Sunday, April 28, 2019

Christmas Rappers Blog Hop

“From Easter to Christmas. That’s a jump, or should I say a hop.Though we just memorialized Christ’s death and resurrection, it echoes to the beginning. 

And Christmas is the beginning!” And that is why Margaret and I wrote a book filled with wonderful Christmas projects that can be used during the Christmas holidays and beyond to celebrate the birth of Christ. 
The name of our book is Christmas RAPPing – Christmas Quilts featuring Reverse Applique & Paper Piecing” because each project in the book uses a combination of both.  We are thrilled to have as our sponsors, Island Batik Fabrics, Aurifil Threads and June Tailor, Inc. who enabled us to create these projects with their beautiful fabrics, threads and helpful aids.
Nan (left) and Margaret with their Star of Wonder and Star of Light Vests
We had so much fun writing this (well most of the time) that we wanted to share these great projects with you. We asked  our designer friends who are or have been Island Batik Ambassadors if they wanted to be “Christmas RAPPers” and share in  a blog hop about the book  and the response was overwhelming.
 So starting Monday, April 29, 2019, you will have the opportunity to see how these talented designers made our projects using some creativity of their own.
Introducing the “Christmas RAPPer” designers:

Follow Margaret on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/ or Pinterest to see what our Christmas RAPPers created and what they have to say. There will be some giveaways so be sure and check out the Rafflecopter at the very bottom of this page!
We are thrilled to have as our sponsors, Island Batik Fabrics, Aurifil Threads and June Tailor, Inc. who enabled us to create these projects with their beautiful fabrics, threads and helpful aids.
Click on the book title to purchase your copy of Christmas RAPPing – Christmas Quilts featuring Reverse Applique & Paper Piecing” in print or digital PDF. Print version is available for our wholesale customers with a 3 book minimum.
 Please visit our Christmas Rappers websites and check out their lovely creativity too.
Thank you for stopping by.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Purrfect Spots: Welcome to the Northern Woods "Furball"!

Purrfect Spots: Welcome to the Northern Woods "Furball"!: What a week it has been it has been sharing my Signature Collection , Northern Woods by Kathy Engle for Island Batik!  Molly Bear has be...

Purrfect Spots: Use It Up and Help Shelter Pets!

Purrfect Spots: Use It Up and Help Shelter Pets!: I am so excited to be part of the Island Batik Ambassador Alumni Group and even more thrilled that we get to talk about what we do with ...

Use It Up and Help Shelter Pets!


I am so excited to be part of the Island Batik Ambassador Alumni Group and even more thrilled that we get to talk about what we do with our leftover scraps! You have been reading posts all week long and there have been some fabulous projects that so many of our talented designers have shared. The links will be found at the bottom of this post.

My project is pretty simple and not real big! 12" x 18" and it is called a Kennel Quilt. Now many of you know that I am very much an animal lover and I use to be a disaster responder for The Humane Society of the United States. While working floods in North Carolina one year, I noticed that all the rescued kitties were sitting in their litter boxes in their kennels. Not a good thing for them. An interior designer contacted us and asked if we could use her carpet samples as she wanted to help! They were the "purrfect" size and as soon as the carpet samples went into the kennels, the kitties got out of there litter boxes. A light bulb moment for me!

Time passed and I soon found myself as the Marketing Director of The Quilt Pattern Magazine (TQPM) - an online only magazine (we are in our seventh year). The staff are all animal lovers and we wanted to help animals in some way. We made a Kennel Quilt pattern and offered it FREE on our website, so our readers could make one for their pets. I made one for the carriers when I took my kitties to the vet. Then everything changed!

Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast in the fall on 2012 and the devastation was unbelieveable. I remembered working the floods earlier and I knew many shelters had been affected. We contacted the Petfinder Foundation and they supplied us with names of shelters that needed help! We put out a call to our readers and over 100 Kennel Quilts were made. The Petfinder Foundation and TQPM decided to make this an ongoing project. 


There are over 1500 volunteers in the US and Canada that have responded when we put out a call for Kennel Quilts for shelters in disaster zones! I am so happy to say that to date over 20,000 Kennel Quilts have been made!  So many shelter pets helped.

And I might add that Island Batik is a proud partner of the TQPM Kennel Quilt Team.

So having said that, I use my Island Batik Scraps to make Kennel Quilts. Here are just a few of the ones I have made.  As you can tell they are great for orphan blocks. 














Here are more and there is a FREE tutorial on these Kennel Quilts.














