"Summer Rain" quilt

Wait until you see the quilts in Geta Grama’s new book, Shadow Trapunto Quilts! Your first question will be (at least it was mine), “How in the world did she make that quilt?” 

If you know what shadow appliqué is (appliqué on a background with a sheer fabric over the top), then you have an idea what shadow trapunto is. The secret ingredient…the fluffy white trapunto…is batting. It’s a simple supply we’re all familiar with, but instead of hiding it between the quilt layers, it’s the star.

"Day and Night" pillows

Geta has developed simple techniques for creating these amazing quilts. The book includes instructions for 30 projects (yes, 30!) and she even includes a gallery of more amazing examples, plus a CD of the patterns so you can easily print them on your home printer. Of course, the patterns are also included in the book.

I can’t wait to make one myself. This is the most excited I’ve been about a technique in a while. And, with all the great things floating around the office, that’s pretty amazing. I’ve been an editor here at C&T for 20 years and this is one of my all-time favorites! Click here to see more projects in our Flickr gallery.

Now for the giveaway! One lucky person will win a copy of Shadow Trapunto Quilts.

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite brand(s) of batting.

For an additional entry, log in to your Amazon account and “like” this book, then come back here to leave a second comment saying you did so.

Deadline to enter is Sunday, February 12, 2012. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week. Good luck!

No related posts.

In a follow-up to her first book, Quilt Blocks Across America, Debra Gabel takes us on a continental tour in Quilt Blocks Around the World. Her new appliqué pattern designs for exciting places like Tokyo, Sydney, and Venice are sure to make you long for a life of travel and exploration. Her signature poster-style blocks would be wonderful as part of a souvenir quilt commemorating your vacation, or as part of a dream quilt to map out the favorite spots on your bucket list.

Here’s some of what Debra had to say about her journey into this book…

The whole concept of destination quilts started at Spring Quilt Market in 2009 where I launched my new Zebra Patterns line. It was well received – especially my stamp patterns which are unique renditions of extra-large postage stamps from different cities and states. The popularity of the stamp patterns made it clear to me that quilters want to make quilts that reflect their lives and travels.

That initial spark led to my first book, then naturally progressed to these world block designs. I cannot tell you how many people asked if I thought I would do other countries! I did not think I could do a whole country justice in one quilt block, but I felt confident that I could capture the flavor of world destinations by focusing on notable landmarks. That is the intention of this book: to capture the flavor of each destination in six inches of cloth.

My sincere hope is that your journey with the patterns in this book is a fun and exciting way for you to respond in cloth to the question, “Where ya been?”

Look for our new Eco Wheelie Tote coming in April that features lots of Debra’s block designs! Visit our Flickr gallery to see a few more designs from this book, and check out Debra’s website, Zebra Patterns, for details on other designs she offers.

Now for the giveaway! One lucky person will win a copy of Quilt Blocks Around the World.

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us where in the world you have been or would like to visit. For an additional entry, log in to your Amazon account and “like” this book, then come back here to leave a second comment saying you did so.

Deadline to enter is Sunday, January 29, 2012. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week. Good luck!

Congrats to Jenny S. – she won a copy of Kim Schaefer’s Skinny Quilts from our last giveaway post.

Related posts:

1. The story of the stamp

"Leaves" and "Spots and Dots"

I’m always excited when we have a new Kim Schaefer book released, because her designs just make me happy. They look more complicated than they really are, since Kim knows how to design with multiples of the same image and she uses standard shapes, but in interesting configurations.  I especially love the color and fabric combinations she uses in her latest book, Kim Schaefer’s Skinny Quilts.

Like a lot of quilters, I have many warm, wonderful quilts for all the beds in my house, so a book with “skinny” designs for tablerunners, bedrunners, and wall hangings is just the ticket. A couple years ago, I adapted one of the quilts from her earlier book, Cozy Modern Quilts, into a table runner, but now with her new book I won’t have to do that again. Now I need to decide between her 15 different project designs…oh, what the heck. I’ll make all of them and will give away some as gifts!

"Chunky Monkey"

Here’s what Kim has to say about her new book:

I love the versatility that skinny quilts offer. A skinny quilt can be used as a purely decorative piece in a difficult-to-decorate long, narrow area of the home, such as a wall or door. Or one can work as a decorative and functional piece when used as a table runner, a throw on the back of a couch, or a bedwarmer. A skinny quilt on the end of the bed in wintertime not only looks great but keeps feet toasty warm.

The projects presented in this book are fast and fun to make and not a huge commitment like a traditional bed-size quilt would be. They add charisma and charm to your home and make great gifts. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced quilter, a piecing enthusiast or an appliqué lover, I’m confident that  you will find the perfect quilt to add a cozy and cheerful touch to your home—one that you and your family can cherish for years to come.

Visit our Flickr gallery to see a few more of the project quilts. Now for the giveaway! One lucky person will win a copy of Kim Schaefer’s Skinny Quilts.

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us where a skinny quilt would fit perfectly in your home. For an additional entry, log in to your Amazon account and “like” this book, then come back here to leave a second comment saying you did so.

Deadline to enter is Sunday, January 22, 2012. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week. Good luck!

Congrats to Cathy B…she won a copy of Twilight Garden Quilts from our last giveaway post.

Related posts:

1. Isak’s Zoo Quilt
2. Too Cute Not to Share
3. Color Splash Table Runner by Kim Schaefer

Fantastic fat quarters up for grabs!  We’re giving away one of these Artisan Batiks fat quarter bundles from our friends at Robert Kaufman Fabrics to two lucky winners. To get you inspired, here’s a fun blog hop filled with fat-quarter-friendly project ideas from lots of great designers!

To Wear…

A new apron - you’d look great in this, you know you would.

prudentbaby.com

How about a headband - quite stylish and easy to match to your wardrobe.

simplemodernlife.com

Don’t you just love this handbag by Jennifer Ladd?

sewmamasew.com

To organize…

This trim organizer is the perfect way to keep those wayward trims sitting tight in one spot.

allbuttonedup.typepad.com

The poochie bag is so bright, so cheerful, and so totally useful!

thehappyzombie.com

To give…

Pointy kitty stands at attention and is ready to play…love her!

weewonderfuls.typepad.com

Baby’s soft book of colors…you know that baby’s going to drool over those fat quarters, as much as you did when you bought them!

homegrownhappy.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoyed that little blog hop! Now for the giveaway…to enter to win one of these beautiful fat quarter bundles, leave a comment here telling us about your favorite way to use fat quarters.

Deadline to enter is Monday night, 1/16/12 and the two winners (drawn at random from comments) will be notified by email. Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Fabric Dyer’s Dream Giveaway
2. Fabric Dyer’s Dream Giveaway Winners and Lunch Bags! Giveaway
3. Monday is giveaway day!

Award-winning author Deborah Kemball is back with even more reasons to love floral appliqué…Twilight Garden Quilts.

This newest addition to our Pattern Pack series is packed with elegant, flowing flower patterns that you can appliqué however you like – by hand, by machine, raw edge, or needle-turn. The packet contains a booklet of basic instructions and tips from Deborah, plus individual full-size patterns for 22 flowers that each make a gorgeous 12″ quilt block.

Also included are instructions for these two quilt projects—her Spring Flower Heart quilt above won first place for handquilted wall quilts at the 2011 AQS show in Knoxville, and her Midnight Garden quilt below has won multiple awards, including first place for handquilted wall quilts at the 2011 AQS show in Lancaster. Click here to read Deborah’s blog post about these two quilts.

If you love asters, daisies, narcissus, pansies, buttercups, forget-me-nots…you will love this pattern pack! Watch Deborah’s interview with Alex Anderson last spring on The Quilt Show blog, where she discusses her first book, Beautiful Botanicals and shows off lots of her beautiful work.

Visit our Flickr gallery to see a few more lovely project images from this book.

So here we go…one lucky person will win a copy of Twilight Garden Quilts. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite kinds of flowers are.

Deadline to enter is 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, January 15, 2012. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week.

Congrats to Jean G., whose name was drawn at random from the comments on our last giveaway post. She won a copy of Simply Triangles.

Related posts:

1. C&T authors win big at the IQA Awards at Quilt Festival
2. Deborah Kemball wins IQA’s Best of Show!
3. Behind the Scenes with Deborah Kemball

We just released a really cool new product – the Faber-Castell Quilter’s Pen Set, inspired by Paula Nadelstern. This is the ultimate set of three essential marking pens with quilters’ needs in mind!

Paula uses these pens for marking her kaleidoscope designs onto templates and fabric. You’ll see how she does this in Kaleidoscope Quilts—The Workbook.

The perfect pen really does help make the process of designing quilt blocks, appliqué elements, and fussy cutting so much easier!

The Quilter’s Pen Set comes with two black MultiMark pens (fine point and medium point) that are permanent and colorfast on fabric and paper, but are erasable (and also smear-resistant) on certain non-porous surfaces like glass or the Visi-GRID™ Quilter’s Template Sheets.

They have this handy little green eraser on the end – how awesome is that?

