February 20, 2018

A (Belated) Galentine's Gift

The fabrics for the project in this post were provided to me by Island Batik.


The first Island Batik ambassador challenge for 2018 was to make a Galentine's postcard or mug rug. I had never heard of Galentine's Day before, but apparently it was invented on the show Parks and Recreation, setting February 13th as a day for women to celebrate their female friends.

That sounded like fun! I picked one particular friend I wanted to make for, designed something especially for her and then waited for my box to arrive. And waited. And waited. And Galentine's Day came and went and I was still waiting for my box. Darn postal service!

The box finally arrived on the 15th. Did you see all of the goodies that were in it? I'm still amazed 😊

At that point, I could have skipped this challenge, since I had missed the deadline anyway and there's a second Island Batik challenge in February. But I really wanted to make this little surprise, so I did. Better late than never, right?
Batik mug rug with embroidery | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Connie is one of the most cheerful, enthusiastic and positive people I know, so this quote seemed to fit her perfectly. And when I saw that yellow in the stash builder rolls in my box, it made me think of sunshine, which I know she's longing for as she's not a fan of winter.

The batik I chose for the background has a gorgeous, subtle print that is really hard to capture in a picture. Here are a couple of close ups to give you a glimpse of it.
Batik mug rug with embroidery | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com

Batik mug rug with embroidery | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com

After doing Mom's dragonflies with simple backstitch, I wanted to try it for the letters and I found it worked beautifully. Jenny of Elefantz Designs recommends using tiny stitches to make the smoothest lines and it makes a big difference. The letters are stitched with Aurifil 12 wt number 2145.

All while I was stitching those letters, I wondered how I would quilt this little mug rug. I knew I'd stitch around the flower and then echo around it, but beyond that I wasn't sure what to do. After I had finished quilting the flower (with Aurifil 2600), I sat and stared at it for a few minutes, still pondering. In the end, though, I decided I liked the simplicity of the unquilted background.
Batik mug rug with embroidery | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
A quick machine binding with more of that sunshiny yellow and it was done! I decided to mail it to Connie, even though we live only 5 minutes apart, because surprises in the mail are so much fun. And boy, was she ever surprised 😊 Don't you love planning surprises for friends?

Thank you, Island Batik, for this fun challenge and for the gorgeous fabrics that made it possible. That's one challenge down, 12 more to go, lol. I'll be back next week for the second February challenge, so stay tuned. It's a pretty bright and crazy one!

16 comments:

  1. This is lovely Leanne, what a nice surprise to receive in the post!

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  2. A sweet project. Your stitching is beautiful!

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  3. So sweet and the yellow is so cheerful. I love it!!

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  4. Beautiful and what a lovely gift!

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  5. I love mug rugs. So much fun. I've not done lots of embroidery work lately. I might have to try again.

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  6. I think Glentine’s day can be any day with your gal pals! I love the lettering technique. Was it free motion? Size of needle? I am intrigued.....

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  7. What a cute project! I am sure Connie will love it!

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  8. Such a sweet quote for a friend. Your stitching looks amazing.

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  9. Wonderful quote and it is so bright and cheerful. So lovely.

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  10. What a happy, pretty mug rug! Love the way those letters look, too. Very clean and smooth.

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  11. I had never heard of Galentine's Day. That's a great mini - bright and cheerful.

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