Monthly Archives: September 2011

Scrap Republic – Blog Tour!

September 30th, 2011 in Contests, News & Events
By Tristan Gallagher

Do you love celebrating color? Then get ready…Emily Cier invites you to the Scrap Republic blog tour, running Monday 10/3/11 through Tuesday 10/11/11.

Out of the blue, Scrap Republic has arrived! And to give everybody a good look at the rainbow of scrappy modern quilts that one can create, I thought this would be a golden opportunity to cut through the red tape and ask a colorful array of folks to take a look at the book through glasses tinted their favorite color — be it rose or puce.

After all, what a particular design means to you is hardly a black-and-white thing. I have a feeling we’ll all be tickled pink with what they have to say, whether they’re green with envy or seeing red. So come along on our little blog tour and see if the grass really is greener — we’ll paint the town red. Unless, of course, you prefer magenta.

In addition to tips, Q&As and reviews, each blog on the tour will also host a giveaway. You might win a copy of Scrap Republic, a Scrap Republic Eco Tote, Bag o’ Scraps from Robert Kaufman, ROY G BIV Essential Cotton Threads, or the Mrs. Roy G. Biv Pattern from Carolina Patchworks.

Scrap Republic Eco Tote

Tour Dates:

October 3: White – ps i quilt
October 4: Pink – Pink Chalk Studio
October 5: Red – Fat Quarter Shop
October 6: Orange – Generation Q Magazine
October 7: Yellow – Typepad
October 8: Green – Connecting Threads
October 9: Blue – Blue Nickel Studios
October 10: Indigo/Black/Brown/Grey - Quilt Dad
October 11: Violet/Purple – Swatch and Stitch

Giveaway—Colorful Quilts for Fabric Lovers

September 28th, 2011 in Contests
By Ruthmary Schauer

Part of my fabric stash

My friend Patty had recently sorted, folded and stacked most of my fabric, and I was able to see what a lot of rich, jewel-toned yardage I have. So I was looking for a project that would use some of my large stash of colors, in a somewhat monochromatic theme.

I found more than one gorgeous quilt to make in our new book, Colorful Quilts for Fabric Lovers by Amy Walsh and Janine Burke.

This book showcases ten new colorful quilt projects that are perfect for my collected blues, or maybe red pieces, or perhaps a wild mash-up of all those batiks stacked on the upper shelves. Your chance to win a copy is at the end of this post.

Amy and Janine even show how you can use strips of the fabrics you have, or get a new fat quarter assortment to piece your top, as in this quilt called Too Flat. Click the quilt images to zoom in.

"Too Flat" by Janine Burke

I especially love how each quilt project is followed by alternate colorways and sizes, a feature that makes it easy for those of us who are math-challenged. The yardages are given for all those sizes, so it is so easy! Continue Reading…

Watch “Stitched: The Film” for FREE—3 days only!

September 25th, 2011 in News & Events
By Lisa Fulmer

From our friends at The Quilt Show and from all of us at C&T, we bring you FREE access to Stitched: The Film. Your special access link is at the end of this post.

For a limited time, you can watch this engaging documentary online, which is sure to give you new insight into the world of quilting and quilt competitions. Click here to watch the trailer.

Stitched was created and produced by Jena Moreno, a long-time Houston resident. After watching thousands of quilters descend on the city every year, she decided to find out what was going on.

The film profiles three notable quilters—Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, and Randall Cook—and their quest to enter their work into the International Quilt Festival competition.

Stitched is not available anywhere else online, making this an exclusive treat!

You can watch from the comfort of your computer starting Monday, September 26th through Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 by registering through this special link on The Quilt Show’s website. To register, just sign up for the TQS mailing list and the video will load right away for you. If you are already a TQS member (Basic or Star), no need to sign up for the mailing list again – there is a special log in spot for you on this same page.

Be sure to like C&T’s Facebook page to be in the loop on exclusive offers and more exciting opportunities like this one!

Bonus weekend giveaway with a blog hop

September 23rd, 2011 in Contests
By Lisa Fulmer

You’ve worked so hard making your quilt…don’t you want your quilt label to give it that “just right” finishing touch? Here’s where the Quilt Label Collective CD comes in!

This treasury of 150 original illustrations from 17 artists gives you so many choices for making the perfect label for any quilt, any occasion.

