Winners Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 7 Blog Tour

Hello Fellow Quilters,

Hope you had fun blog hopping last week.  Thank you so much for all the great comments and I appreciate you visiting my blog.   A big thank you, too, to the great team at Quiltmaker.

I’ve drawn 3 winners from the 453 comments received by end of day May 3rd and have emailed the lucky ladies.

Deborah D. from Illinois won the new Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Volume 7 magazine compliments of Quiltmaker:

Karen P. from Manitoba won the pattern of her choice from my website and she selected Celebration with Stonehenge (QM109N)

And Karen J. from California won my Kaleidoscope Symphony book

I’m busy preparing for the Portland Quilt Market which is next week already (Yikes!) so I better get back to piecing my quilt samples!  I’ll share what’s new when I return.

Until then enjoy ALL your quilt moments!

Marilyn

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Volume 7 Blog Tour

Thank you for visiting Quilt Moments’  blog. I am thrilled that my block appears in the new Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7 hitting newsstands May 7th and it’s fun to be part of the blog tour.  Today I’ll share some ideas on how to use my block and give you a chance to win several goodies.   Keep reading to the end to see what you could win!

My block, Kaleidoscope Star #664, is shown on page 53 of the magazine.  I love using large print fabrics in my quilts and often put what I call “4-patch kaleidoscopes” in my block centers.

I made the block using  the Love Flows collection designed by Jan Douglas for Maywood Studio.  Here are some images of what 5 blocks set on point look like for a 40″ x 40″ tabletopper / wallhanging.

First, here’s what the quilt looks like using the same fabrics shown in the block above.

Next, here is the same setting using brown instead of cream for the background, and changing some of the fabric positions.

Now let’s see the block in a different fabric collection, Garden of Enchantment by Maywood Studio.

The large print shown on the border is what is used for all the 4-patch block centers.
I have many patterns and a book featuring this easy technique which you can see on my website, but
here are the construction highlights:
1) Cut or rip a piece of large print fabric containing at least 4 fabric repeats lengthwise down the middle and save one of these pieces for the wide borders
2) Cut out and layer four identical pieces of the fabric following the design repeat and pin around the perimeter with flathead pins carefully capturing the same motif through all fabric layers
3) Rotary cut strip sets 3-1/2” wide and then sub-cut them into 3-1/2” square sets.
4) Take a square set, and rotate the four identical squares to create a 4-patch kaleidoscope. There are four different rotation options so have fun choosing your favorite look!

Have fun choosing a large print to make your own block.  Florals work great, but you can also have fun using novelty prints and kids’ prints.

I was so inspired by the Love Flows fabric collection while working on my block submission that I made a twin size version of my Trellis Garden (QM116) pattern with the fabric and updated my pattern cover to feature the fabric as shown below.

Here is an image of a queen size quilt using my Kaleidoscope Symphony design and the Maywood Studio’s Garden of Enchantment fabric line that I showed you above.  Adding easy  “4-patch kaleidoscopes” to the center of blocks is a fun way to spice up your blocks so give it a try!

Now for the goodies.  Leave a comment on this post by midnight Friday, May 3rd, for a chance to win a copy of the new Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7 magazine, a Quilt Moments’ pattern, or my Kaleidoscope Symphony book.  Tell me what pattern you would like to win (you can see all of them on my website).

Then remember to visit Quiltmaker and all the other blogs for more entertainment and chances to win prizes.

Enjoy all your quilt moments!

Marilyn

Triple Twister Kaleidoscope Version & Prize Winners!

Before announcing the prize winners from the last post I thought I would show you a closer look at the kaleidoscope option included in the Triple Twister pattern.

Here’s the Triple Twister pattern cover.

To create the optional kaleidoscope version, I used the four-patch kaleidoscope technique described in the pattern with four repeats of this foliage print called Botanica by Henry Glass.

I chose a turquoise coordinate for the alternating squares and light aqua for the background.  Then, using the Lil’  Twister it was easy to create the runner shown here.  I put the leftover foliage print on the back of the runner since it’s fun to see the original fabric used the create the pinwheels.

Here’s an image zooming into the middle section so you can see the effect of the kaleidoscope pinwheels.  The squares in the border are the leftover pieces from the Lil’ Twister cutting.  Isn’t that fun?!

Have I tempted you to try “kaleidoscoping” your pinwheels?

OK, now it’s time to announce the winners from the Pinwheel Patterns for Lil’ Twister & Twister Tool post.  Using the random number generator on the 95 comments, the winners are #47 and #70!