The third pen in the set is a metallic silver PITT Artist pen with a medium point, perfect for marking on dark fabrics. It really does flow nicely for a smooth and solid line. I also love how the silver pen writes on dark paper – bright and shiny, yet legible…perfect for addressing the black envelopes I have for my handmade greeting cards.

I experimented with using the MultiMark pens on metal and plastic surfaces. My writing was permanent and waterproof on all these items below, which was exactly what I wanted. Love it!

The Faber-Castell Quilter’s Pen Set will be available in just another week or two online or at your local quilt shop. You can put a backorder in now, if you want. Our shipment just arrived in the C&T warehouse and I was so excited to try them out and show you how they work – I think they’ll be your favorite set of pens too!

Now for a chance to win a set for yourself! To enter to win, leave a comment here with your answer to these questions:  What kind of gadgets or supplies for quiltmaking are at the top of your indispensable list? Anything you need that you cannot find anywhere?

Deadline to enter is Sunday night, 1/15/12. Five people’s names will be drawn at random from the comments on the this post; winners will be notified by email next week. Good luck!

No related posts.

"Scrappy Stars"

Happy New Year—we hope you all had a wonderful holiday! And we hope you’re ready for some fresh inspiration to kick off your creative projects for 2012.

Barbara Cline has a brand new book, Simply Triangles—11 Deceptively Easy Quilts Featuring Stars, Daisies & Pinwheels. You will love learning how to work with paper-pieced triangles to make beautiful and complex-looking designs. Barbara will teach you how to use your fabric color selections to make your quilt sparkle and glow.

Here’s some of what Barbara shares about her background in the book’s introduction:

I was brought up with six sisters and a brother in a loving Mennonite home in the beautiful Virginia countryside. Sewing has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. Mother used her talent to provide practical and beautiful garments for our family. Her sewing machine kept humming long after the girls’ dresses were completed, turning out an assortment of nightgowns, caps, coats, and mittens for the growing family. My grandmother introduced me to quilting when I was ten years old. The world of fabric came alive for me when my parents purchased a fabric store in my preteen years. I enjoyed learning about different fabrics and color combinations, as well as working with people. Some of the store employees were expert quilters, and this further piqued my interest in the craft.

Barbara (right) with two of her sisters, Polly (left) and Julia

My sisters have been another source of inspiration; they have inspired me to join a quilt guild, enter quilt contests, publish patterns, and learn new techniques. We also get together once a year for a sewing retreat. As our little ones grew up they started to join us, and it has been a great opportunity for them to focus on sewing as well as on building relationships and interacting with their grandmother, aunts, and cousins. The retreat has become one of the highlights of my year. Throughout this book, you’ll find Life Lessons—simple, inspiring stories from some of these important people in my life.

Visit our Flickr gallery to see a few more lovely project images from this book.

So here we go…one lucky person will win a copy of Simply Triangles. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us a little something special that you love about your own sewing and quilting community.

Deadline to enter is 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, January 8, 2012. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week.

Congrats to Jasmine, whose name was drawn at random from the comments on our last giveaway post. She won a copy of New English Paper Piecing.

Related posts:

1. Wednesday Night Live – replay!
2. Star Struck Quilts is going on a Blog Tour!

"Icy Nights" by Sue Daley

In this new book, author Sue Daley teaches the fundamentals of English paper piecing and needleturned appliqué, and she shows you that it’s not just about hexagons anymore. In Sue’s words…

English paper piecing dates back to the early 1800s. While many beautiful designs could be created from the traditional hexagons, the process was very time-consuming. One quilt could take years to finish by hand. But now, with timesaving tools like precut templates and glue pens, today’s patchworkers can still achieve a handmade English paper-pieced quilt, even with their busy schedules.

“Grandmother’s Flower Garden” is one of patchwork’s oldest, dearest, and most frequently sewn designs. The design is based on a hexagon, which has six sides. In days gone by, these quilts were an allover pattern, made completely of hundreds and thousands of hexagons.

Grandma Rosie's quilt

Today, English paper piecing can work with almost any shape. A wide variety of shapes, in many different sizes, will interlock just like a jigsaw puzzle. If the paper shapes fit together, their fabric counterparts can be sewn together.

There are endless possibilities! By combining my love of English paper piecing with my other passions—needle-turn appliqué and embroidery, I can introduce you to new possibilities for quilt design.

I combine appliqué with English paper piecing to create fresh, new looks for English paper-pieced projects. I have designed complex blocks that are made easy to sew by replacing difficult piecing with easy appliqué. And I have pieced graceful openwork designs that can be appliquéd to the quilt’s background, also eliminating the need for difficult inset piecing.

