Vicki's Crafts and Quilting: Island Batik Ambassador

Showing posts with label Island Batik Ambassador. Show all posts

Thursday, October 31, 2019

How to be a 2020 Island Batik ambassador

If you are interested in applying to be an Island Batik Ambassador, it is open until November 4th. I reapplied and really hoping I get in again!

Here is the article all about how to apply.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Top it Off with Island Batik

It's Top It Off month. That means all of us Island Batik Ambassadors were given the challenge of making a table runner/topper for a holiday. Yes I was excited when I saw the challenge, as you know I love making table runners! I chose to make a candle table runner.

So much fun looking through all the fabric that Island Batik has given me over the past four years, looking for just the right ones. I am a little short on greens. But I had just enough of two different ones that I could make the holly leaves and little one inch squares from one and bind with the other. The candle received a red with gold metallic poinsettia batik.

I always find it so interesting to watch the transformation of each stage as the table runner comes together. Here you see just the background(Island Batik Sprinkles-love it) and all the little pieced squares.

The applique candles and holly leaves all prepared. And well shoot, I forgot to take a photo after the quilting was done and before I appliqued the candle and leaves on!! Can't go back now, haha. So yes, whenever I can I like to do the quilting before applique so I don't have to quilt around objects. And the quilting acts as a stabilizer for appliqueing.

Thank you Island Batik for a great challenge month!!! As always I love their fabrics, just a joy to use. Check your local quilt shop for Island Batik, if they don't have you can always ask them to carry it. Island Batik also has a store locator on their website. Also provided to me was Hobbs batting, I used the bleached 80/20.

This one will soon be in my Etsy shop! And I will need to make up another for the local craft show.

Linking with

Monday Making

Design wall Monday

Look What I Made

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Island Batik challenge featuring Aurifil

I feel like the luckiest gal around(well along with 49 others) that I get to work with Island Batik fabrics every month. But this month we are also working with the wonderful Aurifil threads.

The challenge this month is called Artsy Fartsy. Meaning we are to make something artsy using Island batiks and embellishing with Aurifil threads. I have to say I was way out of my wheelhouse, or my comfort zone or out of my box!! I was really fearful I couldn't pull it off. But I rose to the challenge and am happy to report that I really like my finished product.

Never ever have I done improv curved piecing before. I watched a You Tube video and from there I just winged it!! I wanted it to be like grass or green rolling hills and then the sky. See the pink row of tiny flowers growing on the hillside:)

I used the decorative stitches on my Janome Skline 7 to make pretty stitches with Aurifil thread. I used 80 wt, 50 wt, 40 wt, 28, and a floss! For the floss I put it in my cording foot and did a small zig zag over it.

I thought one of my Island Batik buttons was appropriate to adorn my little quilt. Now we need Aurifil buttons! My little wall hanging is about 11 x 18.

Thank you Island Batik and Aurifil threads for making me jump out of my box and create something fun! Thank you for the products used in the project also.

I used fabrics from several different collections to get the coloring I wanted for this project. Most were from the 5" x WOF rolls that are just perfect for adding to your stash.

Next month I will be joining several of the ambassadors in a blog hop using beautiful Island Batik fabrics that were released at Market last May. It's going to be a really fun hop so I hope you'll be back and watching for that.

Linking with:

Wednesday Wait Loss

Midweek Makers

NTT

Put your foot down

Can I get a Whoop Whoop

Favorite monthly finish

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Vintage Reimagined with Island Batik

So many choices to pick from for the March Island Batik Ambassador. The theme is Vintage Reimagined, we needed to find inspiration from an old quilt or quilt block and make it in an updated version. There are so many wonderful places to find inspiration, old quilt books or magazines, museums, online, perhaps even in your granny's hope chest or attic. Maybe you were lucky enough to be given something your grandma made many years ago.

I found my inspiration in two places. I fondly remember a dresden plate quilt my mom made many many years ago. I have no idea where that quilt is and mom is no longer around to ask. I couldn't even find a picture of it. What I do know, is that she made all the plates by drawing around a cardboard template. The second place I found inspiration was my blog friend Diane, she is working on dresden plate flowers. Once I saw these I knew just what I wanted to make.

We were traveling at the time and I didn't have my dresden plate template ruler. So I turned to my engineer hubby and asked him to draft me one on paper. A little while later I was happily cutting into my Island Batik gold fabrics. After returning home a few days ago I was a able to get them set onto the background fabric and today the quilting was done. Here is a before 'the quilting' shot.

Here you see the whole piece on the longarm. I am quilting my version of Mctavishing for the background. I appliqued the dresden plate flowers on with my longarm by straight stitching inside the edges and seams before I quilted the background. The stems were also stitched on in the same manner.

Ta da...all done!

A close up of the gorgeous gold Island Batiks.

