Final Curtain Call for the 2010 Golden Quilter Award Winners

The  winners of  the 2010 Golden Quilter Awards  will always be recognized for their contributions to our wonderful world of quilting.  They were voted as being the best of the best in nine categories, of the 2010 Golden Quilter Awards, by quilters throughout the world.  This post is the last post on SewCalGal that will recognize these winners.  Tomorrow (March lst) SewCalGal will start accepting nominations for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.  But thru March, these winners deserve recognition as winners of the 2010 Golden Quilter Awards.  
1) For the category of Best Designer, the winner is:

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs

2) For the Category of Best Teacher/Instructor:

Bonnie K. Hunter

3) For the Category of  Best Author:

Eleanor Burns, of Quilt In A Day

4) For the Category of Best Quilt Store (Physical):

There was a tie for the winner of this category, with one coming from sunny Southern California, and the other one coming from an area of British Columbia, which I believe is also known as a sunbelt of B.C.

Rosie's Calico Cupboard, San Diego, CA

Satin Moon, Victoria, BC

5) For the category of Best Quilt Store (online):

Fat Quarter Shop

6) For the category of  Best Long Arm Quilter:

Judy Madsen, Green Fairy Quilts, Saint George, Utah

7) For the category of  Most Innovative new product (physical item):

AccuQuilt

8) For the category of  Most Innovated new product (software item):

Electric Quilt - EQ6

9) For the category of  Most influential person in the world of quilting to-date, aka "Lifetime Achievement":

While there were many talented people that were nominated to this category, the majority of the comments submitted with many nominations clearly reflected heartfelt feelings for someone who has brought so many people into the world of quilting, taught, lectured, runs a successful business, and continually inspires and assistance to others.  Without question of my ability to tally votes, the winner of this category is:

Eleanor Burns, of Quilt In A Day

The 2010 Golden Quilter Award winners are amazing quilters that have been recognized by quilters worldwide for their contributions.    I'm honored to be able to recognize them on this blog, and I also hope those in the business and world-wide quilters will also recognize them for what they have contributed to our wonderful world of quilting.

As mentioned above, on March lst, nominees will be accepted for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.  I am honored to share with you the list of sponsors for this years Golden Quilter Awards and giveaway:

• CT Publishing
• Dragon Threads, Extraordinary Textile Art Books 
• The Electric Quilt Company 
• Fabric.com
• Fat Quarter Shop 
• Fairfield Processing   .
• Martingale & Company, Home of That Patchwork Place
• FabricWorm
• Margaret Bucklew, of Patterns 2 Quilt and Chiseled in Cloth 
• Prairie Moon Quilts 
• QuiltAlbum
• Stitch in the Ditch  .
• Sew Fun Quilts and Judy's ETSY store.

You will always be able to find a summary of the most current information on the activities for the  annual Golden Quilter Awards by visiting the page on this blog labeled "Golden Quilter Awards". And I do hope you will follow SewCalGal and nominate your favorite Quilters for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards, on the post to be released March lst.

Modern Basics, by Amy Ellis Blog Tour - Giveaway Winner

Today is the day to announce the winner of the copy of "Modern Basics", by Amy Ellis that is a giveaway from SewCalGal's stop in the fun blog hop for this excellent new quilt book. 

I used the Random number generator to select the winner.  Sadly, the first four names that were selected did not have settings that allow me to email them to let them know they are a winner. This is also known as "no reply bloggers" and are disqualified from this giveaway as well as mpst giveaways in blogland.  If you entered this giveaway and did not receive an email reply from me, the odds are your fall into this category.  And, if you never receive a reply from any comment you leave on any blog the odds are greater that your settings need to be changed (or yuo should leave your email address embedded in your comment).  I have screen shots and tips on how you can change your settings on the page of my blog labeled "giveaways".

There is still time to visit many of the blogs in this blog hop and win a copy of this book.  Each blogger is giving away a copy and has different dates for their giveaways.  So, you still have several chances to win by visiting the blogs in this hop.  Each has a different deadline:

Feb 21st - Piece N Quilt
Feb 22nd - SewCalGal
Feb 23rd - Old Red Barn
Feb 24th - Terri's Notebook
Feb 25th - Crazy Mom Quilts
Feb 26th - Wild Card Quilts
Feb 27th - BumbleBeans
Feb 28th - Fat Quarter Shop
Mar lst - One Shabby Chic
Mar 2nd - Canton Village Quilt Works
Mar 3rd - Diary of a Quilter
Mar 4th - Fat Quarterly
Mar 5th - Amylouwho

And, of course, you can also order a copy of this wonderful book from Martingale & Company's online store.  Or check it out at your local quilt store. 

Ok, time to announce the lucky winner.

Congratulations to Laura (The Selphs).  You won!

I have sent Laura an email and she is very excited to have won a copy of "Modern Basics"!

And thank you to Amy (Amy's Creative Side) for inviting SewCalGal to participate in this fun blog hop and for sponsoring this giveaway.

Winners of Aurifil Thread Blog Hop - The Letter L

Time to announce the winners of the Aurifil Thread Blog Hop - The Letter L. 

But first, a few announcements and clarifications.

I do want to thank Pat Sloan and Aurifil for having SewCalGal participate in this fun blog hop.  I love all the free block patterns that the nine participating bloggers created and the beautiful setting pattern that Pat also created.  Just lovely.  Still time for those that haven't yet downloaded the free patterns to go back and visit all the blogs in this hop and get free copies of these patterns. 

In my post, I got excited about The Letter "L" and wasn't very clear when I spoke about Lint. Thus, I want to clarify.  Aurifil is 100% cotton and like all cotton threads (vs poly/blends) there tends to be some lint when sewing/quilting.  For me this is just a matter that we all need to remember to clean out our sewing machines from lint build up. I haven't noticed Aurifil producing more lint for sewing/quilting, if anything less than other 100% cotton threads.  But, as Aurifil is also the first 100% cotton thread that I've found of good enough quality to endure high speed machine embroidery, when I compare the use of Aurifil vs typical machine embroidery thread, which tends to be poly, rayon or a blend, I do see an increase in lint.  But, I'm so happy with the colors and quality of Aurifil that I've fallen in love with it for machine embroidery, so a little increase in lint is well worth it when I'm doing machine embroidery. 


LEAPING LIZARDS don't you just LOVE Aurifil's colors?  I'm not greedy, but I will confess I want every color there is of Aurifil thread.  As it works beautifully for sewing, quilting and machine embroidery I think I deserve to use the best.  Yumm.


Do you like to win prizes in giveaways and contests, but haven't ever won?  If you want tips on how you can win, I recommend you check out the page on my blog labeled "giveaways".  Sadly, many enter giveaways and contests where their settings are at a "no-reply blogger" level, which means that they can not easily be sent an email reply to let them know they have won when they are selected as winners.  Which means, the majority of bloggers will pass this winner and select another.

A no reply blogger can also result when someone has an account on one blog platform and leaves a comment on another blog platform.  For example, "blogger" is the platform for SewCalGal's blog.  But if I leave a comment on a blog that is a typepad platform, I am at risk of being a no reply blogger. The exception is that some typepad blogs will prompt users for contact info when they leave a comment.  So, if you are leaving comments on a variety of platforms and not sure if your settings are at the no reply comment level, be sure to leave your email address embedded in your comment to avoid the risk of being a no reply blogger.

Some blogs, including this one, allow "Anonymous" comments to be made where you need not have an account on a given blog platform. But like they are called "Anonymous" doesn't tell the blogger how to contact the person should they win in a giveaway.  So, if you leave a comment to enter a giveaway and use the Anonymous option, you need to embed your email address within your comment if you want a chance at winning a prize.

Sadly, there were a number of people that visited and left a comment to enter the Aurifil thread, but were no reply bloggers.  If you left a comment and didn't receive an email reply from me there is a good chance you are a no-reply blogger.  If you leave comments on blogs and never get email replies back, there is even a higher chance you are a no reply blogger.  If you are a no reply blogger, or not certain, please take time to review the tips I have written on the page labeled "giveaways" and verify your settings, or be sure to leave your email address whenever you leave a comment where you enter a giveaway or contest.  It just  might increase your chances of winning in the future!

