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.
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
*****************************************************************
Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.
Jennifer Thomas
Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop.
Connect with me:
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.
