Heather's owl quilt

And here is her owl being shy:

That echo quilting is awesome.  It really makes the owl stand out!

And check out her back.  Wow!

She also sent a few pics of another quilt she made called “Diamonds”:

I loooove the blue.  I can’t get enough of that color!  In fact, even though I painted my kitchen a sort of robin’s egg blue (real robin’s egg, not the shade you might think of as robin’s eggs from Easter candy) I am thinking of adding a touch of icy blue to our foyer.  Hmm.  Can it be done tastefully?  Not sure…

The lucky winner is Erin who said, “This definitely qualifies as a “good” surprise! Thanks.”

Congratulations, Erin!  And thank you to everyone who came to play.  This was lots of fun!

To enter please leave a comment.  One entry per person, please.  Also shipping is only to the US and Canada.  Sorry to the international peeps but shipping is quite expensive and not in the budget today.    The giveaway will close on Wednesday, May 25th at 9:00 PM eastern.  The winner will be drawn by random number generator on Thursday and will be contacted via email for shipping details.

Enjoy giveaway day!  Make sure you sign up for lots of giveaway love ~ and good luck!

Comments are now closed – I’ll post a winner and contact them via email on Thursday.  Thanks for stopping by

So anyway.  Here are the details about the quilt…I did meander quilting in the center.  Originally the center was going to be a pieced background from fat quarters but I didn’t like how that looked and I only had white muslin.  So I tea-dyed it, and darned if it didn’t turn out exactly how I pictured it!  Of course the border is made up of nine patches and I did diagonal quilting across each square.  I love how that ends up looking sort of like an argyle sock.

 You can see in the picture below that the owl’s wings are not sewn down.  I wanted them to be floppy.  And here he is playing peek-a-boo:

Where’s owl?  There he is!  I did kind of a furry quilting around the owls eyes and left some of the fabric unquilted to wrinkle in the wash.  I’m not sure I made the best choice there but I still like how it turned out.

The binding turned out great.  I love doing the ladder-stitch.  It is so easy and does such a great job!

Here is the back.  I did some random piecing of fat quarters and scraps to create it.  I’ve never pieced a back like this before and I’m really amazed at how much I like the effect.  I always thought it was too much work but now I am really glad I tried it.  You can see the different texture of the meander quilting in the blue area of the quilt back there.  BTW, that blue is the reason I bought the fabric collection.  I totally love that shade of blue.  In middle school I had this billowy blue cotton skirt in that shade and I wore it constantly.  It had strategic slits in the side so that when I went down the stairs it puddled behind me like a train.  People were always stepping on it.  It was so awesome.  I wish I still had it!

Michelle, I hope your grandbaby is born happy and healthy and that he or she loves their little quilt!  Thank you to everyone who put a bid in on the auction.  I am blown away by the generosity of people sometimes. 

Oh, and if you want one of your own you can always leave me a comment on episode #30 to win a kit to make one yourself.  I think I will draw the winner for that this weekend, so stay tuned!

What are your goals for 2011?  Here are a handful of mine:

1. Complete the hand-pieced quilt that I designed (top is done!  woot!)
2. Complete charity quilt that I designed (and give away a kit to a listener so they can make their own)
3. Create a free tutorial/pattern from #2 and post it
4. Sandwich and quilt the Sunburst quilt.  Maybe I’ll have it done for the guild show.
5. Sandwich and quilt the Husband’s quilt made from art drawn by The Boy and The Girl.  If you want to make your own artwork quilt, I’ve posted instructions.
6. Piece and complete another quilt of my own design.  This doesn’t have to be hand-pieced but it would be cool if it was.
7. 14 podcasts.  I can’t seem to do much better than that!  Last year the goal was 18 and I think I hit 15.
8. Host another challenge.  I’m thinking it might relate to finishes, but with a twist.

Check out Material Obsession 2 and Fabric Trends!

Have a listen!

PS – I was not compensated in any form for my comments about either MO2 or FT.

This episode I talk about things that I am grateful for.  What is tops on your list?  I’d love to hear what you are grateful for – quilting or otherwise.

