Christmas in July!
Come on, is it not snowing there?!
"The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik"
featuring: Island Batik Wonderland collection designed by Kathy Engle
#islandbatik #thebestfrombali #islandbatikambassador #iloveislandbatik #batik #aurifil #aurifilthread #hobbsbatting #schmetzneedles #accuquilt #accuquiltgome #cutter #accuquiltgo #christmas #christmasinjuly #july #challenge #julychallenge #peppermintwreathquilt #quilting #quilt #quilter #urbanelementz #handiquilter
This month the Island Batik Ambassador's challenge is with Accuquilt! Did you know that they just released a small version of their GO! Fabric Cutters?! The Accuquilt GO! Me is a totally "on the go" cutter perfect to follow you in all your projects AND it comes with a starter set of 2 dies, a GO! Half Square Triangle and a GO! Quarter Square Triangle both 3" finished square size.
Each Ambassador received one Accuquilt GO! Me to create a special quilting Christmas project (a table runner, wall hanger, small lap or throw quilt) using the two dies included in the Starter Set. Wait the challenge didn't stop there! After the project was finished, Accuquilt would like us to give both the project AND the GO! Me Fabric Cutter Starter Set to someone special, a quilting friend in our community who would benefit from the GO! Me.
Is this not a REAL Christmas in July?! I know you are already super curious to know who is my secret quilting friend, but first things first, so let's start with the pattern!
Here is what you will need to make the Peppermint Wreath wall hanger quilt, 23" finished size:
and the respective numbers/description from the dies:
3 Half Square Triangle - 3" Finished Square (55703)
4 (not included on the starter set) Quarter Square Triangle - 3" Finished Square (55704)
5 Half Square Triangle - 1 1/2" Finished Square (55705)
One of my favorite things about using Accuquilt cutters is how "sew organized" you can be, and I know this because I'm not a sew organized in general at all ;)
A great tip to before you start to cut all your fabric is to measure the width of your die design and cut the stripes of fabric according with this measure, then it is much easier to align the 6 layers of fabric (I KNOW!!!) before you cut it. You can also use painter's tape or washi tape to mark the top and bottom of the die design and save even more fabric!
Fast, accurate and safe cuts every single time!
I used Aurifil 50wt, color 2021 for piecing and quilting. Schmetz Microtex (Sharp) Needles size 80/12 for piecing the top quilt and Hobbs Batting 80/20 cotton/polyester for batting. I quilted with my Handi Quilter Amara using the "Figure Eight" pattern from Urban Elementz.
Now the second part of the challenge... I decided to giveaway my Accuquilt GO! Me to one of my quilting friends/ student Lori Hashizume. I met her for the first time during one of my free motion quilting classes and after that we started to follow each other online and we also met a couple times at our Modern Quilt Guild in Weston, CT. She is much more a modern quilter than me, so I though the Starter Set would be perfect for her, imagine the difference of having to cut ALL the Half Square Triangles by hand?!
Here in CT we are still following the social distancing and masks rules, so we decided to meet outside of the Weston Public Library, because it would be an open space and also a cool place to take pictures! I must confess that I loved this challenge and the excuse/opportunity to meet Lori in person again, especially after all these months without real social meetings! My husband even made a time lapse video to register our excitement with the opportunity to talk a little bit in person about QUILTING!
See you next month! Stay healthy :)