Ok, now for announcing the LUCKY winners of the Aurifil Thread Blog Hop - The Letter L.  Each of these winners will receive a 5 pack of Aurifil threads. 




#1 - Sarah (a comfortable cup of tea)
#2 - Joanne Lendaro (Splitting Stitches)

Please email me with your contact info so I can mail these to you on Monday.  While I will send you an email today, if I do not hear back from you, to confirm you want this prize, I will select another winner on Monday.

Aurifil Blog Hop - The Letter L

I was LUCKY to be asked by Pat Sloan to participate in the Aurifil blog hop.  But then everyone that visits all of the participating blogs are lucky as they also get a free pattern and a chance to win some yummy Aurifil thread.  As, I am the last of this blog hop, I was also asked to think about the letter "L".  Hmm.  What creative and inspirational insights would you come up with for the letter "L"?

LEARNING is fun!  And when it keeps our creative juices flowing, it is even more fun.  So, I want to confess that I'm truly a new convert to Aurifil thread. I heard from Kelly Jackson (IHAN), Pat Sloan, Sarah Vedeler, and many others how wonderful Aurifil thread was.  But it was when my friend, Nini Frank gave me a spool of thread that I began to try it and quickly fell in love with it.  I've used it for piecing, free-motion quilting, machine embroidery, threadplay and more. And, in every case I've found it to stitch out with ease and always looks great.   This was definitely a positive learning experience. 

LEISURE time is something we all want more of but can't buy.  Using Aurifil definitely makes my leisure time more fun!

I LOVE color.  And, Aurifil comes in some yummy colors.  I definitely need more color in my life, aka I need more Aurifil too!

LOFT seems to be getting thinner lately.  Hard to believe, but I remember making quilts in the 70's when I wanted them so thick & fluffy that I actually used two layers of batting on some quilts.  OMG they were hand quilted too!  I am truly happy to see all the new battings that have a low loft.  And, Aurifil really does a great job quilting regardless of the loft.

LAVENDER is a yummy color.  And, I wish I had a spool of Aurifil Lavender for the block I made to share with you.  But, I think it is still cute, even without Lavender Aurifil thread.

In general, I don't have LUXURIOUS taste, except for quality thread and fabric.  Aurifil definitely is a luxurious thread.

LINT is something that builds up in our sewing machines and we need to remember to clean out on a regular basis.  And, I must admit using 100% cotton Aurifil threads stitch out beautifully.  I haven't noticed more lint when sewing or quilting using Aurifil, if anything less.  But as I typically do machine embroidery with non-cotton or blends, I have seen a bit more lint when doing ME work.  On the other hand, the quality of Aurifil and beauty is well worth it for ME projects as they look spectacular with Aurifil.    First 100% cotton thread that I've seen able of handling high speed machine embroidery (doesn't break while doing ME).   

I had oodles of ideas to create blocks for this blog hop, but somehow the amazing colors of Aurifil thread just called out to me to do some ThreadPlay.  And I decided to create an applique block that could be created using standard templates, or with the AccuQuilt GO! and the GO! Rose of Sharon dies.  This design is adaptable to machine applique, needle turn, or freezer paper.  But, I must admit I had fun using Aurifil threads for some fun threadplay on this block designed to go on point.

If you want instructions to make this block click here.  It also has some simple insights on ThreadPlay embellishment.  The utility that I used to upload the file allows for a free download.  After you click the link you may need to scroll down slightly and you'll see a button that says download.  It is free.


This blog hop started February 21st and today, Kelly Jackson (IHAN) and SewCalGal are the final stops on this hop.  Nine blogs have participated, each sharing a free block pattern and a giveaway for a 5 pack of Aurifil Thread.  Plus, Pat Sloan will be giving away a lovely kit of Aurifil thread to one lucky winner. 

If you haven't yet visited all the blogs in this Aurifil blog hop, I recommend you go visit them and look for their post on this hop ASAP.

Feb 21st - Pat Sloan
Feb 22nd - Pink Chalk Studio
                - Dream Laugh Create
Feb 23rd - Once Piece at a Time
                - Thimbleanna
Feb 24th - Stitchen Heaven
               - Quilting Gallery
Feb 25th - SewCalGal (where you are now)
               - I Have a Notion

And, remember to visit Pat Sloan's blog to get info on how to assembly all of these blocks into a cute quilt.

Did you catch that every blog participant is giving away Aurifil thread?  Leave a comment here for a chance to win a 5 pack of Aurifil thread.  SewCalGal will be selecting two winners (randomly) that will each receive one of these beautiful 5 packs of luxurious Aurifil thread.

And you will also have a chance to win a thread kit, by leaving a comment here, that Pat Sloan will give to one lucky winner.

Deadline for this giveaway:  Saturday, February 26th noon PST.

AccuQuilt is also giving away 22 free quilt patterns for those that sign up for their newsletter. Simply click on the image below to sign up.

PR Angels wanted for 2011 Golden Quilter Awards & giveaway

PR Angels are wanted to help increase awareness of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards & giveaway.  

The page on this blog labeled "Golden Quilters Awards" will be updated periodically, to provide a current summary update, with appropriate links for information on this event.  A blog post will be made on SewCalGal March lst to officially announce the start of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards, where nominations will be accepted between March lst and March 18th.  On March 19th, SewCalGal will recognize all nominees in a post and voting for winners of ten (10) categories will be accepted thru March 31st.  Early April, winners of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards will be announced on SewCalGal and notified via email, where they will have bragging rights.

Sponsors for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards include:
•CT Publishing
•QuiltAlbum software
•Fat Quarter Shop
•The Electric Quilt Company
•Fairfield Processing 
•Dragon Threads, Extraordinary Textile Art Books
•Fabric.com
•Margaret Bucklew, of Patterns 2 Quilt and Chiseled in Cloth
•Martingale & Company, Home of That Patchwork Place
•FabricWorm
•Stitch in the Ditch
•Prairie Moon Quilts
•Sew Fun Quilts

These sponsors have donated 25+ prizes that will be given away as prizes in a giveaway that will be held as part of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.  And, a few more sponsors may be added to this list shortly.

This giveaway will officially be posted late March and winners will be randomly selected in an even mix from the following categories:  PR Angels, those that submit nominations, those that vote, and followers of SewCalGal.

If you want to earn an entry to this giveaway, as a PR Angel, you have two ways to help:
1) Post the badge for this event on your blog and leave a comment, on this post, with a link to your blog to let me know

2) Post an article on your blog prior to March 15th, about the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards & giveaway (please link to http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/golden-quilter-awards.html and not this post or link to my post that will be released on March lst announcing the start of this event and window for nominees to be accepted) and let others know about this event.   And leave a comment on this post, with a link to your post (not a link to your blog) to let me know.

3) Post an article on your blog, after the winners are announced in April, and prior to the early April date for the close of the giveaway, to help increase awareness of the winners of the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.  Note, more will be shared on this when the actual giveaway post is made.  So, please consider #3 an FYI at this time as you can't do anything to help with this until April.



PR Angels are always appreciated.  Thank you to those that take time to help increase awareness on this event in any form you can.  SewCalGal wants to ensure world-wide quilters are involved in nominating and voting for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards.  If you have any questions, please email SewCalGal.

Modern Basics, by Amy Ellis (plus insights on a fun blog tour & giveaway)

I was so excited when I heard  that fellow blogger Amy Ellis (Amy's Creative Side) was writing a quilt book.  And, I'm very honored to be able to share insights with you today, and be part of her blog tour for her new book.  I've enjoyed reading Amy's blog for a long time, and have been inspired by her quilts and insights she shares, as well as love all of her well written tutorials.  I have long thought that Amy would make for a great author of a quilt book, and have truly found her "Modern Basics, Easy Quilts to Fit your Budget, Space, and Style" to be a wonderful quilt book.

Modern Basics is published by Martingale & Company, home of That Patchwork Place.    There are 14 beautiful patterns in this book, with each design  made from one easy block.

Amy uses bright, modern prints with cute and simple designs that help new quilters make beautiful quilts and experienced quilters make fast & easy quilts too!  Instructions provided are easy to follow, with excellent visuals, showing step by step.

Insights are also included for Quiltmaking Basics, from selection of tools & fabric, to piecing techniques, adding borders, sandwiching, machine quilting, binding and more.

