Border Quilt Along....checkerboards....

Checkerboard borders!!! Oh how fun they can be.....if I would have just followed the instructions as Patterns by Jen so nicely created for her Borders Quilt!!

....but this stack of 10" sqaures was on top of the pile in the gray tote....so just going scrappy with them!!!

Stacked them up no more than six layers on my AccuQuilt 2 1/2" strip cutter die....and cut the 10" sqaures into strips.

Layered the cut strips perpendicular to the blades on the die and cut again...

With just a couple passes through the GO! Big--multiple 2 1/2" sqaures. I did run a few stacks through the cutter again--as those pesky pinked edges really mess with me!!!

Love me a fabric closeup!!

Just keep piecing....piecing....piecing. Here is when I ran into a bit of trouble--no fault to Patterns by  Jen!! As I said before--those pesky pinked edges get me every time I work with precuts!!! I should have checked that my 1/4" seam allowance was true and working with these pieces. I didn't and ended up doing a bit of unsewing and resewing to make the borders fit correctly.
This is a Borders Quilt--so I had better make sure that each border is the correct size with each round--or my quilter---me---might charge me an extra fee for ruffled border!!! LOL

Now this photo shows a bit of ruffling--but it does lay flat and the measurements are correct. Hopefully I follow Jen's wonderful instructions better on the next round!!! Come back on October 10 to find out!!!
Make sure to go to Jen's blog for more information and links to all the other inspirational bloggers!!

Nancy - Masterpiece Quilting

Vicki - My Creative Corner3

Becca - Pretty Piney

Kate - Seams Like A Dream

Terri - Lizard Creek Quilting

Joanne - Quilts By Joanne

 Marija - Mara Quilt Designs

Alison - Little Bunny Quilts

Stephanie - Quilt'n' Party

Daphne - Daphne Greig

Tara - The Quilt District

Using Silhouette to cut Island Batik fabric applique for Galentine's Day

Galentine's Day--yeah not a typo, but apparently a made up holiday for the day before Valentine's Day to share some love with your BFF's or any other women in your life....so going with that theme, I have a few gals in my life that are going through some serious health struggles. They were on my mind and in my prayers as I made these little mug rug type quilts for them.

Isn't this just a great palate of colors to work with--the apple one was too cute to cut up this time but keep an eye out for it in future projects!!

I have had my Silhouette digital cutting machine for a couple years and while I have used it for many paper crafting projects, I had never tried to cut out my applique pieces with it...until today. I drew up a couple arrows and some hearts in the machine's software, applied Steam a Seam 2 to the back of my fabric pieces and sent it through the machine with the suggested settings.

And then this happened!! The fabric pieces stayed on my mat nicely..but it didn't cut through the fusible. It took some tugging to get the heart out--and since the arrows where much thinner and more fragile, I had to rethink my approach.

So I tried again...this time with Heat and Bond Lite. And look at the wonderfully cut applique pieces!! Oh wow, a whole new world has just opened up to me!!! If you are interested, the settings I used to achieve these results are:
Blade setting of 6
Speed setting of 2
Thickness setting of 33
As a side note--my blade is pretty old and getting dull, so I probably should have put a new one in..but I like to live life on the edge and just went for it!!

Next, I cut 2--5" squares from these fabrics, making this a charm pack friendly project!! Sew them together to make a four patch. Make sure to "spin" the seam allowances on the back, making for less bulk.

After applying the applique pieces according to manufactures instructions, I layered the batting and backing pieces and took it to my sewing machine. I have recently added a Bernina sewing machine with the BSR attachment to my workspace. I have not played with it much, but when I do, it is super fun and so easy to do small intricate quilting. I like to applique down my pieces with a doodle type quilting design. Going around the designs twice for a sketchy doodly look!! Since the applique arrows were quite narrow, I used a 60 wt Bottom Line thread by Superior for the sketching.

Add the binding to the back and bring it around the front to topstitch down.

And there you have it!! Two gifts of love and prayers to be sent to a couple friends in need. I plan to write an encouraging note and a scripture passage on the back of each before I send them off.

Thank you so much to Island Batik for jump-starting me into creative gifts of love again!!