Way back in January, the Ambassador’s all receive an Oliso M3 Pro Iron. I received the coral iron and matching carrying bag. I LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ this iron. It heats up quickly and is easy to handle. My wrists don’t get sore! And the light at the front is awesome. But that’s not what this challenge is about!

Here’s what Island Batik said about the challenge:

It’s time to turn up the heat and give your iron cover a fabulous makeover! In the Hot Stuff Challenge with you will “Glitz-Up” your carry bag. You get to transform your plain iron carry bag into a creative masterpiece using any techniques you like – quilting, embroidery, appliqué, painting, buttons or even a mix of them all! Show off your unique style, experiment with colors and textures, and make your iron cover as bold or elegant as you like. Whether you go for fun and funky or sleek and sophisticated, the goal is to create something that sparks inspiration every time you press! Are you ready to give your iron carry bag a glitz-up? Get carried away and turn your carry bag into a work of art!

For those of you that know me, you KNOW that this is not a challenge I would excel at!

So what to do????

I was on Zoom with some quilting friends and was lamenting about this project! I looked up to my magnetic board and saw a flower that was made with a strip of fabric (edges pinked) and a bobbin in the centre. I had made this many years ago and used a magnet and it became a pin. Then, inspiration hit!! What if I covered my iron case with these cute flowers? And I could also use fabric to make leaves … And, using a glue gun to put the flowers and leaves in place, the project suddenly became doable! YAY!!!

I decided to use fabric from the Flutter Fields collection by Jerry Khiev. I thought the oranges/corals coordinated well with the trim on my carrying bag. I used this collection last fall to make Dresden Plates (see THIS POST).

So, with vacation holidays approaching, it was something I could do without a sewing machine. I can’t hand sew for long periods of time, but it was something I could do while travelling, in small bits of time. I prepared all the fabric, pinking the edges … gathering my thread, needle and a thimble … I was all set to go. I prepped 6 strips for 6 flowers.

I cut 6 strips at 15″ x 2 ¹/₄” and used my pinking sheers to pink the edges. The goal was for the strips to finish at 2″. It worked!! Using my Oliso Iron, I pressed a fold in each strip at ³/₄” . (This left the opposite side at 1 ¹/₄“.

I made a total of 6 flowers by gathering the folded edge and sewing it onto the bobbin.

For fabric leaves, I found this visual tutorial HERE. There are no instructions regarding size or other details, but I think I figured it out. I cut the squares at 5″ and double folded them on the diagonal. Then, I gathered the ends.

Then, using a glue gun, I glued the bobbin flowers and leaves in place!

Here’s a picture of both sides of the iron caddy, on opposite sides of the pressing mat cover (see below). I ended up using only 4 of the bobbin flowers. When I was positioning the flowers on the side, having 2 on each side was too crowded!

Another friend suggested that I make a matching carrying bag for my Alpaca/wool pressing mat (from Prairie Spirit Alpacas). I started out with these beautiful fabrics from the collection. I decided to do a ‘burrito’ style pillow case. Boy – was that a mistake!!! The ‘cuff’ was only 4 ¹/₂” wide, when usually on a pillow case it is MUCH larger. The 4 ¹/₂” was really skinny. I had to work at it and eventually got it turned right side out. Note to self: Make the cuffs much larger! For the ‘tie,’ I used the gross-grain Island Batik ribbon that comes with many of the collections.

The following pictures show the piece with the front & back joined together, one side and then the other.

Pictures of the Coral Oliso M3P Iron on the iron covering bag: (can you see the light?)

Stats:

• Island Batik fabrics from the Flutter Fields collection by Jerry Khiev
  • Flowers
    • Sparkle-Multi Pink Orange
    • Butterflies and Leaves
    • Tossed Butterflies – Orange
  • Leaves
    • Dandelion Multi Green
    • Sparkle-Teal Bluegrass
    • Mini Floral-Green Hunter
  • Bag
    • Dandelion-Muli Red B
    • Butterfly Floral Neutral
    • Wavy Leaves-Brown
• Aurifil Thread:
  • Flowers: #2220 (Light Salmon)
  • Leaves: #2890 (Very dark Grass Green)
  • Bag Piecing & Top Stitching: #2325 (Linen)

Thank you!

Thank you to the generosity of Island Batik (Lumin Fabrics) and Industry partners! They have supplied the products for free as my role as an Island Batik Ambassador! Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, Schmetz Needles, and Oliso Iron

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors to see what they made this month:

• Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
• Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
• Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
• Tina Dillard – Quilting Affection Designs

• Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
• Kimberly Flannagan – Kimberly Quilts
• Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
• Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

• Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
• Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
• Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
• Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
• Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

• Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
• Susan Michaels – Dragonfly Fiberart Patterns
• Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
• Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

• Gail Sheppard – you are HERE!!!
• Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
• Solomae Stoycoff – Cuddle Cat Quiltworks Blog
• Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
• Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

• Wednesday Wait Loss @  Inquiring Quilter
• Andrée / Free Motion Mavericks @ Quilting & Learning – What a combo!
• Put your Foot Down @ A Quiltery
• TGIFF @ Devoted Quilter 
• Finished or Not Friday  @ Alycia Quilts
• Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
• Off the Wall Friday @ Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever