Lots of voting this past weekend for the Little Girl quilts. They were all so beautiful. I’ve got many new ideas for my little girls.

Congratulations to Conny for winning with her very colourful Sweet 16 quilt. Conny wins a $30 gift certificate donated by Around the Block Quilters Shop. Thanks to everyone that entered, it was such fun to see all of your quilts.

This week’s theme is Quilts for Teens. To enter, read the rules and guidelines, then submit your quilt photo. Voting will start on Friday and last until Sunday night. (Next week’s theme is St. Patrick’s Day.)

This week’s contest is sponsored by Mad About Patchwork, a Canadian online retailer located near Ottawa, Ontario.

Teen Week

Simple. Fresh. Fun. Check out Mad About Patchwork for the kinds of fabric and patterns that today’s teens appreciate. Here’s a Floral Brick quilt I made for my 16 year old daughter:

This quilt is a beginner’s dream. Maybe your teen can make her own quilt! And here’s a quilt I just finished for my 13 year old son:

The warm colors and strong graphic lines of this quilt are perfect for a teenaged boy.

There are lots more ideas in the shop and on my blog. Be sure to check out the kits and bundles, on sale this week at 10% off. And there is always free shipping over $99 to Canada and the US.

This week’s prize is a Bubblegum Pieces quilt kit. It includes the Square Dance pattern and enough fabric to finish the quilt top & binding (8 fat quarters plus ½ yard for binding). It makes a sweet baby quilt in shades of red & blue. (You will need an additional 1½ yards of fabric for the backing, as well as batting to complete your quilt.) Finished size is of the quilt is 36″ x 45″.

I’m looking for a weekly sponsor for the African Inspiration theme scheduled for March 22nd. Please contact me if you’re interested. It’s a fabulous opportunity to showcase new notions and fabrics.

Blog It

Please share the logo below on your own blog. The more contestants, the more exciting the contests!

This week’s Little Girls quilt contest has been very popular. You’re going to want to grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell to check out all of these fabulous girlie quilts. Remember, you can click the smaller thumbnail to view a larger version of the quilt. Thanks to everyone that entered their fabulous quilts for this week’s Weekly Themed Quilt Contest.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourite!! The lucky winner with the most votes will receive a $30.00 gift certificated.

BONUS: All site visitors get a $5.00 off coupon when you spend $25.00 at Around the Block Quilters Shop. Enter gallery8 in the coupon code box at the bottom of the checkout page. Hurry, the special ends Sunday.

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11:59 p.m.
• One vote per IP address (NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for your favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

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P.S. Next week’s theme is Quilts for Teens. Get your cameras out!

Facebook readers: You need to visit the Quilting Gallery blog to vote: CLICK HERE.

Since I can’t enter this week’s quilts for little girls contest, I wanted to share with you some of the quilts I’ve made for my nieces.

I have two nieces, Lucy just turned 4 last Saturday, and Alice is 1.5, she’ll be two on Halloween. While I don’t live close to them, my sister does a fabulous job sharing their lives with me via pictures, videos, daily chatting, and her blog.

Lucy and Alice showing off their Olympic gear

For Lucy’s fourth birthday, I made her an art portfolio from Geta Grama’s fabulous tutorial.

I filled it with sketch pads, markers, construction paper and STICKERS!

Since I mailed the package to Lucy, my sister let her open it before her birthday. Here’s the video. “I think it’s made out of fabric!”

Lucy had a princess/fairy/barbie birthday party on the weekend. Here’s the fabulously creative cake my sister made … and more pictures of little girl cuteness.

For Lucy’s third birthday, I made her this doll quilt and used another of Geta’s tutorials for the fabric baskets.

For Christmas 2008, Alice received an Elmo quilt:

And for Lucy I made a Dora quilt:

As the girls get older, I’ll start to make them more complex keepsake quilts. For now, I want to make them things they can use, love and enjoy.

What about you? What have you made for the little ones in your life? Do they have favourite colours? Lucy is definitely a pink and purple girl. We’ll have to wait until Alice can communicate her colour choices. I do think she’ll follow in her sister’s footsteps, at least initially.

