With the conclusion of the Getaway Blog Hop, a new year as an Island Batik Ambassador begins. I am nothing short of thrilled to be included on this incredibly creative, and very diverse, team of designers, artists, and makers from around the world.
Island Batik,
Hobbs Batting, and
Aurifil thread pack up a generous bounty of goodies for us to use in our work, and it's SO much fun when the box arrives. This year, there was a bonus surprise box from
Accuquilt...which knocked most of us for a loop!
Even though the boxes had been inspected by Canadian Customs, Polly insisted on giving them a second once over, just to make sure.
My sniffer cat gave them her approval. The box on the right - the one with the materials - had a hard journey; one side of the box was taped back together somewhere along the way.
A glorious box of colour, with a big ol' surprise right on top!
This bundle has 8, half-yard cuts from the foundations line. Isn't this a gorgeous piece on top?
Island Batik also produces rayon fabrics,and they sent along 2 yards for each of us. Interestingly, I received this Tjap used in a cotton batik in an earlier shipment. I am sewing with it now, and loving it!
Island Batik make scarves from the rayon, and have gifted us with one of those as well: Look at this gorgeous lilac, I have a light grey jacket it will pair great with.
This strip set of French Blue is gorgeous, and includes 2 yards of coordinating light and dark prints - Blueberry and Cloud. This collection is shipping to stores now, and was one of my favourite featured collections in the recent Getaway Blog Hop. You can see what Pamela and Joyce made with this lovely grouping.
This package contains 3 yards
each of plain white, grey, and black solids.
As there is a "modern" challenge in our year, these pieces come in very handy. (Plus they make a gorgeous foil for the bright batiks!)
These packages are called Stashbuilders and they add variety to our colour selections. We get two packages, which contain just under 3 yards/package.
Aren't they pretty?
Then there is 5 generous yards of a neutral foundation fabric called Rice, which coordinates nicely with the other fabrics in my box. I can't help but think of the time these carefully coordinated boxes take to pack.
Hobbs is one of the program sponsors, and they sent a bounty of batting: cottons, blends, Thermore, and (my favourite) a beautiful silk from the Tuscany collection.
Aurifil supplied us with thread, and these colours coordinate with my foundations bundle shown above. Again, I marvel that someone took the time to match threads to our fabrics.
Here's my booty all together...well, almost all.
There's also these two surprise packages which I can't show you yet. You will have to wait until the blog hop in August to see them! (But trust me, I tore into the packages as soon as I set the camera down :).
What about that second box?? Oh, my - this was totally unexpected, and such an incredible surprise.
Accuquilt has partnered with the Ambassadors and supplied each (all 50 of us!) with a Go! cutter system, a cube set of 8" blocks dies, and a 2-1/2" strip cutter.
I love the slogan: cut time, quilt more!
Polly is looking pretty pleased with all of this, and I haven't stopped smiling!
It will be a busy year for the Ambassadors. I will share the names and sites below, and encourage you to buckle up and follow along for some pretty fun times ahead. I also hope that you will visit the sponsors to this wonderful program:
Island Batik,
Aurifil thread,
Hobbs Batting, and
Accuquilt. I thank each of them sincerely for their generosity.
2019 Island Batik Ambassadors: