This is the quilt I made for the February Island Batik Ambassador blog hop, Kitty Cool. Grab a cuppa your favorite beverage. This is going to be a lengthy post, but if you make it to the end, there will be a giveaway of a charm pack of the Citrus Sun fabric I used to make the Kitty Cool quilt.
Disclaimer: The products used in this project were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.
The theme for February is Create for a Cause. I knew right away I wanted to make a project that would benefit animals. I currently have five cats. They've all been rescues in one way or another. It breaks my heart to think about all the homeless shelter animals. I can't give them all a home, but I can help in a small way.
We have an amazing local group that provides emergency medial care and a ride to freedom for pets in our local shelter. They are volunteer operated and donor supported. Every Friday they have a "Ride to Freedom" event. They fill a van with shelter animals and take them to no kill rescues and safe havens that have partnered with them along the East Coast to save the lives of cats and dogs.
Donations can be made to them directly at their website, here: Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society, or you can donate to help individual animals get their "Ride to Freedom" on their Facebook page, here: Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society Facebook Page. They do a Facebook live on Ride to Freedom nights so you can see the animals being rescued. It's awesome!
This is the brand new Citrus Sun fabric collection designed by Kathy Engle for Island Batik. Isn't it just gorgeous? I loved working with it to create the Kitty Cool quilt. I'll be using it for another project coming up for sure. This fabric should be in local quilt shops now. Go out and get some.
Island Batik is giving away two fat quarter bundles of the Citrus Sun fabric on their blog this week. Enter by February 5th to win. Here's the link: Island Batik Blog
I designed the Kitty Cool block using a pre-drawn block from EQ8, Cartoon Cat. Isn't it just adorable? I cut each of the eight cats out of a different Citrus Sun fabric and fused them to the background squares on point. I stitched around each of the kitties using either blue or green Aurifil thread and a small zigzag stitch.
To make the sashing, I used my Accuquilt 1-1/2" strip die to cut accurate strips of each of the fabrics. Then I sewed the strips together and recut them into sashing sets with my Accuquilt 2-1/2" strip die. It was so fast and easy to do.
I used Hobbs Heirloom Cotton Batting and a light yellow Aurifil thread for the quilting. I quilted this in a simple loopy meander design over the surface of the quilt, with the exception of the cats, which I simply echo quilted around. I used my favorite needles, Schmetz Micro Tex. They stitch smoothly through the tight weave of batik fabrics.
Oh kitty! Did you check out the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society yet? Please donate if you can. Even $5.00 can make a difference and help a cat or dog earn their "Ticket to Freedom".
I used a beautiful green Island Batik fabric called "Frog" for the backing of this quilt and bound the quilt with the same dark blue fabric as the outer border.
Pretty folds.
I'm going to be selling this quilt in my Etsy shop and donating the profit to the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society. If you love it as much as I do, please consider making Kitty Cool a part of your home. Click here to learn more about purchasing the Kitty Cool quilt: Kitty Cool Quilt
Kitty Cool
Quilt Stats:
Finished Quilt Size: 35" x 46"
Finished Block Size: 6" x 6"
Fabric: Citrus Sun by Kathy Engle for Island Batik
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Cotton
Thread: Aurifil
Needles: Schmetz
Cutting Dies: Accuquilt 1-1/2" strip, 2-1/2" strip
I'm giving away this 5" square bundle cut from all of the Citrus Sun fabrics. For the giveaway, please leave a comment below (all the way at the end!). To make it fun, please tell me your favorite cat or dog name. I'll pick a winner by random number generator at the end of the blog hop. Please make sure I have a way to contact you, should you be the chosen one.
I hope you enjoyed my post today. Here's the list of the complete Island Batik Create for a Cause blog hop. Be sure to visit all the ambassadors so you can see the new fabric lines, enter the giveaways, and get maximum Island Batik inspiration.
February 1:
- Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts
- Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts
February 2:
- Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
- Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
February 3:
- Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
- Pamela Boatright, PamelaQuilts
February 4:
- Janet Yamamoto, Whispers of Yore
- Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
February 5:
Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway
February 8:
- Megan Best, Bestquilter
- Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio
February 9:
- Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter
- Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood
February 10:
- Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
- Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting
February 11:
- Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
- Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
February 12:
Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway
February 15:
- Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
- Joanne Hart, Unicornharts
February 16:
- Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
- Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts
February 17:
- Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist
- Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
February 18:
- Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
- Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky
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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.
Jennifer Thomas
Connect with me:
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Oh Jennifer I love your quilt. I love the cause and I absolutely adore the supercute cat applique pattern. I did not grow up with pets in India. Getting married to Paul also meant accepting his Orange Tabby cat - it was a package deal. For 13 years I tolerated the cat (or so I thought), making sure that the door to my bedroom was always shut and the cat stayed out of the fabric room. I am slightly allergic to cat hair and wanted to keep my clothes and fabrics fur-free. When he passed away in August, at the ripe old age of 19, Paul was devastated. I am still surprised that I experienced a huge sense of loss. After all those years of tolerating him, he firmly and surely pawed his way into my heart.
