Saturday, November 10, 2012

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Sharon at Vroomans Quilts for winning my extra issue of Quiltmaker Magazine's 100 Blocks Volume 6!  Sharon, please send me a mailing address and I'll get it out to you after the Veteran's Day holiday.

Thanks to all for the suggestions of what to do with the blocks.  I think I'll take multiple suggestions.  If you were one who suggested giving away blocks to readers (I think there were two of you), let me know via email or comment which two or three you liked best and I'll see what I can do.  Others may go into charity blocks or pillows (again, if anyone has a suggestion of who might take random quilt blocks for charity quilts, please post or send!).

Thanks for entering and enjoy the magazine!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

100 Blocks Giveaway!

It's time for the giveaway post for my extra issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 6!

As you probably know by now, I was a quilt tester for this issue and my name is listed as such on page 6.  I had to sign a confidentiality clause which kept me silent as to what I was working on until now.  I tested a total of fourteen blocks, including two of the blocks featured on the cover.  They comprised all sorts of techniques, including needleturn and fusible applique, foundation piecing, curved piecing, and embroidery.  Here is a collage of the blocks I tested:

They are as follows (with links to their blogs if available):
Top Row, from left:
1.  Doug Leko, Freedom Star
2.  Gudrun Erla, Fire Burst (to be featured on Nov. 8)
3.  Kimberly Jolly, Spring Favorite (links to her post!)
4.  Cindy Lammon, Lattice
5.  Monique Dillard, Scrollwork
Middle Row, from left:
1.  Robin Koehler, Tropical Flags (to be featured on Nov. 7)
2.  Lisa Bassett, Fan Fare
3.  Pippa Eccles Armbrester, Reflecting Cityscape
4.  Angela Walters, Boomerang
5.  Debby Kratovil, Divided Diamonds (links to her post!)
Bottom Row, from left:
1.  Susan Geddes, Chicken Surprise (links to her post!)
2.  Cheryl Brown, Swirly Geese (to be featured on Nov. 8)
3.  Paula Stoddard, So Tweet
4.  Dianne Gardner, Cat Nip

Each block was great fun to review, whether it appealed to me or not.  I did not sign up to make a full quilt from one of the blocks, but if I had, it might have been Lattice.  I really enjoyed the challenges of both Divided Diamonds and Fan Fare.  Now that I have my copy of the issue, I'm looking forward to trying some more of the blocks.  My favorite thing is to find patterns that use a lot of precuts - 1 1/2" strips, 2 1/2" strips, 5" or smaller pieces - and whip up a few from my stash cuttings.  Lattice is one of those patterns which could be made with a charm square pack, coordinating honey bun, and background fabric for great effect.  I also like finding blocks that can feature large scale prints well.  As usual, this issue does not disappoint!

Quiltmaker not only sent me a free issue to thank me for my work as a block tester, they sent me a second to give away, so I will!  I'll keep this post open for the entire duration of the blog tour (through Friday) and choose a winner on Saturday, November 10.  For a chance to win, first, make sure you're not a no-reply blogger (or leave a way for me to contact you in your comment), and second, answer me this question:  what on earth should I do with my fourteen rogue tester blocks shown above?

Thanks for reading and good luck winning a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 6 - if not here then elsewhere on the tour!