100 Blocks Vol 8 Blog Tour!!

Hi Everyone!

I’m very excited to be participating on the first day of the blog hop promoting Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 blocks by 100 designers, Volume 8!

This is the 7th consecutive issue I have participated in, and let me tell you, these issues get better and better and better!

There are blocks of every kind to suit every taste, from traditional and modern pieced blocks, to paper pieced blocks – blocks for appliquers and embellishers and embroiderers alike!

I just love looking at the variety of blocks and all the different techniques used to make them and am so inspired by what is pulled together all in one volume for you!

My block started out as a “What can I do with all these left over bonus triangles” experiment!

The first block I did  came from the bonus triangles from several Boxy Stars quilts that were donated to charity.  I made the block from the bonus triangles in random scraps in 2005:

Saving bonus triangles in usable sizes mean I actually DO use them!  I used my Bonus Triangle Buddy to mark my second sewing line giving me triangle squares that give me an even measurement for ease of use!

Click HERE to learn how to save your bonus units so they are ready to go!

For volume 8 of 100 blocks – I wondered if I could tone down my usual scrappy everything look – for a bit more of a subtle color way:

I love blue and green together!

I dug into my blue and green scraps and my pre-cut squares from my Scrap User's System, including things like civil war, batik, old calicoes, recycled shirts, plaids stripes and everything under the sun as long as it was in these two color families.  My usual love of scrappy neutrals as a background canvas did the job I wanted it to do – and there is everything in these backgrounds too including recycled plaids and stripes, batik, prints from the 1980s and modern black on whites!

You might even notice that not all the star points match perfectly.  I sewed my block on my 1911 singer treadle machine.  I’m not the best treadler out there, but I give it a good shot.

I loved this block so much that after I sent it off  to Quiltmaker I just kept sewing! 

In the gallery section of the magazine you will find my Scrap Crystals block in a finished quilt:

No pattern is given in the magazine for the full quilt, but it will be making an appearance in my next book, More Adventures with Leaders & Enders, published by Kansas City Star and due out in Spring 2014!

Please visit Quiltmaker’s Blog, Quilty Pleasures for more goodies and give-aways  HERE!  All of the other participants of this blog hop are listed on the Quiltmaker blog, so don’t miss out.

If you are new to Quiltville, I hope you’ll stick around and explore a bit!  There are a multitude of tabs at the top of the blog to direct you to things like my Free Patterns, Tips & Techniques, Vintage Sewing Machines and to my Quilt-Cam –when I am home and not traveling teaching quilting, I will turn on the live web cam in my studio and you can sew along with me!  These episodes are archived on YouTube and are all accessible by the links in the Quilt-Cam tab.

You will also notice a tab called Celtic Solstice!  Every year I run a Reader Appreciation Mystery.  Celtic Solstice is this year’s online mystery and our introductory post is linked at the bottom of the tab with the yardage requirements, colors and other info to participate in this year’s mystery which starts November 29th!  It’s a ton of fun---I hope you’ll play along!

We've also got a very active Facebook community, over 37,000 readers strong!  Click the link at the bottom of this post to like our Facebook page and keep up with what we are doing there.  Feel free to share photos of your quilts in progress and share with others!  

This blog is updated at least twice a day so you will want to keep up with the latest news and adventures of a traveling itinerant quilter.  There is always something fun to read in Quiltville!

Now – the good part! 

Would you like to be in the Giveaway?  I’m going to choose THREE WINNERS!  2 will receive signed copies of Quiltmaker’s 100 blocks, vol 8 from me…and one winner will have it shipped to them directly from Quiltmaker!
 
Leave me a comment in the comments section below.  If you've made any of my quilts before, tell me something about your favorite!

Remember - your email address MUST be visible in your profile, or in your comment to win.  If I have no way to contact you back, I'll have to choose someone else!
 
The drawing will be open until Sunday, November 17th when I will draw the winners.
 
Happy Hopping, everyone!


Click Here to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun! You do not need a Facebook account to read the Facebook posts - They are viewable to all! Feel free to read & quilt along with us!