This is an excellent book for a beginner quilter, as well as experience quilters who are looking for fun quilts and tips on squeezing creativity into your busy life.

Amy has invited several bloggers to participate in a blog hop to celebrate the release of Modern Basics.   Each blogger will be sharing insights about Amy's book, and also hosting a giveaway for a copy of this delightful new book.

Here is the list of other bloggers participating in this book tour blog hop.  I hope you'll take time to visit them on this tour. 
Feb 21st - Piece N Quilt
Feb 22nd - SewCalGal (where you are today)
Feb 23rd - Old Red Barn
Feb 24th - Terri's Notebook
Feb 25th - Crazy Mom Quilts
Feb 26th - Wild Card Quilts
Feb 27th - BumbleBeans
Feb 28th - Fat Quarter Shop
Mar lst - One Shabby Chic
Mar 2nd - Canton Village Quilt Works
Mar 3rd - Diary of a Quilter
Mar 4th - Fat Quarterly
Mar 5th - Amylouwho

And, I hope you have a chance to check out this wonderful new book that Amy has created.  I think you'll really enjoy creating quilts with it.  And, you may know a new quilter, or an inspiring to be quilter, that this book would make an excellent gift to help them learn to quilt.

http://www.martingale-pub.com/

Interested in winning a copy of this wonderful book, personally signed by Amy.  Simply leave a comment on this post and a way for me to contact you (no reply bloggers that can not be contacted are not eligible to win).  The winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, February 27th.

Sarah Vedeler STARS Collection

I've been having fun playing with Sarah Vedeler's STARS machine embroidery collection and wanted to share some insights with you on this spectacular collection.  I have truly been amazed at the detail and quality of these ME designs and how beautifully they stitch out.  It is amazing how different they look using applique vs no applique, and changing color combinations, yet each one looks beautiful when finished.  And each one stitches out brilliantly!

My first test stitch out was on a pasmina.  I think it looks great (photo doesn't do it justice).

 Actually, I think all of the ME designs in this collection stitch out beautiful applique stars that are as spectacular as the stars in the sky on a moonless night!  I love them all!

This design set was released in November 2010 as a premier collection special edition.  It has 35 machine embroidery designs and also comes with instructions to make this spectacular quilt, designed by Sarah Vedeler.  Personally, I believe if Sarah enters this beautiful quilt she'll win another lst place at IQF Houston this year!  It is beautiful!

And free instructions are on Sarah's blog to make this lovely table runner:

While these ME designs allow you to apply applique the manual way, they are also designed to work with six AccuQuilt GO! dies that really help you create projects faster and more accurate. 

• GO! Star 5-Point (55310)
• GO! Star Medley-5 Point (55311)
• GO! Star 6-Point (55312)
• GO! Star Medley-6 Point (55313)
• GO! Star Points (55314)
• GO! Star 8-Point (55315)

The design sizes of each star range from small ( 3 1/2"), medium (5"), to large (10") diameters.  Large stars can be split for multiple hoopings.  ME formats included on this CD are: .exp, .art, .art60, .pes, .pcs, .dst, .hus, .xxx, .sew, .vp3, and .jef.

I'm looking forward to creating several projects with this CD and will share more insight with you as I do.  I purchased the dupioni silks to make a patriotic table runner and I also want to use the Stars silk collection that Sarah created, specificially for making her quilt design.  They are yummy colors that also go well with her Silk Stars Aurifil thread collection, which I found stitches out beautiful and truly does look fantastic with these designs, even though they do stitch out well with other threads too.  I just found that my eye was drawn to the stitch outs using the Aurifil thread vs other brands I played with on these designs.

The possibilities of what you can create with this ME collection are endless.  I'm dreaming of table toppers, quilts, embellished sweatshirts & jackets.  I definitely have plans for projects for me, as well as some projects for gifts.  This design set certainly exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys machine embroidery.  I think you'll love it too!

http://www.sarahvedelerdesignsshop.com/

AccuQuilt is also celebrating machine embroidery month with a special sale on all embroidery GO! dies and ME related products.  Sale ends February 27th

S is for SCRAPS, by Gayle Bong

Part of being a quilter is trying to decide what to do with your scraps.  Some are quick to toss, while some like to find creative ways to use scraps.  I must confess, I'm one of those that are always looking for ways to use scraps.  Thus, I was very excited to see the new book "S is for SCRAPS, 18 great quilts", by Gayle Bong, published by Martingale & Company, Home of That Patchwork Place.

