Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Tour winners! Hip Hip Hooray!

Yikes!
It's only 6 days until Thanksgiving!
Where did November go?
I feel so unprepared!
As does this guy ; ) !

My daughter special ordered 6 loaves of Stuffin' Bread at our local King Soopers. Do you realize how much stuffing that will make? (Stuffin' bread is basically a white bread that is enhanced with herbs and spices that you usually put in stuffing--it smells and tastes delicious.) Stuffing is Kim's favorite Thanksgiving dish and she will eat it for a week--morning, noon, and night. I'll cut the loaves up tonight and start the drying process. I think I will only use 4 loaves and save the other two for Christmas--unless she has another special order in. ; ) I've watched a few of the Food Network specials on Thanksgiving dishes lately and have to laugh when they cut up 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 onion etc. I'll be cutting up 3 bunches of celery and at least 2 onions. Maybe this year I will be more attentive to the ingredients so that I can give her a recipe to make it herself.

Now, to announce our winners of the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Tour! First of all I would like to thank all of you who commented on the blog. I'm so happy that you liked the free Table Runner pattern. I hope that you can see the Possibilities if you just replace the applique block with a different applique block or even a pieced block. If you do, please send me a picture. You've all inspired me to design more Table Runners--Thanks!

The 3 winners (chosen by a random number generator) are Mary from Illinois, Becky from Georgia, and Nancy from Maine. Mary wins the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks magazine from Quiltmaker. Becky wins a copy of the magazine from Possibilities. Nancy wins the prize pack from Possibilities. You should have received an email from us asking for your addresses, if not, contact Ashley and we will get your prizes to you ASAP!

Enjoy a very peaceful, yummy, and Thankful Thanksgiving!
Here's to a little stitching in between holiday activities!

Lynda

Baby Boy Blue in a Box and My First Favorite Notion

I'm going to share with you two of my favorite things--my favorite baby and my favorite notion. Here is my favorite baby! His grandma, Nancy, popped him in this cardboard box lined with a quilt that matched his outfit! He was very content (as long as grandma kept moving) while grandma carried him through the store to say a big hello to everyone. Kian is Nancy's youngest daughter, Laura's newest boy. He has two big brothers who absolutely adore him. It's a treat for us all when Laura stops in to visit or to work. Thanks, Kian, for letting me get a quick photo!

Now, on to my favorite notions. One of my very favorite's (could not live without) is an Applique Pressing Sheet. This double-sided sheet is made from an ultra high temperature fabric that is coated with non-stick Polylon. We carry it in two sizes--13 x 17" and 18 x 20". The sheet has many uses. It can be used as a craft and painting surface. Paint and glue peel off easily when dry. It can also be used in the oven to bake shrink-art, clay, and salt dough projects. MY FAVORITE USE, though, is for fusing applique pieces together. The transparent construction allows me to see my pattern through the sheet to use as a placement guide while I fuse overlapping pieces together into one unit. Fused fabrics peel right off the sheet. I also use it to protect my ironing board cover when I am fusing fabric. I have both sizes and I've also cut a second large one into two smaller pieces.

Call the store, or check our website for pricing and availability. If we don't have them in stock, leave a request because we order both sizes often.

If there is a notion you would like to recommend or to learn about, please leave me a comment. All of the notions that I will be showing you will be great to have if you join me for the Alphabet Quilt Blog of the Month.

Happy Stitching,

Lynda

Quiltmaker's 100 Block Blog Tour part 2

Welcome to the Great American Quilt Factory/Possibilities Blog! We are so honored to have been selected to design a block for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers, volume 2.


We are giving you a Sneak Peek at this incredible Collector's Edition. Each day this week, you have an opportunity to go to about 12 different designer's blogs to learn a little about what inspired them and/or get free patterns. The Blog Tour started Monday and continues through Friday, Nov 12th. Make sure that you visit all of the sites for prizes and free patterns, including ours!

We have designed a beautiful table runner that incorporates two of our Spring Flowers Blocks, #111 on page 27. The table runner is approx. 18 x 54". This is a free download for you to enjoy--click here.

Please leave a comment on our blog for a chance to win one of 3 prizes. We have two copies of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks to give away, as well as a special prize--a variety of Possibilities books and patterns. Make sure you leave a way for us to contact you, should you win. Winners will be chosen at random.

Be sure to check out Quiltmaker's website for the schedule of daily bloggers and to enter to win the Grand Prize!

Best of luck to you and thank you again for visiting!

Happy stitching,

Lynda and Nancy



P.S. We are going to be listing our favorite notions on our blog in the next few days. You can suscribe by clicking on the RSS feed on the sidebar and we would love to know what notion is your favorite, too!

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

Tomorrow starts the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour Sneak Peek. Every day through Nov. 12th, you can check in with approximately a dozen designers to hear their thoughts about the design process and/or to get a free pattern that uses their original block. AND lots of prizes will be given away by the folks at Quiltmaker as well as by the block designers.

Our blog day is Thursday the 11th and ... did I mention that lots of prizes will be given away? I am designing a tablerunner pattern that you can download for free that uses our Spring Flowers applique block.

These magazines are truly Collector's Editions and feature today's top designers as well as up and coming newbies. Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks will be on the newstand November 16th, but until then enjoy the sneak peeks.

Back to designing,

Lynda

My Alphabet Quilt Blog of the Month

We returned from International Quilt Market on Sunday. We had a wonderful time, but I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to attend, because I had re-injured my left foot and knew that I absolutely couldn't walk the entire market. Then I checked in to renting an electric scooter and found out that I could take it back to my room and virtually anywhere downtown that I would want to go. Hooray!!!!! I would have been so disappointed since I have attended every Quilt Market except for 1981 when my daughter was born. The scooter was wonderful and I only came close to demolishing one jewelry booth--no empathy shown by that woman at all. : (

One product that we got really excited about is Amy Bradley's My Alphabet Quilt pattern and book.

Amy's daughter Ashley Heryer, wrote the story for her daughter, and Amy illustrated it with quilt blocks. I am going to present it as a Blog of the Month like I did with Amy's Happy Halloween pattern. It will be an 8 month program. Each month, for seven months I will present 4 blocks and give you hints, techniques, and notions that will help you complete the alphabet blocks and then month 8 will be set aside for borders, quilting, and binding. To get a general idea of how it works, click on the Happy Halloween icon on the sidebar. Below is a close-up of block B.

I'm still working out the details but will let you know ASAP! I'd love for you to join me!

Happy Stitching,

Lynda