Plus a kitty enjoying the Kennel Quilts from one of the shelters that received Kennel Quilts during the Colorado Fires. I am happy to report that "Penny" got adopted right after this picture was taken. 







More















 
and still more featuring leftovers from my Signature Collection, Northern Woods by Kathy Engle for Island Batik.














To me this is just a great way to use up scraps and so many shelter pets reap the benefit of my leftovers. They don't care if the seams don't match or if the colors don't match (although with Island Batik - everything blends together beautifully). They just want a soft spot to nap and make biscuits. These are a wonderful size for cats, kittens, puppies and small dogs. Usually they are the ones in the shelters that are sometimes forgotten as the larger dogs get towels and blankets that are more readily available.

So what are you waiting for? Please join me, Use It Up and help a shelter pet. You can find all the information at Kennel Quilts. And when you do sign up, please let me know. I look forward to working with you in helping shelter pets.

Please be sure to check out all the fabulous projects that have been presented this week by my fellow Island Batik Ambassador Alumni. Here is the list:


Monday, April 16, 2018

Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Mary Macks Blog (Thanks for visiting!)

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Thursday, April 19, 2018 

Friday, April 20, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018 


Sunday, April 22, 2018 


Thank you for stopping by and remember Adopt, dont' shop!

Until next time,
Nan

Friday, April 20, 2018

Welcome to the Northern Woods "Furball"!

What a week it has been it has been sharing my Signature Collection, Northern Woods by Kathy Engle for Island Batik! 

Molly Bear has been kept busy as well preparing for the Fabulous Furball today!  I know she will be happy that after today, she can rest for awhile before stirring up some new delectable dishes! Here is what is on the Menu for today!

She starts off with the soup course and is serving her wonderful mushroom soup made from 
Morels & More. 














 
Next comes the salad and she is serving a delightful Fruit Salad!












 


Well after eating this healthy food, she is ready to serve dessert. Which will be your choice?

 Butterscotch Ripple or














Chocolate Caramel Swirl or















Blueberry Cheesecake? 
















No matter which you choose, you will enjoy any of these with the gorgeous Island Batik Fabrics. They are available in the stores right now.

Molly Bear has loved having you join her this week and she hopes you will have a great weekend. Thanks for attending the Northern Woods Furball.

Dont' forget that some other fabric chefs have been busy this week as well and you can see all their wonderful treats here:

 April 16: Nan Baker  –  Purrfect Spots
April 17: Margaret Willingham  –   Eye of the Beholder 
April 18: Maria Hrabovsky  –   Maria’s Quilt Scraps
April 19: Karen Overton  –   The Quilt Rambler
April 20: Tina Dillard  –  Quilting Affection Designs
April 21: Joan Kawano  –  MooseStash Quilting


 Island Batik is also sharing on their blog! There will be some nice treats that will be given away such as fabrics and patterns.


Until next time,
Nan

Purrfect Spots: TGIF in the Northern Woods

Purrfect Spots: TGIF in the Northern Woods: Well it's Friday in the Northern Woods and Molly Bear is ready for the weekend. She has been such a busy bear making so many treats wi...

Thursday, April 19, 2018

TGIF in the Northern Woods


Well it's Friday in the Northern Woods and Molly Bear is ready for the weekend. She has been such a busy bear making so many treats with my Signature Collection by Kathy Engle for Island Batik.  She plans to share them all Saturday at the Northern Woods "FurBall" with all her friends.

There will be dancing, singing and lots of fun for all who attend. She has made a very special dessert for this. 

It is called Chocolate Caramel Swirl.  This is her favorite as she loves caramel. Actually, she loves chocolate and all the other treats she has made as well.


















Molly hopes that you have enjoyed all her treats this weekend, but just so you don't forget, she plans to share them again on Saturday. She will be enjoying them will all her forest friends too. 


Molly has more loved making all these treats and she is happy to have all the fabric chefs showing off their skills. Be sure and check them all out.

April 16: Nan Baker  –  Purrfect Spots
April 17: Margaret Willingham  –   Eye of the Beholder 
April 18: Maria Hrabovsky  –   Maria’s Quilt Scraps
April 19: Karen Overton  –   The Quilt Rambler
April 20: Tina Dillard  –  Quilting Affection Designs
April 21: Joan Kawano  –  MooseStash Quilting


 Island Batik will also be sharing on their blog! But there is more as there will be some nice treats that will be given away such as fabrics and patterns. And speaking of fabrics, the Northern Woods collection is now available in your favorite fabric shop? Be sure and ask for the Northern Woods collection!

Please come back tomorrow to join Molly Bear at the "FurBall" in the Northern Woods!

Until then,
Nan