Gale shares her expertise on how to look at scraps by character, contrast, color and pinpoint the types that work well together.  She also shares tips for organizing scraps, along with ways to working smarter to be able to get more quilts finished.  I loved her section on "Being More Productive"!

Information is also included on various quilting techniques from cutting triangles and trapezoids, adding borders, sandwiching, displaying your quilts and more.  Thus, I view this comprehensive book is also an excellent book for beginner quilters.  Actually, it is an excellent book for quilters of all levels that want to create beautiful scrap quilts.

The 18 wonderful designs are perfect for using scraps, but fabric requirements are also written to such that if you could easily purchase strips, fat quarters, etc. to make these beautiful quilts.  Every design has well written instructions, and great visuals.  Sizes range from 42 1/2" x 42 1/2"   to 82 1/2" x 94 1/2".

Gayle has been making quilts for 27 years and this is her eighth book on quiltmaking.  You can also read about Gayle's quilting adventures on her blog. 

I hope you get a chance to check out "S is for SCRAPS" soon.  I think you will really love this book, especially if you enjoy making quilts with scraps.  This book is also available for purchase at Martingale & Company's online store.

http://www.martingale-pub.com/

Teacher Training at Quilt in a Day

Early February, I had the opportunity to attend the Teacher Training program at Quilt in A Day in San Marcos, California.  This program is offered a couple of times a year, at Quilt in a Day in San Marcos and in Paducah, Kentucky.  Classes are sold out in advance.  I actually signed up for this class in 2010!  It was well worth the wait, the cost, and my time.  While I can't share all the insights on this great Teacher Training program, I do want to share some with you.

First, I want to clarify that while this program is structured for a Teacher Training, there were several attendees that came to build on their skills and have fun.  Yet, the majority of the students are comprised of store owners, existing teachers, or quilters that want to pursue becoming a teacher. 

Participants came from all over, even as far away as Malaysia, Canada, and various places in the US.  They also had a variety of quilting experience with some having learned to quilt in the last few years, to others that have been quilting for 40+ years.  We all came away from this program learning more than we had anticipated, had fun, and enjoyed creating a variety of samples and projects.

Eleanor Burns shared her knowledge with participants on how she became a quilting teacher and has continued to contribute to our wonderful world of quilting, through the publications, rulers, classes, online store, and more that many of us have come to love and know as "Quilt in a Day".  She also answered  question with a smile and honest answer.  Along with Sue Bouchard, who as worked at Quilt in a Day for ~19 years, Eleanor and  Sue did an excellent job teaching this program, along with Orion Burns and other Quilt in a Day team members who helped to make this 3 day class so amazing.

I loved how this program focused on techniques, where participants were given an endless number of cool rulers accompanied by exercises on how to use each ruler.  Likewise, participants were given books and patterns, where we made a variety of teaching samples, as we learned a number of techniques.

We were entertained and inspired in multiple ways, throughout the program. An "American Barn" theme entertainment program had me singing "Green Acres is the place to be" as I fell asleep that night.  We were inspired by sharing of quilts with variations of colors and themes of the American Barns Quilt.

We were given behind the scenes tours, which were quite fun.  And, everyone was amazed with the vast collection of quilts that Eleanor has made and collected over the years, all stored in the Quilt in a Day warehouse.

Techniques were shared on pinwheels, Hens & Chicks blocks, Radiant Star, use of layer cakes, flying geese, creating American Stars, strip quilting, applique and more. 

I didn't anticipate learning "precision piecing" techniques, but I was pleasantly surprised that I definitely learned some great piecing tips and my piecing has certainly improved 10X!  And, while I have done applique quilting for years, I really enjoyed learning some quick & easy methods for applique using Eleanor's techniques that I'm eager to use in my own future projects!

We had multiple non-sewing sessions, where we learned insights about teaching, tools, quilting trends, holding retreats, handling difficult teaching situations, promoting your classes, how to create fun in your classes and more. 

And, we did learn about new products from Quilt in a Day, including cool rulers to help make the Radiant Star, as well as the new book release for the "Radiant Star Quilt". 

I haven't had a chance to thoroughly read this new quilt book, but glancing at it I do think it is an excellent book.  And the quilts that I've seen made with it are spectacular.  Plus, Eleanor has captured techniques in this book to make making this quilt look so easy.

 I can't wait to make a radiant star using this new book.

I've made Radiant Stars previously, but this book really shows some techniques that will make this quilt very easy!
 

I hope you will have a chance to attend a Teacher Training program at Quilt in a Day in the future.  I think you'll be very happy you did.  I know I'm happy, yet wondering why it took me so long to sign up for this program.   It was excellent, and I truly think I'll sign up for this program again, in a few years. 

What I also found amazing, is that there seemed to be a special bond that formed with many of the participants.  It wasn't a feeling that I get with typical classes, or retreats.  Maybe it was the fact that the majority of the participants also enjoyed teaching, or sharing their quilting expertise with others, on the other hand, I think it could have also been the charisma that Eleanor and Sue radiate.  They give from their heart and it creates an environment where everyone is so positive and enthusiastic.  While this program was packed with information and fun, I know I also came away with a special bond for those in this classroom.  And, I suspect, that a special kinship could be found whenever I have a chance in the future to meet others who have had a chance to attend the Teacher Training Program at Quilt in A Day. 

Excellent program!  SewCalGal highly recommends it! 

One last insight I want to share:  Eleanor has many free videos you can view online.  These are also fun videos that teachers and quilt stores can share.

http://www.quiltinaday.com/
http://www.eleanorburns.com/

If there are any fellow Quilt in a Day Teacher Training Alumni out there, I'd love to hear your insights on this program too. 

Easy to see why Eleanor Burns was nominated and viewed as the ultimate winner of the 2010 Golden Quilter Awards for Lifetime Achievement Award and for Best Author.

Winners of the AccuQuilt Sponsored giveaway

For all of those that entered the AccuQuilt Sponsored giveaway, I truly wish that I could give all of you a prize.  But, this giveaway was only for one AccuQuilt GO! and three dies.  And today is the day I get to announce who the winners are.  But first, I want to share some insight on where you can find inspiration and insights about using AccuQuilt Products:

AccuQuilt on Facebook
AccuQuilt Sew & Tell Forum
Bloggers with AccuQuilt Products is a great community that frequently shares insights about AccuQuilt products on their blogs.  Some of this community are also part of a "Team" of Bloggers with AccuQuilt products and have a badge on their blog.  And, you'll find links to this team of bloggers on the right side of my blog.





Winners for this giveaway were randomly selected. I had hoped to use the tumbler drum, that my husband has recently built, but he has handed it off to the lead on a fundraiser he is working on and it will be awhile before I get it back. Thus, I asked a variety of trustworthy people to submit numbers randomly, for the range of entries that we had in this giveaway.  Using the theme of BINGO, I created a mini random draw of the numbers for each letter, drawing out of a bowl.  I first drew a number in the B column, then the I column, etc.  My thought was to use the O  column as a backup, if necessary.  And, it was easy as the first four drawings naturally picked one winner that wanted a GO! and three winners that wanted a die of their choice.

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The three winners for the AccuQuilt GO! die of their choice are:

1) Petite Design Company blog   (B8 - #24)
2) Judy of Sew Fun Quilts, aka SewMeow (N14 - #300)
3) Katrina of Sun Shower Quilts  (G11 - #412)

The winner for the AccuQuilt GO!, which comes with the value pack die is:
Marilyn of North Hills Quilter   (I5 - #334)

Congratulation to all the winners.

Thank you to my quilting friends that submitted random numbers to help me play a hand at BINGo to select the winners for this amazing giveaway.

And, thank you to AccuQuilt for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway.

I will send an email to all the winners to get their contact info to give to AccuQuilt, as well as the information on the die of their choice, for the three winners of the AccuQuilt GO!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've had chocolate and roses, or chocolate and berries on my mind for weeks, along with Valentine's Day.

