Curlicue Creations: January 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020

Scrappy Star Quilt Top Complete!

The Scrappy Star quilt top is complete! I took it outdoors for a breezy clothesline photo.

The wind complied and gave me some fun photo opportunities.

Next up: quilting. How should I quilt this? I'm always open for quilting suggestions. Please leave your ideas in a comment below.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today

Jennifer Thomas

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Thursday, January 30, 2020

Island Batik Ambassador Unboxing

Hello. As you've heard by now, I am blessed with the honor of being an Island Batik Ambassador for 2020. As, an ambassador, twice a year we receive a goody box filled with Island Batik fabrics and items from their industry partners. I made an unboxing video, but it's too big to upload here. If you would like to view it, please click on over to my Facebook page, here: Curlicue Creations on Facebook

Here's what was inside my box:

Disclaimer: All items were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners at no cost to me.

Bloomers half yard cut bundle. These fabrics are from the Fall 2019 collection by Kathy Engle. Look for this fabric collection in your local quilt shop in February.

Here's another look at the Bloomers collection. When you see this, these fabrics will already be cut up and hopefully sewn into a quilt top. I'll be featuring this collection in my February project, on the Blog Hop, February 11th. Please come back then to see what I've created.

Two yards of light and two yards of dark fabric to coordinate with the Bloomers collection. The dark fabric is Berries - Iris (my favorite!), and the light is Tossed Seeds - Almond.

This is a Batik Foundations Bundle ~ 12 half yard cuts to coordinate with the other fabrics I'll be using for the first half of 2020.

Side view.

Fanned out view. Do you see the four solid fabrics on top? New for this year, Island Batik has a vibrant line of solids to coordinate with their amazing batik fabrics. The colors I received are Green, Lime Green, Fuchsia, and Pink.

Whispering Feathers 10" square collection. This includes 42 pieces and 20 different fabric designs. Along with it are 2 yards of light and 2 yards of dark foundation to coordinate, Round Petal Floral in Cantaloupe, and Garnet from the Island Batik Basics Collection. These colors make me think of a tropical sunset.

This collection is by Kathy Engle and will be in local quilt shops in May.

Did you know that in addition to quilting cotton, Island Batik sells a line of Rayon batik fabrics? Oh yes! The rayon is wonderful for sewing clothing and other items. I love this beautiful pink cut of Rayon in Primrose. What shall I create with this?

These are 5" wide x width of fabric rolls. These are wonderfully handy for building your stash and something I turn to when I'm looking for a specific color or need a little extra to fill out my palette on a project.

Yee-ha! 2-1/2" strip pack of Faded Blue Jeans! These colors are soft and lovely. Island Batik's 2-1/2" strip packs include 40 pieces and feature 20 different fabric designs. Along with it I have two yard cuts of light and dark foundation that coordinates, Cherio in Navy, and Parchment from the Basics collection.

Faded Blue Jeans is by Kathy Engle and will be in shops in February.

Wow! This is a huge 6 yard cut of neutral yardage. The name of this fabric is Vanilla. I know this is going to come in handy.

Island Batik also makes these gorgeous rayon scarves. If you see me around town, or at the beach, I'll be wearing one. I love to dress up my outfit with a scarf, and they are also great for tying my hair back at the beach.

Hobbs Batting continues to be an industry partner for the Island Batik Ambassador program this year. They've sent two rolls of big, King Size batting for use in our projects. This one is Cotton.

This one is Cotton with a Scrim Binder.

Aurifil has included two of their new thread sets in my box.

Sardinia Pink ~ oooh I'm in love!

And Verona Mauve. So soft and beautiful. These threads coordinate perfectly with the fabrics I've received.

This year we have a new industry partner in Schmetz Needles. Yay! I've been curious to try their Super Nonstick Needles and here they are. Plus some Microtex (Sharp) Needles and a guide for which needles to use when ~ so handy.

Accuquilt also continues to be an industry partner and has sent a new die for an upcoming challenge. I received Hattie's Choice.

I'm excited to design a quilt with this die. Look at the fun pieces: triangles, diamonds, and kites!

Island Batik included a few pin back buttons, too. Thank you.

Here's a photo of everything together. I'm so blessed! Thank you, Island Batik, Aurifil, Hobbs, Accuquilt, and Schmetz Needles. I can't wait to get sewing. I hope my projects this year will inspire you to...

Be creative ~ Sew something beautiful today!

Jennifer Thomas

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This is an affiliate link. Clicking this link will not affect the purchase price. However, if you do make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thank you.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Quilty Box Gets a New Look! ~ January 2020

"What's this?" asks a curious Ragamuffin. It's Quilty Box! The label says: "Pardon our plain appearance, we're getting a new look." It says they are "reducing their carbon footprint and watch for their new locally sourced eco-friendly Quilty Box." Well...that sounds good to me.

Inside the box everything is still beautifully wrapped in white tissue, giving it the feel of opening a gift.

This month's fabric collection is Good Vibrations, by Elizabeth Olwen, for Cloud 9 Fabrics.

I'm loving these prints. So bright and retro looking.

A Plan to Quilt mini planner! This is so cute! It has self-guided pages to help you plan and record all of your projects. So fun. I can't wait to get started.

The January Bundles of Inspiration magazine, filled with patterns, tips, ideas, and an interview with this month's featured artist, Elizabeth Olwen.

A pack of 3/4" papers for hexies! Yay! I love making these, and this is my preferred size. This makes me want to begin a new hexagon project. Have you seen my Aura quilt? Or my Rainbow Connection quilt? I still need to quilt the Rainbow Connection. It's on my list.

Also included is a 3/4" acrylic hexagon template. So nice. Yep, I definitely feel a new project coming on.

A spool of Wonderfil thread in this light peachy color.

This is an affiliate link. Clicking this link will not affect the purchase price. However, if you do make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thank you.

Are you curious to try Quilty Box for yourself? They have a variety of plans from month to month all the way up to a yearly subscription. Shipping is free within the United States, too. Click on the above ad to visit their site and see all that Quilty Box has to offer.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop.

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Saturday, January 25, 2020

Let's Get Scrappy ~ Featuring the Flea Market Quilt

The Flea Market quilt is complete!

Disclaimer: The product used to create this project was provided to me by Island Batik and industry partners at no cost to me.

Let's Get Scrappy is the January challenge for the Island Batik Ambassador program.

I dug into my Island Batik stash and really had fun choosing the rainbow of color for this quilt.

I was excited to use this older Accuquilt die to cut out the triangle units for this project.

It made them quick to cut and easy to piece, with the corners automatically trimmed off, it was easy to match the pieces together while sewing them.

This is the basic block for the quilt. I made 24 blocks.

I used Hobbs Tuscany Collection Cotton Wool Blend batting. This quilts so wonderfully.

I quilted straight lines in all the gray patches, and practiced my free motion quilting with swirls and circles over the rainbow part of the quilt.

I used my new Schmetz needles to quilt. They work so well with the tightly woven Island Batik fabric.

This quilt is awash in a rainbow of Island Batik color.

Trail Mix helped with the quilting.

You can see all of the colors in this folded side view. Rainbow!💗💛💚

Flea Market quilt lookin' pretty, folded on a patio chair. Come on over for some lemonade and a chat.

I used Aurifil thread in matching colors to quilt Flea Market. This is what I have left. See that empty spool on the left? That's yellow 5015. Over the past year I've used up two spools of this color, and I don't fancy myself that much of a yellow lover. Hmmmm....I better get some more of that.