December 21, 2018

Cat Pillows - December Island Batik Challenge

Note, the fabrics for this project were given to me by Island Batik as part of their ambassador program.

The December challenge theme for the Island Batik ambassadors is "Whimsical and Wonky." I struggled for a while to come up with an idea because neither of those things are really my style. I considered doing wonky stars, but it wasn't exciting me at all. I figured if no other ideas presented themselves, that's what I'd do.

Then I borrowed the Autumn 2018 issue of Quilt World from my library and found an adorable pattern for a cat pillow, designed by Chris Malone. In the magazine it's a Halloween cat, in black fabric with orange and black for the ribbon, ears and nose, but I knew it would look great in Island Batik fabrics 😊I also knew the kids I babysit would love to have their own cat pillows for Christmas. As a bonus, it looked pretty whimsical to me! What do you think?
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
I love them all, though I'm rather partial to the blue one because, well, blue 💙
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Nathan named them all as I worked on them, beginning with the pink one, Pig. When the face consisted only of the eyes and nose, without the whiskers and mouth, it definitely looked like a pig! The blue one he named Sky.
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
The green one is Grass and the orange one, Tiger.
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
The eyes are made of solid black and white Island Batik fabrics and I used a scrap of white with the most barely-there hint of a print for the inner ears and another scrap of cream for the noses of all the cats except Tiger. On him the cream print was too subtle so he needed a dark brown print for his nose.
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
I've been giving the kids their gifts to take home on their last day with me before the Christmas break, which was yesterday for two of them. One, Pig's new owner, opened hers before she even left my house and was incredibly excited about when she realized it was a cat pillow, which was really sweet to see. Then, shortly after they got home, her mom sent me pictures of her rolling around on the floor with her new pillow and throwing it up in the air with the biggest grin on her face 😊 I love when things I make for someone are used and loved, don't you?

On another note, trying to take decent pictures this time of year is challenging, to say the least. By the time the sun is well and truly up, I'm working and it's pretty much down again before I'm done work. So, to get these pictures, I raided the house for lamps and moved them and our sofa table into our entryway, which has one of our few bare walls. Well, it's bare after I take down the artwork (seen on the floor to the left of this picture).
photography set up | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
I put daylight bulbs in all the lamps and the ceiling fixture and at times had Nathan or Zachary holding one of the lamps in a different position in an attempt to get rid of all the crazy shadows. It wasn't ideal, but it worked!

It's hard to believe this is my second last challenge project for my first year as an Island Batik ambassador. I've had a lot of fun using and sharing these fabrics and coming up with projects to fit the monthly themes. Here's hoping I get to spend 2019 as an ambassador, too, so I can keep right on going!
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
cat pillows | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
 Pig, Sky, Grass and Tiger wish you all a Merry Christmas!

5 comments:

  1. these are adorable! great photo tip too!

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  2. These are very whimsical and cute and I love that you received photos of Pig being used and loved right away. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  3. These are so adorable. They will definitely be loved by the kids. I feel your pain on the darkness. But we're heading toward more daylight!! Merry Christmas.

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  4. This are just so darn cute and definitely whimsical. Of course the kids loved them.

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  5. Adorable! So whimsical and so happy they brought smiles to the faces of your kids.

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