Join us at the new Quilter’s Daily Blog Along. The idea is that each day a new prompt will be posted, to give you inspiration for your next blog post. On your blog, write a post using the daily prompt as a guide. Then head over to the blog along site and add a link to your post in the comments for the specific day.

Today’s prompt is Quilting for Kids.

P.S. Today (Thursday) is the last day to enter this week’s themed quilt contest: Quilts for Little Girls.

By: Grace Thorne

I’m sure we’ve all seen photos of beautiful quilts and wallhangings that earn oft-coveted blue ribbons. I raise my needle to the innovative and industrious makers for their discipline, vision and expertise and for the serious eye candy and inspiration they provide for the “rest” of us, meaning the everyday, ordinary quilter.

Once while having a bit of a pity party trying to measure up, I thought about why I quilt. I quickly realized I quilt because I just plain enjoy doing so. When I quilt, I think not about recognition, rather about ordinary women who sat and sewed by lamplight to provide warmth for families out of necessity, or maybe those whose overburdened lives on dusty plains or in overcrowded tenements caused them to ache for something soothing, comforting and creative.

I like to think when they sat down for a brief moment to piece in silence free from daily drudgery, they felt the rhythm of the needle within the soul, as we all do, and it transported them to that place that nurtures all of us who find delight in this pastime. I hope they found sustenance for the will to continue day after day in spite of overwhelming responsibility.

I think about someone wrapping a crudely-constructed quilt around a sick child who could very well die, giving the only medicine available. I think about the shards of color it might provide in an otherwise drab and monochromatic existence. I think about how someone might have used quilts to say things that could not be verbally uttered, to record family history or calm nagging worries. I think about how one might have used a quilt as a shroud for a loved one, or perhaps about one whose life was mired in poverty and despair but guarded scraps like gold coins for the day when there were enough to construct a favorite pattern.

I think about how we all, their descendants, still use quilts and fabric and color as communication, icons of imperfect lives and the modern struggles we encounter and remarkably survive.

I’m not a purist; yes, if the Pilgrims had sewing machines I believe they would have used them. But whether quilts be used for utilitarian or artistic purposes, in the end I don’t think blue ribbons are the real measure of a quilter, even though I cheer for those who reach peaks of perfection. Plain or fancy, expert or beginner, I think quilts only count if they convey the soul of the quilter, speaking to those who might otherwise never hear, even if it’s only ourselves.

Isn’t this really why we all quilt?

About Me: I first began sewing at age 8 through the local 4-H program. Amish quilts drew me into quilting with their intricate quilted patterns on plain cloth. In 1979, I signed up for my first class to make a sampler. That quilt sustained me through many ups and downs and finally succumbed to constant use. Since then I’ve made countless quilts and smaller items, none of them blue-ribbon quality, but all of them lovingly made for countless occasions or for fun and every day use.

Through the years, my courage has been emboldened and my current projects are a double-wedding ring (my 2nd),

a full-size Amish quilt

and a full-size Hawaiian applique.

Please feel free to view my album on my personal blog, www.cityquilter.blogspot.com.

Want to be a guest blogger? Contact me. I’m booking for April and May now.

Wow, this week’s Little Boys quilt contest has been very popular. You’re going to want to grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell to check out all of these fabulous quilts. Remember, you can click the smaller thumbnail to view a larger version of the quilt. Thanks to everyone that entered their fabulous quilts for this week’s Weekly Themed Quilt Contest.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourite!! The lucky winner with the most votes will receive a $30.00 gift certificated donated by Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe. Be sure to check out Jojo’s Shopping Spree for your chance to win a $25 or $50 gift certificate too.

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11:59 p.m.
• One vote per IP address (NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for your favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

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P.S. Next week’s theme is Little Girls. Get your cameras out!

Facebook readers: You need to visit the Quilting Gallery blog to vote: CLICK HERE.

Thanks to everyone that entered their fabulous quilts for this week’s Weekly Themed Quilt Contest. This week’s theme is All Sports and/or Olympics.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourite!! The lucky winner with the most votes will receive a $30.00 gift certificated donated by fabric.com.

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11 p.m.
• One vote per IP address (NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for your favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

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P.S. Next week’s theme is Little Boys. Get your cameras out!

Facebook readers: You need to visit the Quilting Gallery blog to vote: CLICK HERE.