Welcome to day 2 of our 4th Island Batik Week!! These fabrics are such a breath of fresh air in the middle of Winter! We absolutely adore working with this wonderful company and have so much respect for its designers. We’ll be featuring one designer every day this week and each post will offer a fabric + thread giveaway, so make sure to come back daily to learn more and to enter-to-win some gorgeous prizes!
To learn about Island Batik and the batik process, please visit their website. For a peek at the full range of Spring/Summer 2017 releases, in-stores now, click here or on the image below to browse the catalog.
ISLAND BATIK WEEK SCHEDULE
February 19 – Jackie Kunkel (Jackie’s post — Island Batik’s post)
February 20 – Nan Baker (Nan’s post — Island Batik’s post)
February 21 – Tammy Silvers (Tammy’s Blog – Island Batik’s post)
February 22 – Ebony Love (Ebony’s Blog – Island Batik’s post)
February 23 – Kari Nichols (Kari’s Website)
Northern Woods is such a gorgeous and richly hued collection. Designed by Kathy Engle for Nan Baker of Purrfect Spots, it is an earth-toned grouping of greens, browns, and deep orange offset by the perfect amount of neutral tones. The collection features mountains, trees, and forest brush, perfectly representative of the Northern Woods!
While Nan does not have a coordinating Aurifil Thread collection, she is a dedicated Aurifil user and worked with a variety of our threads on her Northern Woods projects. Her favorite coordinates are:
5024 – 2318 – 5023 – 2810 – 2335 – 2372
She favors both 50wt and 40wt threads, depending on the project.
THE INTERVIEW
How did you first connect with Island Batik?
I stopped by their booth at Quilt Market in 2013 and started talking with them and the rest as they say is history!
What do you love most about working with batik fabrics?
The crispness of the fabric makes Island Batik fabrics so easy and fun to use. Also the variety of colors and designs is limitless and add such rich tones to any quilt. Their collections also coordinate well together so you can use colors from several collections to create your design.
Can you tell us a bit more about this collection and what it means to you?
Well first of all, it was an honor to have my own Signature Collection, Northern Woods by Kathy Engle for Island Batik. And I was thrilled as I got to work with my favorite colors. I am a “Fall Person” and I love everything about it. And the name Northern Woods I loved as well as I love the northwest and all its beauty. This collection really spoke to me. However not in the way one would think. I had thought about what wonderful names I could use for my quilts regarding the outdoors, but it didn’t work out that way. The more I worked with the rich browns, bieges, blues, etc. I began to see chocolate, caramel, blueberries, etc. How does that relate to the Northwest?
As I am an animal person, I decided to bring bears into the mix. It is known that bears hibernate in the winter time, but not my bears!
They make “Sweet Treats” so you have Blueberry Cheesecake, Butterscotch Ripple, and Chocolate Caramel Swirl. But they can’t eat sweets all the time. They have to have their veggies so we have Fruit Salad plus Morels and More. So my Northern Woods collection turned into a Magical Northern Woods Collection with very talented Bear Chefs!
Do you have a favorite project or projects made with this collection?
I loved them all and it would really be hard to choose a favorite. There was something special about each one. I really can’t choose as it would be like asking which is your favorite pet when you have quite a few. They are all unique and wonderful in their quirky little way.
When did you first discover Aurifil threads and what do you love most about working with them?
I started using Aurifil Threads in 2012 (if memory serves me correctly). The colors blend beautifully with the fabrics and there is such a wide range of colors offered, I can get the “purrfect” combination. The threads work beautifully with my Bernina machines (domestic sewing machines) and that means a lot. I love the coverage when I do machine applique. And occasionally I use the Invisible Thread and it is the best! It never breaks! They are also great for hand applique!
Do you have any tips for using Aurifil 100% Cotton Threads with Island Batik Cotton fabrics?
I found when I quilted with Aurifil on my Northern Woods collection, I really liked how the threads and fabric complimented each other. The fabric just flows beautifully when sewn with Aurifil Threads so my tip is to relax and enjoy! The two make a great team!
What is coming up next for you, where can we find you this year?
I am so excited about this year! I am writing a book with a fellow Island Batik Designer, Margaret Willingham, Eye of the Beholder Quilt Design. (By the way, Margaret did a table runner and placemats with my Northern Woods collection called “Yorkshire Pudding”.) Of course we are using Island Batik Fabrics and Aurifil Threads for all our projects. We will introduce our book at Fall Market in Houston, so look for us there! And thank you for this opportunity to share my Northern Woods collection.
THE GIVEAWAY 
To enter-to-win one Fat Eighth Bundle of Nothern Woods fabrics from Island Batik and a set of 6 LG spools of coordinating Aurifil 50wt thread, click here to head to the Rafflecopter entry page or simply click on the image above. You do not have to complete all the options to be entered but the more options you choose, the more entries you have! Entries will be accepted from now through 11:59pm Eastern Time on Friday, March 2! Winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Monday, March 5. Good luck!
ABOUT NAN
Blog — Facebook — Instagram
Nan was a member of the Disaster Animal Response Team for The Humane Society of the United States. As a result of her disaster work, she created The CASEY Plan (Caring for Animals Safely in Emergencies during the Year) which is a nationwide program. A portion of her sales is donated to helping animals in disasters.