Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Use It Up with Island Batik Ambassador Alumni

The current and past Island Batik Ambassadors have remained friends, and have a private group on Facebook.  I'm still current, and have lots of stash left, but feel really bad for those who are close to the end of their fabric supply, provided to the Ambassadors by Island Batik.  I hope they're not jealous of me, lol. I have a tote-full left, and have 3 patterns to make for Fall Market, too. 

Anyway, Patti Bochey suggested this fun hop, sharing scrap projects, and I jumped in!  Then I had a time crunch (caring for Mom, and other issues).  I had made 2 clothesline baskets for the Island Batik March New Technique challenge, and had a bit of the clothesline left.  I grabbed some 2 1/2" strips left from the Zen collection (I designed a pattern for it, and had a few scraps left from making the cover quilt).  I do love this line.  The blues are so pretty.  So, I grabbed some strips, some other scraps, and the rest of the clothesline, along with a small spool of light blue Aurifil 40wt Mako cotton thread.  

 
I cut the fabric scraps into 3/4" strips, and grabbed a Lapel Stick washable glue stick, to join the ends as I wrapped the clothesline.  Wrap, glue on new strip, wrap.  I should have grabbed a few Clover Wonderclips, too, as I was wrapping while watching TV with Mom.  I decided to start with the darker strips, then add the aqua, light blue, and end with more darker blues.  
 Change the needle to a 14 Jeans needle, put a different foot on the machine, thread with Aurifil 40wt, and start sewing the rope together, and form a circle.  Actually sewing and forming the basket is fun, and doesn't take much time. 
 I wasn't sure how big I was going to get with this one, since I didn't have a lot of the clothesline left, so when I got to the aqua color strip, I started curving toward the side, forming the basket.  It's about 4 1/2" this time (last time was closer to 6").  Just keep zigzagging the coil together.  

Yes, these can get addicting.  It's a fun way to use scraps, and come up with something different and useful.  This bowl ended up about 8 1/2" wide at the top, and about 3 3/4" high.  It's so pretty!  I do plan to purchase more of the rope.  I got 3 good size baskets out of 100 feet.  I think these would make some great gifts, and it's a good way to use scraps of any type of fabric.  

Oh, yeah, this was a new spool of Aurifil 40wt when this bowl was started.  I wound 2 bobbins, and used one and half the second, and have this much left on the spool.  When I order the clothesline, I need to order more 40wt thread, too.  Big spools. Yup, addicting. 

Check with the other Alumni to see what they did to use up their scraps.  

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 

Leave a comment and I'll pick someone for some Island Batik fabric.  It's so hard to choose, so you'll just have to be surprised.  Have you tried making a clothesline bowl?  What size do you think would be practical for you? Also, please follow my blog! Thanks for visiting.