game and get the block done for February right away.  Some lovely pinks from my Island Batik stash!

Then I made a pink ribbon block to mail to a friend  (more Island Batik fabric):

I also added the pieced side borders to the Brothers and Sisters quilt I am working on.  Those borders are making me crazy!  The units are slightly different on each end, so have to go together in the right direction and every once in a while I find one that is upside down.  Grrr.  No pictures of that, but I hope to get the borders finished by Monday, so I'll have to show you later.

Then I started thinking about what I need to get finished in February.  Brothers and Sisters is due to be done, so it gets to go to the top of my list and I am choosing this for my OMG (One Monthly Goal)  Other than that, the Island Batik Ambassador challenge this month is Magnificent Minis, so I get to make a mini quilt!  I have a Grinch Panel to quilt, so that will be fun.  I should finish a Nine by Nine quilt for a shop sample.  And there's that wedding dress to sew a bazillion buttons on...time to get that project finished up for sure! 

I'm also participating in a fun blog hop this month, hosted by Bea of BeaQuilter - the Dust off a Quilt Book Blog hop  I've been having a blast going through books to pick out a project to make!

Frankly, I think that's enough to keep me busy for a short month like February!  Luckily no big home improvement projects are slated for this month, so I'll get plenty of sewing time.

Hope your month is off to a lovely start!  Tomorrow night I'll post the winner of my giveaway for the Getaway Blog hop...good luck!