You can customize your label by hand or on your computer with your choice of lettering and colors, then embellish it even further with paint or embroidery.

Design by Brian Haggard

There are lots of different styles from contemporary to traditional to vintage, and index files are included on the CD for easy searching. The file formats can be viewed and/or altered with most photo or graphics software applications.

Design by Kerry Graham

To win your own copy of this CD, leave a comment here by Monday 9/26/11. A winner will be selected at random and notified by email next week. Good luck!

Here’s the list of all the contributing artists with links to their blogs (if they have one). Many are C&T authors and some are members of our Creative Troupe.

Design by Nancy Smith of Possibilities

Allie Aller
Frieda Anderson
Alethea Ballard
Peggy Barkle
Shannon Bielke
Jen Eskridge
Ann Fahl
Debra Gabel
Kerry Graham
Brian Haggard
Sarah Kaufman
Deborah Kemball
Sonja Lee-Austin
Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith
Nancy Odom
Cosabeth Parriaud
Kim Schaefer

Recuperating

September 22nd, 2011 in Inspiration, Staff Pick
By Teresa Stroin

When you can't use your sewing machine...switch to hand work!

I recently had foot surgery and wasn’t able to leave the couch for 3 weeks. Fortunately I had a crazy quilt block made in a class with Allie Aller. I got hold of two books: Allie Aller’s Crazy Quilting and Judith Baker Montano’s Embroidery and Crazy Quilt Stitch Tool. Then I started embroidering and embellishing. It was so much fun. I used the threads and beads I had on hand, leftovers from other projects.

Buttonhole

Buttonhole wheel

Cretan

Detached fly

Detached chain

Palestrina knot

Fly and French knots

Whipped double running stitch

Chain zigzag

Broderie perse butterfly with beads

I’m guessing I’ll make this into a pillow but I still plan to keep adding more stitches!

Fabric Painting with Cindy Walter – Giveaway day!

September 19th, 2011 in Contests, Inspiration
By Lisa Fulmer

In this new beginner’s guide, you can play with a variety of easy-to-learn fabric painting techniques with award-winning quilting teacher, TV personality, and author Cindy Walter. She shows you how to create colorwashes, use resist techniques, paint a Hawaiian quilt or a traditional block quilt, plus sunprint, scrunch, and salt to create uniquely personal fabrics.

She wants us all to experiment, be playful, and get creative…fabric painting is fun, relaxing, and slightly addictive. Cindy and I share the same philosophy…relax and don’t worry so much about the results,,,just enjoy the process! Click here to watch a video clip of Cindy getting the first copy of her new book.

Fun with scrunching!

Recently Cindy taught from her book on a quilting cruise to the Mediterranean…what an amazing and inspiring (and sunny!) trip she had. She wrote up a lovely travelogue for us, with some of the beautiful pictures – click here to read part 1, and click here to read part 2.

You can also watch some of her vacation video clips on our YouTube channel:
• At the Acropolis in Athens, Greece
• At the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy
• At the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy
• On Santorini Island in Greece

One lucky person will win their very own copy of Fabric Painting with Cindy Walter! To enter, leave a comment at the end of this post telling us whether you have tried fabric painting—and if so, what do you enjoy the most about it?

Comments will be closed at 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, September 25th, 2011—the winner will be contacted via email and their name will be posted here on the blog next Monday.

Increase your chances to win! Enter an extra comment for each of the actions you take below. Tell us what you did and thanks in advance for spreading the word!

Place one of our blog badges on your own blog (make sure it links back here)
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Subscribe to our email list
Tweet a link to this giveaway & mention @ctpublishing
Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook wall and t ag our fan page
Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to Sandi whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post! Sandi won a copy of Adventures in Design by Joen Wolfrom.

Free Project: Summer’s End fabric postcard

September 16th, 2011 in Free Projects, Papercrafts, Surface Design & Mixed Media
By Tristan Gallagher

September brings the last days of summer and the first days of fall. Before looking ahead, take a moment to reflect back. Better yet, share those memories with friends and family via a homemade postcard! The key ingredients to making these, fast2fuse^® and TAP Transfer Artist Paper, make this a quick and fun project. These examples are all about summer fun, but could certainly translate to year-round events. The sky’s the limit to how many extra embellishments you might add…paint, stitching, glitter…what a cool holiday mailing that could make! Read on for project instructions.

Giveaway—Adventures in Design

September 12th, 2011 in Contests, News & Events
By Amy Marson, Publisher

What is there to love about Joen’s new book Adventures in Design? Everything! I love how she clearly explains the premise for each chapter (color, lines) and then gives you activities and exercises to complete, just to make sure you get it. Remember that in order to learn we must see it, hear it, and then do it, to really learn it. And her expanded captions next to each example make it super easy to understand.

Joen’s book is sure to be a big hit with artists and quilters who want to fine tune or further develop their ability to create. The section on the Ten Stellar Design Principles is eye-opening and informative. I learned quite a bit reading the section on bridging.

This principle explains how you can transition within your work to create balance with color, value, and size. As I was reading this section I had one of those “Aha,” moments.

And you know what else this book has? Soooo many pictures that it is a visual feast. Each turn of the page delights you with it’s visual dance.

So run, don’t walk and pick up your copy today and start reading.

One lucky person will win their very own copy of Adventures in Design! To enter, leave a comment at the end of this post telling us what you look forward to learning or experiencing from this book.

Comments will be closed at 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, September 18th, 2011—the winner will be contacted via email and their name will be posted here on the blog next Monday.

Increase your chances to win! Enter an extra comment for each of the actions you take below. Tell us what you did and thanks in advance for spreading the word!

Place one of our blog badges on your own blog (make sure it links back here)
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Subscribe to our email list
Tweet a link to this giveaway & mention @ctpublishing
Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook wall and t ag our fan page
Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to Joy V whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post! Joy V won a Banaras Quilt Journal.

Summer Sizzler Warehouse Sale!

September 9th, 2011 in News & Events
By Amy Marson, Publisher

Saturday, September 10, 2011

9:00am – 11:00 am
• Open to resellers with valid resale license

11:00am – 3:00pm
• Open to the general public

1651 Challenge Drive, Concord, California

Don’t miss this chance to save BIG on books and products for quiltmaking, fiber arts, needle arts, mixed-media and papercrafts. There is something for all creative types, with overstocked items priced from $2 to $5 (original retail prices are up to $29.95!) and even lower prices on patterns, magazines, stationery and more.

The warehouse will be filled with more than 170 different books and products. C&T Publishing’s annual Summer Sizzler Warehouse Sale on Saturday September 10th is the perfect spot to find affordable inspiration this summer.

Can’t make it to our warehouse? You can still take advantage of our great bargains by shopping online all weekend September 10th & 11th. Just click on the “Summer Sizzler Sale” link in the left margin of the C&T Publishing web site, www.ctpub.com.

Monday is give-away day!

September 5th, 2011 in Contests
By Tristan Gallagher

The Banaras Sari Quilt Journals are here! The original Sari Journal was such a hit that we’ve created three new designs with fresh, new color palettes and stitch patterns for the collaged covers made from silk saris.

sa•ri |ˈsärē| (also sa•ree)
A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from the Indian subcontinent.

The silk brocade is made on a handloom by artisans in the ancient city of Banaras, India…hence the name.

The interior of these beautiful 6” x 9” journals contains high-quality, bright white pages, great for whatever your passion may be…journaling, sketching, painting, pastels, even light watercolors. But what’s really cool is the blue-lined graph paper (8/inch) in the back, perfect for a variety of design tasks including drafting quilt blocks. 96 blank white sheets and 64 graph pages = 160 pages…plenty of room for recording those inspirations.

One last feature deserving mention is the handy pocket inside the back cover. What creative person doesn’t have things like fabric swatches, notes, pictures, and coupons to stash?

One lucky person will win their very own Banaras Sari Quilt Journal! To enter, leave a comment at the end of this post telling us what sorts of things you like to record in your journal (refrain from sharing those deepest secrets, lol).

Comments will be closed at 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, September 11th, 2011—the winner will be contacted via email and their name will be posted here on the blog next Monday.

Increase your chances to win! Enter an extra comment for each of the actions you take below. Tell us what you did and thanks in advance for spreading the word!

Place one of our blog badges on your own blog (make sure it links back here)
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Subscribe to our email list
Tweet a link to this giveaway & mention @ctpublishing
Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook wall and t ag our fan page
Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to Tamie whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post! Tamie won a copy of Scrap Republic by Emily Cier.

C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.