After all the quilting was done, the leaves were blanket stitched on by machine.

Did you notice the ghost quilting of partial dresden flowers?

As an Island Batik Ambassador the fabrics are provided for us by Island Batik. Along with Hobbs Batting and Aurifil thread. You can find links to all the Ambassadors blogs HERE.

I like the way the sunlight was peeking in our window before it set for the day.

Joining these linky parties:

Midweek Makers

Wedensday Wait Loss

Favorite Finish-Meadow Mist

Thursday, January 31, 2019

New machine and Island Batik Visit

This past week I had a great time visiting the Road to California quilt show! Yes indeed, something crossed off my bucket list:) It was something I have wanted to do for a few years now and the time was finally right for me to be able to attend. I walked a lot, looked a lot, and might have bought a lot! Why is it that I always tend to buy things I don't need? This followed me home from the show...

I went to the show on Thursday and Friday. It was fun to see new vendors, and of course, there were quite a few I was familiar with already. The machine purchase was pretty much an impulse buy. I decided to check out the Janome Skyline 7 because of the high recommendation of my blog friend Wendy;) I was just looking, seriously I was just going to look. The more the demonstrator showed me, the more I thought I'd like to have that as a secondary machine for mainly applique and just leave it set up. It has a couple great features that would make my applique life easier, and it seems I have been doing a lot of applique in the last 2-3 years. One of them is the button to push that lifts your pressure foot up when you stop the machine, easy to pivot without manually lifting the foot. And the other is when coming to a corner, when you push the button for cornering it will corner with your stitches looking right. Sorry I don't know enough yet about the machine to tell you more details.

After the quilt show I zipped down to Carlsbad CA to visit Island Batik headquarters. You already know how much I love their fabrics and love being an ambassador for them. I couldn't be that close and not visit, kinda a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. The owner, Caleb gave me a great tour with all the luscious fabric staring back at me. It was pretty hard not to drool, LOL. Here are a couple pix for you to enjoy.

All of the fabrics has a place and everything in it's place. The fabrics are all made in Indonesia, and then all the fabrics that will be sold to shops in the US are shipped to Carlsbad, any sold to other countries are shipped from Indonesia. I hear there is a video being made to show the process involved in making the fabrics. As soon as I hear it is ready I will post a link to it. Each collection has it's own area. Blenders, neutrals, and precuts have their own space too.

The owner of Island Batik, Caleb Willis, and I in the Island Batik Headquarters. It was such an honor to be able to meet him and see where all of the luscious fabrics are just waiting to ship out to a shop near you. If your shop doesn't carry Island Batiks, be sure to ask them to!

Okay peeps I need some serious sewing time now!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, January 25, 2019

My quilt is 'getting away' with Island Batik!

Hooray today is my day on the Get Away Island Batik blog hop! Welcome old and new friends, grab a cup off coffee and feel free to look around my blog. The blog hop started January 7th and goes through February 2nd. The collections we are using were released at Fall Market. You still have time to visit them all:)

Being an Island Batik Ambassador is just the most awesome job ever...oh wait it is not a job because I love it so much;) Working with these wonderful fabrics, OMG the colors, the feel of the fabric, it's just all fantastic.

This collection is called Brookview. Doesn't it remind you of water in a stream and wildflowers growing all around? You should be able to find this collection in your stores now, if not ask for it!

I used most of the 20 different fabrics, I wanted lots of color is this quilt so I stayed away from the 2-3 light colors. It was so much fun arranging all the colors.

My 7 year old Grandson helped with the arranging and cutting my blocks apart after I chain pieced them.

Here I am pressing my blocks using my wool mat from Precision Quilting.

I used a Villa Rosa pattern called Tuscan Sun for piecing this lap quilt. I met the designer yesterday and shared a picture of my quilt, she is such a sweetie! My quilt is 56" x 70".

I had fun taking some photo's while my quilt was on it's Getaway!

Thank you to Island Batik for providing the fabric for this project. Also provided for us was Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread. I quilted a freehand allover design of paisley swirl that Jasmine taught me.

Be sure to visit all the other Island Batik Ambassadors to get loads of wonderful inspiration. There are giveaways involved. Be sure to check out the Island Batik blog and sign up for their fabulous give away of 20 fat quarters also.

WEEK 1

Monday, January 7 - Crystal Ball

Maryellen McAuliffe- Mary Mack’s Blog

Sandra Walker- mmm! quilts

Tuesday, January 8 - Ditty

Stephanie Jacobson - Steph Jacobson Designs

Michelle Roberts - Creative Blonde

Wednesday, January 9 - Elk Lodge

Connie Campbell - Free Motion by the River

Anna Branch- Ark Angel Creations

Thursday, January 10 - Feline Fine

Bea Lee- Bea Quilter