ReplyDeletelove this quilt.I support my local animal shelter also.i would take all the animals in if I could.My favorite animal name is Molly,in memory of mysweet JRT.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota. At one time, we had 30 cats. Each one had a name. Granny was the oldest cat. Wild cat was a calico cat that didn't like to be around people. Bob cat got his name because his tail accidently got cut off. Snowball was an light colored long haired cat. They all knew at milking time there would be pans of milk put out for them to drink.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great quilt. I'm not a cat person (allergies), but the quilt makes me want to be. It's adorable, and those fabrics are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYou created another awesome quilt! Thank you for your generous contribution for this cause. My hubby & I rescued our 10 yo yellow lab, Mack, from a home where he was abused by the children. We also use the veterinary services at a no-kill clinic.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning Jennifer and the collection is beautiful. A cat lover will definitely be thrilled to donate for a cause and receive this quilt. I hope they do a raffle and make lots of money as it sounds like a good organization.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, your quilt is absolutely adorable. I really love the cats---sooo cute!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite name for an animal is Muffin. She was a beautiful little dog, but sadly, she is no longer around. Thank you for your giveaway.
I grew up on a farm. I have had or been around cats all my life. I love cats. Some of my favorite cat names/cats are Butterscotch, Ginger, Boots, Chopper, Abbie, Sam and Prissy.
ReplyDeleteKitty Cool is a such a fun quilt for kitty lovers! Island Batik always has the most beautiful fabrics to work with and your creative idea was perfect for this theme and to donate to help animals. Our first family dog was a Bichon Frise and he was the sweetest dog. We named him Quincy Denim-Chaser (he was AKC), so we needed a middle name. He loved to chase a scrap of denim that we threw around. duchick at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt, and a great cause! Our Pomeranian is named Sugar Bear. She is so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI live in DeSoto parish in Louisiana. A truck driver had a bad wreck a couple of weeks ago and flipped his rig. He was hurt, but he survived and is being released today. His dog escaped, and the whole parish has been looking for her. Some found her, but couldn't catch her. She's a pit bull and very shy. When someone saw her near a local restaurant, they called the shelter, and another person came and set up a trap with some of the guy's clothing. She took the bait and they will be reunited today! The local news has also been covering it so I know it will help them with donations and such.
She didn't go hungry because people put out food everywhere she'd been spotted. Such a sweet story!
Your quilt is just delightful! Thank for sharing. We had a cat many many years ago named Susie Muffin! We were kids, not sure where the name came from exactly but, I have always loved that name!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt. What a beautiful design. My cat's name is Cleah, named by my youngest daughter.
ReplyDeleteJust love your quilt and these colors. I know someone who had a cat called Spider
ReplyDeleteThis is so fun! I love the colors of Citrus Sun and the Cool Kitty is such a fun design. Using the 2 1/2" strip cutter to re-cut strip sets is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have a shortlist of future dog or cat names, but I think the name really has to match the animal and its personality. Our dog Ivy was so sweet, I can't help but think that Ivy is my favorite pet name.
Loved this post! Rescues, cats, quilts...yes. My favorite cat name is, current cat: Mary Alyce! Previous loves: Simon, Gladys, Vivian, Louise, Sigmund. Yep, all people names.
ReplyDeleteI love your kitty quilt - and your charity choice. My favorite pet name is Aggie, just because Aggie was the best dog ever. Thanks for a great post and for your lovely giveaway. pk_sews at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is adorable! I have a cat who showed up at our house a year ago and we kept him. He looked so much like the cat in the old Disney movie, That Darn Cat, that we decided to name him DC, which stands for Darn Cat. DC loves to lay in my sewing room on my cutting table while I sew.
ReplyDeleteGreat job of tying the quilt and the charity together. It's certainly a "cool" quilt. Thanks for sharing. I am the family's crazy cat lady. Bud is the most common name but even the strays get a name.
ReplyDeleteConnie
I love your quilt. I have adopted several rescue dogs. My first one was a doxie named Norman. My current 2 are Zoey and Sofie. I think my favorite dog name is Nipsy, the name of my childhood dog.
ReplyDeleteSuch fun fabrics and great causes. My favorite dog name is Mercury.
ReplyDeleteFavorite cat name? We have five right now--started with a rescued pregnant mama and kept her four kittens, too. I think my favorite name of our current crew is "Carter", named after the former President, a truly good man. No shenanigans, spends his time building homes for the homeless, loves his wife. Our Carter is a good fellow, also.
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of your quilt and the charity you are sponsoring. My favourite name (and the fur baby it belonged to) was BamBam. He was our rescue but at 14 1/2 years we had to say goodbye just over a month ago.
ReplyDeleteI've got a Moses, Benji and Malcomb in my house. Your quilt is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt. We are a cat lover family, so it would fit in very nice in our home. haha. Snowball for a white cat and blackie for a black cat. I know, how innovative, right??
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cat name is one of our current cats: Mia. It originally stood for "Missing in Action". When we first got her, she was very shy, and always hiding in back of the couch or who knows where.
ReplyDeletebeautiful fabrics and a cute quilt! Good charity too.
I love this and hope you get a nice amount for the Ruin Creek APS - it is a great cause and I am sure they will be thrilled with your help. My favorite cat name is Aquinas, he was a tom cat (Thomas Aquinas), that was part Maine Coon and weighed 19 lbs. and was just large not fat.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cat name is Whiskers. I named mine that because she is black with white paws and white whiskers. My neighbor also named on of his cats Whiskers but I am not sure why. Lovely fabric and very cute cool cat quilt.
ReplyDeleteThese cats are so precious. Your charity will be delighted to receive it. Your cause should make a bundle on this quilt!
ReplyDeleteDaisy is our dog and Cinderella is our cat. Beautiful fabrics you get to work with!
ReplyDeletebarbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)
Love your darling
ReplyDeletecat quilt! I love
my dog's name of
Shad (for Shadow).
Carla from Utah
My little sister had a cat named Princess when she was younger. The problem was that the cat was a HE. kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI like the name Boomer for a dog.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cat name Oz.
ReplyDeleteTheresa Norris
weceno at yahoo dot com