They certainly have been on my mind.   I've noticed that when I go into Quilt Shops I've been drawn to fabrics that remind me of Chocolate and Roses.

There are a few Bloggers with AccuQuilt products that will be sharing insights with you today on how they use their AccuQuilt to create fun projects.  You can also visit various "Team" members, who are listed in the right hand column of my blog, under the Team of Bloggers with AccuQuilt products, where you can also see their latest posts on seeing their insights on using AccuQuilt products.

Today, I wanted to share insights with you on a few easy projects for Valentine's Day.  I bet you can guess what was on my mind as I picked fabric for these projects.  These "quicky" projects are definitely different for what I might typically do, but also fun and easy projects that are perfect for Valentine's Day and easy to adapt to other occasions, as well.    

I had fun making placemats using the AccuQuilt GO! and GO! heart die.  But, to make things even faster I used ModPodge and Roc-lon multipurpose cloth.  These were very easy placemats that were fast to make.

Update:  These placemats were fast & easy to make.  But the ModPodge approach to seal these placemats, looks great, but not effective with hot dishes.  Recommend against this approach, for anything that you want to use with heat.

I also wanted to make some  Valentine's Day gifts, and came up with several easy projects using my AccuQuilt GO!  First, I had fun embellishing  Pasmina Shawls using the GO! heart die.  I made several of these to give to friends for Valentine's Day.

I had fun embellishing tea towels that I like to use in my kitchen, and I also have fun using these as hostess gifts.  I wanted to share this one with you, as an example of how I love to also manually cut around the scrap part of the GO! Heart die, to create a secondary applique design.  This manual approach works on the majority of the the GO! applique designs.

I also had fun decorating a composition book, with a Valentine's Day theme.  I used my favorite tutorial on this type of project, from Char (Crap I've Made) and I used the AccuQuilt GO! Hearts die to decorate several composition books.  Very easy project with Char's tutorial, the AccuQuilt GO! and Mod Podge!

I also want to increase awareness how much fun it is, and how easy it is, to create secondary applique designs with your AccuQuilt GO!   For the GO! Heart Die, I simply manualy cut around the outer cut to create fun silhouette type designs.  And I loved interlacing two different fabrics with two hearts.  I find this to be a great way to use scraps.

On a personal note, I'm looking forward to a fun Valentine's Day.  I will be celebrating a birthday with a friend, at lunch.  While I'm not a great cook, I'm cooking dinner for my DH.  I'll be able to use my Valentine's theme placemats & dishtowels for decorations on the dinner I'm preparing.  I'm making Beef Burgundy, using a recipe from Carol Kaplan.  This is a yummy recipe that smells and tastes wonderful, and it is so easy that I can even create a yummy dinner.  I asked Carol, and she approved me to share this recipe with you today.

Carol's Beef Burgundy Recipe

1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into bite-sized strips
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 tablespoons flour
6 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 cups Burgundy wine
1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced

In a large, heavy sauce-pan brown meat, onion and garlic in butter over medium-high heat. Add flour, bouillon and salt. Stir in water, wine and mushrooms. Cover and cook until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer until mushrooms are cooked and meat is tender, about 30 minutes.

Serve over cooked rice, noodles, or baked/mashed potatoes,. Top with sour cream, if desired.

MAKES ABOUT 4 SERVINGS.

 
I hope you have a very Happy Valentine's Day.


 
And, I do hope you'll take time to visit the Team of Bloggers with AccuQuilt products to see which ones are sharing insights on Valentine's Day. 

Kim (Chatterbox Quilts) has a very cute post with an excellent video that I hope you'll pop over to see, if you haven't already. 
Katrina (Sunshower Quilts) also has an lovely Valentine's post with a brilliant tutorial that I love.

And, if you are also a Blogger with an AccuQuilt product and posted an AccuQuilt post with a Valentine's theme today, let me know if you want me to include a link here.  {or if any of you see such a post, let me know}.

My apologies, as I informally tried to compile a list, but with various challenges this week, I'm not able to provide you a complete summary of which blogs I know are sharing insights with a Valentine's theme. This was an informal activity, totally optional for Bloggers with AccuQuilts to blog about today.  But, the links to blogs of team members are on the right column of my blog and I think you'll have fun visiting them too!