Detail of "Square Dance" by Sue Daley

By adding these approaches and the art of fussy cutting to English paper piecing, I hope to bring you into my world. You, too, can create beautiful quilts with these techniques.

Visit our Flickr gallery to see more lovely images from this book! So here we go…one lucky person will win a copy of New English Paper Piecing.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us what you love most about antique quilts or what your favorite early quiltmaking style is.

Deadline to enter is 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, December 18, 2011. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week.

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!

• Sign in to your Amazon account and hit the “like” button for this book
• Sign up for the PatternSpot.com Shopper eNewsletter
• Follow PatternSpot.com on Twitter
• Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to E. White, whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post. She won a copy of Transparency Quilts.

Related posts:

1. Am I qualified to quilt?

Here’s some of what Weeks and Bill have to say about their newest book…

We love color, but we love the visual relationships among colors even more…our hope is that with this collection of quilts, you will begin to see color in a new way and grow in your understanding and appreciation of color in the process.

We have always had a different method of designing. We focus less on the individual blocks than on the relationships among all the pieces of the quilt. You’ll notice that some of the quilts in the book use block construction and others don’t. Going back and forth between design, color theory, and construction is endlessly fascinating to us. It was through this interest that we began creating designs with pieces that, when viewed as a whole, give the illusion that one color is overlaid on another. We refer to these quilts collectively as transparency quilts.

In architecture, interior design, and product design in the past half century, there has been a focus on making materials seem lighter and more airy. Houses that used to be constructed from stone and wood can now be built as glass boxes that appear to float on the landscape. Televisions that used to be massive pieces of furniture are now thin enough to hold in the palm of your hand.

Similarly, the color options for quilting textiles were extremely limited until the mid-twentieth century. Advances in printing technology and textile production have given twenty-first-century quilters color choices unimaginable to previous generations of quiltmakers. Without such wide varieties of fabric available, we would never have been able to conceive of transparency quilts.

We hope this book will help you refine your understanding of color theory and give you a new perspective on how some of your favorite fabrics might be used in a new way. We also hope that you might rethink some of your assumptions about fabrics that may appear to lack potential, but in fact can play an essential role in achieving the effect of transparency.

Visit our Flickr gallery to see more lovely images from this book!

So here we go…one lucky person will win a copy of Transparency Quilts. 

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us something about your own success or challenges with color.

Deadline to enter is 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, December 11, 2011. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week.

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!

• Sign in to your Amazon account and hit the “like” button for this book
• Sign up for the PatternSpot.com Shopper eNewsletter
• Follow PatternSpot.com on Twitter
• Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to Hannele, whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post. She won a package of Visi-GRID Quilter’s Template Sheets.

Related posts:

1. Quilts Made Modern—Blog Tour!
2. Finding inspiration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Kaleidoscopic XVII - Caribbean Blues" by Paula Nadelstern

Visi-GRID™ Quilter’s Template Sheets are here!

Paula Nadelstern helped us develop the best template sheets in town…it’s easy to read the ruler increments without any glare and the plastic has a really nice matte finish so you can mark it nicely with a pen, plus it doesn’t slip around on your fabric. Paula uses this grid-printed template plastic to get striking accuracy with each wedge of her beautiful kaleidoscope quilts.

Example of mapping out a template for piecing a wedge

Here are just a few ways Visi-GRID sheets make all your projects (not just kaleidoscopes!) easier and more accurate…

• Fussy-cut multiple and identical and/or reversible template shapes for repeat patterns and motifs
• Mark seam allowances (the template functions like a window frame) to identify areas of fabric that will be visible in a patch
• Make symmetrical shapes and patterns—align a gridline within the middle of each patch
• Get mirror-images of shapes with only one template—use it to mark patches in one direction, then just flip it over to use again for the other direction

One lucky person will win a package of Visi-GRID™ Quilter’s Template Sheets. 

To enter, just leave a comment on this post by 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, December 4, 2011. One comment will be drawn at random to win…the winner will be contacted via email and posted here on the blog next week.

4 sheets per package

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!

• Sign in to your Amazon account and hit the “like” button for this product
• Sign up for the PatternSpot.com Shopper eNewsletter
• Follow PatternSpot.com on Twitter
• Join our Creative Troupe

Congrats to Willa, whose name was drawn at random from the comments on last week’s post. Willa won a copy of the newest title in our Pattern Pack series, Heartwarming Possibilities.

Related posts:

1. The Quilt Show Summer Giveaway
2. Paula Nadelstern Kaleidoscope Collection Giveaway
3. Winners of the Paula Nadelstern Kaleidoscope Collection Giveaway