Also – I announced a giveaway!  Enter to win a quilt kit of my design!!  View the fabric line that will make up the kit at Connecting Threads.  When I actually have the top made I’ll post a photo – but it basically consists of strip pieced nine patches with an appliqued owl (or it might turn out to be a rabbit – I doodled two animals) in the center.  The finished top will measure 36 inches by 36 inches, which isn’t very large but is a good nap size for a toddler and is acceptable to Project Linus.

 You can enter in two ways:

1. Leave a comment here telling me what you are thankful for
2. Subscribe to my blog feed in a reader and leave a comment letting me know you have subscribed.

Good luck, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  I wish you many things for which to be grateful.

Have a listen!

with framing…

without framing…

And Jane – I love that you have a pic of yourself labeled as the ‘quilt geek.’  I have long considered myself a quilt nerd/geek.

And Gretchen’s beautiful finish:

How do I enter the fabulous Quilter’s Newsletter subscription contest?

Enter the contest in up to three ways:

*leave a comment here on the blog

*leave feedback at itunes, then leave a comment about your feedback here (because I can’t be sure I’ll be able to contact the winner if it was an itunes entry otherwise)

*join the Pioneer Quilter group over at the Big Tent - it’s easy & free.  You will have to join the main Quiltcast Supergroup before you can join the Pioneer Quilter subgroup.  Come check it out – lots of other quilting podcasters are there, too!

Challenge: MAY MAYHEM!!!

What is May Mayhem?  That is the title of my May challenge for listeners.  I have decided to challenge myself to perform a quilting or sewing activity every day for at least 15 minutes for all of May.  Would you like to join the fun?  Head on over to the Pioneer Quilter group at the Big Tent.  All you have to do to join is leave a reply to the forum topic entitled ‘May Mayhem’. 

Then  once a week I will post a new forum message for you to log your progress at.  I will have mini podcasts each week to discuss the progress and whatnot of the challenge.  Consider joining up today!

Enjoy the show!

Thank you to the many listeners leaving comments!  The Husband especially likes your feedback

In March I had the opportunity to see Patricia Knoechel of Quilt-in-a-day fame speak and give sewing demonstrations.  It was well worth the $3.00 entrance fee and the 1/2 day of vacation!  She was promoting her sister Eleanor’s book, ‘Quilt Blocks on American Barns’. I bought a few things and had a great time.  I am glad I took the time to go.

Hurray!  I finished The Boy’s quilt.  Sorry, we are having technical difficulties with the camera so no photos yet but I wanted to share the awesomest finish on the binding I have seen: the ladder stitch!  I heard someone mention it on a podcast – I am thinking Annie Smith but honestly it was months and months ago so I am not sure who it was.  So I googled it to find a tutorial.  I found this super-clear and easy to follow tutorial at Turning Turning.  Check it out. 

Head on over to Big Tent to join the Pioneer Quilter group!  You will need to join the main Quiltcast Supergroup before you can join Pioneer Quilter.  Signing up will get you entered in a drawing to win a year of Quilter’s Newsletter!  You can also enter by leaving a comment here and by leaving feedback on iTunes (and then notifying me of your feedback here.)

Have a listen!

• The Modern Quilt Guild.  I’ve seen it mentioned on Sew Mama Sew several times and meant to bring it up.  Alert listener Carlyn reminded me about it.  Are there any Modern Quilt Guild members listening?  Send me an email or leave a comment if you are a member.  I’d love to hear what it is like.
• The Ladies’ Art Company Block Tool by Connie Chunn.   What an awesome reference!  It has a great variety of blocks and gives cutting sizes for up to 5 different block sizes. 
• The Quilter’s Newsletter had two patterns that I loved this month.

Have a listen!

Keepsake Quilting – I am still in love with that Halloween block of the month.

AQS – a contest!  Just fill in the form here.

The Alliance for American Quilts is holding a quilt contest.  Entries aren’t returned, but it is for a good cause and your work will be documented in the Quilt Index!

My sister Karri is participating in the three day Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure event in Cleveland this year.  If you can provide her some support it would be greatly appreciated!  Also she is hosting a children’s clothing swap & shop March 6th in Rootstown, Ohio.