Nancy M. wins the Triple Twister kit with Moda Fig Tree Tapestry with cream background.   Reading through all the comments, it looks like preferences are pretty evenly divided with 13 people noting that they prefer Version 1 with one background and 16 people prefer Version 2 with two backgrounds.

#47  Nancy M. Says:
January 9, 2013 at 11:51 am I have the little ruler but have yet to work with it. You patterns are inspiring. My goal for 2013 is to make a twister quilt! PS I like the one color background best!

Chris wins the pack of all 3 patterns Triple Twister, Twister Tapestry & Twister Illusions

#70 Chris Says:
January 10, 2013 at 2:03 am I really enjoy the Twister. It’s just plain fun! I hadn’t seen the new patterns. They are great! Can’t wait to try them.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment and I appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog.  Thanks again to Moda for helping me get back into blogging.

See you next month and until then….enjoy all your Quilt Moments!

Marilyn

Pinwheel Patterns for Lil’ Twister and Twister Tool

Happy New Year fellow quilters!

Hoping to start blogging regularly (or at least monthly).  Making it an actual resolution sounds wrong since that would make it a chore rather than fun so let’s just say I’m optimistic and eager to try!

My friends at Moda have helped me start my blogging goal by inviting me to write an entry for their Moda Cutting Table blog so please read that post tonight and come back here to read the rest of this post and enter to win a kit and patterns!

My patterns have never required special tools or rulers…simply the basic rulers.  I know there are lots of great rulers and templates for different techniques on the market, and yes, I have acquired several but haven’t been inspired to actually incorporate one into some of my patterns until now.

The Lil’ Twister and Twister tools were created by Marsha Bergren of CS Designs (Country Schoolhouse) and they continue to be on the top selling tools lists.  They make it a piece of cake to make pinwheels out of squares.  The Lil’ Twister uses 5” squares and the Twister uses 10” squares.

Three of my patterns feature the popular Lil’ Twister and Twister tools:

Twister Illusions (QM131)

The Twister Illusions pattern works great with solids.  It’s also perfect for batiks.  In the version below I simply changed the placement of the blues and greens and used batiks instead of solids.

Keepsake Quilting is selling this Twister Illusions batik kit on their website.  They also have a kit of my Ribbon Rings quilt.

Twister Tapestry (QM130)

Below is the Twister Tapestry baby and queen layout shown on the pattern back in solids.

Triple Twister (QM127)

All three patterns have the option of multiple sizes from baby to queen or king, and pattern above has table-runner and bed-runner options.  The patterns utilize the Lil’ Twister for the smaller quilts sizes (runner, baby and throw) and the larger Twister tool for the bedrunner and queen size quilts.

You can also use these patterns with other pinwheel tools on the market for smaller pinwheels.  Simply follow the tables inside for the number of squares needed of each fabric and cut square size as directed in the instructions for your tool.

Below are two versions of Triple Twister made with one layer cake (Forty+ 10” squares) plus 1 or 2 backgrounds using Moda’s Tapestry collection by Fig Tree.  This is the kit I’m giving away in honor of my guest blogging on Moda’s Cutting Table.

Version with 1 Background Fabric

Version with 2 Background Fabrics

Which version do you prefer? The winner can choose their favorite version. On the Moda blog I also showed versions in an upcoming fabric line called Snap Pop by Sandy Gervais.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to my Twister patterns.  Have you used the Lil’ Twister or Twister yet?   I know I’m definitely late to the party since these tools have been out for several years already but perhaps I’m only “fashionably late” since I anticipate these tools will be around for many, many years to come.

Please leave a comment here for a chance to win the Triple Twister Quilt Kit with Tapestry or a collection of the 3 patterns.  The lucky winners will be chosen at random end of the day next Wednesday, January 16^th.  This is an especially lucky day since my father and oldest brother (both named Harry!) were born on that day.  Sadly, Dad is no longer with us but he would still want us to celebrate!

And, please “follow” my blog so you can be notified when I make additional posts. I anticipate lots of show and tell and more giveaways.

Enjoy all your Quilt Moments!

Marilyn

Congratulations Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks tour and commented on my first blog entry.  It was fun and informative to learn what you like about blogs, get some feedback on my patterns, and even hear what you were having for dinner….some answers made me wish I was dining at your house!  Remember to look for Volume 4 at your quilt shop, newstands, or directly through Quiltmaker starting this week.  And thanks again to Quiltmaker for including me in this wonderful magazine and inviting me to join the blog tour!

Now that I’ve entered blog world I hope to post something at least every few weeks (I know I won’t be able to keep up the pace of every day so I’m not making that my resolution!).  So please signup to be notified of future posts.  I plan to share photos and inspirations for my designs and other quilty thoughts.   And of course, to make it fun and tempting, I’ll have occasional giveaways!

And now, the winners for the 4 prizes for my first blog entry and Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol 4 tour are…….drumroll please……………………………………………………………………….

1) Quiltmaker 100 Volume 4 magazine goes to ……..Wordygirl!

wordygirl Says:
What do I love about quilt blogs? The inspiration, sense of community, and chance to take a moment to focus on creating, right in the middle of the day or night.

2) Kaleidoscope Symphony book goes to …….Maria Kievit!

Maria Kievit Says:
Really enjoyed looking at the kaleidoscope effect! Beautiful block.

           

3) Quilt Moments’ pattern of your choice…..goes to KT!   I will be sending KT one of the two patterns that she likes shown above.

KT Says:
Love your Kaleidoscope block! I really like Elegance and Keyboard Kaleidoscope. We’re having pasta for dinner tonight–swim meet tomorrow. Thanks for the chance to win!

    

4) Kaleidoscope Symphony table/sofarunner kit with Moda Jovial &  Puzzle Pieces fabrics goes to……Diane Durrant!

Diane Durrant Says:
Great pattern! I visited your website and perused the patterns. I loved the Twilight Kaleidoscope the best – the colors just jumped off the page!! My next favorite was Keyboard Kaleidoscope.

Congratulations to all the winners.  I’ll be emailing you to get your mailing addresses to send out your goodies.

Enjoy all your quilt moments!

Marilyn

100 Blocks Volume 4 Blog Tour Day 5

Thank you for visiting Quilt Moments’ new blog. I am so excited to be included in Quiltmaker’s fun publication along with so many great designers and thought this hop would be a great incentive for me to finally start a blog and share my quilting adventures. Today I’ll share some ideas on how to use my block and give you a chance to win several goodies including a kit!   Keep reading to the end to see what you could win!

I was tickled to find that my block was on the cover of the magazine. If you’re familiar with my designs you know that I love to use large print fabrics in my quilts and often put what I call “4-patch kaleidoscopes” in my block centers. My block is #376, Holiday Splendor. Can you guess from these hints which block is mine?
Well, here it is………

I made the block using the large poinsettia print from Moda’s Jovial collection designed by Basic Grey and combined it with prints from Moda’s Puzzle Pieces blender collection. Let’s play with the block and see how it looks in some other fabric collections.

Here is an image of the block made with Robert Kaufman’s Holiday Flourish 4 line

And here are 9 blocks put together with a border to make a 48” x 48” tabletopper or wallhanging.

The large print shown on the border is what is used for all the 4-patch block centers.
I have many patterns and a book featuring this easy technique which you can see on my website, but
here are the construction highlights:
1) Cut or rip a piece of large print fabric containing at least 4 fabric repeats lengthwise down the middle and save one of these pieces for the wide borders
2) Cut out and layer four identical pieces of the fabric following the design repeat and pin around the perimeter with flathead pins carefully capturing the same motif through all fabric layers
3) Rotary cut strip sets 3-1/2” wide and then sub-cut them into 3-1/2” square sets.
4) Take a square set, and rotate the four identical squares to create a 4-patch kaleidoscope. There are four different rotation options so have fun choosing your favorite look!

Here is an image of the same block made with Monique Dillard’s Memories of Provence collection for Maywood Studio.

Monique is one of the designers in the hop so I thought it would be fun to show her fabric line, plus I’ve created images of several of my quilts using this beautiful fabric line (see What’s New on my website) and wanted to see what it would look like in this block.

See how the quilt changes by simply switching the pink to green:

Have fun choosing a large print to make your own block.  Florals work great, but you can also have fun using novelty prints and kids’ prints.

Now for the goodies. Help me start out my first blog entry with a bang and enter to win one of 4 prizes in honor of Volume 4.
The prizes are:

1) Quiltmaker 100 Block Volume 4 magazine
2) My Kaleidoscope Symphony book
3) A Quilt Moments’ pattern of your choice
4) A table/sofarunner Kaleidoscope Symphony kit with the same Moda Jovial fabrics used in my block. See photo below.

So simply leave me a comment by midnight Saturday November 12th with your contact info and you may win one of these prizes! Tell me what pattern you would like to win (you can see all of them on my website), what you like about blogs, what you’re having for dinner and/or whatever you feel like sharing in your comment!

Then remember to visit Quiltmaker and all the other blogs today for more entertainment and chances to win prizes.

Enjoy all your quilt moments!

Marilyn