Sunday, February 21, 2016

Welcome to my Planes, Trains & Automobiles Blog Hop for Island Batik!


I was so excited when I heard the theme of the Island Batik Ambassador's Blog Hop was Planes, Trains and Automobiles! The very sound of it makes me think of travel. And after being in the travel industry for many years, I knew this would be easy (or so I thought).

Island Batik sent me some lovely fabrics from their Coral Reef Collection! Aren't they gorgeous? They are available now at your favorite quilt store! Which is your favorite color?


However, the more I looked at them, the more confused I got as there were so many options! This wasn't going to be easy at all. I have to decide what I will make. Am I going to use a destination or mode of travel as my theme? Finally a decision was made and I knew it was "purrfect". I hope you will enjoy the journey with me. Here's some music from Johnny Cash to help get us started! So "Allllllllllllllllll Aboard".

 
I think you probably know by now, that I decided on the mode of travel rather than the destination. One of my motivations was my husband's love of trains. Both his father and grandfather worked for the Missouri Pacific line. He has wonderful stories of childhood train rides. 
Another motivation was my love of cats - Chessie Cat in particular. She was the mascot for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad also known as the "Railroad" Kitty! For her history, click on her name. So anything with kitties was great for me! I am sure you recognize her picture. My favorite is her kittens playing with the trains while she sleeps! But there is more!

My husband use to build model railroads. One of our kitties, Denny loved the Railroad room and it soon came to be known as "Dennyville". That was the name we put on the Depot and we still refer to that room as Dennyville today. 

This is Dennyville. Please notice that the large white building with the spots is "Purrfect Spots" Industries. My husband had big dreams!

So now you have looked at the fabric, heard the song and looked at pictures of trains. Are you ready to see what I made? 

Welcome to the "Island Batik ABC Express"!
Hop on board!

  Here are some more views.
I had so much fun making this cute quilt. The cars are pieced and the wheels and alphabet were applied with fusible applique. All the colors are from the Coral Reef Collection except for the sky which is a beautiful blue from the Caribbean Splash Collection. The black is a blender fabric and the train windows are from the Neutrals Collection.

I quilted with clear invisible thread made by Aurifil. It sews like a dream and it doesn't break! I will do more quilting, but do to time constraints, I didn't have time to do all that I wanted.

I already have somebody in mind who will receive this and he is a cute 3 year old boy (my husband's great grandson and namesake)!

I hope you have enjoyed your journey and as a way to say thank you I will be giving away four fat quarters from the Coral Reef Collection. For an opportunity to win, please comment below and let me know your favorite mode of travel and your favorite color in the Coral Reef Collection. Also be sure and check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors Blogs. You will see some beautiful projects. The list is below. 

 Monday, February 15 (TODAY!) – Caribbean Splash
Bejeweled Quilts
Pamela Quilts
Tuesday, February 16 – London Fog  
Moose Stash Quilting
Wednesday, February 17 – French Roasted
KISSed Quilts
Made In Scraps
Happy Cottage Quilter

Thursday, February 18 – Crystal Cove
Freemotion by the River
Friday, February 19 – Florida Oranges
Fun Threads Designs
Kauffman Designs
Tamarinis
Monday, February 22 – Coral Reef
Mary Mack Made Mine

Purrfect Spots Designs
Tuesday, February 23 – Sweet Georgia Peach
One Quilting Circle
KISSed Quilts
Wednesday, February 24 – Hollywood Hills
The Fit Quilter

Maria Michaels Designs
Thursday, February 25 – Desert Rose
For Quilts Sake
Lemon Tree Snippets
Friday, February 26 – Sea Salt Sandy
Tamarinis
KISSed Quilts
Moose Stash Quilting
Pamela Quilts
Bejeweled Quilts
Monday, February 29 – Jersey Shore
Beaquilter
Lemon Tree Snippets

Tuesday, March 1 – Tuscany Sun
Tammy Silvers
Wednesday, March 2 – Lavish
Freemotion by the River
Moose Stash Quilting
Thursday, March 3 – Fire Island  
KISSed Quilts
Friday, March 4 – Tinsel, Holiday Happenings
Purrfect Spots Designs
KISSed Quilts
Moose Stash Quilting

 But wait – there is more! As always! ;) Island Batik is giving away a couple of fabric bundles to celebrate these new collections! There are multiple ways to enter – see them all and enter below.  

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed your trip!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, February 14, 2016




Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Blog Hop



Blog-Hop-Sneak-Peeks


Here’s the schedule:
Monday, February 15 (TODAY!) – Caribbean Splash
Bejeweled Quilts
Pamela Quilts
Tuesday, February 16 – London Fog  
Moose Stash Quilting
Wednesday, February 17 – French Roasted
KISSed Quilts
Made In Scraps
Happy Cottage Quilter

Thursday, February 18 – Crystal Cove
Freemotion by the River
Friday, February 19 – Florida Oranges
Fun Threads Designs
Kauffman Designs
Tamarinis
Monday, February 22 – Coral Reef
Mary Mack Made Mine

Purrfect Spots Designs
Tuesday, February 23 – Sweet Georgia Peach
One Quilting Circle
KISSed Quilts
Wednesday, February 24 – Hollywood Hills
The Fit Quilter

Maria Michaels Designs
Thursday, February 25 – Desert Rose
For Quilts Sake
Lemon Tree Snippets
Friday, February 26 – Sea Salt Sandy
Tamarinis
KISSed Quilts
Moose Stash Quilting
Pamela Quilts
Bejeweled Quilts
Monday, February 29 – Jersey Shore
Beaquilter
Lemon Tree Snippets

Tuesday, March 1 – Tuscany Sun
Tammy Silvers
Wednesday, March 2 – Lavish
Freemotion by the River
Moose Stash Quilting
Thursday, March 3 – Fire Island  
KISSed Quilts
Friday, March 4 – Tinsel, Holiday Happenings
Purrfect Spots Designs
KISSed Quilts
Moose Stash Quilting

 But wait – there is more! As always! ;) Island Batik is giving away a couple of fabric bundles to celebrate these new collections! There are multiple ways to enter – see them all and enter below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway