Fleur Flamingo Stuffed Toy

Hello there!  This is my Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics) Ambassador project for June, Fleur the Flamingo.

Disclaimer:  The products used to make this project were given to me by Lumin Fabrics and Industry Partners.

This month the Ambassadors got to pick out a Funky Friends Factory pattern and sew the critter of their choice.  How fun!  I've sewn a few of these patterns in the past and they are always fun to make.

This time around I chose Fleur the Flamingo.  What a cutie!  I live near the beach and I thought he would fit well with my tropical beachy decor, plus I love pink.  

I pulled a variety of pink fabrics from Meadow Hues, a signature collection for Claudia Porter, designed by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics).  I pulled six pinks, but ended up using four of them, plus some Island Batik solid black.

Other items from our industry partners that I used on this project included:

                                         

               Simply Stuffing from Hobbs Batting                                Schmetz Needles

                                   

                         Oliso Project Iron in Raspberry                         Pink Aurifil thread 

These are the wings.  As I sewed them, I thought they could also be dragon wings.  Then I thought how the flamingo is a little bit similar to a dragon, with the flying, the bright colors, and body style.  A fire breathing flamingo might be fun...or slightly terrifying.

Legs.

Pinning and sewing the feet.

And voila!  Fleur the Flamingo, hanging out in the quilt studio.  This project went together quickly and smoothly.  I did pattern prep, cutting, and all of the sewing the first day.  On day two I finished the stuffing and hand sewed the opening closed.  He came out pretty cute!  Then I took lots of photos.  That was fun, too.

On my side porch, enjoying a little sunshine.

Exploring a basket.  "Mermaid Kisses and Starfish Wishes"

He flew up high to investigate this shelf.  The legs are so fun and poseable!

Next he moved on to my front porch to try out my favorite chair.

Fleur flew over to my palm tree for a perch.

Then we walked to the end of my road to take a quick pic with the street sign.  I love living on Pink Lane.

Fleur was fascinated with this flamingo stepping stone.

He also enjoyed hanging out with this garden friend.

He checked out the broken shell garden for a bit.  It was too pointy! Ouch!

And ended the morning on this patio chair.  I think Fleur is going to live in the quilt studio along with Axl Axlotyl and Lloyd Llama.

Please visit my fellow ambassadors all month long to see what Funky Friends Factory patterns they are making. Here's the list:

• Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
• Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
• Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
• Tina Dillard ~ Quilting Affection Designs
• Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
• Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts
• Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
• Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
• Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
• Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
• Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
• Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
• Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
• Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
• Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
• Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
• Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
• Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
• Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
• Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
• Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations (You are here)

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today!

Jennifer Thomas 

Curlicue Creations

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Dancing Flowers Quilt and Pattern

Today I'm going to show you the Dancing Flowers quilt.  This quilt was made with the Local Motion fabric collection for Maryellen McAuliffe by Island Batik.  It was inspired by those solar activated dancing flowers you sometimes see on car dashboards.

Disclaimer:  The fabric used in this quilt was provided at no cost to me by Island Batik.

These are the fabrics I used from the Local Motion collection.  Aren't they pretty?  I love the purple teal gold color combo and the designs are really fun!  Bicycles and cog wheels galore.

I made six of these nine patch variation blocks for this quilt.  They are quick and easy to strip piece.

I used the fusible applique method for the flowers.  Check out the bicycle fabric I used for the flower petals.  They are really dancing on the move!

I quilted an all over loopy meander in a purple and teal thread over most of the quilt.  I quilted a smaller scale loopy meander in a white thread for the background of the flower blocks.

I love the texture the small loopy meander makes!

Tucking in the loose thread ends.

The dancing flowers quilt "dancing" off the quilt frame.

Sewing on the binding.  I love this fabric collection!

Dancing Flowers

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Size:  70" x 87"

Block Size:  12" x 12"

Fabric:  Local Motion for Maryellen McAuliffe by Island Batik

Batting:  Hobbs Cotton 80/20 Bleached

Thread:  King Tut by Superior

Needles:  Schmetz

Designed in EQ8

 The Dancing Flowers quilt pattern can be found in select quilt shops across the USA.  Look for it in                your local shop.  If your shop doesn't carry Curlicue Creations patterns, ask for them!

Optionally you can order a copy from the Curlicue Creations Shop.

Click here to order a Dancing Flowers PDF instant download pattern.

Click here to order a Dancing Flowers paper copy pattern.

If you sew a Dancing Flowers quilt, please share a pic with me on Instagram @curlicuecreations.  I would love to see your quilt!

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today,

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

For more Curlicue Creations patterns, Island Batik fabric and other sewing supplies, click here to visit the Curlicue Creations Etsy Shop.

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It's All Up To You ~ Featuring Elvis ~ Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas!  This is my March Island Batik Ambassador project.  

This month we were given the freedom to make any project we desired. We get to do two "It's all up to you" projects this year.  The second one will be in December, to finish out the year.  I've already started on that project, too.

For the March project, I chose to use this pattern I picked up last summer whilst visiting my parents in Las Vegas.  The pattern name is "Ode to the King" by Madi Hastings.  I purchased this at the Quiltique quilt shop.  It's a small quilt, intended for a row by row.  The pattern included die cut fabrics, which I did not use.  I traced all the pieces onto Heat 'n Bond Lite so I could make my quilt with Island Batik fabrics of my choosing.

I mainly used fabrics from the Squiggles, Dots, and Lines 10" precut stack that I received in my January Island Batik Ambassador box.  Additionally, I used Moonstone for Elvis' skin, Storm for his hair, and Eggshell for the background and backing fabric.

You can find Squiggles, Dots, and Lines at many local quilt shops.  

Here's a few:

Red Pine Quilt Shop ~ MN

Around the Block ~ NY

Equilter.com ~ CO

Kirstens Quilt ~ Denmark

There were a lot of intricate pieces to trace, press, and cut out.

Here are some of the pieces after cutting.

This is how the top looked after ironing all the pieces to the background.  My new Oliso iron did a fabulous job of adhering everything.

I love fusible applique so much.  I should do more projects like this.  I usually do a zigzag stitch to secure the edges, but because the pieces were so intricate and had a lot of sharp points and tiny bits, I did a straight stitch close to the edges instead.  Plus, this is going to be a wall hanging.  It will not get a lot of washing, if any.  My Schmetz needles did a fabulous job of stitching neatly through all the layers and the sharp points easily penetrated even the tiny points without damaging the fabric.

Detail of Elvis' face.  The Moonstone fabric for the skin tone added a lot of dimension.

The "V" in Viva.  Yes, I did cut out all of those tiny circles with a small sharp scissors.  I did not stitch around the edges of the little circles.

After auditioning many, many thread colors, I decided on this minty green Aurifil thread for the quilting.  I made a quilt sandwich with a small piece of Hobbs Thermore batting that I had leftover from a previous project.  Thermore is great for small projects.  It's lightweight and quilts beautifully.

I was inspired to try this micro grid quilting that I saw on a lot of quilts at Quilt Con in Raleigh.  I used my Janome Memory Craft and quilted the lines 3/8" apart.  I love the texture this quilting created.

I cut strips leftover from fabrics I used in my quilt to make a fun, colorful binding.

Viva Las Vegas

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Size:  27-1/2" x 12-1/2"

Fabric:  Squiggles, Dots, and Lines by Island Batik

Thread:  Aurifil

Batting:  Thermore by Hobbs

Needles:  Schmetz

Pattern:  Ode to the King by Madi Hastings

Visit my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors to see what projects they are making for March.  

Here's the list:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting

Megan Best ~ BestQuilter

Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color

Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

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Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today,

Jennifer Thomas

Curlicue Creations

Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop.

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